Dr. Sammakia gets to know faculty and staff

SUNY Poly Interim President Dr. Baghat Sammakia chats with members of faculty and staff during a January 6 coffee house event in Utica hosted by SUNY Poly Residential Life.

Dr. Baghat Sammakia has been quite busy since taking the helm of Interim President at SUNY Poly, and that’s just getting to know everyone on two campuses 90 miles apart.

Through a series of scheduled events in Utica and Albany, Dr. Sammakia has been working to get know the faculty and staff of both campuses as he works to take the institution forward into a new era.

President Sammakia attended a holiday gathering at SUNY Poly’s Albany campus on Dec. 13 that raised money to support the SUNY Poly College Association and its mission to enable educational activities and relationships between and among students and faculty, and further their educational goals, work, living, and co-curricular activities.

In addition, gifts for SUNY Poly’s Adopt-a-Family “Giving Tree” were accepted there. President Sammakia was greeted warmly by faculty and staff at the well attended event, and they were able to meet, welcome and speak with him.

“How honored I am to have been offered the opportunity by SUNY Poly and SUNY to lead this institution as its Interim President during this transition,” Dr. Sammakia told both campuses in a communication just before winter break. “As we look forward, I see nothing but great opportunities. SUNY Poly is a world-class institution, from its facilities to its people and intellectual capability. Between the two campuses at both Albany and Utica, we have the ability and infrastructure to be world leaders in training people to be technicians and technical leaders in a variety of industries, including chip manufacturing, cybersecurity, and nanobioscience, among others, in addition to our leadership in nursing and humanities programs, for example. These areas of study and research will have a deep impact on society, leading to improvements in the way people live. We will continue to focus our academic mission on opportunities for students, and we will continue to hire outstanding faculty and staff.”

SUNY Poly Interim President Dr. Baghat Sammakia chats with Dr. Ryan Lizard and Dr. Ibrahim Yucel during a January 19, 2017 Meet and Greet event in Kunsela Hall.

SUNY Poly Residential Life’s Faculty/Staff Coffee House is usually held Friday mornings in the Residential Life Suite of the Campus Center in Utica – a chance to network, collaborate with colleagues, and make new connections. On January 6, those in attendance were sipping java with a surprise guest as Dr. Sammakia dropped by to get acquainted with new faces and find out what’s on their minds.

Once the Spring 2017 semester was in full swing, a meet and greet was held outside the Gannett Gallery in Kunsela Hall on the Utica Campus, with a packed house of faculty and staff members conversing, enjoying coffee, refreshments and a few snacks, while waiting for the chance to catch the President’s ear and introduce themselves, talk about the goings on around campus as well as in their individual lives and departments.

“I told him it sounds like he’s going on a listening tour,” laughed Kate Alcott, Associate Director for Northeast Advanced Technological Education Center (NEAC) who was in attendance and chatted with Dr. Sammakia. “I admire leaders who listen.”