Dear Paul Smith’s community,
What a busy month as we wrap up another academic year! Events of this past week alone reflect the great diversity and excellence of what happens at Paul Smith’s. On Thursday evening we recognized almost 170 students at an inspiring leadership banquet. On Friday we welcomed a large and outstanding group of accepted students to campus. And then on Saturday, snow notwithstanding, many past, present and future Smitties attended a great pancake breakfast. SAMFest was also Saturday with an incredibly diverse and talented group of artists, scientists and musicians who performed to a full house at the VIC. And while not on campus, our woodsmen’s team won (yet another) spring competition! So many people worked tirelessly on these events and programs and did a first-class job. Many thanks and congratulations to all.
As this is the last Day 1 of the 2018-19 year, best wishes to all a wonderful summer. And to our soon-to-be graduates, please stay in touch, and come back and visit often. We’ll miss you!
Cathy
- We are excited to announce a new bachelor’s degree in Disaster Management and Response, reflecting a growing demand for professionals tasked with responding to natural and man-made disasters around the world.
- Even as we prepare to say goodbye to some great students at commencement next week, we are busy reaching out to prospective students for Fall 2019:
- This month alone we hosted almost 300 prospective students at a number of campus events including personal tours, group visits, overnight stays, and transfer visit day. In addition, 101 prospective students visited campus for Open House, and 74 students and families attended Accepted Students Day.
- 35 high school students from 8 Chicago public schools visited campus, providing an opportunity for these students to explore the meaning of college and experience a wide range of activities.
- Admissions counselors traveled across New England, NY, FL, VA, the Carolinas, and 5 Scandinavian countries to represent PSC with 160+ guidance office visits, drop-offs, college fairs, and classroom presentations. The team also had productive meetings with EducationUSA and US Trade and Commercial Services to develop strategic partnerships to grow our international brand.
- In addition to traveling, the Admissions team is busy reaching out to admitted students to discuss financial aid packages.
- DECA members Lauren Bowe and Ruddy Suero attended the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando with PSC Admissions staff. They engaged with over 2,000 high school students and their advisors to recruit future Business and Hospitality students to attend PSC.
- Students in the Culinary AOS program traveled to NYC with Amy Coddington-Burnett and Bruno Neveu to meet with students from the Food and Finance High School. Dick Cattani ‘64, CEO of Restaurant Associates, hosted this trip which explored the wide variety of careers in the culinary field. The group enjoyed dining at Carmines, L ’Avenue on Saks, Tapestry on Hudson Yards, and the gigantic kitchens of Morgan Stanley.
- Wally Ganzi, ’63 (President, The Palm) and Dick Cattani, ’64 (President, Restaurant Associates) hosted dinner at the Palm West and the SONY Club in New York City for 10 potential students from the Food & Finance High School.
- More than 600 alumni, students, employees, community members, accepted students and their families enjoyed the annual Sugarbush Breakfast. A huge thank you to the Culinary Department for their role in preparing breakfast for 600 people!
- The sixth annual SAMFest led by Curt Stager was a great success. Approximately 250 people attended, and all enjoyed the trademark blend of TED-style science talks, music, dance, video, visual arts, and food by PSC faculty, students, and local community members. SAM Fest is sponsored by North Country Public Radio, PSC, and the Draper-Lussi Endowed Chair Fund.
- Our student-athletes continue to excel:
- The PSC bowling team won the YSCC Championships in NH, defeating Unity College 594 – 436 to take the Championship for the 7th time in 8 years of fielding a team. Nick Ferrara and Kalei Fenn followed up this team victory with individual title wins.
- The men’s woodsmen’s team won the 2019 Spring Meet for the 3rd consecutive year, competing against teams from major forestry schools such as the University of Maine, University of West Virginia, University of New Hampshire, University of Massachusetts, UCONN, University of Vermont, SUNY ESF, and Penn State.
- The bass fishing team placed third in the Smith Mountain Lake tournament hosted by the Fishing League Worldwide-Collegiate, with two of our tandems among the top twenty in a field of 95 teams. Brandon Johnson and Ryan Morr finished 13th with Dylan Harter and Izayah McGill placing 20th. Paul Smith’s is now ranked in the top 10 nationally.
