Welcome to the end of the 2024–25 academic year at Alfred University!

I write to you on this beautiful spring day reflecting on what it means to be part of this special place—a campus where we build the groundwork and provide opportunities so our students can plant the seeds that we, as a community, help nurture.

This week, I had the honor of joining two of our students, Roque Santiago (Material Science Engineering & Physics Major) and Emily Woo (Art & Design Major and Business Administration Minor), in Albany as they received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. Surrounded by students from across the state, I couldn’t help but reflect on what sets Alfred apart. It’s not just the academic rigor or the beautiful valley we call home—it’s the unique way we foster creativity, care, and connection.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been celebrating our students and their mentors at events like the 2025 Undergraduate Research Forum, Honors Dinner, Student Leadership Awards, and Honors Convocation. These celebrations are reminders of how deeply our faculty and staff invest in student success and how students, in turn, rise to the challenge with curiosity, dedication, and vision. Mentorship is at the heart of our creative community—an ongoing, collaborative dialogue that shapes both process and purpose.

One of the most powerful ways we support student growth at Alfred is by opening the doors to a thriving creative community. The arts are not separate from student life here—they are woven into the fabric of our campus. With seven museums and galleries, we offer daily encounters with ideas, material exploration, and conversations that transcend disciplines. This year, we launched five new BFA majors in Performing Arts and made important revisions to the minors in theatre, music, performance design and technology, and dance to ensure they are more accessible to students from across campus. We also introduced a new Art Minor and a Museum and Gallery Practices Minor, giving students new avenues to engage with making, curating, and contextualizing work.

What we do in higher education—especially here at Alfred—is create new knowledge in, through, and about what our students are passionate about. This is how all students become creators, culture makers, and problem-solvers for the challenges of our time. That purpose is at the heart of our curriculum, our mentorship, and our creative community.

Our campus has been alive with creativity all year—through professional and student exhibitions, visiting artist and scholar lectures and workshops, pop-up shops, live performances, and community collaborations. Visual art, theatre, dance, and music events have not only showcased the incredible rigor of our students but have also brought people together, creating space for dialogue, joy, and shared experience. These moments are vital expressions of identity, inquiry, and belonging.

Looking ahead, we are continuing to invest in the spaces where creativity thrives. This summer, we are undertaking multiple construction projects across our arts buildings, reinforcing our commitment to continuous improvement, and providing students with the facilities they need to do their best work. Across campus we preapare new faculty members who bring fresh perspectives, deep expertise, and a shared commitment to helping students push their passions and grow with purpose.

At Alfred, the arts shape how students learn, how they connect, and how they grow. They build resilience, sharpen communication, and strengthen our community. They teach students to listen carefully, to respond thoughtfully, and to imagine boldly.

As we close out this academic year, I invite you to celebrate the many ways our students have embraced their creative voices and found new confidence through the arts on campus. They remind us that Alfred University is a place where all students create, contribute, and flourish.

With every good wish,

Lauren Lake
Dean, School of Art & Design + Performing Arts Division Alfred UniversityPresident, National Council for Arts Administrators