SUNY Ulster’s retiring and incoming presidents might just pass each in oncoming lanes on Route 209 this week out in Stone Ridge. Dr. Alan Roberts is leaving on Tuesday after seven years at the helm, while newly appointed president Alison Buckley, late of Connecticut Community College, will be arriving the day after.

Much of the focus has been on the incoming president, but let’s give the personable Roberts his due.

Arriving from the orange groves of Florida, Roberts, like most other college presidents, faced some serious challenges.

Ulster’s 54-year-old campus needed major renovations and updates, part of which was Roberts advancing SUNY Ulster into the digital age. Second-generation faculty was headed for retirement. Efforts to establish a fire training center on campus drew the ire of nearby residents. During Roberts’ tenure the college finally gave up on the idea of student housing on the Stone Ridge campus. Off that failed effort a reliable source of water was accessed from the nearby High Falls Water System.

And, the pandemic made everybody’s job tougher.

Roberts quickly established himself as a hands-on, community-minded president. He spent as much time on campus as behind his desk. Literally, students and faculty could call him Al.

The establishment of a SUNY Ulster satellite campus at a former grade school in Midtown Kingston was an example of college-government cooperation. During Roberts’ last two full years, SUNY Ulster was voted first among community colleges in New York. Yea for SUNY Ulster.

Outgoing college trustee chairman Alan Lomita considered Roberts “the best administrator I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of them.” Lomita, a former county legislator from Rosendale, will retire from the college board this month.

Roberts, after being elected to the Rondout Valley school board in May, will remain in the community.

Well done, Al.

There are, of course, challenges for the new president. High school enrollment, which feeds college enrollment, is down all over the region, as reflected in the last budget Roberts presented the county legislature in June. And not by a little, either. Roberts projected a 16 percent decline in enrollment for the college’s next fiscal year, roughly 200 students.

Buckley probably knew that when she applied for the job (four finalists were given a campus tour in April), so maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. More likely, she wowed the presidential search committee with an almost-can’t-miss plan to not only restore enrollment but to increase it. After all, when you’re the top community college in New York, students should be flocking to your doorstep. Right?

Verily it is said that behind every complex problem, like SUNY Ulster’s shrinking student enrollment base, there is a simple solution that probably won’t work. So, here’s one: intensive, professional marketing.

I suspect that for all its noteworthy accomplishments during the all-too-brief Roberts era — “We’re No. 1! Twice!” — Ulster may have been hiding its light under a bushel. I mean, how else to explain being the best and losing enrollment?

The good news is the well-credentialed Dr. Buckley has a solid base to build upon. I look forward to calling her Al someday. How’s that for a weird coincidence?

I’m not about to suggest priorities for the college’s second female president, other than marketing her school, but I do hope she takes a close look at the level of support from county government.

Through the almost 13 years of the executive era, direct county support of the college has averaged about $6.3 million. SUNY Ulster’s foundation has helped bridge that gap by raising more than $1 million a year in scholarship aid.

The aforementioned Lomita, a legislator who repeatedly voted for those skinflint budgets, explained that “the county gave money to the college in lots of other ways.” Indeed. But with all due respect to my sometimes golf buddy, himself a retired educator, that simply begs the question. Legislators brag every election year about how they support the college. Well, they don’t, not to the extent they should. As Casey Stengel might say, you can look it up.

Crib Notes

My personal favorite among the six presidents that have led what used to be called “UCCC” (or “uck!” to students) was Barbara Adams. A tall, willowy Californian, Adams, who resigned some 20 years ago and died shortly after, was a pip.

I happened to be sitting at her table at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast where they seemed to be introducing everyone in the room except the waitstaff. Nodding toward several vertically challenged local movers and shakers, she quipped under her breath, “You sure have a lot of short men in power around here.” Short men being sensitive about their height, I won’t mention any names here, but they know who they were.

Adams could be quite persuasive, especially with elected officials. She managed to convince the old 33-member, mostly Republican legislature that the president’s house in Stone Ridge was badly in need of renovations and updates. Especially the kitchen. The county spent upwards of $50,000 on that project after which Adams invited legislative leaders for a tour. Much to their dismay, it was catered. Madam President did not cook.