SUNY Adirondack Report to the Community 2022-23

COMMUNITY COLLEGE 3.0

The old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t sit well with most educators — and not just because of its reprehensible grammar. As a lot, we are inquisitive, always asking questions and searching for new ways to serve our students and community.

At SUNY Adirondack, recent talks have centered on “Community College 3.0,” a buzz phrase in higher education. The concept is that community colleges evolved from their early days of ensuring access to education for everyone (Community College 1.0), through the years of creating opportunity programs and support systems to advance academic success (Community College 2.0), into a focus on post-graduation success. Our commitment to access and supporting success hasn’t changed, but we now do it with post-graduation more top of mind.

Much like we have since our inception in 1963, SUNY Adirondack is adapting to stay ahead of educational best practices and economic advance-

ment. We started work on Community College 3.0 long before the concept was dubbed such, developing partnerships with regional businesses to place students in internships and build professional networks.

For years, we have collaborated to build curriculum that prepares students for advanced degree programs and in-demand jobs in our area.

By working with community partners, we provide opportunities for our students to learn about career paths.

This winter, we were proud to announce several initiatives to support our increased investment in a future-focused approach to advising students.

You can read about those additions in this report, along with stories of people who have benefitted from SUNY Adirondack’s business partnerships.

With pride in SUNY Adirondack’s past and successes, we face Community College 3.0 with excitement over the possibilities and, always, a commitment to improving.

OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS INCLUDE

Amusement parks

Chambers of commerce

Convenience store companies

Design firms

Health care

Hospitality venues

Information technology companies

Manufacturing firms

Resorts

Restaurants

Semiconductor manufacturers Unions

and so many others!

As part of New York state’s 2023-24 Transformation Fund, SUNY Adirondack was awarded $945,000 in grant funding to help meet the workforce needs of the future.

SUNY campuses received $60 million from the Transformation Fund, with each invited to apply for funding from a menu of allowable uses by submitting a plan to SUNY System Office of Student Success to enhance support services, improve academic programs, increase enrollment and modernize campus operations.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE, REDEFINED

Much has changed since SUNY Adirondack was founded in 1961. Through the years, we worked to ensure the region’s educational and economic needs were fulfilled. The latest iteration of education — Community College 3.0 — is upon us, and, as always, SUNY Adirondack is transforming.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE 1.0

In 1946, the Truman Commission suggested higher education should no longer be “an instrument for producing an intellectual elite,” coining the term “community college.”

SUNY Adirondack was founded in 1961 on the principle that everyone should have access to education, during an era that saw the nation’s largest growth in community colleges.

Changes in federal grants and loans in the 1960s increased access to education and fostered social mobility. Community colleges charged lower tuition, provided comprehensive curricula and allowed those interested in higher education the opportunity to learn close to home.

Through the 1980s, vocational education and specialized trainings flourished at community colleges.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE 2.0

As time passed, educational leaders realized providing a place to learn wasn’t enough. In the decades surrounding the turn of the century, focus shifted to academic success and measuring retention and graduation rates.

This shift in perspective led to the creation of opportunity programs and service

offices that focused on closing achievement gaps. Suddenly, the “community” in college was about more than geographic location and instead helped describe the learning environment.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE 3.0

In a generation of learners shaped by on-demand technology and services, priority has shifted. Prospective students want to know if the investment of their time and money will result in higher wages and more fulfilling careers.

SUNY Adirondack responded. We continue to analyze our programs to ensure they prepare students for transfer or careers.

Monitoring outcomes and surveying students have increased, and data is disaggregated in more ways.

We also increased first-year student support, career advising, mental wellness support and internship opportunities, and increased partnerships with regional employers and educational institutions. These changes all help ensure our students success in the classroom and fulfillment beyond.

SUNY Adirondack, a community college of the State University of New York, does not discriminate against any employee, applicant for employment, intern, whether paid or unpaid, contractor, student, or applicant for admission or other members of the college community (including but not limited to vendors, visitors, and guests) based on a individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, gender identification, gender expression, sexual orientation, self-identified or perceived sex, the status of being transgender, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, veteran status, domestic violence victim state, criminal conviction or any other category protected by law. The College adheres to all federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination and sexual harassment in public institutions of higher education.

The college prohibits conduct by any employee or any student who disrupts or interferes with another’s work performance or education experience, or who creates an intimidating, offensive, or hostile work or educational environment due to discrimination based on protected status or sexual harassment. SUNY

Adirondack is committed to educating employees in the recognition and prevention of workplace and education discrimination and sexual harassment, and to informing students, employees and others how to report a discrimination complaint.

Inquiries about and reports regarding this notice and procedure may be made to compliance@sunyacc. edu or to one of the following Civil Rights Compliance Coordinators/Officers: Cornelius Gilbert, Chief Diversity Officer/Title IX Coordinator, Scoville 326, gilbertc@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2313; Mindy Wilson, Associate Vice President of Human Resources/Payroll & Affirmative Action Officer, Washington Hall 105, wilsonm@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2252; Diane Wildey, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs/Section 504 Coordinator, Scoville 324, wildeyd@sunyacc.edu, 518-743-2337. Inquiries may also be directed to the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 32 Old Slip 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005-2500, ocr.newyork@ed.gov, 646-428-3800.

