X

SUNY Potsdam celebrates 200 years; $750,000 in ‘environmentally friendly’ upgrades to residential halls completed

Posted 8/27/16

By MATT LINDSEY POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam is preparing to welcome its 200th class of incoming students this fall, as the college’s bicentennial continues. Two hundred years later, SUNY Potsdam is …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

SUNY Potsdam celebrates 200 years; $750,000 in ‘environmentally friendly’ upgrades to residential halls completed

Posted

By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam is preparing to welcome its 200th class of incoming students this fall, as the college’s bicentennial continues. Two hundred years later, SUNY Potsdam is ready to welcome the class of 2020 with classes getting underway Aug. 29.

SUNY Potsdam completed $750,000 worth of environmentally friendly upgrades to residence halls over the summer.

The college will greet new and returning students during Welcome Weekend 2016, Aug. 26 to 28. New incoming students will arrive during move-in day on Friday, Aug. 26.

Returning and new students will be see some upgrades across campus as they settle in. SUNY Potsdam recently completed $750,000 worth of environmentally friendly upgrades to residence halls. Among the many renovations, LED lighting was installed, as well as water-saving devices, including “low flow” showerheads, toilets and faucets. In addition, six new high-rise elevators were put in.

After opening last spring, the new Wagner Institute for Sustainability and Ecological Research Greenhouse is now fully functional and ready to host classes and research projects. The fully donor-funded greenhouse will provide the campus with a research-grade facility with four growing zones. The building incorporates environmentally friendly design principles, including the ability to capture rainwater for irrigation and strategies to operate using solar energy.

Over the summer, SUNY Potsdam completed fire safety, HVAC and security upgrades in a number of buildings. The college completed classroom renovations to add new art studios and new labs for ecology and wilderness education.

The newly renovated Center for Diversity offices are ready to welcome students of all backgrounds, in its expanded location on the second floor of Sisson Hall. The CFD is now nearly 2,000 square feet larger and has a brand-new computer lab, new staff and student offices, work stations, an improved student lounge, new countertops, ceilings, lighting, carpet and freshly painted and renovated spaces.

Likewise, the Center for Applied Learning opened last spring and will enter its first full academic year in its renovated location in the Frederick W. Crumb Memorial Library. The first center of its kind in SUNY, the Center for Applied Learning brings together the offices of experiential education, international education and student research.

This fall, SUNY Potsdam will celebrate the successful completion of the college’s Take the Lead Campaign, which has raised $33.5 million to support scholarships and programs, surpassing its final goal by $1.5 million.

The campus plans to celebrate the campaign’s success with a celebration on Sept. 30, as SUNY Potsdam marks its entry into the institution’s third century.