Appeals from faculty and local government to the state for help with SUNY Potsdam’s deficit might help the college cope for a while, but underlying problems would remain, especially given that the deficit is said to be structural.  

If there is any disinterested group that should be advocating for the college, it is the college council, the closest the college has to a board of trustees.   The formal description of their function allows them to perform a significant role.  Nothing appears to prevent them from doing more, much more, but were they to attempt such they might find they lack reliable information.

To my knowledge, a comprehensive annual financial report of the college is not prepared and made generally available, one with verifiable dollar amounts.   Only with such reports can a college council, faculty, or the surrounding community meaningfully examine and discuss the college’s situation and be able to think of sensible paths forward.   

The mission of the college, as shown by the sum of its activities, will be shaped, for better or worse, from the program terminations and initiatives resulting from the current actions of the college administration.  Nothing will be durable unless and until SUNY clears up the role confusion among its regional colleges and the former Ag & Tech schools.  For the local community, that means SUNY’s Potsdam and Canton campuses must begin to coordinate and collaborate and not compete.

These are things that any reader who is a tax-paying citizen should demand.

The writer retired in 2019 after teaching physics at SUNY Potsdam for 21 years.  

Lawrence P. Brehm

Potsdam