SUNY Adirondack received funding for multiple initiatives, including:

• Offering short-term information technology boot camps, which include a workforce success coach who provides students with supports including tutoring and training in time management, studying, resume building, interviewing and other soft and hard skills

• Hiring an employer engagement manager to assess the needs of regional employers and provide them information about the college’s existing programs; this role will also collect feedback from employers to help inform SUNY Adirondack’s course and program offerings

• Hiring a coordinator of career and advising connections, who will focus on employment preparation of students by training the campus community in software and best practices, and guiding career exploration, internship opportunities and workshops

(See Page 25)

• Funding an internship program to remove barriers for students to participate in credit-based internships; support includes financial help with tuition, travel costs and other expenses

• Funding operational support of apprenticeships to help cover tuition costs, textbooks and supplies to benefit these important on-the-job training and educational opportunities

• Funding Healthcare Pathways, a program that provides financial support to individuals pursuing careers in health care, and supports three positions at the college to connect students to opportunities

Tim Suprise can speak as easily about servicing paper machines as he can about brewing beer or even training police dogs.

“I’m a jack of a bunch of different trades,” joked Suprise, who was recently hired as SUNY Adirondack’s employer engagement manager, a role funded by SUNY Transformation funds.

Hired to help ensure the college is meeting the needs of regional employers, perhaps it’s fitting Suprise has a varied career history that includes time as a sheriff’s deputy on a canine team, a field service technician, a sales engineer, marketing and owner of a brewing company.

“You just follow where the spirit leads sometimes,” he said. “I’m a believer things happen for a reason.”

So while he didn’t take a direct route, Suprise is confident his experience prepared him for his new role. “I can be a great asset for the community and the college,” he said. “I really want to be able to do meaningful work.”

Suprise started in February and has big plans.

“I’m going to put SUNY Adirondack in a position where there’s a good and healthy environment for us to be successful in engaging with local employers, and breaking new ground for future opportunities,” he said.

In early April, the college made an exciting announcement about SUNY Adirondack Saratoga: Beginning with the fall 2024 semester, four degrees can be earned entirely on site.

“These expanded services will help the college continue to provide regional employers, and learners of all ages and backgrounds, access to high-quality educational opportunities where it’s most convenient for them,” Kristine D. Duffy, Ed.D., president of SUNY Adirondack, said at an event April 9 at the Wilton facility.

The change comes after a months-long SUNY- and state-level approval process that changes SUNY Adirondack Saratoga’s status and allows the conferral of academic degrees at Saratoga and Queensbury.

• Business Administration

• Accounting

• Individual Studies (with a health care emphasis)

• Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship associate degrees can be earned at the branch campus, as well as the Queensbury campus and online

Saratoga’s Community College

AMONG OTHER CHANGES AT SUNY ADIRONDACK SARATOGA: Opportunities to gain skills in three new areas:

• Hospitality Manager

• Small-Business Bookkeeper

• Small-Business Manager

Ability to earn a bachelor’s degree in business

Credentials for:

• certified nurse aide (CNA)

• home health aide (HHA)

• personal care aide (PCA) as part of Healthcare Pathways, funded by a State University of New York (SUNY) Future of Work Centers grant

“This shift allows Saratoga County students to earn a degree close to home in high-demand fields including health care and business, while cutting travel time and making attending in-person classes more convenient,” Duffy said.

“This was a chance to branch out. What better place to do that than Disney?”

Annalise Baker didn’t have to leave the United States to experience the world.

The SUNY Adirondack Hospitality Management student spent the fall semester as an intern in Disney’s College Program, where she worked alongside students from Brazil, Australia and China, and lived with students from Italy and France.

“I’ve eaten a lot of crepes — and I’m not complaining at all,” laughed Baker, who will graduate in May 2024. “They share their traditions with me and it’s so much fun learning about their cultures.”

As Thanksgiving approached, Baker’s roommates asked, “You’re going to make a turkey, right?,” she said. “They didn’t know what stuffing was. It’s interesting how intrigued they are by American culture.”

Meeting people from around the world is just one of the many benefits of the Disney program, said Jeff Hickman, manager of Disney College and International Recruitment. “That, to me, is another really cool component of the overall experience. You’re coming here and living with people who are in some cases very different, with different personalities and backgrounds.”

Baker grew up in Hudson Falls and dreamed of being a musician. She first became interested in hospitality when she landed a job at Great Escape. “I thought I was going to be in retail for the summer, then transfer to entertainment, but it was just after COVID, so they were lacking in management,” she said. “Maybe two weeks into working, they said, ‘You’re going to be lead.’ I was like, ‘Wow, I love this.’”

Baker is especially passionate about the display side of retail. “It gets that creative side out, but you also get to work with guests and make them happy,” she said.

Applying for Disney College Program was an obvious next step for her. “The opportunity looks fantastic on a resume,” she said.

“The learning component is a complete game-changing experience for participants,” Hickman said. “The activities, the networking and learning opportunities we provide on a weekly basis are awesome.”

“There is the culture side of things, more traditional career services-type programming — resume building, interview skills, personal branding — but we also offer really unique networking opportunities,” Hickman said.

