Dear Paul Smith’s Community,
It’s hard to believe we are almost at the end of the fall semester. Many of you have mentioned how nice it was to return from the Thanksgiving break to see the beautiful white lights on the gazebo and the trees around the main campus! Please join me in thanking our facilities team for making our campus look so good – not only now but year around.
It’s been a great semester on so many levels. We have hired outstanding new faculty and staff, have a fantastic student body, have a strong applicant pool already for next year, and have seen wonderful support from donors and the general community. In short, we have much to be thankful for. I’m looking forward to a terrific 2018!
On a more somber note, in the last few weeks our nation has been rocked by story after story of troubling sexual harassment incidents. It is clear that a culture of tolerance for harassment has existed in many organizations. This is a good wake-up call to remind our community that at PSC we are dedicated to making our campus a welcoming and safe environment for all. When a person reports an incident of sexual assault to our campus officials, the campus safety office outlines the options for investigation. The alleged victim is made aware that he or she is entitled to report the incident to the state police, to our on-campus judicial board, both, or neither. If you know of, or have been a victim of sexual harassment or an assault, please talk to any of the following: Campus Safety, the Title IX Coordinator (Phil Fiacco), a supervisor or human resources. The Title IX Coordinator will evaluate the report and initiate a confidential investigation.
The next Day One will be released on February 1. But now please enjoy reading about some of the activities and accomplishments in November. A joyous holiday season to all!
Cathy
- We have announced an innovative Culinary AOS program for fall 2018 enrollment. Students in this accelerated program will earn an Associate’s degree in just 3 semesters through a combination of intensive academics and real-world work experiences
- Athletics are an important part of the college experience and also contribute to student academic success. With a special thanks to Trustee Phil Saunders, we are pleased to be expanding our programs with the goal of positioning Paul Smith’s College as an Olympics Sports School. One exciting development is that beginning in Fall 2018 we will launch a Women’s Hockey team and are recruiting for full-time volleyball and women’s basketball coaches who will also recruit student athletes. We are thrilled to be joined by Olympic silver medalist Andrea Kilbourne-Hill as Director of Hockey
- The PSC community rose to the occasion for Giving Tuesday, with 287 donors contributing more than $60,000 and additional pledges on the way. A big-time thanks to all!
- Over 200 community members attended the annual Lighting of the Gazebo where they were treated to black bean soup, spiced hot cider and bags of fresh holiday baked goods created and presented by students and faculty in the culinary, baking and hospitality programs. Horse drawn wagon rides were available thanks to the Draft Horse Club
- Sodexo hosted the Helping Hands Food Drive and sponsored the annual Thanksgiving Luncheon. Our colleagues have done a great job keeping us well fed; the PSC Sodexo Dining Services won the District’s Recognition Award for outstanding performance
- 49 PSC student athletes have been selected as USCAA Academic All Americans
- The men’s and women’s Woodsmen’s Team made a complete sweep of the fall season, as both teams won the Fall Meet hosted by SUNY ESF. The teams won earlier at Finger Lakes and then at home before completing this trifecta
- Over the Thanksgiving break, our men’s rugby team did us proud and won the consolation game in the Sweet Sixteen Round of the National Small College Rugby Organization playoffs
- Bre-Ann Flouton Johnson took first place in Rock Climbing in the women’s division at St. Lawrence University, while Sean Meehan won the men’s division. In addition, Andrew Ingersoll and Ryan Novak placed first and second respectively in the men’s beginner division at the Orange Crush bouldering competition in Half Moon, New York
- The Recreation and Intramurals department hosted a SOLO Wilderness First Aid course for 18 students and community members
- The Recreation and Intramurals community swim lessons for kids wrapped up after 8 weeks with over 50 children participating in this American Red Cross learn to swim program led by our students
- The JW-Adirondack Library has developed an innovative new student employee program that aligns students’ job duties with the College’s and the Library’s strategic plans, National Association of College Employers (NACE) standards, and the Integrated General Education goals. Students work in 3 teams (Ambassadors, Outreach, and Peer-to-Peer educators) to develop programming and deliver services in a way that much more consciously focuses on learning while doing their jobs keeping the library operational
- The JW-Adirondack Library now offers access to “AtoZ World Food”, the world’s largest database of global food culture and recipes covering food culture for 174 countries of the world in six categories: National Cuisine, Regional Cuisine, Daily Meals, Dining Etiquette, Special Occasion Foods, and Food Trivia. Access is available from the library website
- The Natural Science seminar series continued with two excellent alumni speakers: Doug Little (EET, 1994), National Wild Turkey Federation, spoke on “Wild turkey ecology and restoration history in NY and the role of the NWTF” and Rich Henry (Forestry, 1974), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, addressed a question that many have asked, “What Do Those US Fish and Wildlife Service Guys Do Anyway? A Presentation of Two Case Studies Focusing on the Endangered Species Act and Superfund”
- Ross Conover was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 70th Chi Beta Phi National Conference in West Virginia. Ross spoke to the members of the science honorary society about “Life at High Elevation: Lessons Learned from Breeding Sparrows”
- Dan Kelting and Corey Laxson gave invited presentations on road salt at the Mirror Lake Salt Summit, and Dan Kelting gave an invited presentation on road salt to the APA commissioners, staff, and guests
- The alumni office sponsored a lunch attended by 8 students, 5 alumni, 1 former faculty member (Joe Orefice) and 1 current faculty member (Justin Waskiewicz) during the SAF Convention in Albuquerque
- PSC has officially formed a Disc Golf Club – and if you have not yet done so, check out our great disc golf course (thanks Ross Conover!)
