This landmark year's annual report necessarily hearkens back much further than 12 months, because 2011 marked our college's sesquicentennial anniversary. We were especially mindful of SUNY Oswego's rich traditions in 2010-11 as we expanded our Global Laboratory network, deepened our engagement with our neighbors to meet community needs and enhance the quality of life, and launched a new initiative to give students on-the-job experience tied to their learning.

This year's fully online annual report gives you wonderful opportunities to browse and explore and find what interests you — and it should work as well on your tablet and smart phone as on your computer. Whether you simply skim the vignettes and videos you find in these pages or follow links that take you deeper into our website, I know you will find much to inspire your engagement and enthusiasm for SUNY Oswego.

— Deborah F. Stanley

From new buildings tapping innovative energy technology to award-winning community engagement to solutions-oriented initiatives like an online MBA program and research to improve storm forecasting and protect endangered habitats, our college community packed the year with spirited endeavor and achievement.

In 1861, Edward Austin Sheldon had a modest idea that would later transform the world of education. His well-trained Oswego schoolteachers were being poached, and demand far exceeded supply. He created a little school to train new teachers. The first class of nine met in a cloakroom to learn the Oswego Method: using the object learning method (replacing rote memorization) combined with hands-on, in-classroom experience. This method spread through the growing United States and abroad — Brazil, Japan, the Philippines. And the school became what we now know as SUNY Oswego. In the 21st century, our college continues this tradition of innovation, and our programs span the globe.