Baker loved that aspect. “This was a chance to branch out. I love my job at Great Escape, but it’s a small park and I wanted to get my toes out the door and into something a little bigger,” she said. “What better place to do that than Disney?”

DISNEY COLLEGE PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS

1981 founded

150 number of SUNY Adirondack students who have participated

7,000 participants every semester

27,000 applicants per semester

1,500 international participants per semester

1,600-PLUS colleges and universities participating

FIVE TO SEVEN months per program

50 STATES with students in program

LAKE GEORGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Chambers of commerce

Mike Colvin thought he had to leave upstate New York to make a name for himself in radio.

“It was overwhelming,” said Colvin, who today is the marketing director of Lake George Chamber of Commerce (LGCC). “All my instructors at University at Albany said, ‘If you want to make money in that field, you have to go to a larger market.’”

“But there is absolutely opportunity here,” said Colvin who, after a nearly decade-long career in radio and TV in Arizona, returned to our region when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The Fort Edward native left high school to join the military. When he returned

MIKE COLVIN

HOMETOWN: FORT EDWARD, NEW YORK

2010 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK

WITH A DEGREE IN RADIO/TV BROADCASTING

2012 GRADUATE OF UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY

WITH A DEGREE IN COMMUNICATIONS THEORY

CURRENTLY: MARKETING DIRECTOR OF LAKE GEORGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

home, he enrolled at SUNY Adirondack, earning a degree in 2010. He transferred to University at Albany, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications theory.

Back in the region and near his family, Colvin hasn’t quite reacclimatized to cold weather, but is otherwise settling in. “This job is a lot of fun,” he said. “I meet all our different members, every day is a different day, so I haven’t been bored yet.”

When working in radio, he hosted interns and looks forward to getting to do so at LGCC. “We have a pretty major docuseries coming up,” he said. “So we’ll bring them to a shoot, show them how to set up, tricks and tips they might not learn at school.”

The Chamber has welcomed SUNY

Adirondack students as interns for years. “They get a touchpoint with so many employers,” Colvin said.

“They’re getting themselves out there and that will lead to a job. SUNY Adirondack is doing a great job preparing them.”

KATY FRINTON

HOMETOWN: HADLEY, NEW YORK

2017 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN MEDIA ARTS

CURRENTLY: GRAPHIC DESIGNER AT STEWART’S SHOPS

Katy Frinton is modest, but even she has to admit a certain amount of pride in seeing her work pretty much every time she leaves home.

“Every time I bring my mom in the stores, I say, ‘I did that, I did that,’” said Frinton, a graphic designer for Stewart’s Shops Corp., which has

more than 350 stores in New York and Vermont.

As a high school student in Hadley, Frinton attended BOCES for graphic design. After graduating, she worked at her grandfather’s deli for a few years.

“I just knew I didn’t want to work at a deli forever and I loved art,” she said.

“Since they offered [a Media Art major] at SUNY Adirondack, I figured I’d go for it. I had nothing to lose.”

She earned a degree in 2017, then took some time off work to welcome her son. As he grew, she started in sanitation at Stewart’s, which allowed her to spend her days with him and work nights.

STEWART’S SHOPS Convenience store companies

The hours caught up to her, though, so when she saw a post for a graphic designer at the company she loved, she applied.

“I got very lucky to get this job at Stewart’s,” she said.

Now she’s the creative force behind signs and materials for Flavor of the Week, ice cream specials, Moo Club, T-shirts, food-specific promotions, the company’s annual Holiday Match and Stewart’s Federal Credit Union, among other projects.

“Katy is pretty humble; her work is far-reaching,” said Robin Cooper, public relations manager for the company, who is also a SUNY Adirondack alum.

“My experience at SUNY Adirondack gave me a lot of confidence,” Frinton said.

Stewart’s Shop and The Dake Family, a fund of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, are longtime supporters of SUNY Adirondack. The company welcomes interns from the college, providing students career experience.

And Stewart’s is the college’s largest corporate sponsor, giving nearly $400,000 to support various efforts, including:

• Reach New Heights campaign

• Regional Higher Education Center

“You feel included at SUNY Adirondack.”

• help providing access scholarships for community youth participating in SUNY Adirondack’s Summer Enrichment Program

• $75,000 in support of the college’s turf field project in 2023 (below)

LYSSA HOWARD

HOMETOWN: QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK

SENIOR WEB DEVELOPER AT BLKDOG

JULIA HOWARD

HOMETOWN: HARTFORD, NEW YORK

2019 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN MEDIA ARTS

CURRENTLY: GRAPHIC DESIGNER AT BLKDOG

BLKDOG DESIGN Design firms

When

Jesse Tyree opened BLKDOG Digital Marketing firm, his first intern was a SUNY Adirondack student. More than a decade later, she’s still on staff.

“She has been with us for close to 11 years and has been instrumental in the growth of our business,” Tyree said.

“It was just Jesse and me, the two of us in a small room with no windows,” laughed Lyssa Howard, the company’s senior web developer who studied graphic design at SUNY Adirondack before landing the BLKDOG internship.

