Dear Campus Community,
It’s hard to believe it is only March 1, as the recent warm weather is giving me a serious case of spring fever. However, I fully expect the rest of the semester will start flying by as we all focus on getting our work done!
Even though we are geographically removed from most political centers, we are impacted by actions and proposals at the national and state levels. At the national level recent actions toward undocumented immigrants and transgender students are a real source of stress for many in our community. Our college is committed to inclusion for all, so regardless of each of our political views I hope we will all extend friendship and support to those who are personally affected by the latest events. At the state level we continue to push for increased state financial aid (TAP) funding for all New York students who want to attend private schools like Paul Smith’s College. Thanks to all who have reached out to local and state officials to let them know how important it is to improve financial aid for our student body.
- First and foremost, some congratulations are in order!
- Kelly Linehan received her Master of Education degree in Curriculum & Instruction from Concordia University with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
- Glenn McClure, this semester’s Artist in Residence, won the 2017 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Adjunct Teaching.
- Our Men’s Basketball team received the 2017 Yankee Small College Conference Sportsmanship Award.
- Residence Life RA’s were awarded the Roll Call Award at the 2017 Residence Life Conference at SUNY Cortland. Here is a link to their skit: RA’s skit. At the same conference, Amanda Jones was recognized for her workshop presentation focused on learning styles and differentiated instruction.
- The Natural Science Seminar Series continued with a talk by Nina Schoch, DVM, on “The Secret Lives of Nesting Adirondack Loons”.
- A number of students attended the Student Aid Alliance’s “Advocacy Day” in Albany to show support for student aid funding and higher education.
- The first glimpse of “Hidden Heritage” – a video featuring Curt Stager with students Quinn Jordan, Hyla Howe, Amanda Preston, and Tim Waterhouse – was revealed. Be sure to visit SAM Fest for the “Hidden Heritage” world premiere.
- We were honored to have Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul as a keynote speaker for the Women in Science forum cohosted by the college and the Adirondack Research Consortium. Thanks to Dr. Favreau for her participation and to the faculty, staff and students who attended.
- February was a big month for snowshoeing…
- The Striders hosted the Empire State Winter Games snowshoe races, where our athletes dominated the field. Congrats to Adaiah Bauer, Tessa White, Lenore Marcuson, Chloe Mattilio, Isaac Leach, James Neary, John Enoch, Joe St. Cyr, Cody Sears, Bob Bolton and Doug Hazelden for their winning performances.
- Saranac Lake hosted the 2017 World Snowshoe Championships. Thank you to the many people who participated and represented PSC in such a remarkable way!
- Race director Jim Tucker planned, marked, groomed – and at the eleventh hour relocated – the official race course.
- Jim and our student athletes worked tirelessly to generate press coverage of the event.
- Annie Rochon, along with students Chelsea Turwilliams and Cristhian Gonzalez, acted as foreign-language interpreters to help international athletes feel welcome.
- Our Woodsmen’s Team entertained the crowd with their popular skills demonstration.
- Many students, alumni, and colleagues pitched in to handle logistics and help with last-minute trail maintenance.
- Thirty local girls and boys with their families participated in our community Kids Night to learn the basics of rock climbing.
- The “Shedding Light on the Working Forest” art exhibition was opened, accompanied by an interactive session with the artist Kathleen Kolb and poet Verandah Porche, plus a fun evening of songs and storytelling by Celia Evans and Bill Torrey. The exhibit runs through March 25th at the Heron Marsh Gallery in the VIC.
- Faculty and students experienced some end-of-January excursions that didn’t quite make it into last month’s report:
- Russ Aicher took students to the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors conference.
- Randall Swanson took students to the NYS Arborists annual conference.
- Joe Orefice took students to the NY Society of American Foresters chapter meeting.
- And the trips continued this month:
- Chefs Vicky Breyette and Chris Griffin took students to the New England Food Show.
- Joe Conto and Kelly Cerialo took students to Montreal where they explored regional foods, attended an improv comedy show, experienced the Montreal en Lumiere (Festival of Lights), beat the clock in an Escape the Room challenge, and attended a Maroon 5 concert as VIP guests.
- A special Valentine’s Day Dinner, energetic Super Bowl Party, and glamorous “Night at the Oscars” were highlights of our on-campus social calendar.
- Off campus, the month began with Winter Carnival. High-profile participants from PSC included our Woodsmen’s Team, Ice Carnival Princess Desiree Stump, and a certain Provost disguised as a Red Fox for the award-winning Kiwanis float. As always, dozens of Smitties and their friends turned out for this historic community event. Special thanks to the Alumni Board for their Winter Carnival donation of $1,800 to benefit the Endowed Alumni Scholarship fund.
- Receptions for regional alumni were held in Tampa, Miami, and Daytona Beach, FL.
- The spring Phonathon kicked off on February 5 – special thanks to all those who are helping us to reach our goal of $2.4 million by June 30!
- A variety of programs are ongoing to keep our community healthy, safe, and secure.
- Teresa Gay and Holly Parker attended a “Legislation to Adjudication” training session sponsored by the NY State Police and the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
- The Counseling Center hosted the “How to Be A Safe Smitty” Town Hall Meeting.
- Financial planning expert Tim Ranzetta visited campus to deliver a Financial Literacy presentation.
- The admissions team is hard at work bringing in a great Fall 2017 class. We have great campaigns in many new markets, and are targeting our outreach to those students we think would be the best fit for PSC. Right now applications are up from last year by about 30%. Enrollment is a campus-wide effort; thanks to all for participating, including those who are planning to participate in the March Campus Visit days.
- The Palm Restaurant’s offering of special themed menus continues. I can attest to how good they are! On Thursdays these have been provided by Chef Abt and his CUL 462 class, and on Fridays they have focused on themes such as “Classic Carnivore” (March 10) and “Paul Smith’s Grand Hotel Era” (March 24) and prepared by Chef Vicky Breyette and her team.
Correction
- Last month’s Day 1 Report included a mention of new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification courses, now offered at PSC thanks to the hard work of Brenden Blair and Karen Edwards. The prior report unfortunately misspelled Brenden’s name and overlooked Karen’s contributions. The EMT course is going strong with 30+ participants enrolled!
Upcoming Events of Note
- March 3: Natural Science Seminar Series – Tom Langen, PhD, gives a talk on “The Effectiveness Of Public-Private Partnerships For Wetland Conservation & Restoration”
- March 4: Campus Visit Day
- March 12: “Optimists” Free Ski Day
- March 13-17: Winter Break
- March 14: Transfer Day
- March 18: Bob’s Trees Pancake Breakfast
- March 25: Campus Visit Day
- March 18/19 & 25/26: NYS Maple Weekends
- March 27: Pre Registration for Summer/Fall courses begins
- March 30: Spring Career Fair
- March Saturdays & Sundays @ 1pm – Maple Interpretive Tours
- Every Thursday: Capstone Dinners @ The Palm
- Every Other Friday: Themed Dinners @ The Palm
- March 10: Classic Carnivore
- March 24: Paul Smith’s Grand Hotel
- April 14: Dinner de Chasse (dinner of the hunters)
- April 28: Parisian Bistro
Best,
Cathy
