June 28, 2021
Dear Suffolk Family,
Today is my first day as President of Suffolk County Community College, and I am taking this opportunity to send a quick greeting to our whole college. Joining Suffolk to serve our students and communities will be a tremendous honor and privilege, and I look forward to the work we will share together.
As many of you know, it’s relatively quiet right now across our campuses, and I hope each of you will take some time away to enjoy the summer, rest, and recharge. For my part, in the months ahead, I plan to spend time getting to know our college, its operations, and as many of you as I can. While I am new to the college, I grew up here in Suffolk County, and I look forward to refamiliarizing myself with our towns and villages, our stakeholders and partners, and the county as a whole. I know our college is exceptional, and I look forward to learning more about Suffolk’s unique institutional strengths and practices.
You can expect to hear from me frequently, and I will make sure there are plenty of ways for everyone in our community to be in contact with me. Staff within Institutional Advancement are helping to revise the Office of the President website with a little about my background and some initial thoughts I am developing as I join all of you. You can also email me at Bonahue@SUNYSuffolk.edu, and even if it takes me a little time to respond, I promise to do my best to be in touch.
As you are aware, the Governor and the state continue to provide encouraging updates
related to COVID. Even so, I am sure everyone continues to feel the weight of the
pandemic and the effort it took to work through these historic times. From what I’ve
observed so far, it seems clear that our community has demonstrated an incredible
ability to persevere under challenging conditions, and that we can be resilient during
times of uncertainty. Personally, I am cautiously hopeful that we are about to embark
on a return to something like normalcy—a time when we can come to work focused only
on student success, and dedicated to implementing change that is thoughtfully creative,
leaving COVID-19 behind.
When you complete your break, or whenever you are ready, I look forward to meeting you in person, and I look forward to building our shared mission that will drive us forward, together.
Sincerely,
Edward T. Bonahue, Ph.D.
President
