BY ADAM ATKINSON
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — SUNY Potsdam is staring down a “conservative” $9 million deficit and will be implementing some changes to deal with the gap in coming weeks.

The college has not released any formal details on what those changes mean at this point.

A leaked internal email among members of the college’s faculty senate expressed concerns about potential restructuring or personnel cuts, according to a local news story.

"We are aware of the Faculty Senate’s communication with its members and appreciate their deep concern for the future of SUNY Potsdam – a concern we share,” said Associate Vice President for Communications Mindy Thompson in an official statement.

The college has carried a multi-million deficit for several years, however, the $9 million deficit is a new high.

"Through various means—including SUNY Potsdam’s reserves, SUNY resources, and Federal Stimulus funds—SUNY Potsdam has managed a structural deficit of $4 million and higher for multiple years. That structural deficit now stands at a conservative $9 million challenge that we must resolve,” Thompson said.

Substantial declines in enrollment since the pandemic have been reported by college officials over the last few years and have been cited as a cause for past multimillion dollar deficits.

SUNY Potsdam’s new president Dr. Suzanne Smith Smith, who was installed this past spring, is working with SUNY officials in Albany on strategies to deal with the issue. The college has not announced any aspects of the plan, but is expected to in coming weeks.

“President Smith is working in conjunction with SUNY on a plan that will put the College on a path to fiscal stability and tackle head-on the challenges we face, while putting forward-thinking and proactive programs in place to maximize our many strengths,” Thompson said. “The President will be formally announcing that plan to the entire campus community in the coming weeks, and is confident that it will secure SUNY Potsdam’s future for years to come."

Leadership of the college has changed hands multiple times since early 2021.

Prior to Smith’s take-over in April, the college was guided by officer-in-charge Dr. Phillip Niesser. Neisser was appointed after the death of Dr. John L. Graham in November 2021. Graham, who led the campus only briefly before his unexpected passing and was posthumously appointed as college president, was sent to lead the campus by the SUNY Board of Trustees following the departure of former President Dr. Kristin G. Esterberg. Esterberg who was college president from 2015 until the summer of 2021.

SUNY Potsdam is one of three of the colleges in St. Lawrence County which has had a major leadership change in the past two years. Both Clarkson and St. Lawrence universities appointed new presidents in 2022. SUNY Canton is still led by President Zvi Safran.