President Tofade recognizes the campus leaders who will direct the implementation of the Strategic Plan.
The launch of ACPHS’ 2024-2029 Strategic Plan was the highlight of the annual State of the College event, held January 23 in the Gozzo Student Center.
President Toyin Tofade also provided faculty, staff and students with an update on a wide range of College activities, including the launch of new academic programs, Collaboratory discussions with new partners, talks with the College of St. Rose about providing future education to its students, enrollment trends and new contracts that will result in growth opportunities on campus.
Student Government Association President Dominick Lomonaco also provided an update from the students’ perspective, highlighting the changes that have enhanced campus life over the past year.
“One of the core values of the College is Student Centeredness,” Lomonaco said, who thanked faculty and administrators for including students in the strategic planning process.
President Tofade led the event with a video and discussion of the Strategic Plan for 2024-2029 and beyond, an ambitious agenda with 18 goals and 108 underlying objectives. She asked the campus audience to first envision what ACPHS could look like in years to come.
Her vision included a campus of 2,000 students in person and online, serving students of all ages from all over the world.
"That picture – our collective vision – is essential to the future we imagine,” she said.
President Toyin acknowledged the plan as aspirational, emphasizing that some of the goals may not be reached within a five-year period while reminding attendees about the importance of the guidelines to move the College toward a future that it envisions for itself.
“Most (strategic plans) are for five years, but this could be eight or even 10,” President Tofade said. “The idea is that we keep moving forward. That’s why we call it a roadmap.”
Vice President of Academic Affairs Anuja Ghorpade emphasized the commitment of dozens of members of the campus community who led and served on Strategic Plan committees, for bringing the plan to life and addressing the feedback of their colleagues.
“Community is our greatest strength and will continue to be as we travel down the roadmap to success,” she said.
Aside from the Strategic Plan, President Tofade touched on a number of other topics important to the College in the present and the future:
- The appointment of interim campus leaders: Dr. David Meredith for Enrollment Management and Dr. Stacy Pettigrew at The Collaboratory;
- Plans to establish new partnerships with neighboring institutions to provide more services to South End residents through The Collaboratory;
- Conversations with College of St. Rose officials regarding ways ACPHS might become an avenue for its students to continue their education after CSR closes its doors at the end of this semester;
- The awarding of a $625,000 state grant to the Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training to partner with Albany Medical College in creation of a business incubator.
President Tofade ended her remarks by encouraging the campus community to soar like an eagle, rising higher in the face of a storm.
“We have thought about that storm,” she said. “We have decided deliberately through our Strategic Plan that we are going to rise, and let that storm lift us.”