College receives national recognition for workplace quality

July 06, 2009

What does SUNY Plattsburgh have in common with Cornell University, Duke University, the College of St. Rose and Notre Dame?They are all among a group of 30 four-year colleges singled out as national leaders in The Chronicle of Higher Education's 2009 Great Colleges to Work For program.The Chronicle's Great Colleges to Work For program recognizes small groups of colleges (based on enrollment size) for specific best practices and policies, such as compensation and benefits, faculty-administration relations, and confidence in senior leadership. The results of the second annual survey were announced on July 6 in a special supplement of The Chronicle, http://chronicle.com/indepth/academicworkplace, and have been published in the July 10 print edition of the publication.

Great Colleges to Work For Logo SUNY Plattsburgh was one of 30 four-year colleges named to an Honor Roll, a new feature in this year's program. The Honor Roll highlights the top 10 colleges in each size category (or the top three in the case of community colleges) based on the number of times they were recognized in the individual recognition categories. SUNY Plattsburgh was cited as a top institution for schools with a student population of 3,000 to 9,999.

"It is an honor to receive special recognition through this survey," said Lawrence Mills, executive director for human resource services at SUNY Plattsburgh. "The competition is steep for high quality faculty and something like this can only help in our efforts to attract the best and the brightest."

There are 26 recognition categories for four-year institutions and 15 categories for community colleges. Among four-year colleges, 122 institutions were recognized in at least one category.

"Through this program, The Chronicle is able to provide more information to job seekers about the colleges that are the leading innovators when it comes to providing a rewarding work environment," said Jeffrey J. Selingo, the editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

More than 300 four- and two-year colleges signed up for this year's program, and 247 went through the entire survey process this spring. That's nearly triple last year's number of participants. The results are based on responses from almost 41,000 administrators, faculty and staff members at those institutions.

"The survey validates what many on our campus already know," said SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling. "We are proud of the work we have done to receive this recognition, but we also continue to look for ways to make our college even more attractive to prospective employees and to retain the great employees we already have."

About SUNY Plattsburgh
SUNY Plattsburgh (www.plattsburgh.edu) was founded in 1889 as a teaching college and in 1948 became an original member of the State University of New York (SUNY). Under President John Ettling, the four-year comprehensive college now serves 5,500 undergraduates and 500 graduate students. It offers more than 60 majors and a wide range of special programs that prepare graduates for professional life and advanced studies through a strong foundation in liberal arts and an experience that celebrates excellence, ethical values, lifelong learning and responsible citizenship in a global community. Situated near Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, and Canada, the college's unique location provides rich recreational, cultural and educational opportunities. Today, SUNY Plattsburgh is a thriving campus that has experienced significant growth in student applications, has been recognized two years in a row by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine as one of the "Top 100 Values in Public Colleges," for its mix of academic quality, financial aid, opportunities and total cost. SUNY Plattsburgh was also named among the top schools in the 2009 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report.

About The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is the No. 1 source of news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty members and administrators. Based in Washington, D.C., The Chronicle has more than 60 full-time writers and editors, as well as a dozen foreign correspondents positioned around the world. Published since 1966, The Chronicle publishes a daily Web site, a weekly newspaper, a weekly magazine of ideas, and produces newsletters and events. A nine-time finalist for the National Magazine Awards, the newspaper has a weekly print readership of 350,000 and Web traffic of more than 14 million pages a month at http://chronicle.com.