Keene State College’s The Equinox staff speaks on Melinda Treadwell
Insights on the incoming President from fellow students
Photo courtesy of Keene State
In the previous release of The Lamron, we spoke of the announcement made on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at roughly 3:00pm, in which, according to the SUNY press release, SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. named Melinda Treadwell as the incoming 14th president of SUNY Geneseo. The address spoke highly of the incoming president, praising her work by saying, “Dr. Melinda Treadwell’s credentials are impeccable” as well as deeming her “a champion for public higher education.” Her impact and the validity of these claims are yet to be seen on campus until Oct. 27, 2025, when she assumes office.
In light of this announcement, The Lamron has reached out to the staff at Keene State College’s (KSC) newspaper, The Equinox, to gauge from students and long-time affiliates at Treadwell’s current institution to understand what Dr. Treadwell’s involvement/action could look like in play at Geneseo. We gathered some interesting responses from three members of the paper’s staff about Dr. Treadwell’s character, as well as a fellow student newspaper’s opinion on New Hampshire’s—where Keene State College is located—current higher education issues.
Before we begin, it is important to note that any and all comments given by these specific staff members are not representative of their newspaper, in part or in whole, nor their college; these are their personal opinions about events which have transpired on their campus, from their eyes, given to a newspaper with little affiliation with said college. That said, no statement given is an absolute, nor should this be taken as an undisputable testament to the character of the incoming president of SUNY Geneseo.
In an email response sent by Charlotte King, The Equinox’s Webmaster, they discussed the turbulent political environment in New Hampshire (NH), referencing the continuous cuts made to both higher education and education in general, referring to an article The Equinox published on the topic titled, “NH state budget cuts university system by 15%: KSC braces for 2026/27 cuts, DEI restrictions.” King focused a portion of their interview on how “those running the show in our state house have no love for our public schools and especially not our four-year institutions.”
In addressing these issues, King detailed how “Treadwell remained on the front line” when “the state forced the hand of higher education leaders to shrink their institutions to make up the distance between the planned budget and the harsh reality.” They affirmed that Treadwell “made her position very clear - there would not be layoffs, and the student experience would be preserved as best as possible.”
This account was reinforced by the words of Nathan Hope and Timothy Fitzpatrick, the managing executive editor and administrative executive editor of The Equinox, respectively. Hope stated, “If NH doubled its higher ed funding, we would still be 50th in the nation in that category.” He also said, “It was difficult for her to enter the position of president of Keene State back in 2017 while the college grappled with a multi-million dollar deficit;” a claim which was echoed by Fitzpatrick, who discussed this detail in grim, but realistic terms, observing that the situation looks dire: “With the combination of how the state is structured, we have an aging population that appears to not believe in any form of higher ed in any way… we have structured it [the state government] in a way that prevents the [continued] function of higher education.”
All three members, in their own way, would go on to affirm the actions Treadwell had taken in response to these cuts and consolidations, in addition to giving insight on their personal, yet very similar views on the president.
King stated that Treadwell has “strived to be a president of the people —serious, pragmatic and sharply intelligent, but also genuine and personable with any member of the campus community and eager to be an active participant.” Following this, they added, “As a leader in student media, we could hardly ask for anyone better to be at the helm than Melinda Treadwell. She has repeatedly demonstrated to us that she understands free speech and will defend it without hesitation.” King went on to say that in “a time when the press is under constant fire…it has been a relief to have a president like Treadwell for whom a meeting with The Equinox was never something to be brushed off, by herself or anyone else on campus.”
Nathan Hope stated that Treadwell “is a fierce advocate for the liberal arts and higher education in general, and never held back when it came to the hardships of being a college president in NH,” especially regarding the reorganizations that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. He continued, affirming the job Treadwell has done, saying, “The reorganization also coincided with the pandemic, and while it was an extremely trying time for the college, I think it was likely the only option to keep things on track.” He went on to mention that the college had relieved its deficit by $360,000, “paling in comparison to the start point of what it had been when Treadwell entered office.”
Hope continued to commend Treadwell’s capabilities in her role, stating that “Here at The Equinox, President Treadwell has been among our fiercest advocates on campus, whether it comes to our press rights and freedoms, or the support toward our journalism program at a time when colleges and universities seem more than glad to cut journalism programs across the country.” He ended this email response by adding, “I am personally sad to see her go, but I know she will do great things over at Geneseo. While I remain anxious about who will take the helm now, I can only hope that Treadwell’s successor here at KSC will lead with the same compassion, support, and advocacy that she did.”
Timothy Fitzpatrick echoed the sentiments of these two students in an interview, stating that during his time at KSC, Treadwell has been “an asset,” who they would also describe as genuine, kind, and personable, as well as sympathetic to the needs of the newspaper and its staff. There was talk of Treadwell's openness to communicate with the newspaper and students alike, claiming that she is “for the press..for transparency” and was able to “communicate with anyone almost always.” He remarked that she could often be found walking and talking with students around campus, and the rest of the student body seems to reflect these feelings— “over 50%” of students had positive outlooks on the president.
Fitzpatrick emphasized that Treadwell was an asset to KSC and without her as president, they feel concerned about the college’s uncertain future. This sentiment was reiterated by King, who said “I wish Dr. Treadwell all the best at Geneseo; I am also envious of you as I eye with suspicion what the future may hold for KSC.”
Though only receiving three usable responses, what was made clear is that these members of The Equinox’s staff, while of course not representing the whole of campus, have a positive outlook on Dr. Treadwell and hold her in high regard, deeming her a great fit for our college.