P-J file photo

Around this time every year, there is an unmistakable buzz that reverberates from the State University of New York at Fredonia campus. As the trees and flowers begin to blossom near the Central Avenue entrance, a new beginning also starts to take shape for many of the seniors who are plotting the next chapters of their lives.

This year, the silence is overwhelming.

Once filled with more than 4,600 students in the fall, the campus has been whittled down to a little more than 100. When the edict came on March 11 from state Gov. Andrew Cuomo that all SUNY campuses were shifting to distance learning due to the coronavirus, an avalanche of change was forced upon not only the students, but the academic staff as well.

Going through a pandemic was already stressful enough. Gearing to teach online — especially for many who never had to even consider it — added to the unsettling situation.

During a recent Dunkirk-Fredonia Rotary meeting, hosted through Zoom, SUNY Fredonia Interim President Dennis Hefner offered some insight into how three days of executive orders from Albany changed the higher educational landscape across the state and nation. “It was kind of a madhouse,” he said.

In fairness, Hefner and all SUNY campuses learned of Cuomo’s decision at the same time everyone else did during the afternoon conference. There was no warning given whatsoever.

What followed was a controlled chaos. Officials knew what had to be done, but were never quite sure what shoe was going to drop next.

Case in point: on that March 11 afternoon, leadership began planning online training sessions for faculty. Within the next 24 hours, another edict came from Albany — only 20% of the staff should be working from campus.

“Here we are in the midst of trying to move 2,200 students … out of residence halls, we’re converting to distance education and 80% of our staff have to also be relocated to home,” Hefner said. “We (were) scrambling a bit to make that happen.”

Fredonia did have one thing on its side during the transition. March 13 was the final day of classes before spring break. Many students had already planned to be getting away at that time.

Suddenly, they were not coming back.

Between then and March 22, there were 80 hours of training sessions over nine days to assist faculty in executing distance learning. When break concluded on March 23, every class had made the transition to online.

“I’m really proud of what our faculty and staff did … The staff have been great in terms of working at home,” Hefner said. “The campus has continued to move forward as best we can.”

One of the biggest questions facing the university has been in regard to the refunds due to students who were sent home early. Within the last month, SUNY has decided to either offer credit for the upcoming semester or a cash refund.

“This involves $6.3 million that is being paid out in both refunds and credits,” he said. “Of course, most students are going to want refunds.”

Before COVID-19, Hefner noted plenty of progress had been made at the institution. The initiative to bring more students from Pennsylvania and Ohio to campus was in full gear and the first full online program for educational leadership was up and running. “A lot of good things were happening … and still are happening,” he said.

Commencement, originally planned for May 16, has tentatively been moved to Aug. 8 based on an online vote by seniors. While that could be pushed back again, Hefner said a video tribute to the graduating class of 1,200 is currently being put together and will include plenty of photos. “I think it will be a little of a memento families can have,” he said.

As for the future, summer courses will be done online and camps have been canceled. Small groups also are working on plans for in-person learning to begin sometime in the fall, though how that is rolled out will depend on what Cuomo says.

University officials are upbeat over a couple of items. There is significant interest from students to return to campus and interest from the freshman class is better than expected. “The numbers are kind of stunning me,” he said.

In terms of Hefner’s time with the university, that could be coming to an end in the coming months. College Council was finalizing its choices for a successor within the past week. From that point, the SUNY chancellor in Albany will assist in the final selection.

Hefner, despite the recent crisis, remained upbeat on the university’s future. “We’ve been planning for the worst, but we’re certainly hoping for the best,” he said. “I want to make sure that we come out of this with this community and this campus as intact as it can possibly be.”

John D’Agostino is the OBSERVER publisher. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 401.