- The men’s Rugby team traveled to Syracuse and played the SU Men’s “B” team to a 26 – 24 victory.
- Paul Smith’s College eSports team battled SUNY Canton to a 2 – 2 draw in the Bobcats initial collegiate competition at SUNY Canton eSports arena.
- 146 attendees from PSC and other colleges attended the 2nd Annual PSC Student Leadership Conference. The event included presentations by Shakirra Jones (“Becoming an Emotionally Intelligent Leader”) and Amy Belair (“Person-first: I am Not My Diagnosis”).
- The David Nemzer Success Awards were announced by the Center for Academic and Career Success to recognize students who have been committed to utilizing and providing academic support throughout their college journeys. Winners are:
- Associate Graduate: Lane Petrelia – Surveying
- Bachelor Graduate: Lily Sher – Ecological Forest Management
- Outstanding Peer Tutor: Rachel Serfilippi – Ecological Restoration
- Outstanding Academic Mentor: Bob Visicaro – Natural Resources Conservation Management
- Over 140 faculty, staff, and students attended the third annual Student Leadership Banquet. Attendees included club and organization officers, resident assistants, peer leaders, mentors, educators and tutors, and sports team captains. Club of the Year was the Veteran’s Club, club advisor was Rebecca Romeo and Bethany Garretson was awarded the Faculty Leadership and Diversity award.
- Profs. Eric Holmlund, Kelly Cerialo, Curt Stager and PSC students are travelling this month to the Tosco Emiliano Biosphere Reserve to work on a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Project called “I Care Appennino”. They will be joined by the Director of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve in South Africa. Curt Stager was invited to host a presentation on his book Still Waters, Eric Holmlund will present his work on aquatic invasive species, and Kelly Cerialo will share her sustainable tourism research from South Africa. This is the first time Biosphere Reserves in the U.S., Italy, and South Africa are working together on an international sustainable development project.
- Ross Conover took students from the PSC chapter of The Wildlife Society to the Northeast TWS Conclave in Old Orchard Beach, ME.
- Students in Prof. Kelly Cerialo’s Field Studies in Hospitality class are concluding a strategic plan for the Adirondack Lakes Cuisine Trail, one of six cuisine-themed trails launched by Governor Cuomo last fall. It features 20 businesses who use locally-sourced agricultural products and takes travelers through Tupper Lake, Lake Clear, Paul Smiths and Saranac Lake. The trail is administered by the NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets in collaboration with NYS Dept. of Transportation and Taste NY.
- Prof. Jamie Wilson’s Applications in Entrepreneurship class held a focus group with local business leaders to examine the Adirondack Conscious Business Alliance (ACBA), a concept for a student-run organization that directly connects PSC with the local business community through membership, certification, and marketing. Conscious businesses are those which excel in Sustainability, Community Support, Cultural Impact, Innovation, and Worker Standards.
- The Environmental Microbiology class hosted “MicroBrews: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Microscopic World,” a science communication event composed of TED-style talks, science demos, and short films. Tess Eidem facilitated the event, and several faculty and staff volunteered as judges. Special thanks to the Sustainability Grant for their support!
- Deb Naybor’s Sustainability Capstone students have partnered with the Adirondack Center for Writing to design and build a bookmobile to featuring works by local authors. Look for the bookmobile at the ACW’s 20th Anniversary Gala on the evening of May 4 at the Hotel Saranac.
- DECA hosted a panel discussion on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of tourism in the Adirondacks and the world. The event, featuring Marketing Managers from the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), drew a crowd of 65+ students, faculty, staff, and neighbors.
- Shelly Cihan ’01 and account executive Mike Martineau hosted DECA students for a facility tour of Adworkshop. Students learned how a well-established full-service advertising and branding agency functions, then enjoyed dinner at Desperados with owner Andrew Quinn ‘83.
- The Earth Day Fest sponsored by Management Capstone students Natalina Bevilacqua and Gabby Fronckowiak featured a maple sugar taste comparison, natural skincare products, and a Fair Exchange coffee tasting.
- Jennifer Petricca, and the Draft Horse Club, were awarded $1,150 Sustainability Grant “Draft Horse Club Trip to the Equine Fair and Hancock Shaker Village.
