Beginning his first term at SUNY Oswego on Aug. 15, President Peter O. Nwosu marked his first semester at the university with an inaugural State of the University Address. This address highlighted both recent accomplishments by students and faculty and the future aspirations of the public institution, with elaborate explanations for each configured plan. 

President Nwosu “joins SUNY Oswego from CUNY Herbert H. Lehman College, where he was provost and senior vice president for academic affairs and student success,” according to SUNY Oswego’s official website. President Nwosu once also served as the “provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark Atlanta University,” recognized as a historically Black college or university (HBCU), and as “associate vice president for academic programs and accreditation liaison officer at California State University, Fullerton, a Hispanic-serving institution.”

“A passionate advocate for access to higher quality education for our nation’s increasingly diverse student body… President Nwosu has led strategic initiatives to advance equity-minded student success outcomes, foster institutional effectiveness, and enhance [institutions’] national reputations and visibility as engines of upward mobility and community engagement,” Austin Davis, Student Association president and economics student, said. 

With his held leadership positions in diverse institutions of higher learning, President Nwosu’s advocacy for social mobility is rigid in his academic legacy. 

“SUNY Oswego climbed… [to] no. 18 in the region under social mobility index for our role in moving large numbers of first-generation students into the middle class,” President Nwosu said. “This affirms our vital role as an engine of upward mobility.”

This inaugural event was thus the perfect choice to “announce a new vision for growth for SUNY Oswego,” President Nwosu said. “A vision that will unleash even further the university’s talent and capacity as the most mission-critical comprehensive public university in Central New York; to continue to expand access and opportunity; to continue to increase upward mobility; and to build continuously the talent pipeline that will be needed to advance regional economic development… That vision is what we call Vision 4040.”

 Available as an 18-page PDF, Vision 4040’s goal lies in “doubling the annual number of graduates from SUNY Oswego by 2040 to meet the needs of the Central New York region,” according to the official document. The document justifies the ambitious goal by illustrating the degree attainment of New York regions: areas such as Long Island, New York City and the Mid-Hudson have a 20% degree attainment (bachelor’s or higher) amongst 18 to 24-year-olds, whereas Central New York’s younger graduates only hold 12%. Oswego County strays even further away from its more affluent counterparts, with only 9% of its 18 to 24-year-old population holding a degree. 

While the current circumstances of Central New York pale in comparison to wealthier regions of the state, the potential outcomes of Vision 4040’s implementation are promising in both the market and non-market sectors. By building upon “SUNY Chancellor John King Jr.’s and SUNY System’s four pillars: (1) student success, (2) research and scholarship, (3) diversity, equity and inclusion, and (4) economic development and social mobility,” it is possible that the university will open up opportunities to the state’s central populations. 

“We are planning today, and it is important to underscore this: we are planning today so we are ready to meet the educational and talent needs of a growing population in Central New York,” said President Nwosu. 

While Vision 4040’s official document states, “New York State expects the Central New York region to grow in the next 20 years due to the large investment by Micron Technology,” data from 2020 by the Office of the New York State Comptroller reflects a stark reality. According to the Central New York Regional Planning and Developing Board, Central New York comprises Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties. Of these, only Onondaga saw a positive growth in population between 2010 and 2020, measured at 2.0%; Cayuga, Cortland, Madison and Oswego had rates of -4.7%, -5.1%, -7.4% and -3.8%, respectively. 

However, that is not to say the future for the region is bleak. “For Micron, the plant itself will employ 9,000 people and generate an additional 40,000 jobs indirectly,” President Nwosu said. “An increase of almost 50,000 working adults will correlate with an overall regional population growth of 5 to 10 percent at a time when the entire state will only grow by 3 to 4 percent. Real estate analyses have projected that our neighboring county, Onondaga specifically, may even grow as much as 25 percent in the next 20 years.” 

Although Vision 4040’s mission will span multiple years and not be seamless in its preliminary operations, its commitment to an underrepresented region will resonate with the local populations. “We at SUNY Oswego are committed to the belief that higher education opens doors to social mobility,” said President Nwosu. “It opens doors to increased levels of community and civic engagement and a more fulfilling and rewarding life for our graduates. These transformative impacts of implementing Vision 4040 certainly support doing the hard work that will be needed to be successful in figuring out how to achieve these goals.”

Photo via: SUNY Oswego