  Dear Blogspot Members, I had sent a letter to Assemblyman Thiele in reference to the "relocation" of our college and would like to share his response with you. Nora Detweiler Dear Ms. Detweiler, Thank you for your recent letter regarding the decision of Long Island University to close the undergraduate programs at Southampton College. As an alumni and elected official who has maintained a close relation with the College through the years, I was shocked to learn of LIU's plans for Southampton College. This decision was apparently made in a vacuum without consultation with the many stakeholders who have an interest in the future of Southampton College. I regret that I learned of the decision not from officials at LIU or Southampton College, but from a newspaper reporter. Of course, my initial reaction was simply anger. Anger because my alma mater was to be closed, but also because of the unprofessional way in which this decision was made. If this decision and the way it was made are any reflection of the way the College has been managed, it is no wonder that the College's financial problems continue to worsen. We were all aware that Southampton College has not been a moneymaker for LIU. Yet, we had hope for the future.
The College had announced a major capital campaign. A new library was under contruction, an agreement had been reached with the Parrish Art Museum for their new facility. A new curriculum was being implemented. In short, there was a vision for the future. The decision of LIU is a betrayal of that vision.
While we are all justifiably angered by the decision of LIU, we cannot dwell on that anger. Rather, we must join together to find a constructive solution to the crisis with which we are now confronted. We have a little over a year before the College closes. We have no time to waste. I pledge to do all that I can to insure that the Southampton College campus remains devoted to the purposes of higher education. The College has been so much more to our area than merely an educational institution. Obviously, as one of the region's larger employers it is a critical part of the local economy. It has also been a resource for policy makers grappling with critical regional issues like the environment and transportation. Most important it has brought life-changing opportunity to many local residents who otherwise would not have been able to take a class or earn a degree.
The College has brought a multiple of tangible and intangible benefits to the people on the East End. Further, I pledge to fight just as hard to insure that the campus is not sold off as surplus land to be converted to some speculative development scheme. The East End needs a college, not another commercial or condominium project. I have spoken with many of my fellow elected officials including State Senator Ken LaValle,Congressman Tim Bishop, County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, and Southampton Town Supervisor Patrick Heaney. We are all committed to keeping higher education at the Southampton College campus. We are now at the very beginning of exploring the available options to maintaining a college at Southampton.
It will take vision and creativity to construct the right solution, but it can be done. We will be exploring the participation of the State University of New York at Southampton, as well as the possible involvement of Suffolk County Community College. There may be other educational institutions who would also be interested in the joint future use of the campus. While much work needs to be done, I am encouraged by the initial reaction of officials and the public to these possibilities. Please be assured, that I will insist that the public and all stakeholders be very much involved in decisions relating to the future of Southampton College. It is imperative that this is a public process and that all with an interest in the College are heard. I look forward to working with you to insure that the Southampton College campus is not closed, but is transformed into an institution that will serve our region even better in the future. " Sincerely yours, Fred Thiele, Jr. Member of the Assembly Assemblyman Thiele also attached a copy of the letter he has sent to David Steinberg which is posted below.
Dear President Steinberg, I write in response to your June 16, 2004 "Memorandum" to the University Community announcing the closing of the undergraduate program at Southampton College. Let me first state my deepest disappointment at this decision, suddenly made by you and the LIU Trustees, without warning to the public or Southampton College stakeholders. While I was certainly aware of the financial challenges confronting the College, I do not believe that you or the Trustees had given the public any indication that the closing of the College was under active consideration. Quite to the contrary, the Trustees had presented a face of hope to the public about the future of Southampton College. A new library was under construction. A new capital program was being pursued. An agreement had been announced with the Parrish Art Museum for the location of its new facility at the College.
A new core curriculum was being implemented. We were all left with the impression that LIU was committed to a new and better Southampton College. The LIU Trustees have betrayed that commitment. They are now Trustees who are not worthy of our trust. As devastating as the decision itself was to those who have a stake in Southampton College, even more troubling was the process by which this decision was announced. There was no indication that such a decision was being considered. There was no consultation with persons like myself who are alumni and elected officials.
In short, it had all the elements of "Pearl Harbor". I was very disppointed to learn of your decision not from a representative of the University or College, but from a local newspaper reporter. If the decision to close Southampton College is any indication of how the College was managed on a day to day basis, it is no wonder the College is in trouble. In the aftermath of this decision, there have been equally troubling comments in the media about the future of the campus from LIU officials.
The focus seems to be on appraisals, property values and selling the campus to the highest bidder. Let me state to you in the most unequivocal words I can muster. I will use all my authority and effort as a public official to insure that the campus of Southampton College is used in the future for the purposes of higher education. If that is not under the auspices of LIU, then with some other institution such as SUNY to insure that the residents of the East End have access to a four-year college.
Similarly, I will use all of the power of my office to insure that Southampton College campus is not auctioned off to the highest bidder from some speculative real estate project. The East End needs a College, not another condominium project or commercial shopping area. This reflects the position of every elected official I have spoken with about Southampton College. I hope that LIU will pledge to work with the East End community to to insure that the campus remains devoted to higher education.
Sincerely yours, Fred Thiele, Jr.
Member of Assembly Contact Information (send him a thank you! ): Assemblymember Fred W. Thiele Jr. 2302 Main Street, Box 3062 Bridgehampton, NY 11932 Phone: (631) 537-2583 Email: thielef@assembly.state.ny.us And a BIG THANKS TO NORA! Thank you for sending the letter to Assemblymember Thiele and for forwarding his response for everyone to read! 
