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State University of New York at Oswego

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The State University of New York at Oswego, also known as Oswego State, was founded in 1861 as Oswego Normal School by Edward Austin Sheldon and became the New York State Teachers College at Oswego in 1948. In 1962 Oswego broadened its scope to become an arts and sciences institution. Now SUNY Oswego has three schools -- the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business and School of Education -- located on the shore of Lake Ontario near Oswego, New York.

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Campus

Originally founded in the city of Oswego, the university moved to its current location on the shore of Lake Ontario in 1913 after Sheldon Hall was constructed. The current campus sprawls out over 690 acres along Lake Ontario.

The campus today consists of 45 buildings with classroom, laboratory, residential, and athletic facilities. Recent years have witnessed the launch of a $100 million campus-wide renovation and renewal program, with the new Campus Center – the first new-from-the-ground-up building in more than 30 years – rising into the future social hub of campus.

Accreditations and Awards

SUNY Oswego has experienced subsequent accreditations throughout the past two decades including the most recent recognition by Colleges of Distinction. This prestigious organization, which catalogues and lists the best and most progressive universities in the United States, commended SUNY Oswego for its continual growth and strong academics. The organization quoted SUNY Oswego as having, “Liberal arts and career directed studies, in a dynamic, interactive and supportive environment.” Also, “The possibilities are endless with an extensive choice of academic options and majors, an outstanding faculty, and challenging courses that encourage the exchange of ideas. Oswego opens a front door on the future with internships and study abroad opportunities that consistently rate among the highest in the SUNY system” (www.collegesofdistinction.com).

Among SUNY Oswego’s vibrant community and encouraging professors, students are offered one of the largest overseas study programs in the northeast. Continents from around the globe contain universities that directly work with SUNY Oswego to provide students with internship opportunities and valuable learning experiences.

Colleges of Distinction also states,

“Although SUNY Oswego has received many awards and recognitions for its high standard of education and programs, the real testament to the quality of education are the nearly 60,000 successful alumni who span the globe. Just for a glimpse at alumni careers, an Oswego broadcasting degree launched the careers of NBC's Al Roker, ESPN's Linda Cohn and Steve Levy and CNN's Kendis Gibson. Oswego’s Career Services Office provides a broad range of services such as career counseling, assessment and advisement. Students can also connect with hundreds of major employers during annual job fairs and on-campus recruiting visits. Additional services include: resume development and refinement, job search seminars and workshops, an information and upcoming events list-serve, use of the Discover career planning program, and graduate school research assistance” (www.collegesofdistinction.com).

As far as SUNY Oswego’s faculty are concerned, an array of highly qualified and effective professors call Oswego home. Colleges of Distinction lists professors as “exceptional – diverse, highly respected and award winning. They include Fulbright scholars, noted researchers, gifted artists and writers. They are SUNY Oswego’s greatest assets and students will be able to know them well and work with them often, thanks to small class sizes. Students at Oswego say that their professors become role models, mentors, and more often than not, friends” (www.collegesofdistinction.com).

Notably, SUNY Oswego is listed under the title America’s Best Colleges and is recognized for its “selectivity” and “high residential campus” (www.usnews.com). U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges has consistently ranked SUNY Oswego among the best in the country.

The prestigious Barron’s series, which includes the Guide to the Best, Most Popular, and Most Exciting Colleges and Barron’s 300: Best Buys in Education, rates SUNY Oswego “competitive.” The Princeton Review selected Oswego for its latest guidebook: “The Best Northeastern Colleges” (www.collegesofdistinction.com).

Art Department

SUNY Oswego's art department recently received accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, an achievement that puts the college on two select lists.

The latest recognition means that all three of Oswego's creative arts departments -- art, music and theatre -- are nationally accredited. Oswego joins New Paltz as the only SUNY schools where all three programs hold this distinction, according to data on the Council of Arts Accrediting Associations' Web site. The college is also one of only a half-dozen SUNY institutions with NASAD accreditation.