In the years since, BLKDOG has grown considerably and has regularly welcomed between eight and 14 interns a year, several of whom are SUNY Adirondack students.

“SUNY Adirondack students are a lot more dedicated in terms of what they want to do,” Tyree said. “They’re committed, they’re asking questions and they’re coming in with a lot of skills and determination.”

Tyree also helps inform curriculum for Early College Career Academy, a SUNY Adirondack collaboration with BOCES in which regional 11th- and 12th-graders spend half-days taking college-level classes in New Media (programs are also offered in Business, Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology).

Julia Howard, a graphic designer at BLKDOG (who is, actually, a relation to Lyssa Howard; the two are cousins), is a 2018 graduate of the ECCA New Media

program who earned a degree from SUNY Adirondack in Media Arts in 2019. She was a high school student at Hartford Central School and saw a presentation about ECCA.

“I thought it was super cool; I had no experience with art on computers at all, but I always liked art,” she said. “Hartford doesn’t have a lot of arts programs, so I saw ECCA as a way to have new experiences.”

The first day of classes, she remembered, she didn’t know how to turn on the computer. “Once I started playing around with the programs and learning what graphic design was all about, I really liked it and, the more I did it, the more I realized I could have a career,” said Julia Howard who, after graduating from SUNY Adirondack went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from SUNY New Paltz.

“SUNY Adirondack really prepared me for the realworld application, how to actually use the programs, file organization, how to prepare projects for print — really necessary things you need to know on a daily basis,” she said. “When I got to New Paltz, I felt ahead. I think it’s a great thing SUNY Adirondack is doing now.”

Hudson Headwaters is an important partner in SUNY Adirondack’s Nursing degree program.

JILL COOMBES

HOMETOWN: QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK

1999 GRADUATE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN GENERAL STUDIES

2011 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN NURSING

2021 GRADUATE OF ALBANY LAW SCHOOL WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN HEALTH LAW COMPLIANCE

CURRENTLY: VICE PRESIDENT OF COMPLIANCE AND CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER AT HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK

HUDSON HEADWATERS HEALTH NETWORK Health care

Jill Coombes’ career path was laid out in what she thought would be a straight line: After graduating from Queensbury High School, she started at SUNY Adirondack with a plan to transfer to Cornell University, where she would study to become a veterinarian, just like her dad.

But while a student at what was then called ACC, she took an art history class and loved it so much, she thought she wanted to change her major.

“My dad [who is retired longtime local veterinarian James Glendening] talked me out of it,” she remembered. So she transferred to Cornell, eventually changing her major from animal science to general studies and, after graduation, happened to find employment with a software company.

When the recession hit in 2008, she

found herself without a job. “I noticed how many health care jobs were available, because health care is insulated from the economy,” Coombes said. “I was deliberating between ‘Do I become a physician’s assistant?’ But that would require traveling to Syracuse or Albany, and I had young kids. ‘Or do I do Nursing at SUNY Adirondack? That has the benefits of being in my hometown and having a great program.’ That was the game-changer.”

Coombes enrolled in SUNY Adirondack’s highly competitive Nursing program, graduated and dove into a career in nursing. “I was pinned on a Friday and started working Monday as a med-surge nurse at the hospital,” she remembered.

She worked for several years in various nursing roles, including serving as assistant clinical nurse manager of an ambulatory surgery center. When she

saw an opportunity at Hudson Headwaters, she knew it was time to make another change.

“Hudson Headwaters offered me an amalgamation of my experience,” said Coombes, who earned a master’s degree in health law compliance from Albany Law School.

At Hudson Headwaters, she sees the impact of her alma mater.

“We can’t deliver on our mission without trained professionals,” she said. “SUNY Adirondack provides numerous training opportunities for health care — clinical, administrative, finance — in so many areas.”

Hudson Headwaters is a partner in providing SUNY Adirondack campus community members access to affordable health care. The college is proud to welcome Hudson Headwaters Mobile Health to its campus from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday of every month, outside the Residence Hall.

The mobile unit is a highly customized 40-foot vehicle that includes two fully equipped private exam rooms, a registration area, a point-of-care testing area, a lab draw station and care facility offering primary care visits for adults and children. The health center includes a bathroom and wheelchair lift.

Hudson Headwaters Mobile Health offers confidential STD/STI testing, preventive health visits, annual physicals, sports physicals, routine care, medication management, sick visits, birth control or emergency contraceptives, and more.

THE QUEENSBURY HOTEL Hospitality venues

Tyler Herrick has long seen SUNY Adirondack as a resource to the region’s thriving tourism and hospitality industries. Since he worked in management at The Sagamore Resort, he has welcomed classes to tour the facility and learn about daily operations.

“I’d share my story coming up through the ranks, and use that as a twopronged approach: for the students, it’s a good day out of the classroom and seeing how things work, but it’s also an opportunity for us to recruit,” said Herrick, who today is president of Spruce Hospitality Group, which owns The Queensbury Hotel.

When SUNY Adirondack expanded its Culinary programs to include Seasoned, the college’s student-run restaurant in downtown Glens Falls, just a few blocks from The Queensbury, Herrick saw an even greater opportunity to partner.

