Binghamton University announces new investments in student life

Binghamton University is making substantial investments in staffing and other resources in the areas of wellness and student success that will reduce barriers for student engagement and expand access.

New funding will allow Binghamton to invest in several areas that directly impact student life. Part of the new funds are earmarked for specific student-directed services — including mental health, disability support and food insecurity — and part are discretionary to each campus.

Vice President for Student Affairs Brian Rose announced some of the planned fiscal investments at a Binghamton University Council meeting on Sept. 15. Rose explained the significant impact student life events and programs such as Move-in weekend and University Fest have on students. He stressed that Binghamton’s immersive residential environment is a large part of what draws students to the University.

“We wanted to invest in ways to provide students with opportunities to get engaged, to help students eliminate barriers to being engaged and being successful on campus, and to pay attention to their overall well-being,” said Rose.

Planned investments include over 20 new professional staff positions that will support the University Counseling Center (UCC) and Decker Student Health Services Center Psychiatric Services, case management resources, Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, the Food Pantry and several additional areas of student life.

Supporting mental health

Two counseling positions will be added to the UCC to increase student access to treatment for trending issues, such as neurodiversity and eating disorders, and to provide support to high-risk students.

“In addition to that, we are adding a new case manager position shared between the University Counseling Center and Psychiatric Services,” said Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Chief Health and Wellness Officer Johann Fiore-Conte. “This position will work with our highest-risk students to support compliance to treatment plans and early identification of stress points that can be mitigated through earlier intervention.”

Two new case managers will expand case management services in Residential Life and within the CARE Team andtwo health educators will join the Healthy Campus Initiative staff, focusing on supporting student-facing peer initiatives and prevention services.

Finally, additional staff support will be added to the Employee Assistance Program to better support emotional well-being for faculty and staff.

Removing barriers to participation

The number of students on campus registered as having a disability has nearly doubled in the last three years and accounts for over 10% of the student population. Funding will provide five new positions to support these students, increasing the number of disability specialists and adding dedicated disability-related positions in Information Technology Services and Facilities Management, demonstrating that disability awareness and action is a campus-wide effort and priority. Funding will also help improve assistive and adaptive technologies and create a transition program.

“Binghamton realizes that it can’t serve students with disabilities in just one office,” said Director of SSD Christen Szymanski. “It’s impossible. Disability is a community-based need.”

Funding will also allow the Division of Student Affairs to support more students through the TRIO Student Support Services office, which serves low-income and first-generation students, as well as students with disabilities.

“On our own dime, we’re going to basically create a mirror to the Student Support Services program and welcome between 150 and 200 more students into it,” said Rose.

The campus Food Pantry will also receive support in the manner of a 50% professional staff position and funding for equipment and technology that will support the main campus location as well as two satellite locations at the University Downtown Center in Binghamton and the Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City.

The Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, which already awards direct aid to students by means of internship funding and professional development grants, will also receive new resources.

“In the last two years, we have granted over $400,000 to our students, which really reduces financial barriers to participation,” said Kelli Smith, assistant vice president of student success.

Opportunities for student success

Four new employer relations/industry specialist positions are being added to the Fleishman Career Center team. These individuals will develop new employer relationships; champion paid internships for Binghamton students; partner with employers and alumni for skill-building programs in an eventual Skills Lab; help ensure that the staff meeting with students are even more current on the trends of a rapidly changing work environment; and work in collaboration with the University’s regional workforce development effort.

A fifth position will focus on the high-impact practices (HIPs) prioritized in the University’s strategic plan, with a particular focus on internships. The position will build upon the University-wide CDCI internship course but also collaborate with colleagues across campus responsible for HIPs, including internships, to increase awareness among students of their importance. This role will also build upon the deeper dive into participation data by various populations and their connection to career outcomes to help the Fleishman Career Center and campus partners design and assess interventions.

Rose also announced the new Civil Dialogue Project, spearheaded by Trevor Fornara ’23 and Bill Groner ’77, to help students improve their efficacy in communicating across social barriers and build platforms for respectful and productive political discourse.

Additional staff will be added to support Orientation, Campus Recreation, Residential Life, Auxiliary Services and divisional assessment efforts.

“Over the years that I’ve been here, our student population has grown. The needs of the students coming here have grown,” said Rose. “And to finally have the opportunity to make a big investment in what makes Binghamton special — which is the student experience and the way in which they all get to work with one another, learn from one another and know one another for a lifetime — is really an extraordinary opportunity. And we’re just thrilled and excited to have that chance and look forward to all that these new people and resources are going to contribute.”

The new funding is a result of the increase in state support of SUNY campuses announced in Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024 State Budget.