The SUNY Board of Trustees has given the green light to separate the University at Albany and the College of Nanoscale Science And Engineering. While there are some concerns, officials seem to agree they are taking steps in the right direction.
Last week, the trustees voted 13 to 3 in favor of splitting the colleges into two separate entities.
Some students are not comfortable with the changes. SUNY trustee Tremayne T. Price is Student Assembly President at UAlbany. He believes there was a lack of student participation in the process that led to the report that moved the seperation plan forward.
David Doyle is Director of Communications for the State University of New York. He admits there are obviously many questions and issues that need to be resolved over the next year of transition.
Although the colleges will "split," University at Albany President Robert Jones agrees they will forever be interlinked. He expects both schools have important roles to play and will rise to new levels of education and innovation. Jones adds there is no issue that can't be worked out to make a smooth transition from one school to two.
Nano College Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Kaloyeros was not available for comment. An op-ed piece for the Albany Times Union Kaloyeros co-authored with Jones states that the action "by the SUNY Board of Trustees is not the end of the process; it is the beginning."
The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering was founded in 2001 and accredited in 2004.
Additional Information (became available shortly after broadcast): the Faculty & Staff Council of SUNY’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) has voted unanimously to fully support the resolution adopted by the SUNY Board of Trustees to establish CNSE as a separate degree-granting institution.