“One of the our big missions as The Queensbury Hotel was for the first time in 60 years under local ownership and management was to reconnect the property to the community,” Herrick said.

Now, the hotel regularly has two or three interns in its kitchens, regular site visits, and occasional interns in accounting, front desk, rooms and other departments.

“A couple of post-grads have accepted full-time positions with us,” Herrick said. “They’re engaged, committed employees.”

Among those is Aidan Vallee, a Culinary student in his final semester at SUNY Adirondack.

Vallee was placed as an intern in The Queensbury’s kitchens.

“After being there a couple of weeks, the executive chef said, ‘We want people who know what they’re doing and are in tune with the craft,’” he recalled. “I’ve been working there four months.”

The Queensbury Hotel

The Cambridge native worked at a brewery through high school and attended BOCES’ culinary program, so he came to SUNY Adirondack with some kitchen experience.

“It’s been really good to learn at SUNY Adirondack because it offers a wide variety of formats and ways of learning, new cooking techniques and how a kitchen is run, even down to the levels of having to order and food specifications,” he said. “It’s all really important to know and gives inside knowledge.”

He puts what he learns to use at The Queensbury, where he mans the sauté station for banquets, among other tasks.

“This is a great place to work, there’s opportunity for growth and to learn new things,” he said. “SUNY Adirondack opened me up for a job opportunity like this.”

JARED HUMISTON

HOMETOWN: ARGYLE, NEW YORK

OWNER OF ADIRONDACK TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

ADIRONDACK TECH SOLUTIONS Information technology companies

As owner of Adirondack Tech Solutions, Jared Humiston considers SUNY Adirondack and its information technology students assets in an ever-changing industry.

“We’ve always hired a lot of people out of the program,” Humiston said. “We have four on staff right now.”

When SUNY Adirondack’s Cybersecurity major was being developed, Humiston provided insights into curriculum. “I wasn’t as industry ready as I thought I would be coming out of college,” he admitted. “So I told [SUNY Adirondack professors], ‘These labs are good, but it doesn’t translate in real life.’”

Adirondack Tech Solutions hosts SUNY Adirondack interns and hires students for special projects, including World University Games, which were held in upstate New York in January 2023.

“The students were absolutely phenomenal — their tech skills and leadership and personal skills,” Humiston said. “They did a great job for us.”

Among those students was Jacqueline Layman, a 2023 graduate of SUNY Adirondack’s Cybersecurity program.

“WUG was such a good time; it was a super quick way to get experience,” Layman said. “I’ve always been into technology, have always had an interest in it.”

Adirondack Tech Solutions is a longtime collaborator with SUNY Adirondack.

The business has welcomed approximately 20 SUNY Adirondack interns and has hired more than a dozen alumni as full-time employees. But the company also makes classroom visits and leads projects.

“For quite a few years, we have changed the [client’s] name and done real-life projects in

Having on-site experience was helpful when Layman applied for jobs.

“I put it on my resume, and I’ve gotten two job offers and have three interviews coming up next week,” she said a few weeks before graduation. “I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

classes,” said Jared Humiston, owner of Adirondack Tech Solutions.

The results of the ongoing relationship are beneficial to students and the company.

“We haven’t had a single position leave in 18 months,” Humiston said. “In IT right now, turnover is one of the biggest challenges and, according to the industry average, all my technicians should have turned over by now. But we’ve focused on putting the right team together.”

AINDREA LUNDBERG

HOMETOWN: GREENWICH, NEW YORK

1990 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK HUMAN RESOURCES REPRESENTATIVE AT FORT MILLER GROUP

FORT MILLER GROUP Manufacturing firms

Aindrea Lundberg took a bit of a meandering path to her job at Fort Miller Group. But part of the Greenwich native’s job is helping recruit students to the company’s career fields.

“We hope at some point these students come back to us for jobs,” said Lundberg, who as Human Resources representative organizes site visits, presents at job fairs and places interns from colleges including SUNY Adirondack.

“Even if we spark an interest in something manufacturing and those students go to another manufacturer, it’s still a win for manufacturing,” said Lundberg, a SUNY Adirondack alumna.

Lundberg’s own path wasn’t a straight line to Fort Miller Group. She attended SUNY Adirondack as a high school student, then enrolled as a Liberal Arts major while working in restaurants.

“I didn’t want to do restaurants anymore,” she remembered, and said part of what she loved about the college is that she was able to explore many interests. She started working in retail management before making a move to Fort Miller a decade ago.

“I did a lot of psychology and sociology, which leant itself well to retail management because a lot of management is figuring out how to manage people and what makes them tick,” she said. “Even though I didn’t know it when I was taking them, a lot of the classes were really helpful to me from a management perspective.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Fort Miller Group comprises four companies:

• TyMetal

• Fort Miller Precast

• Fort Miller Service

• Access Anvil

EIGHT INTERNS MAXIMUM at one time at Fort Miller Group

75 YEARS IN BUSINESS

DEPARTMENTS IN WHICH INTERNS ARE PLACED:

• shop floor

• painting

• welding

• maintenance

• carpenter shop

• purchasing

• sales

• IT

• drafting

• civil and mechanical engineering

• scheduling

• inventory management

• technology services

THE SAGAMORE

Even if Chef Marco Coelho didn’t know their faces, he’s certain he could tell which interns in The Sagamore Resort’s kitchens are from SUNY Adirondack.

