Current Headlines

• 9/29/2006 - SUNY ORANGE DEDICATES GEORGE F. SHEPARD STUDENT CENTER
• 9/29/2006 - SUNY ORANGE TO PROVIDE REGISTERED NURSE CROSS-TRAINING
• 9/20/2006 - SENATORS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES INITIATE $4 MILLION GRANT FOR COLLABORATIVE REGIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS INSTITUTE
• 9/20/2006 - SUNY ORANGE TO HOST ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE OCT. 4
• 9/20/2006 - SUNY ORANGE ANNOUNCES BOARD OF TRUSTEES SLATE FOR 2006-07

SUNY ORANGE DEDICATES GEORGE F. SHEPARD STUDENT CENTER

9/29/2006

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Former College Commons Renamed in Honor of Longtime Dean of Students

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – George Shepard was instrumental in the creation of Orange County Community College, where he spent 32 years as the Dean of Students, and current college officials assured his name will be forever linked with SUNY Orange Friday evening when they officially dedicated the former College Commons in his honor, renaming the building the George F. Shepard Student Center.

Fittingly, the hub of student activity on the SUNY Orange campus now bears Shepard’s name, as he was widely recognized as the students’ number one advocate throughout his long tenure at the college. Additionally, Shepard has been active in a variety of social and civic organizations throughout his life.

Friday’s brief dedication ceremony featured remarks from Dr. William Richards, SUNY Orange president; New York State Senator John Bonacic, New York State Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt; and John J. “Jack” McMahon, a long-time employee and former chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees. Approximately 125 people attended the event, which was held on the front steps of the newly named Shepard Center on a crisp autumn evening. Afterward, attendees were invited to a reception in the Fireside Lounge, located inside the Shepard Student Center.

“How fitting that this building should carry George Shepard’s name. He meant so much to generations of students here, and now we can preserve his legacy,” Bonacic said. “Now, when future students look up there and see his name, and they ask, ‘Who was George Shepard?’ We can tell them all about him.”

“I can think of only one person who would not have thought this was a good idea,” McMahon added as he recounted a handful of stories of Shepard’s unwavering commitment to his students, “and that is George.”

Shepard, who strived to improve Orange County by championing “quality of life” issues, was among those who rallied local support for the creation of the college, serving on the Committee on Higher Education and promoting the college on his radio program. The college was established on June 9, 1950, and the doors opened for Semester One on Sept. 21 of that same year. By Semester Two, Shepard was on the faculty. A year later, he was the college’s director of student activities.

For 32 years he served as the dean of students, offering unmatched perspective, compassion, motivation and support for count-less students, many of whom hailed him as their “conscience, confidante, inspiration and, most of all, friend.”

Shepard’s legacy at the college is long and illustrious, and his resume is overflowing with creative, common-sense initiatives that remain at the heart of the college’s operation today. He created the History and Heritage Collection, to preserve local and college materials; administered the early stages of Orange County Community College’s scholarship program; authored the college’s policy on campus rights; established a college-approved rental housing program; served as a founding director of the College Association and supervised Commencement.

In addition to his longtime devotion to his students, Shepard lent his considerable support to The Orange County Citizens Foundation, the Arts Council of Orange County and to many parks and historic site initiatives. He was also active in local Boy Scouts of America chapters, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Young Republicans.

The George F. Shepard Student Center houses the college bookstore; the advising and counseling center; the offices of financial aid, career services, student support services, disability services, admissions, records and registration, student activities, bursar, and health services: and the office of the vice president for student development. In addition, student lounge space and a 750-seat cafeteria are located within the facility.

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SUNY ORANGE TO PROVIDE REGISTERED NURSE CROSS-TRAINING

9/29/2006

College’s Center for Business Solutions and Professional Development Continues Efforts to Assist Local Health Care Providers.

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Realizing a growing need among local health care providers to expand training programs throughout the industry, SUNY Orange’s Center for Business Solutions and Professional Development is initiating a new registered nurse (RN) cross-training program, spearheaded by Peg Scribner, a respected educator and health care practitioner with more than 40 years of nursing experience.

The cross-training program, still in its developmental stages, will expand registered nurses’ expertise in areas such as emergency medicine, critical and cardiac care, and perioperative services.

Having just recently retired from her post as chairwoman of the college’s Department of Nursing, Scribner will remain at SUNY Orange as a training and programming consultant. She spent 12 years on the faculty at SUNY Orange and also boasts 15 years of management and supervisory experience in the nursing field. Scribner will focus her efforts on developing and implementing health care training programs for hospitals, long- and short-term care facilities, community health organizations and physicians offices.

Her knowledge and understanding of local workforce needs, and her familiarity with the vast array of opportunities available at SUNY Orange, give her a unique perspective as she strives to assist local health care providers. Her management skills and clinical expertise will also strengthen a wide variety of partnerships SUNY Orange shares with local providers.

