Dear Paul Smith’s Community,
Who knew summer would show up in late September! I hope everyone has been able to find some time for a summer hike or a paddle on the lake.
We were thrilled to welcome 256 new students to campus shortly before Labor Day. There are 21 states represented by the incoming class. We have 22 Eagle Scouts and three students from Alaska. The largest enrolled program is the wildlife concentration in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. And now we are already hard at work attracting students for Spring and Fall 2018. Currently, spring applications continue to come in and we already have 115 applications for next fall!
Below are some of the many activities that happened in September:
- PSC was highlighted as a Best Value Outdoor Adventure College by University Business magazine
- Our baccalaureate graduation rate is the best ever; an impressive 10% increase from the previous year. For our associates students the 3-year graduation rate also increased by over 10%
- John Dillon ‘58 donated $1 million to help with renovation of the college’s science labs. Stop by and see them if you have not yet done so – this important project ensures our science faculty and students have great tools for teaching and learning. We are so grateful for Mr. Dillon’s extremely generous gift. It is the largest donation ever from a Paul Smith’s alum
- Professor Eric Holmlund delivered a keynote talk in Fivizzano, Tuscany, Italy, at the 10th annual “School in the Park” conference in the Parco Nazionale dell’Appennino Tosco-Emiliano. This event kicks off his sabbatical work in Italy for the Park. Eric will be holding community focus meetings on sustainable tourism and will be working to develop a new center on religion and environmental stewardship at the park’s newly acquired Benedictine monastery
- The semester is off to a great start. Each of the academic departments held a welcome event for new students. These included s’mores and a bonfire at the forestry cabin for the foresters, hotdogs and lemonade in the gazebo for the culinarians and hospitality students, and desserts and conversations for the scientists and social scientists
- The 2nd biennial Adirondack Fungi Fest drew nearly 300 attendees with a day of experiences and programming by mycology experts. More than 200 species were found during the event, which was organized and led by Tom Huber
- The research being done on the local tick population by Lee Ann Sporn and students was featured in a Mountain Lake PBS program focused on environmental stories impacting the Adirondacks
- The Center for Accommodative Services has implemented a new system for taking notes in classes. Sonocent software will take the place of human note takers, putting control back in the students’ hands and encouraging independence and practical study skills
- The outing program organized and ran 30+ treks and experiences for approximately 200 first-year students during welcome week
- Several school groups including Lake Placid Central School, St. Bernards and Saranac Central school have taken advantage of the ropes course and rock wall. The course has also been used by over a dozen campus groups for leadership, orientation and bonding experiences
- The canoe team participated in the Adirondack 90-Miler with all of the PSC boats finishing very well in their categories, including a pair of podium finishes from Patrick Nicholson and James Neary in C2 Rec, and Adure Emerson in C2 Stock with teammates Jess Setter and Robbie McDermott following in fourth place. The college’s C4 boat finished 8th in what is by far the most competitive division of the 90 miler with Harrison Sopp, Tyler Dezago, Lenore Marcusson and Lauren Brient paddling
- The canoe team hosted the St. Regis Canoe classic with some impressive performances. Tyler Dezago and Ian McGuire teamed up in the men’s C2 Stock to not only win their division but also record the fastest time overall. They were followed closely by their teammates Harrison Sopp and Micheal Wert in 2nd place in the men’s C2 Stock division. Patrick Nicholson paddled the C1 division for the first time and came away with a win with a very fast time. Jess Setter paddled in the mixed C2 Amateur division for her first race in the amateur boat and came away with a first-place finish as well. The team hosted 60+ paddlers from around the state in this year’s race
- The 2nd annual Climb it 4 Climate community event reached its goal of 200 summits and raised $2,000 for PSC. This year we gained a mascot, with Bobcat Marshall joining the dozens of climbers who took part. Kudos to Bethany Garretson, Bobby O’Connor, Anthony Johnstone, Matt Dougherty, Bob Visicaro, Randy Martinez, Hannah Tomaszewski, and Ian McGuire for organizing this successful energy-awareness event. The outing program volunteered to operate safety boats for the swim of the inaugural Ironman 70.3 in Lake Placid, with a group of students spending their early Sunday morning on Mirror Lake ensuring the safety of 2000+ swimmers. PSC was also represented with an exhibit in Ironman Village during the event