- The Paul Smith’s Collage VIC was awarded a $6000 Sustainability Grant for “Energy Conservation Project and Public Safety Enhancement, Phone II – the North Campus.”
- Students in Alternative Energy visited the Azure Mountain Power St. Regis Falls Hydropower Dam and were given a tour by co-owner Emmitt Smith.
- Keith Oborne, Jake Petralia, Kerry Rice, and Jeremy Lake were awarded a $500 Sustainability grant for their project entitled “Leave No Trace Signage and Program Implementation at John Dillon Park”
- Matthew Wedge and James Hayner were awarded a $500 Sustainability Grant for their project entitled “SAF Club Firewood Shed Project”.
- Jordan Spordone was awarded an under $500 Sustainability Grant for two projects, “Materials for Construction of Garden Boxes” and Materials for Upcycled Wood crates”
- Hannah Rion was awarded a $500 Sustainability Grant for “Smitty Sustainability Committee Trips”.
- Residence Life has been busy with end-of-semester activities:
- 7 new Resident Assistants (RAs) were chosen from among 50+ applicants during the recent RA Selection process.
- An intramural basketball tournament with Currier vs LMS and Franklin vs Overlook is currently underway. The winners will face off at the end of the semester.
- RAs Johnny and Amber hosted a social event for Currier residents to plant plants and decorate their own reused containers to brighten up their rooms and encourage sustainable gardening.
- RAs Donovan, Rex, and Connor organized a watch party of the NCAA Basketball Championships in the Bobcat.
- RAs Connor and Rae of Overlook sponsored, “Raising caterpillars to butterflies!” Residents were able to select their caterpillar, prepare its home, and watched as the creatures pupated.
- RAs Vicky and Josh hosted a “Sustainable DIY” event in the Library
- The Counseling Center sponsored 7 events related to sexual assault and raised money for Sexual Assault Services (SAS).
- Counselor Amy Belair gave an educational presentation on autism to the campus community with help from student John Ward.
- Deirdre Loftus, PSC’s C.A.R.E. Coordinator, developed a Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) dedicated to enhancing sexual violence prevention and response. This group has engaged key stakeholders from across the community; ensured a timely, culturally relevant and respectful response to sexual violence; and created uniformity in programming and response.
- Sodexo hosted Student Appreciation Day, providing 200 reusable cups, strawberry milk shakes, and a decorate your own donut bar.
- Joseph Henderson was interviewed by NPR’s Education team on teaching climate change. Henderson also presented at the Climate Literacy Network on an emerging book project that details how various groups are teaching climate change in the United States political context.
- Joseph Henderson and Kate Glenn were featured speakers at the “Climate Action: What are we doing about climate change?” symposium held in Saranac Lake. Selena Hay presented a poster on her Conservation Design Green Communities final project “Saranac Lake Farmers Market for Climate Smart Communities” at the event.
- Glenn McClure was recognized in Parks and Travel Magazine for his work at Hawaii Volcanos National Park.
- Bethany Garretson authored an article to be published in May for Outside Magazine online. Bethany recently attempted Aconcagua and collected stories for the article which discusses minors climbing the peak. On a related note, Bethany and PSC Climate Fellows Sean Jackson and Ryan Novak presented at SUNY Potsdam’s Sustainability Day with a how-to discussion about recording climate stories. Ryan and Sean are leading exciting projects this summer to collect climate stories in South Africa and the U.S.
- Andy Testo and John Morgan gave presentations at the Cross Country Ski Areas Association annual national convention held in Lake Placid. Testo provided information on ways to build a customer base at a Nordic ski venue, while Morgan provided an update on the plan to expand the VIC trail system to accommodate competition-grade Nordic ski training and racing.
- Ross Conover presented an invited seminar at SUNY Potsdam called “From Farm to Wilderness: Conundrums in Avian Ecology”.
- Kate Glenn presented with Emmitt Smith (Northern Power and Light) and Leslie Karasin (Northern Forest Center) on “College and Community Partnerships to Promote Renewable Energy in the North Country” at SUNY Potsdam’s Sustainability Day conference.
- Kate Glenn and the Wild Center’s Jen Kretzer co-presented on the “Saranac Lake Climate Smart Communities Program” at an Earth Day Event in Plattsburgh.
