Looking Forward
Dear Colleagues:
First, thank you! I have been so taken aback by the warm and genuine welcome I've
received here at Farmingdale as your new president. I've been told redundantly that
the Farmingdale community was big-hearted and thoughtful and these past two weeks
have overwhelmingly confirmed those views.
As I mentioned at Convocation, FSC is in a very good position but, as we look to the
future, we have work to do. My conversations with a growing number of Farmingdale
colleagues confirms the interest in increasing opportunities to enhance scholarship,
to find more outlets for creative teaching and learning, to deepen our relationships
with the broader regional community, both corporate and educational, and to identify
even more meaningful ways to deepen our students' success. To these ends, in the coming
weeks you will hear about initiatives that are intended to address all of these things.
Keep your eyes (and emails) open to learn about the Visiting Scholars Program, the Proposal Incentive Program, and new approaches we'll pursue to continue to grow our outstanding faculty and
staff. There are never any guarantees of outcomes, but I am hopeful you'll all participate,
as appropriate, in some of these and other outreach and support programs.
For those interested, I am planning to present my research on the nonindigenous, invasive bivalve Corbicula fluminea, an industry nightmare of a mollusk, and their many tricks for taking over our freshwater
systems and shutting down power plants. I look forward to seeing many of you at the first Governance meeting of the new academic
year on Tuesday, September 24, after which attendees will be treated to ice cream
scooped by members of our Cabinet. Finally, keep an eye out for an important and timely
message about civil discourse on campus, directing students to resources and support
for safe, collaborative opportunities for self-expression.
For now, my continued best wishes as we launch what I know will be an outstanding
fall 2024 semester. Thank you for all you do on behalf of our students.
Robert S. Prezant, PhD
President
Professor of Biology
