Even the confetti will be biodegradable at the Centennial celebration for SUNY-ESF. What else would you expect from “the oldest college in the nation devoted exclusively to sciences related to the study, wise use and replenishment of natural resources.” That is a magnificent claim to be able to make in a time when words like green and sustainability are tossed around at every turn.
I am thrilled to be the Master of Ceremonies for this once in one hundred years event on the SUNY – ESF campus tonight. Some 500 people with connections to the college will pack a swanky tent set up in the shadow of the original building erected as the foundation of the College of Forestry adjacent to the campus of Syracuse University.
Bray Hall cost the college $250,000 in 1917. Now a century later SUNY-ESF has embarked on a $20 million capital campaign. They step into that campaign with confidence knowing the prestigious list of alumni that have spread throughout the world as leaders in the environmental sciences.
SUNY-ESF is a jewel of the State University system. It has been named one of the Best College Buys in the nation. Its enrollment of some 2700 students represents 34 states and 35 countries from around the world. President Neil Murphy is perhaps the most enthusiastic advocate for Central New York’s place in the grand scheme of the sustainability movement.
The main campus may sit in the shadow of the Carrier Dome, but its holdings reach deep into the Adirondack Park and even to Costa Rica. ESF sees the world as a laboratory an opportunity for learning.
Tonight in four different locations across the northeast Centennial celebrants will raise their glass for a champagne toast to a century of success. Here’s to SUNY-ESF on the first 100 years… cent’anni!
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