President Charles Edmondson
By Sue Goetschius
President Charles M. Edmondson sees several challenges ahead as he enters his 10th year at Alfred University.
“Assuring the future of the University really requires us to address the challenges we face,” says Dr. Edmondson, who began his tenure as AU’s 13th president in 2000.
While the essence of Alfred – a small, but complex, university serving a residential, undergraduate population of traditional college-age students – may remain the same, “at the core of our challenges lies the necessity for Alfred University to find new populations we can serve,” he explains.
We need to reach out further to recruit students,” says President Edmondson. Traditionally, AU attracts about 60-65 percent of its students from New York State, and about half come from Western New York. The number of high school graduates peaks this year, and then drops steadily for the next decade or so throughout the Northeast. That will force AU, and the rest of the nearly 200 colleges and universities in New York, to look outside the state for students or to retrench programs and faculty.
Fortunately, Alfred University’s academic programs are strong and many of them are already attracting students nationally, or internationally. “There are many students who will be well-served by the things we offer,” says President Edmondson. “The challenge lies in identifying those students most likely to benefit from an AU education, and then reaching them with the message.”
Complicating the problems created by the declining population are the economic conditions pervasive through Western New York. “Our location continues to be a challenge for us,” says President Edmondson. “The area in which we are located is suffering an acute economic decline, which makes it more difficult to attract students, faculty and administrators than it was 40 years ago, when upstate New York and Western New York in particular were more viable and more diversified economically than they are now.”
The sense of community that alumni remember about Alfred, and that the University still strives to provide for its current students, is affected by the economic conditions. More and more faculty and administrators have spouses who are also professionals, but there are limited employment opportunities in Alfred. “Many of our young faculty members are choosing to live an hour or more away from Alfred to be nearer to their spouses’ jobs,” says President Edmondson.
“When they go home at night, they are not coming back for performances, lectures and other events that make Alfred a vibrant community of scholars.”
Faculty do not care less about their students than in years past – that’s an Alfred tradition that continues – but opportunities for faculty and students to interact in social or casual settings no longer occur spontaneously; they have to be planned.
If the first initiative involves bringing students from new markets to Alfred, the second calls for taking “Alfred” to the students. As President Edmondson explains, students interested in master’s degree programs are often professionals, working full-time, who are interested in attending classes part-time.
Alfred University has already established a highly successful downstate program in cooperation with the Center for Integrated Teacher Education. Begun in 2006, the downstate program graduated its first cohort of 79 students who earned AU master’s degrees in counseling or literacy education last fall. An equal number of students is expected to complete course work this year, and for the next several years. President Edmondson sees potential for growth by offering additional master’s degree programs in New York City and on Long Island.
There are also efforts to expand Alfred’s reach internationally. A partnership is in place to offer Alfred University courses to students in Istanbul, and negotiations are under way for partnerships in other countries. While President Edmondson is cautious about expansion into other countries – other American universities have found them to be expensive, although worthwhile, ventures – he’s more enthusiastic about recruiting more international students to Alfred.
“We know we can provide a meaningful education for international students,” says President Edmondson. The presence of international students on the AU campus enriches the experience of all students, but the goal of recruiting international students faces some obstacles, “not the least of which is the post-9/11 concerns about national security.” Restrictions adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center tragedy make it more difficult for students.
What Alfred continues to do better than most is create a genuine connection between students and faculty, says President Edmondson. “Our strengths lie in our natural and authentic commitment to individual students. The University as a whole is committed to our students, and we have an almost innate understanding our job is to help them, to do whatever it takes.”
The Alfred University faculty “really does help our students try to achieve,” a claim that many other colleges and universities make, but few truly deliver. “Everyone tells prospective students they offer academic support, at least on paper. Alfred University actually lives up to the promise. Our faculty is an extraordinary group of men and women” with a rare and unusual commitment to student success.
He acknowledges that Alfred and all other colleges and universities are confronted with a common problem: Greater and greater numbers of high school students are simply not prepared academically for college. President Edmondson notes many “struggle with the level of reading, mathematics and science necessary to succeed in college. We see growing numbers of students who need remedial work, and other students who are highly motivated, well-prepared and ready to learn.”
It’s a serious issue, and not just for the colleges, says President Edmondson. “At the heart of the dilemma confronting colleges and universities is that the United States’ continued economic leadership in the world depends more on the education of our workforce than it does on natural resources, or even work ethic. It’s ironic that the poorest nations in the world – India, China, Korea – have surged past us in preparing students for college-level work. We used to have a among the highest high school graduation rates in the world. Today, the United States is 10th.”
Among the accomplishments of which President Edmondson is most proud is the fact that in spite of the challenges Alfred University has met and will continue to face, “We have been able to preserve access to Alfred University for the kind of student we have historically served, those who lack only one ingredient to secure a good education, and that is family wealth. Throughout our history, we have provided our best service to those who need the ‘leg up’ in life we can provide.”
At the same time, the University has “preserved opportunities for middle-income students as they discover themselves and an identity apart from their parents. I think our faculty always kindles that sense of individual identity in students, without cues from the University.”
If he had unlimited resources, President Edmondson says his first priority would be to “eliminate cost as an obstacle to any student who wishes to attend Alfred University.”
But he laughs as he says “unlimited resources,” because even the wealthiest of institutions in the country don’t believe they have enough. The problems may be different at wealthier institutions, but every institution “struggles with the fact that the education we offer – not just at Alfred University but at every good college or university – is so costly that most people cannot afford it.” Worse, says President Edmondson, the accelerating costs “are not sustainable in the future, unless we find a new operating model for institutions of higher education.” Tuition alone has not covered the cost of educating a student at Alfred, or any other college, for years. The gap is covered by endowment income or fund-raising.
“What is both a strength and a weakness for us is the fact that our faculty is a stable body of people who enjoy tenure rights,” says President Edmondson. “Our strength is that they are committed to their students and to their work. At the same time, this poses a weakness in terms of our costs. At many institutions of higher education today, 60 percent, or more, of their faculty are part-timers, something that eases budgets, but also affects the quality of the educational program. It is really important to Alfred University to preserve the traditional kind of faculty, those who are in full-time, tenure-track positions, without which it would not be possible to offer our students the same kind of educational experiences they now enjoy. But it comes with a cost.”
A major advantage for AU is the strength of its Board of Trustees’ support and leadership over the past 30 years. “We have one of the most committed boards I have ever seen at any institution, and we have all enjoyed the benefits of that.” One of his most important responsibilities as president is to ensure that as trustees leave the board, they are succeeded by those who demonstrate the same kind of support, leadership and commitment as their predecessors.
During his nine years at Alfred, 23 new trustees have joined the board, but it is not enough to simply recruit new members, says President Edmondson. “We have to encourage their growth so that they become the kind of board leaders that have served us so well, that have really saved us as an institution. We need successors to our leaders who are not just willing to serve, but ready and able successors.”
1 Saxon Drive