- Author and speaker Ma’ikwe Ludwig conducted a Together Resilient presentation and workshop to spark a regional conversation about intentional living
- The Counseling Center’s Peer Educators hosted a Women’s Retreat as well as the Zero Balancing massage sessions
- The “Lab & Lecture Livestream” series kicked off with Joshua Boykin & students sharing their Organic Chemistry class live on Facebook. Special thanks to Matt Bailey and Cassidy Smith for providing their technical expertise. The series will continue in the spring semester with one livestream from each academic department
- Students Tia Akey and Cristhian Gonzalez traveled with the Admissions Team to the DECA Ultimate Power Trip Conference in Philadelphia, representing PSC to high school DECA students from around the country
- More than 100 prospective students came to campus on November 10th for the campus visit day
- Lady and Fee (our draft horses) continue to help with the Admissions effort by leading prospective students and their families on a horse-drawn tour of campus, and they will be in Lake Placid giving visitors wagon rides in December
- The college hosted visiting student and educator groups from the following schools:
- Chateaugay Central School
- Cold Hollow Career Center
- Jefferson-Lewis BOCES
- Northern Adirondack Central School
- Stafford Technical Center
- Online access to the badges celebrating our “Best Value Schools” designation is now live. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to add this artwork to items such as email signatures, meeting materials, and presentations. Instructions are detailed online
- Kelly Cerialo has been accepted to present at the International Leadership Association Regional Conference – “Next Generation Leadership” in Pretoria, South Africa on the subject of Youth Leadership Mentoring in Sustainable Communities
- Hospitality and Culinary students attended the Annual Hotel Restaurant Show in NYC where they met, toured and met with several PSC grads from the Hampton Inn United Nations, The Peninsula NY, Tumblr and Red Apple Butchers
- The NOLS program has been a wonderful opportunity for 7 Paul Smith’s Recreation students and 1 visitor. Students are just leaving campus for a 2-week Practicum trip to Zion National Park and Death Valley 12/2-12/15. Four student just recently earned a Climbing Wall Instructor certification through the American Mountain Guide Association, one of many certifications which were available through the program
- Kendra Ormerod was certified as a Level 2 Canoe Instructor by the American Canoe Association
- Robert O’Connor took 4 Sea Kayaking students to the Northeast Sea Kayaking Symposium in Maine along with the Outing Club
Upcoming Events of Note – see calendar for event details
- December 2: VIC winter season opening. The center will be open weekends through the end of March as well as Christmas-New Year’s Day, MLK Day, and President’s Week. Winter trail passes are available now! Get yours today
- December 2: VIC “Gearage Sale”
- December 3: Capital District Booster Club Season of Giving Event to benefit the Pathfinder Scholars Fund hosted by Joe Taylor ’72
- December 7: Las Vegas Alumni event hosted by Glenn Plantone ’81
- December 7: 3rd annual Murder Mystery night hosted by Residence Life
- December 8: Northern Lights Choir Winter Concert, St. Bernard’s Church, Saranac Lake
- December 8: National Society of Leadership and Success induction ceremony
- December 9: Winter Ball
- December 10: December Celebration
- December 15: Last day of classes
- December 20: Annual Holiday Luncheon for employees
- January 6: Capital District Alumni event at the recently remodeled Albany Marriott
- January 23: Residence Halls open
- January 24: Spring semester begins – welcome back!