"Peg has already proven to be an invaluable resource for us," says David Kohn, SUNY Orange Continuing and Professional Education director. "I can't imagine a more qualified person to help us respond quickly and effectively to area health care providers' training and programming needs."

Training programs are available on-site and on-campus and can be workshops or full programs. For more information about health care training programs being developed, call Donald Green, director of the Center for Business Solutions and Professional Development, at 341-4718.

The SUNY Orange Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE) department provides training and professional development programs for businesses as well as individuals interested in upgrading their marketable skills. CAPE is one of the premier providers in the Hudson Valley for business consulting, training and career advancement.

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SENATORS AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES INITIATE $4 MILLION GRANT FOR COLLABORATIVE REGIONAL DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS INSTITUTE

9/20/2006

Funding for Degree-Granting Program Secured by Senators Bonacic, Larkin and Morahan

STONE RIDGE, N.Y. – In a groundbreaking announcement at SUNY Ulster’s Stone Ridge, N.Y., campus on Tuesday (Sept. 19), New York State Senators John Bonacic, William Larkin and Thomas Morahan teamed with representatives from community colleges in Ulster, Orange, Sullivan and Rockland counties to announce a joint partnership to develop the Hudson Valley Domestic Preparedness Community College Consortium.

The Consortium will allow students throughout the Hudson Valley to take classes and receive degrees in emergency management, fire protection science, paramedic and cyber security. Graduates will be able to seek jobs with professional fire departments, police departments and emergency service organizations, as well as in private industry as emergency management specialists in the Hudson Valley and in the metropolitan area.

The Consortium was first discussed at a spring 2005 meeting between Bonacic, Larkin and Morahan, along with community college officials. The senators then worked together to secure the $4 million cost of the necessary equipment and laboratories.

The initiative will allow students throughout the Hudson Valley to take classes on the campuses of Ulster, Orange, Rockland and Sullivan County Community Colleges and earn a degree. Classes will focus on fire protection technology, emergency medical services, cyber security and basic police training.

“This Consortium creates new possibilities for students from the Mid-Hudson region who may have thought about traveling to attend John Jay or one of the other premier criminal justice institutes,” Bonacic said. “This will give our local students an opportunity to study a growing subject area and earn a degree close to home.”

Larkin added, “Our community colleges are particularly well-suited to help us meet a need in our region that is reaching the critical point. Community colleges admit thousands of students each year. I believe that this innovative program will attract many of those men and women into the emergency services and first responder communities and help improve the disaster response capabilities in our region.”

Marianne Collins, director of institutional advancement at SUNY Ulster, is coordinating the program for all four colleges.

“As education and technology become more specialized, and as disaster prevention and preparedness needs expand, we believe this will put Hudson Valley students on the cutting edge of a growing and critically important field,” Collins said. “Individually, our colleges could not have done this. As a group, through the leadership of Senators Bonacic, Larkin and Morahan and the innovative work of the colleges, we have made it happen.”

“There is a critical need throughout the region and the metropolitan area for well-educated managers in emergency services and preparedness,” Dr. Donald C. Katt, president of SUNY Ulster, said. “These degree and certificate programs can accommodate people who may not want a traditional liberal arts program but who recognize the value that post-secondary education brings to serving the public in important, security-related ways.”

The Consortium will be administered jointly by all four campuses—Ulster, Orange, Rockland and Sullivan. Live, interactive video classrooms connecting the campuses to each other will allow a diverse array of classes to be taught at the same time to students at any one of the four campuses. In addition, full use will be made of online instruction to supplement and expand the range of classroom offerings.

“It is nice to know that we are furthering one of the primary strategic ideals of the SUNY system, and that is to promote collaboration among the community colleges,” said SUNY Orange President Dr. William Richards as he addressed the assembled group at Tuesday’s announcement. “We also hope to extend this program to bring the other colleges in the Hudson Valley into the mix.

“Our graduates will be ready to take leadership roles in major fire, police, emergency service and security departments throughout the region. They will have a background in management, understand the principles behind providing emergency services and be able to apply their knowledge in the ‘real world’ in the most dangerous situations,” Richards added.

“This Consortium was developed to reach the student who is looking for a career in public service. The innovative, multi-college setting will provide an ideal learning environment for these students. The program has been designed to enhance graduates’ employability as well as enable them to provide critical services to the region or in their home community,” said Dr. Cliff Wood, president of SUNY Rockland.

Tuition will be the same as regular courses offered at the campuses. The first interactive classes are expected to begin in spring 2007. Two years ago, each volunteer fire department and EMS organization in the state was also given the opportunity to have one member receive a scholarship at any SUNY school.

