In order to expand educational opportunities for students and to explore new program opportunities among campuses, particularly in electronic technology and distance-education capability, six State University of New York (SUNY) campuses signed an affiliation agreement with Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences today (Thursday, June 12).

The signing ceremony was held at 10:30 a.m. in the Yale/Princeton Room of the Statler Hotel on Cornell's campus.

Presenting remarks were Cornell President Hunter Rawlings; Mary Ellen Duncan, president of the College of Technology at Delhi, representing the SUNY colleges; Daryl B. Lund, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Peter D. Salins, interim SUNY provost; and Jay J. Dinga, ranking minority member of the New York State Assembly Committee on Higher Education.

Also attending were:

Bruce Longo, dean of information technology, College of Technology at Alfred;

• Joseph L. Kennedy, president of the College of Technology at Canton;
• Kenneth E. Wing, president of the College of Technology at Cobleskill;
• Frederick W. Woodward, president of the College of Technology at Morrisville; and
• Allan Jacobs, chair, veterinary science department, Suffolk County Community College.

"This new, formalized agreement will allow our institutions to collectively explore opportunities for national leadership and international linkages which will provide our students with a strategic advantage in their education and future career opportunities," said Rawlings. "As the land grant university for New York, Cornell takes seriously its comprehensive mission to serve the educational, research and program needs of the citizens of this state."

"We are very excited about this new affiliation," said Duncan, on behalf of the SUNY colleges. "This will enable us to give students in our two-year colleges a seamless curriculum and assurance of admission to Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, while providing more options to students for transfer to other colleges."

Included in the affiliation agreement is the goal to "aggressively seek opportunities to build programs across the system," Lund pointed out. This will include discussions among college administrators and key representatives from the partner institutions to explore opportunities to strengthen program linkages. Faculty will be encouraged to explore electronic technology and distance-education capabilities within the system that would be mutually beneficial to the colleges in the new affiliation.

H. Dean Sutphin, associate dean and director of academic programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said, "We will build on our pre-advising program for students enrolled in the Cornell transfer option by exploring opportunities for selected courses through distance learning."

A memorandum of understanding about the alliance agreement was developed by the member institutions last September. Since then, Cornell representatives have been added to the Colleges of Technology Alliance subcommittees in agriculture and distance education.

"We must be thoughtful about faculty development and engaging students in planning as we invent new ways of teaching and learning in agriculture and life sciences through collaboration," Sutphin said.

The institutions also will seek new funding mechanisms from outside sources for programs, planning and development, Lund said, adding, "We are particularly interested in involving our partner institutions in a regional Kellogg-sponsored consortium for food systems education. The project provides funding for planning grants to develop partnerships among educational institutions and stakeholder groups in the mid-Atlantic region of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York. We also envision linkages with Pennsylvania and New England states."