“They care how they look, they have pristine uniforms, they hold themselves together,” the executive chef of the resort said. “They really show respect to the establishment.”

Coelho is an alum of Johnson & Wales University with more than two decades of experience, so has seen his fair share of students from larger culinary programs. “They don’t care about that: They have wrinkled coats and they think they’ll graduate and work at a place with fresh produce and tweezers,” he chuckled. “The smaller schools, the students have more of a work ethic.”

The resort employs more than 500 people during peak season, said Tom Guay, general manager of the resort. “The Sagamore is not just about food and beverage,” he said. “For us, it’s engineering, sales, accounting, spa, golf, the front desk, a number of areas — to include our very own cruise ship ‘The Morgan’ that sails on Lake George throughout the season.”

Sagamore Director of Human Resources Kristin Stroebel said the resort relies on SUNY Adirondack to fill necessary roles. Stroebel attends job fairs at the college, works closely with SUNY Adirondack Culinary instructor Chef Matt Bolton, welcomes classes for property tours and sponsors SUNY Adirondack’s Joseph Carr Wine Dinner every year.

“I enjoy seeing our next generation of up-and-coming hospitality superstars,” Stroebel said. “It’s inspiring.”

Coelho sees that in his team of chefs, too. “What they love about the job is teaching; they want to teach what they know,” he said.

SUNY Adirondack students are incredible learners, he said. “They care a lot about what they’re doing and don’t care if we put them in the beginning of the ranks,” he said.

He has been so impressed by SUNY Adirondack students, he hired a few, including Claire Schrader, a student majoring in Liberal Arts with plans to become a nutritionist. Schrader was a BOCES culinary arts student in high school, interned at The Sagamore and was hired.

SUNY Adirondack student

Schrader, employee at The Sagamore Resort

“I work on weekends for them, then when I have school break, I work full time,” she said. “They’re very flexible and I’m able to work the days I don’t have classes.”

Schrader’s job helps pay the bills, of course, but she sees value far beyond her paycheck. “This is good to have under my belt and always have in case I need something to fall back on,” she said of the culinary skills she’s developing. “I get a lot of different experience.”

Perhaps most important to her are the people she meets.

“The really great thing about The Sagamore is the cultural differences,” the Lake George native said. “I have worked with so many people from all over the world — an amazing experience that I would not have gotten anywhere else.”

PATRICK FAYETTE

HOMETOWN: QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK 2023 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN CULINARY ARTS LINE CHEF AT RADICI

Brian Bowden and his wife, Carly, opened Radici in downtown Glens Falls in January 2020, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and led to staffing issues.

But the Bowdens were saved in part by developing a relationship with SUNY Adirondack.

“I reach out to Chef Matt [Bolton] at different times over the course of the year to see if he has any prospects,” said Bowden, who has had six interns from the college’s

“They have all worked out.”

Chief among them is Patrick Fayette, a 2023 SUNY Adirondack Culinary graduate who was brought on as an intern at Radici his second semester in the program.

“I was working a minimum-wage job at Pizza Hut and looking to expand my talent elsewhere,” Fayette said. “Chef Matt reached out to Brian. Chef Brian thought I was going to be great for him, then invited me to work there after my internship.”

The restaurant’s high-end nature is a good fit for SUNY Adirondack students.

“Chef Matt has a solid understanding of fundamentals,” Bowden said of the students’ preparedness. “We try not to use them just for prep, we try to give them a more well-rounded experience of the business, which we hope they stick with.”

Fayette, for one, can’t imagine going anywhere else. “I love working there, it’s a pretty great gig.”

COMMUNITY COLLEGE 3.0

Pam Zuckerman first realized the power of mentoring when she was teaching a class at Fashion Institute of Technology and she read a paper submitted by a young man who trudged into class with his cap pulled low and his hoodie obscuring his face.

“It was sensational and I remember thinking, ‘This kid can really write,’” said Zuckerman, who was recently hired as coordinator of Career Advising Connections at SUNY Adirondack, a position funded by SUNY Transformation Grant funds. She put a note on the student’s paper, asking to see him in her office.

“I said, ‘Has anyone told you that you’re a wonderful writer?,’ and he said he had never received feedback,” Zuckerman said.

She started meeting with him weekly and saw his confidence grow.

“He became president of student government and was later selected as the student representative of FIT to the U.N.,” she said, adding that he went on to earn an MBA.

“There are so many ways to impact students’ lives,” said Zuckerman, who at SUNY Adirondack will help students explore career paths, set career goals, engage in networking opportunities, secure internships and prepare for the workforce.

Zuckerman brings more than 37 years of experience in a similar role at Fashion Institute of Technology, where she served as associate professor and career counselor.

“Being an advisor, you can do one thing that changes the course of a student’s life,” Zuckerman said. “You can be an inspiration as a mentor.”