- Matt Dougherty served as a panelist at the New York State Parks and Recreation Conference in Lake Placid.
- Drs. Tess Eidem and Mel Johnson judged the Terra Science and Engineering Fair at SUNY Potsdam, increasing the visibility of Paul Smith’s College to STEM-inclined high school students.
- Zack Luzzi and Jim Tucker attended the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference spring meeting. PSC currently belongs to the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC), but we are keeping our options open as we explore alternatives.
- The first semester of the Video Game Culture course is wrapping up. This course has nurtured the creation of the PSC eSports club, with many students now competing at the intercollegiate level while also studying the broader social phenomenon of gaming.
- The PSC Student Veteran Club pushed out 4,900+ push-ups to raise more than $3,000 at the Push-Ups for Michael Hart event.
- Kids Community Climbing Nights wrapped up for the semester with another full season of getting 200+ local kids experience climbing the rock wall. The Paul Smith’s Adventure Guides will continue this program during the summer.
- The outing program ended another successful semester with a rafting trip down the Hudson River. In addition to running numerous trips and events, the program has also begun planning a 2020 trip to climb Kilimanjaro, the world’s fourth largest mountain.
- Josh Clemens is spearheading PSC’s participation in the National Student Exchange, a consortium of colleges and universities that facilitate “semester away” experiences for students across North America.
- The Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) survey has been completed, and we achieved an excellent 49% response rate. Thank you to all students who participated! Congrats to Joshua Campbell, who won the random drawing for an Apple iPad.
- Karen Edwards, Kendra Ormerod, Deb Naybor, and 23 students will travel to Iceland for a week in May to cap off their spring class Sustainability & the Environment.
- Annie Rochon is preparing to work on a “Fostering Inclusion and Diversity” certificate through the Yale School of Management.
- Rebecca Sutter and Rebecca Romeo are preparing to complete the EdX Harvard certification in instructional design and learning. Becky is currently enrolled in EdX Harvard working toward a Data Science Professional Certificate.
- In support of our focus on sustainability, Paul Smith’s submitted its first AASHE (Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education) STARS (Sustainability Tracking and Rating System) Report, to be published in May.
- Professor Debra Naybor PhD was awarded a $500 Sustainability Grant from the PSC Center for Sustainability to fund a trip to Yestermorrow Design/Build School.
- Rex Schweighofer, Robert Haseltine and professor Tess Eidem PhD were awarded a $500 Sustainability Grant from the PSC Center for Sustainability for their project titled “Piloting a Small-Scale Photobioreactor and Assessing the Nutritional Aspects and Bioremediation Abilities of Photosynthesizing Bacteria Spirulina”.
- Work will be starting soon on a pad near the student center to be used with our high-end Celestron Telescope. The telescope donor – Michael Adler – has done several talks on campus about our night skies. Mr. Adler not only donated the telescope and its computer GIS star tracking equipment, he is also donating the cost of creating the telescope pad.
- The Compliance Office partnered with Deirdre Loftus, Shakirra Jones and the platform ARC3 from Georgia State University and administered the 2019 Campus Climate Survey to all students. This is required by NYS to be done every two years and assesses our students’ knowledge and attitudes regarding sexual assault and reporting options on campus. The summarized results of this survey will be posted on the Title IX page of our website when the results are compiled.
- PSC has achieved recognition as a 2018 Tree Campus USA. Many thanks to Randall Swanson and John Carver for their hard work.
- Emergency Management and Campus Safety held a Shelter-in-Place educational drill via our Bobcat Alert System. On April 23rd they successfully hosted Pat Gagnon, Assistant Vice-President for Campus Safety and Security at St Lawrence University to lead our emergency planning group through a valuable tabletop exercise surrounding Commencement Day.
Upcoming Events of Note
April 29- May 3: The Counseling Center’s first ever “Wellness Week” including Make your own Tea Satchels on May 2
May 3-4: Capstone Presentations
May 4: Alumni Rugby Game
May 4-5: Men’s Basketball will cohost another youth tournament with the Finger Lakes Fury. There will be 80+ teams regionally with 50 of those teams coming to campus to compete.
May 10: Board of Trustees meet on campus
May 11: Commencement
May 31 – June 2: Great Adirondack Birding Celebration
