State Senator Patty Ritchie joined Monday with the interim presidents of SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam to mark the success of their shared services experiment and reaffirm the colleges’ independence as they move forward as independent institutions, each with its own presidents. 

At the event, which was held at SUNY Potsdam, officials signed a “memorandum of understanding” on shared services between the two colleges. 

“SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam are unique in their missions, yet they share so much in common.  Today, they are showing that the colleges—while remaining independent—can also find ways to work together,” said Senator Ritchie.

“In doing so, more resources can be devoted to their primary mission, which is preparing the next generation for the challenges of the future.  I applaud SUNY’s leadership for listening to the community, finding a way to make the system work—and work better as individual, important parts of the North Country community.”

Senator Ritchie helped lead the effort to preserve separate identities for the two colleges by ensuring that each maintained independent leadership. She introduced legislation (S.5581) that would require a president at each SUNY campus and encouraged leadership to find ways to share services and cut administrative costs without sacrificing the identities of the two very different universities.

(Senator Ritchie is pictured in the above photo with Acting SUNY Canton President Joseph Hoffman at the signing at SUNY Potsdam)