SUNY Potsdam intends to designate business that align with its academic mission as a comprehensive college that offers both baccalaureate and master's degrees. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training, and leadership in the performing and visual arts. With an array of nearly 100 undergraduate majors and minors, Potsdam also offers select graduate programs. In addition to providing high-impact educational programming to its students, the campus is dedicated to serving the North Country region, with a commitment to community cultural outreach in particular, and employs faculty who are engaged in groundbreaking research. Additionally, the College considers assisting economic development activities within the region to be an important part of the campus mission.
Possible businesses that dovetail well with SUNY Potsdam academic programs, to name just a few examples:
- Tourism: Working with programs in marketing, business administration, arts administration, communication and wilderness education.
- Food economy activities: Working with programs in biology, chemistry, business administration and management.
- Clean and renewable energy: Working with programs in environmental science, chemistry, biology, physics, geology and business administration.
- Workforce development activities: Working with programs in education, various training certificate offerings and continuing education programs.
- Import/export businesses: Working with programs in the foreign languages, business administration, marketing, economics, political science, international studies, anthropology, communication and finance.
- Community development and the arts: Working with programs in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, creative writing, music business, arts management, graphic design, regional planning, economics, political science and community health.
Our campus will focus on key academic programs to generate start-ups that include computer science, music business, business administration, life and physical sciences, community health, environmental science and wilderness education. SUNY Potsdam will seek to locate businesses that align with these strong academic programs in particular.
For example, tech firms or mobile app developers would work nicely with computer science programs, sustainable companies would fit well with the environmental science program, and selected music businesses would be linked to The Crane School of Music. By partnering with businesses, SUNY Potsdam will increase internship opportunities, create an entrepreneurial spirit on campus, provide faculty consulting opportunities and enhance knowledge transfer. All of these activities will enrich the student experience, better prepare students to enter the workforce and help fulfill the College's commitment to a liberal arts and sciences education.