From the President

President Deborah F. Stanley Green and Gold. Those two colors represent our beloved SUNY Oswego.

Green is the color of life, luck, sustainability, nature, wealth and compassion. Our last issue of the OSWEGO Alumni Magazine focused on green and its significance in our community.

This issue turns to gold. Gold is precious and has been highly prized throughout all societies and all times. It doesn’t corrode or tarnish. Gold, as James Blakeley said, “survives the travails of life and the ravages of time.” It is this quality—its resiliency and its ability to maintain its composure even in the harshest of conditions—that resonates with me—as I have witnessed our Laker community’s ability to do just that.

Since last winter when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread around the world, SUNY Oswego like so many other institutions has been challenged to maintain its mission amid the ever-changing stream of information, guidelines, policies and concerns. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni met each new obstacle with strength of character and an unwavering resolve to persevere.

I had the distinct honor of leading this institution through this historic time. I have seen firsthand the outreach of our alumni to assist in whatever ways they can. I have listened to our students and 2020 graduates grapple with disappointment about lost time with friends and missed on-campus opportunities, and yet they resolved to accept the situation with a greater appreciation for what they have and what they were able to accomplish. I have watched as faculty members assisted their colleagues in transitioning from in-person teaching to online instruction, selflessly sharing best practices and tips for success. In short, I have seen our campus community care for and treat each other as they themselves would hope to be treated—the golden rule.

This issue covers much of the college response, to date, to the COVID-19 pandemic and also provides a sense of how our community continues to thrive by coming together to assist each other and by focusing on our mission—contributing to the common good by lighting the path to wisdom and empowering every person in the college community to pursue a meaningful life as a productive, responsible member of society.

Indeed, knowledge is golden and illuminates the path toward a brighter future. We look to 2021 to find the “golden lining” of every situation. American poet Robert Frost was incorrect in his assessment that “nothing gold can stay.” Everything gold, when paired with Oswego green, can endure. May our graduates carry with them forever the glimmer of hope and optimism gained from their golden Oswego experience as they venture forward.

Stay Gold, Lakers!