POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam has been ranked No. 1 in the SUNY system for its top-rated arts environment.

The 2015 SUNY Student Opinion Survey, which rates the 27 state-operated colleges and university centers in SUNY, found that SUNY Potsdam was the top campus for student satisfaction with fine and performing arts services, facilities and environment. Students gave high marks for the college's offerings and facilities for art, dance, film, music and theatre.

"I could not be more proud that SUNY Potsdam has been rated No. 1 for the best arts environment in SUNY. Our culture of creativity creates extraordinary energy on campus, with students from all majors taking in all the arts have to offer," said President Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg.

The SUNY System Administration Office of Institutional Research and Analysis conducts the survey. The SOS survey findings are important because, unlike other studies, they rank student satisfaction against the other 26 state-operated SUNY institutions.

SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. Interdisciplinary programs like theatre education and music business are also popular, and the college is currently developing a new arts management major as well.

The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam was founded in 1886, and boasts a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. Crane is also the only All-Steinway institution in SUNY.

"We are extremely proud of our programs in the fine and performing arts, and the opportunities that they afford our students, faculty, staff and the entire community," said Dr. Steven J. Marqusee, dean of SUNY Potsdam's School of Arts and Sciences. "The arts are so pervasive on campus that it is sometimes easy to take them for granted. It is special that our students haven't, and recognize how unique SUNY Potsdam is."

"SUNY Potsdam's superlative rating for its arts environment in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey confirms what we have long known and valued about the significance of the performing arts for this campus, bringing the historic presence of The Crane School of Music together with exciting new opportunities for collaboration and technology offered by the newly completed Performing Arts Center," said Crane School of Music Dean Dr. Michael Sitton. "

The Crane School of Music complex includes two large performance spaces, as well as a recital hall, two classroom buildings, a music library, laboratory and rehearsal spaces. The Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall boasts some of the best acoustics in the Northeast, and seats approximately 1,300 audience members. The 450-seat Sara M. Snell Music Theater provides additional stage space for operas and recitals.

Since its opening in 2014, SUNY Potsdam's $55 million Performing Arts Center has earned a reputation as one of the best performance venues north of New York City. Home to the Department of Theatre and Dance, the facility hosts three specialized performance halls. The 350-seat Proscenium Theater hosts plays, musicals, film screenings and keynote addresses. The flexible Black Box Theater allows for seating and staging to be easily adjusted for intimate performances for an audience of 200. The Dance Theatre also holds 200, with sprung floors designed especially for dance. In addition, the Performing Arts Center also offers laboratories for digital/audio, design, drafting, lighting and education, as well as movement and recording studios and large technical shops for sets, scenery, costumes and crafts.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam oversees the College's collection of important contemporary and modern works of art, and hosts exhibitions throughout the year in the Roland Gibson Gallery and other spaces across campus.

Both campus and community benefit from performances and educational programs in the arts at SUNY Potsdam.

Each spring, the campus hosts the annual Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, also known as the LoKo Festival, which celebrates all traditional and contemporary visual, written, musical and theatrical arts. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

The Community Performance Series has been based on campus since 1989, and brings a variety of world-renowned artists, educational programs and professional musical theatre to Potsdam. For more information, visit www.cpspotsdam.org.

The Orchestra of Northern New York is also in residence on campus, and is the only professional symphony orchestra from Rochester to Burlington and from Syracuse to Ottawa. To learn more, visit www.onny.org.