SUNY Academic Momentum (AcMo) Campaign Fall Regional Convening at ESF.

ESF Hosts SUNY Academic Momentum Regional Convening Focused on Student Success

11/02/2026

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Nov. 2, 2026 — The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) welcomed colleagues from across the State University of New York system as host of the SUNY Academic Momentum (AcMo) Campaign Fall Regional Convening, bringing together campus leaders, faculty, staff, advisers and student success professionals to share strategies that strengthen student achievement, persistence and degree completion. The ESF gathering was the second of three regional convenings held across New York this fall, following a session at Rockland Community College last week and ahead of the final convening at SUNY Cobleskill on Nov. 9. 

Held in ESF’s Gateway Center, the day-long convening featured collaborative sessions focused on implementation progress, first-year student success, scheduling optimization, data-informed decision-making, student engagement and communication strategies that support student persistence and graduation. 

Participants from SUNY campuses across Western and Central New York joined representatives from SUNY System Administration to exchange ideas and highlight promising practices that advance the Academic Momentum Campaign's goals of improving student outcomes and creating pathways to success for all SUNY students. 

“This convening demonstrates what is possible when SUNY institutions come together around a shared commitment to student success,” said Joanie Mahoney, president of SUNY ESF. “We were honored to host colleagues from across the SUNY system and to learn from one another as we work to remove barriers, strengthen support systems and create opportunities that help students thrive from enrollment through graduation.”

The Academic Momentum Campaign brings campuses together around evidence-based approaches that help students build academic progress early in their college experience and maintain momentum toward degree completion. Throughout the convening, participants explored strategies for supporting student achievement through data-informed planning, academic support, effective communication and student-centered practices. 

Renee McNamara, dean of students, and Erin Tochelli, associate director of academic administration and a SUNY Academic Momentum Fellow, serve as ESF's Academic Momentum co-leads. They have helped strengthen collaboration across academic and student affairs and advance initiatives that support student achievement, persistence and degree completion. Their leadership played a key role in bringing the regional convening to ESF and highlighting the college's commitment to student success. 

Among the attendees were SUNY System Administration leaders Donna Linderman, senior vice chancellor for student success; Bill Woodward, SUNY Academic Momentum director; Lisa Castillo Richmond, senior associate vice chancellor and chief deputy for student success; Casey O'Brien, associate vice chancellor for student success and transformational initiatives; Jeanne Mannarino, director of Academic Momentum; and Andrew Ong Garcia, special assistant for student success and transformational initiatives. Their participation, alongside faculty, advisers, institutional research professionals and student success practitioners from campuses statewide, reflected SUNY's collective commitment to advancing student achievement through collaboration and the sharing of effective practices. 

“Student success is strengthened through collaboration, innovation and a willingness to learn from one another,” said Lindi Quackenbush, provost at ESF. “Today's discussions showcased the tremendous expertise that exists across SUNY and reinforced the value of sharing effective practices that help students achieve their academic goals. We are grateful for SUNY's continued investment in initiatives that empower campuses to support student persistence, engagement and success.” 

Sessions included workshops on addressing math and writing anxiety among first-year students, enhancing data literacy and dashboard utilization, optimizing course scheduling, leveraging student voice in institutional planning and advancing campus communication strategies. 

ESF extends its appreciation to the SUNY System Administration team, campus participants, presenters and student success leaders who traveled from across New York state to participate in the convening. Their engagement and partnership continue to strengthen the Academic Momentum Campaign and advance SUNY's shared goal of helping every student persist, succeed and graduate. 

About SUNY ESF 

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is one of the nation's premier colleges focused on the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable future. ESF’s Mission is to educate future environmental leaders of all backgrounds, advance knowledge, and skills necessary to promote scholarship and stewardship of the natural to designed environments, and act both locally and globally to Improve Our World. ESF’s students, faculty, staff, and alumni make a global impact on improving and sustaining the environment. ESF offers a world-class education among a close-knit community of more than 2,000 scholars with common values and a shared sense of purpose. ESF’s tight-knit community is centered alongside Syracuse University in the heart of Central New York and has a system of properties spanning 25,000 acres that broadly represent New York state’s rich ecological diversity for scientific study and instruction. To learn more, visit www.esf.edu.