- American Red Cross learn-to-swim lessons for the community started this week with over 60 local children signed up to partake this year
- The first Community Kids Climbing night takes place this month. Last year 200+ families participated in the community nights at the rock wall
- Men’s soccer is currently featuring a 4 – 3 record with a recent 3 – 2 win over rival Vermont Tech. The team is ranked 16th in the USCAA nationally. Women’s soccer team recently won 6-0 over Vermont Tech and second year student, Anna Mehner, was named as the women’s soccer athlete of the week with YSCC for week
- Cross Country’s Joe St. Cyr was named Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) runner of the week after his convincing win at Johnson State College, leading the team to a second place finish
- The golf team won a tourney hosted by NHTI at Montague Golf Club with a team score of 354, avenging a 2 point loss to NHTI earlier in the season
- Men’s Rugby began the season with a 31 – 0 win over St. Lawrence, and followed up with a 57 – 7 win over SUNY Potsdam. The Women’s Rugby team has 18 players this fall and there are two matches remaining in the season
- The women’s volleyball team defeated both Green Mountain College and Johnson State during a weekend swing through Vermont
- The Bass fishing team now has two teams qualified for the NYS Collegiate Cup, with Justin Rozema and Bob Visicaro placing sixth in a qualifier held on Lake George to join Taylor West and Jon Herrman who won the Lake Champlain tourney in late August. The Collegiate Cup Championships will be held on Lake Champlain on Sunday October 1st, based out of Crown Point, NY
- The college hosted a fun and eventful Music Fest during Welcome Week
- Lisa Garrett-Sharp, Zoe McCulley, and Teresa Gay attended a NYS Police training “High in Plain Sight”
- 3 Peer Educators were trained in First Aid Mental Health
- The “Hammock Haven” stress-free event was held at the Point
- The Counseling Center raised awareness for suicide warning signs and risk factors at the 3rd annual Get Pied for Suicide on the Great Lawn
- Lisa Garrett-Sharp attended the annual CCNY (College Counselors of New York) Director’s Conference at William Hobart and Smith Colleges
- The Campus Sustainability Fund is accepting proposals for Fall 2017. For all proposals over $500, the submission deadline is October 18th at 12pm (noon)
- The Alumni -led Compass Club and the PSC FFA Chapter represented PSC at the NYS State Fair. Many thanks to Rebi Romeo, Isaac Leach, Don Jones, Alyson Bennett, Jim Voorhies, Brandi Trimm, Corey Hoffman, and more for representing us so well. In addition, the admissions team, the Woodsmen’s Team, and the Draft Horses participated in the NYS State Fair Forest Products Day
- The college was represented at the Macedon Lumberjack Festival in Macedon NY
- Admissions counselors attended 60+ college fairs and recruitment events in high schools
- We’ve had ~200 campus visitors this month including school groups from Willsboro High School and Colton-Pierrepont High School
- The college is hosting “Dreaming of Timbuctoo” exhibit. The display focuses on Abolitionist John Brown who purchased land in Lake Placid, New York to encourage and lead free Blacks to become farmers in Northern New York. October 9 – 16, 2017. Joan Weill Adirondack Library
- 130 students were invited to and are currently going through the process of being inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success. This is the largest Leadership honor society in the nation
Upcoming Events of Note
- October 6: Natural Science Seminar with Sean Robinson
- October 7 – 15: Dreaming of Timbuctoo Exhibition
- October 9: 2nd Annual Columbus Day Basketball Camp for ages 5-17
- October 13 – 14: Board of Trustees Meeting
- October 14: Admissions Open House
- October 14: Alumni Board & Council Meetings
- October 19: Career Fair
- October 19: Student Affairs is hosting An Evening of Soul and Ballads Fall Concert on Thursday, October 19th at 4:30 pm in the Pine Room. The event features the following groups: SUNY Plattsburgh’s Gospel Choir , SUNY Potsdam Voices of Victory Gospel Choir, Bella Voce Women’s Chorus of Vermont and Paul Smith’s College Choral Group
- October 27: Residence Life and Student Activities will be sponsoring a Haunted House in Livermore on October 27th. This event will be free for all students and will be open to the outside public for an additional charge. If you or your student group are interested in helping, please contact Jill Susice or Amanda Jones
- October 30: Advanced Registration opens for Spring Semester
- November 1: Together Resilient: A Day with Ma’ikwe Ludwig
Best,
Cathy