VINCENT PETRONE

HOMETOWN: HADLEY, NEW YORK

2014 GRADUATE OF SUNY ADIRONDACK WITH A DEGREE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

2017 GRADUATE OF SUNY OSWEGO WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN TECHNOLOGY TEACHING/INDUSTRIAL ARTS TEACHER EDUCATION

2021 GRADUATE OF SUNY EMPIRE WITH A MASTER OF ARTS IN LEARNING AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Vincent Petrone always knew sitting in a chair at work all day wouldn’t suit his personality.

After high school he started studying Information Technology at SUNY Ad-

irondack. “I knew I wanted to get into networking,” he said. “I had an interest in technology in high school, but my school didn’t have a lot of programs.”

After earning an associate degree, he enrolled at SUNY Oswego, where he studied technical education. A few weeks after graduation, he attended

a career fair at SUNY Adirondack and struck up a conversation with a representative from GlobalFoundries (GF).

“I didn’t really have the idea I would get a job in tech, but I knew in my ideal workday, I didn’t want to just sit at a desk and repeat the same task,” said

GLOBAL FOUNDRIES Semiconductor manufacturers

Petrone, who as a maintenance technician at the chip fabrication facility helps maintain diffusion furnaces and — perhaps most fitting for a man who also earned a master’s degree in Learning and Emerging Technology — trains junior technicians and engineers.

“This is such a highly specialized industry, there are not books about this stuff; the knowledge is passed from person to person,” Petrone said.

Petrone used GF’s tuition reimbursement program to earn a master’s degree from Empire State University.

“A lot of employees take advantage of the opportunity to pursue a degree while working full time,” said Tara McCaughey, workforce development lead at GF.

“We work to create career pathways for all levels of education,” McCaughey said.

SUNY Adirondack is among GF’s many partners. The company helped inform the college’s curriculum for Mechatronics. “That program meets our needs and gives students the skills we’re looking for,” she said.

GF also offers internships to SUNY Adirondack students. “We view internships as essential to the talent pipeline,” McCaughey said. “We think about it as a long interview — not just

‘Is the company interested in you?’ but ‘Are you interested in the company?’ and finding out if it’s a good fit for you.”

Interns are given opportunities to work on meaningful projects, McCaughey said, and are included in social and networking events. “We want students to get a sense of our community,” she said.

Many SUNY Adirondack students start as interns and are hired as part-time workers while they finish a degree program. “Students often have a fulltime job offer before they graduate,” McCaughey said.

MICHAEL JARVIS

BUSINESS MANAGER AND FINANCIAL

SECRETARY-TREASURER OF LOCAL 773 PLUMBERS AND STEAMFITTERS

BILL AUSTIN

HOMETOWN: GLENS FALLS, NEW YORK

2001 SUNY ADIRONDACK

GRADUATE WITH A DEGREE IN RADIO BROADCASTING UNION ORGANIZER FOR THE LOCAL 773

LOCAL 773 PLUMBERS AND STEAMFITTERS Unions

Over the past few years, Michael Jarvis has seen a shift in how trades are being talked about — and with good reason.

“When you come out of four years of college in debt and you’re at the very bottom of the totem pole, but a journeyman starts at $41 an hour,” Jarvis said, explaining how apprentices work while being trained and earning journeyman status. “The unions of yesteryear are gone; today, we’ve got an excellent training facilitate, an organizer on staff, a business agent on staff, and 50 people on a waiting list to get in.”

Jarvis, the business manager and financial secretarytreasurer of Local 773 Plumbers and Steamfitters, is working with SUNY Adirondack on developing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) training program. As the college awaits grant funding for the courses, Jarvis lined up space and materials for the training, and is helping find instructors.

“I’ve seen higher education and local high schools and middle schools put more emphasis on trades the last few years,” he said.

Renewed interest is important, he said, since the services tradesmen provide are critical and because the trades are solid, good-paying jobs.

Among the more than 450 members of Local 773 is Bill Austin, a 2001 Radio Broadcasting graduate of SUNY Adirondack.

After an internship at a record company, Austin planned to “get a job in New York City and live the life of a rock star,” but those plans changed when he learned he was going to be a father.

“I needed a job with perks,” he said. He started work at a regional distribution center, then heard about the benefits the union offered.

He signed on for a fiveyear apprenticeship, learning on the job and taking classes three nights a week.

“I liked having money coming in, and it was a great experience to work and go to school,” he said.

Austin worked as a journeyman in the field until four years ago, when he became an organizer for the Local 773. “I miss working in the field; I had a lot of fun with the guys and I liked the physicality of the job,” he said.

But now he’s using even more of the skills he honed at SUNY Adirondack. “I am comfortable talking to strangers, I think on my feet pretty well, all that work in college really got me geared toward this,” he said.

A broken leg turned out to be a life-changer Brad Williams didn’t know he needed.

A year after his class graduated, he had to return to high school to finish work he missed while laid up with an injury.

“I really didn’t want to be there, all my former classmates had moved on with new lives,” he said. “The homeroom teacher added a desk, alphabetically, and sat me right next to Cathy Wright.”

“She was not going to sit there and let me feel sorry for myself,” he said, describing how the cheerleader who would later become his wife peppered him with questions about an upcoming soccer game and his class schedule.

“ ‘We have our first three classes together, then lunch,’” he remembers her

telling him. “So Cathy said, ‘Let’s walk to class together.’ Honest to God, I think my jaw must have hurt the entire day because I smiled so much.”