Some of the programs include the liberal arts and general education courses that will enable students to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs in the future. This unique collaborative effort is an important example of regionalism working for the greater good in an effective and efficient way.

“The word ‘regionalism’ is bantered about a lot by various groups. In this case, we have four counties who have agreed to work together to collectively serve the public. This is not simply talking about ‘regionalism;’ rather, it is a true regional partnership, which I am pleased has now come together,” Bonacic said.

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SUNY ORANGE TO HOST ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE OCT. 4

9/20/2006

Students Interested in 2007 Spring or Fall Enrollment are Invited to Visit the Middletown Campus

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – A broad array of educational opportunities abound at SUNY Orange, and prospective students will have the chance to investigate and plan their educational future on Wednesday, Oct. 4, when the college’s Admissions Office hosts its Fall Open House from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Shepard Student Center.

SUNY Orange offers more than 30 academic majors, boasts one of the finest student transfer success rates in the SUNY system and provides diverse educational opportunities to help students meet their goals. This fall’s Open House is designed to give prospective students ample time to map their educational future, whether they will be first-time college students or former students looking to return to the classroom.

In addition to admissions information, forms and timelines, faculty and staff will be on hand to discuss the college’s many academic programs, as well as transfer and career possibilities students enjoy following graduation from SUNY Orange. Financial aid and scholarship information will also be available during the Open House.

Students at SUNY Orange enjoy many extra-curricular endeavors, and Athletics and Student Life representatives will have information regarding many of the sports programs, clubs and organizations at the college.

Tours of the college’s picturesque campus will be provided, while free Blueberry Mountain Ice Cream and light refreshments will be provided by the BG Café. The Shepard Student Center, formerly the College Commons, is located at the intersection of South and Bennett streets. Nearby parking is available.

For additional information, contact the Admissions Office at (845) 341-4205, or visit the Calendar of Events at the SUNY Orange web site (www.sunyorange.edu).

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SUNY ORANGE ANNOUNCES BOARD OF TRUSTEES SLATE FOR 2006-07

9/20/2006

Joan Wolfe Elected Board President; Herbert Gareiss Jr. to Remain for Another Year

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – After most recently serving as the group’s vice chair, Joan H. Wolfe has been elected Chairwoman of the SUNY Orange Board of Trustees for the college’s 2006-07 academic year, while Brutus W. Hodge was tabbed to replace Trustee Wolfe as vice chair and Sister Margaret Murphy was voted into the secretary slot.

In other action during the Board’s September meeting, Herbert Gareiss Jr., a county appointee to the Board since 1996, saw his term extended for another year while outgoing Chairwoman Roberta Glinton, whose term expired at the end of June, agreed to remain in her role until New York State Gov. George E. Pataki appoints her replacement.

Trustee Wolfe, a lifelong resident of Orange County, has carved a life devoted to education and local government. She began her education at Ladycliff College and earned her master of science degree from New Paltz College. Boasting more than 35 years as a teacher in elementary education, Trustee Wolfe retired this summer from her most recent post as a compensatory education math specialist at Middletown’s John W. Chorley Elementary School. Chorley is a former magnet school that emphasizes art, science and technology for kindergarten and first grade.

She is a past councilwoman for the Town of Wallkill, where she served as Deputy Supervisor, and a former member of the Town of Wallkill Planning Board. She was the Orange County Republican Committee’s first vice chairwoman and was a New York State Committeeman representing the 95th Assembly District.

Trustee Hodge, a second-generation business owner in Orange County, joined the Board in December 2000. He owns and directs the Brutus W. Hodge Funeral Home in Newburgh, and graduated from Tennessee State University, after which he went on to continue the business his father had established in 1932. Trustee Hodge is a charter member of the Baptist Temple Church in Newburgh, and is also on the city of Newburgh's Financial Advisory Board.

Trustee Murphy is an associate professor of religious studies at nearby Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. Her 35-year career as an educator and counselor has taken her to schools in New York City and Puerto Rico, in addition to Orange and Sullivan counties. She is a certified substance abuse counselor in New York state and has received numerous community service and human rights awards throughout the region.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from St. John’s University and her master’s in pastoral counseling from Iona College. Trustee Murphy also holds a master of social work degree from Yeshiva University and a doctorate of ministry from Drew University. She was appointed to the SUNY Orange Board of Directors in February 2006.

SUNY ORANGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, 2006-07

• Joan Wolfe, Chairperson
• Brutus Hodge, Vice Chairman
• Sister Margaret Murphy, Secretary
• Roberta Glinton
• Dr. Arthur Anthonisen
• Herbert Gareiss Jr.
• Donald Mirro
• Roberto Calderin
• Jenna Boyce (Student Trustee)

www.sunyorange.edu/board

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