"I think it gives us external recognition," SUNY Oswego Dean of Arts and Sciences Sara Varhus said of the NASAD accreditation. "It's a distinction that prospective students and faculty and members of the community can see as indicative of the quality of our program."

The art department's thorough accreditation process started almost five years ago with the initiation of department self-study, said Helen Zakin, professor and chair of art at SUNY Oswego.

"It was a real learning experience," Zakin said. "We were forced to not only learn about ourselves but also how this department functions within the college. That was very positive and helpful."

The self-study was also "a morale-booster, especially when we were able to show the team the student work and what we accomplished," while the observers "were very favorable in their review, by and large," Zakin said.

A two-person NASAD visiting team, which came to campus in March 2005, offered praise in several areas, Zakin noted. The visitation report cited "a dedicated, productive and student-centered faculty," "enthusiastic and supportive students," "good facilities that are well maintained," "a respected print collection and exhibition program" and "an understanding, supportive administration" dedicated to making whatever enhancements were required.

The NASAD team was also impressed with the student creations, Zakin said. "Specific to art, they wanted to see as much work as possible," she said. When the accreditation team visited, student work was stacked floor to ceiling on the second floor of Tyler Hall, and the result "was really quite amazing," Zakin noted.

In terms of recommendations, the visiting team wanted to see more interdisciplinary activity in the arts. This suggestion dovetailed with plans in the works like the Squonk Opera project, where students in several disciplines will help create a new theatrical production, and a living-learning arts community.

On top of the accreditation, the research and self-study bring about "a process of improvement," Varhus said.

Oswego's music department earned national accreditation in 1987, with the theatre department gaining this distinction in 2005.

"Having all three programs accredited shows we place an emphasis on creative arts, which I think is very timely," Varhus said. "I hope that with the interdisciplinary work, prospective students will see that if you're interested in working in a variety of activities, then this is a place where you can bring it all together." (www.oswego.edu/news)

Academics

SUNY Oswego is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of College and Schools (3624 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215.662.5606). All academic programs have been approved and registered by the New York State Education Department (Office of Higher Education, Education Building Addition, Albany, NY 12234, 518.474.5851).

The School of Education is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036, 202.466.7496). This accreditation covers initial teacher preparation programs and advanced educator preparation programs.

The School of Business is accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (600 Emerson Road, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63141, 314.872.8481).

The chemistry department is accredited by the American Chemical Society in both the chemistry and biochemistry majors.

The music department is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music Curriculum.

The theatre department is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

Residential Buildings

Residential housing is broken down into four major regions.

Academic Buildings

The academic buildings stretch throughout the campus from east to west. The buildings are (in geographic order):

Other Buildings

Physically separate from the main campus is the south campus, consisting of Laker Hall (indoor sports, coaching classrooms, and athletic training rooms), Romney Fieldhouse (home of the Laker Hockey Team until Fall 2006), and Rice Creek Field Station (for biological research).

Fewer than 100 feet from Johnson Hall is Shady Shore. Historically, Shady Shore was the home of college founder Dr. Edward Austin Sheldon. It has served as the residence for the college president throughout the years, including the tenth and current president, Deborah F. Stanley.

Famous alumni

SUNY Oswego boasts numerous talented alumni, including Ken Auletta, Al Roker and ESPN sportscasters Linda Cohn and Steve Levy.

Jerry Seinfeld also attended SUNY Oswego through his sophomore year before transferring to and graduating from Queens College.

A more notorious graduate of the school is former WorldCom CFO Scott Sullivan, currently serving a prison sentence for his contribution to the WorldCom scandal. Sullivan, who was graduated in 1983, was awarded the Anniversary Class Award for alumni in 1998.

Laurie Zaks: Senior Vice President of UPN

Heraldo Muñoz, current Ambassador to the United Nations from Chile holds a doctorate from SUNY Oswego.

Enrollment

Undergraduate: Approximately 7,400
Graduate: Approximately 1,100

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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