Cathy Williams, a longtime SUNY Adirondack employee who worked as a cashier in the dining hall, was Brad’s wife, and mother of prominent local artist (and SUNY Adirondack alumna) Hannah Williams and Ryan Williams, a disabilities rights lawyer. She passed away April 11, 2023, after a long battle with cancer.

Her indelible spirit of goodness and caring inspired the Williams family to create a scholarship fund in her memory.

“She turned my day 180 degrees and that’s the best way I can describe what Cathy could do to people,” Brad Williams said.

The warmth and kindness she radiated to countless SUNY Adirondack students, faculty and staff lives on in our memories and the Cathy Wright Williams Spirit Fund, a scholarship to help a SUNY Adirondack student who demonstrates that kind of spirit in support of others.

“Cathy and her spirit and how she related to people and how she was impactful to anyone who came into her orbit, you just don’t forget a person like that,” Williams said. “That’s why this scholarship is important.”

HOW TO DONATE

To donate in support of the Cathy Wright Williams Spirit Fund, which helps a deserving SUNY Adirondack student, visit https://www.sunyacc.edu/cathy-williams-spirit-fund, or send checks to:

SUNY Adirondack Foundation

Cathy Wright Williams Spirit Fund

640 Bay Road

Queensbury, NY 12804

DID YOU KNOW THAT STARTING A SCHOLARSHIP IS AS EASY AS PICKING UP THE PHONE?

In 2022-2023, the Foundation provided more than $330,000 to SUNY Adirondack to attract new students, retain existing students and help students get to the finish line — graduation!

Seven new scholarship funds were started — most secured because a local resident wanted to honor or memorialize someone special, picked up the phone and spoke to someone on our team.

The Foundation asks for a five-year commitment for the funding — which can be paid annually, up front or some combination of the two — and a decision on what the fund should be called to establish a named scholarship. Interested in learning more?

Call the Foundation office at 518-743-2243.

2022-2023 FINANCIALS Assets: $7,308,804

Income: $556,907 11%

Dear friends,

The 2022-2023 fund year was a banner one for SUNY Adirondack Foundation. Thanks to local support and good management of our investment portfolio, the Foundation was able to provide nearly $1 million in support for college strategic projects, including the multi-sport turf field that opened in the spring.

The SUNY Adirondack Fund reached record heights: $114,000 was donated from alumni, college faculty and staff, and, in larger numbers than ever, from friends and neighbors. SUNY Adirondack is more than our local educational institution; it is an economic engine that supports business and industry and has an annual economic impact exceeding $142 million, and is worthy of support.

If you were part of our fundraising success, thank you! If not, I invite you to join me, the community leaders on our governing boards, and our many friends across the region and across the country who already support SUNY Adirondack’s important work.

as of June 30, 2023

Expenses: $1,394,825

As an alumnus, I am very proud to serve as president of SUNY Adirondack Foundation. SUNY Adirondack set me on my own path, and the future of our region is brighter because of its work on behalf of our community.

With gratitude,

QUEENSBURY, NY

SUNY Adirondack Board of Trustees

Lee Braggs

Edward Fitzgerald

Amie Gonzales, vice chair

Kathleen Grasmeder, chair

Victoria Johnson, student trustee

Robert Judge

Colleen McDonald

James Nolan

Diana Palmer

Patricia Pietropaolo, secretary

Trustees Emeriti

H.Hudson Barton, 1960-1971

John Bishop, 1992-1998

R.Harry Booth, 2000-2020

Leslie Bristol, 1971-1987

Mark Bulmer, 2003-2016

John J. Castle, 1970-1983

Robert Clark, 1979-1995

Catherine Crank, 1993-2002

Barbara DeSantis, 1982-1996

Homer Dearlove, 1960-1984

Jack Irion, 1994-2003

Joan Kubricky, 1991-2000

John Morabito, 2008-2017

Rich Norman, 1993-2007

William Potvin, 1984-1998

Joseph L. Randles, 1970-1988

Merritt E. Scoville, 1960-1992

Robert Van Dyke, 1983-1989

William Walsh, 1996-1999

SUNY Adirondack Foundation Board of Directors

Bill Hart, president

Erinn C. Kolligian, president-elect

Robin Wadleigh, ’11, treasurer

Kristine Duffy, Ed.D., SUNY Adirondack president

Rachael Hunsinger Patten, secretary and executive director of the Foundation

Robert Bullock, adjunct faculty

James R. Burkett

Jim Casaccio

Russell E. Danforth, ’76

Paul Dowen, ’79

Richard J. Ferguson

Edward L. Hanchett

Chad Mallow, ’97

Shelly Marcantonio, ‘91

Michael Murray, ’01

Robert Nemer

James R. Nolan, Ph.D.

Naftali Rottenstreich, Ph.D., professor of English, SUNY Adirondack

Desma Sheerer

Sue Trumpick

Jessica Hugabone Vinson, Esq.

Directors Emeriti

Patrick Canavan, ‘91

Alan Redeker

Foundation staff

Liz Lastowski, ’00, director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations

Carrie Griffen-Yakush, ’00, office specialist