Another semester is off to a great start! After spending a fantastic summer staffing a cross country teen tour with 47 teenagers, I was ready to come back to Binghamton and see all of my friends. The semester started off with a bang with Welcome Weekend which included Bar-B-Q’s, carnival rides, poster sales, student groups tabling, popcorn, cotton candy, and so much more! It was great seeing so many new faces walking around, and these activities definately served as a great way for students to mingle and make new friends before classes start.
As I walk around campus, I get so excited with all of the upgrades that have begun to take place around. The East Campus renovation project is going up fast and the first new dorm being built in Newing Community is expected to be completed by Fall 2009. This new state of the art, energy efficient building, as well as all of the other buildings which will be built in the coming years, will allow Binghamton to accommodate the growing number of students being admitted to the University. The Old Union construction is also taking shape; it’s great to see that Binghamton continues to update and expand its facilities to ensure that we have more than enough space to continue popular activities such as Late Nite, career fairs, blood drives, sorority and fraternity rush/ programming, and so much more! I’m so jealous that I will have such a short time enjoying the benefits to all the renovations being made to the campus! For more information on these projects, as well as updates on several other campus projects click here!
Now that I’ve got all my text books and have completed unpacked and moved into my new house downtown, I can officially say that I am excited for the rest of the semester and look forward to sharing all of my experiences with all of you!
-Tobey
P.S.- Fall is a great time to come visit Binghamton! Make a weekend out of it and experience the beauty of the leaves changing colors, go apple picking in one of Binghamton’s several orchards, and come hiking in our nature preserve. We can’t wait to see you here!

For the twelfth consecutive year, Binghamton University is ranked among the nation’s top universities, according to the 2009 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” by US News & World Report.

Binghamton University ranks 34th among public universities and colleges, up from 37th last year, and 77th among all public and private universities. Last year, Binghamton ranked 82nd overall. Binghamton’s president Lois B. DeFleur Said, “I am very proud that Binghamton University has once again been recognized by U.S.News & World Report as one of America’s best universities. “We have some of the best students in the state and nation, our academic programs are superb, and our faculty and staff are outstanding – all which demonstrate our commitment to excellence.”

The annual U.S.News & World Report ranking is based on a set of 15 widely accepted indicators of excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects the magazine’s judgment about how much a measure matters. In its methodology, U.S. News considers academic reputation, retention, student-to-faculty ratios, student selectivity and alumni giving rate, among other factors.

Last night the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) office hosted their annual Welcome Dinner for international students in the Events Center.  The room was a sea of students from all over the world, and most had arrived in the U.S. just days earlier (only hours in many cases!) The event was a wonderful opportunity to learn about foreign cultures, to explain aspects of American culture, and to meet new friends.  The dinner, prepared by campus provider Sodexho, was delicious as usual, and the remarks from Binghamton University President Lois DeFleur were elegant and inspiring. 

The Friendship Family Program, which is sponsored by ISSS, was highlighted over the course of the evening.  The program pairs international students with a person or family here in the U.S. for purposes of establishing relationships and easing the transition into a new culture.  It is a chance to connect with someone who is taking the highly courageous (but anxiety-provoking) step of trying to assimilate into a country they’ve never lived in before.  Watching these students and their U.S. liaisons bond with each other and learn about each other was an amazing experience, and undoubtedly some life-long friendships were formed. 

Many thanks to the ISSS office for kicking off the academic year in such impressive fashion!

Let’s face it you check out Facebook and You Tube everyday, why not check out Binghamton University while you are there?

Facebook and You Tube are great sites to find out new things about friends, meet new people, and watch cool videos. Binghamton University is there too! Binghamton has some great information and awesome videos. So next time you are surfing these sites make sure you check us out too and learn about what’s going on at Binghamton!

This fall, Binghamton University representatives will travel to Asia, the Middle East, and India in an effort to impact awareness of our campus in those regions.  Also, recruiting in other areas of the world allows Binghamton to increase the diversity of our student body.  But why is that a good thing?  There are many answers to this question, but in the first of several posts on this topic, I want to focus on enhancing our students’ global perspective. 

Imagine attending a college or university in which every student thought the same way, had similar backgrounds, and had mostly the same life experiences.  Would you be learning as much as possible by surrounding yourself with people just like you, or can you learn more from people with different perspectives?  At Binghamton University, we believe that the best way to expand your view of the world is to interact with people from different cultures.  We help you do this by offering an enormous variety of study abroad programs, opportunities to utilize your foreign language skills outside of your foreign language classes, and surrounding you with students from different countries.  In this way, the discussions that take place in your classrooms and residence halls will reflect a truly global mindset! 

Hey incoming freshmen and transfers!  There are many acronyms and terms that faculty, staff and students use on a daily basis to refer to different academic services and resources that are available at Binghamton.  Here are just a few so you can come to campus with a little knowledge of our culture….

Area-Based Courses (ABCs)= Area-based courses are classes which are open only to first-year students living in a specific residential area.  ABCs meet within the residence hall community and are composed entirely of residents of that community.

BU Brain= The online database that provides access to a student’s personal and academic information in addition to allowing a student to conduct course registration and connect to several resources relating to his or her education at Binghamton.

Bulletin= The bulletin is an online resource which provides a comprehensive listing of major requirements by department, such as requirements that need to be met prior to declaring a major. 

DARS= Degree Audit Reporting System.  The DARS is a resource that specifies degree requirements at Binghamton and indicates which of them the student has completed and which still need to be fulfilled.  The DARS also allows students to view their progress towards each of the majors available at Binghamton University.

Declaration of Major= In order to declare a major, students must go to the appropriate academic department office and complete paperwork.  Students have the ability to change or add majors as they desire.  The traditional time to declare a major is during the first semester of the junior year.
Discovery= The Discovery Program seeks to help students academically and prepare them for a transition into and throughout their college experience.  Discovery Staff focus on initiatives and services that promote the connection between living and learning as a successful and meaningful experience for all students.  Discovery represents a collaborative effort among faculty and student affairs staff to put that help into practice by connecting with students through outreach and programming events.  The Discovery Program provides students with easier access to all the components of college life through its core services:  Discovery Advisors, Discovery Centers, First Year Experience (FYE) classes, Learning Communities, National Student Exchange, Service Learning, and Tutoring.

Petitioning into a course= A petition is a document provided by the individual academic departments that is completed by a student to be considered for acceptance into a course which has reached its capacity. 

PODS= Public Computer Labs.  Several computer stations are available around campus for student use.  Students commonly use the PODS to register for courses, write papers, conduct research, and print documents.

Ben Lee will be here, too!

On Tuesday, August 26, at 8 p.m. Ingrid Michaelson, with special guest, Ben Lee, will perform at Binghamton University’s Anderson Center. Both singers’ music has been featured on the television show Grey’s Anatomy. Inside seats are $17 for students and $25 for the public. Lawn seats are $10 for students and $15 for the public. For tickets and information, call: 607-777-ARTS or visit: anderson.binghamton.edu.