Good morning, everyone — and welcome to SUNY Oswego’s very first Transfer Summit.
It’s a true pleasure to see so many of our valued partners gathered here today — leaders, advisors, and enrollment professionals from across our regional community colleges — including Dr. Amy Kremeneck, Thompson Cortland Community College; Dr. Brian Durant, Cayuga Community College; Dr. Warren Hilton, Onondaga Community College; Dr. Daniel Dupee, Jefferson Community College; Dr. Bart Grachan, Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management; Dr. Richard Finger, Vice President Enrollment Management, Lehman College CUNY; and others.
Each of you plays a vital role in shaping the pathways of opportunity for students in Central New York and beyond.
I want to extend a special thank you to Vice President Cory Bezek for his leadership in organizing this important event.
Today’s summit focuses on partnership and purpose. It aims to strengthen the connections between SUNY Oswego and the community colleges that support many of our students’ paths.
It is also about fulfilling our shared mission: to ensure that every student in Central New York—no matter where they start—can access a high-quality education, persist, and earn a degree that changes their life and lifts them, their families, their communities, and our region.
This summit occurs at a time of significant progress for the SUNY system. The SUNY Seamless Transfer Initiative, approved by the Board of Trustees last December, is now being put into action across our campuses.
Building on the successes of the SUNY Transfer Task Force, this initiative signifies a shared commitment to removing unnecessary barriers, preventing lost credits, and streamlining pathways to help students complete their degrees more efficiently.
At Oswego, we aim to raise our SUNY-to-SUNY transfer rate from 72% to over 80%, while also reducing the time it takes for transfer students to graduate. This allows them to finish faster, with fewer unnecessary credits and less debt.
The students who come to us from community colleges bring exceptional talent, resilience, and ambition. They enhance our classrooms, drive our research and innovation, and greatly contribute to the vitality of this institution.
That is why this summit is so crucial. Together, we will look at how to make the transfer experience truly smooth — by aligning curricula, simplifying credit evaluations, improving communication, and co-creating pathways that recognize students’ prior learning and boost their success.
This work is key to SUNY Oswego’s Strategic Plan, Transforming Lives, Igniting Possibilities, and to our Vision 4040, which aims to expand access, increase attainment, and deepen partnerships that boost the economy and communities of Central New York.
Because transfer is not merely a transaction — it is a transformation. It embodies the promise of mobility, inclusion, and hope that characterizes public higher education at its best.
I am especially pleased to welcome our keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Finger, who will take the podium shortly.
Richard is widely recognized as an innovative thinker and practitioner in higher education today, especially in student retention, transfer success, and academic momentum. I had the privilege of working closely with him during my time at Lehman College, where I saw firsthand his creativity, strong commitment to equity, and ability to turn ideas into meaningful institutional change.
He is a remarkable colleague and a trusted friend, and I know his insights will help us think more deeply about how to strengthen our transfer ecosystems and student pathways.
After this morning’s welcome and introductions, and Dr. Finger’s keynote, we’ll take a short snack break in the Hearth Lounge before starting a series of engaging, interactive sessions.
Our Session 1 discussions will include:
Academic Momentum — a discussion for senior leaders on SUNY’s upcoming initiatives and measures aimed at fostering stronger institutional partnerships.
A student panel on transfer pathways in practice, where SUNY Oswego transfer students will share their stories, challenges, and triumphs.
A session on ACE supports and advising structure highlights our campus’s leadership in this area, with over 400 students in the SUNY ACE program—the largest cohort in the system.
Our Session 2 discussions will carry on with:
A repeat of the student panel, providing more perspectives.
And a presentation on Transfer GST 315: Lessons Learned from Teaching a Transfer Success Seminar, showcasing our innovative 1-credit course that equips transfer students with academic tools, peer connections, and confidence as they transition to our campus.
We’ll finish with a campus tour that includes stops at the Marano Campus Center, Shineman Hall, the Tech Ed Labs, and Hewitt Hall, giving everyone a chance to see where our students learn, collaborate, and grow.
As we look ahead, we must keep in mind how adult learners and non-traditional students fit into our shared vision, how we can utilize initiatives like SUNY Reconnect, and how we can grow flexible programs like Integrated Professional Studies, which enable students to combine microcredentials into degree completions.
We’ve already seen the power of collaboration — such as in Early Childhood Education and Software Engineering, where our teams and community college partners worked closely to align curricula, ensuring students are well prepared for today’s workforce.
And as Micron’s historic investment transforms Central New York, SUNY Oswego’s role in preparing transfer students for new and emerging career opportunities will be more important than ever.
Our collective future hinges on the success of the students we serve together. Whether they start their journey at a community college or here at Oswego, their potential is limitless — and our mission is to create pathways that honor that potential.
Together, we are creating a stronger, more connected, and more equitable higher education system — one that truly changes lives and sparks opportunities.
Thank you for joining us today, for your partnership, and for your commitment to the students of Central New York.
—President Nwosu