Dear Paul Smith’s community,
It’s obvious from the select activities listed below that the academic year is in full swing. Some of you may not realize that academic semesters are only about 14 weeks; it goes by very quickly! I hope everyone is taking advantage of the many lectures, social events and recreational opportunities that are available. Maybe October can be the Smitty “get out of your routine and try something new” challenge month, even if it’s just rooting on one of our athletic teams (see below for all they are doing)!
- The Division of Student Affairs was awarded a $300,000 U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) award. The project will strengthen the campus response and services to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Paul Smith’s is one of only 57 colleges in the nation to receive this award.
- The Forestry Department’s minor in Wildland Firefighting is official! This minor provides students with a strong foundation in fire ecology as well as giving them the opportunity to earn their “red card” to fight wildfires.
- On September 20-21, Wally Ganzi and his wife Sandy Ganzi hosted meetings to brainstorm how Paul Smith’s can work most effectively with the hospitality industry to attract more students/employees to these career paths. Wally is the Co-Chair of the Palm Restaurants.
- The School of Logging/Troops to Timber agreement with Fort Drum has been fully executed and is in place for Summer 2019. This program is an innovative workforce partnership among Paul Smith’s College, Fort Drum and veterans who are interested in developing a rewarding career in forestry technology.
- Ross Conover recently published on northern pocket gopher population distributions across an elevation gradient from data collected in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in “Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research”.
- Joe Henderson has had a book accepted for publication. A compilation of case studies, co-edited by Dr. Andrea Drewes of Cedar Crest College, will be published by Routledge in their Advances in Climate Change Research series. The working title is Teaching Climate Change in the United States.
- The overall retention rate for F17-F18 for first-time, full-time students was approximately 72%. This is the fourth year in a row over 70%!
- Recruiting for January 2019 and fall 2019 is in full swing! Some of the many activities include:
- This month, our counselors have traveled to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, the Capital Region, Western New York, and more! Counselors are visiting high schools, community colleges, BOCES, Veteran Centers, job fairs, etc.
- Already we have welcomed about 60 students to campus including individual tours, a fly-In program, a horse-drawn tour, and a group from Willsboro Central School. Students have come from Vermont, Connecticut, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, and across New York State.
- The Men’s Basketball program hosted an Elite Prospect Visit Day on Sunday, September 16. 9 student-athletes and their families participated.
- Advanced studies registration is well on its way for local high school students taking college level classes through PSC, and potentially enroll at PSC once they graduate. On September 24 we welcomed 50 students from both Tupper Lake and Potsdam high schools to register for classes, tour campus, and see what PSC has to offer.
- · Here are some updates from Athletics:
- Women’s Volleyball: New coaches Ritt Roberge and Bridget Parks (’16 graduate) are guiding the team to a 7 – 4 record, including two wins over North Country Community College. Paul Smith’s will be hosting the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC Championships on Sunday October 21.
- Bass Fishing: Three teams from Paul Smith’s College are competing in the FLW New York State Collegiate Bass Fishing Championships September 30th in Lake George. All three qualified for the state championships over the past six weeks. Paul Smith’s College won this state title last year in the college’s first season of tournament bass fishing.
- Golf: The golf team has been playing at matches through the Northeast against some of the top Division III colleges as they prepare for the USCAA Nationals to be held at Penn State and then the YSCC Championships in Portsmouth, NH on October 13th.
- Cross Country: The men’s and women’s cross country teams have competed at three different races in Vermont in September, and have shown marked improvement each week. Tessa White (SR) is pacing the women, and is quite likely on target to make the YSCC All Conference Team. The men’s team has a solid core of young runners who are positioning themselves for a solid team finish at the conference championship at Hampshire College on October 20th.
- Soccer: Both the men’s and women’s teams defeated fellow YSCC foe, Vermont Tech as part of Family Weekend. Despite taking some lumps in the early part of the season, the coaches are preparing the teams for the second half of the fall season.
- Rugby: Our women’s program is down on numbers, and the coaches are working hard to bring additional women to the program. It is looking likely that this fall, the upcoming four matches will all be played as 7’s matches to allow our players the opportunity to play.
- The Paul Smith’s College men’s rugby team is currently 1 – 2, with a solid win over SUNY Potsdam, and great matches with both Clarkson and LeMoyne College teams. The athletic department conducted canoe safety through Welcome Week, with over 185 students successfully completing the program.
- The Paul Smith’s College Learn to Swim Program is off to a great start with 45 local youth taking part. This is a great learning program for our PSC students who do the actual instruction, and provides a wonderful aquatics program in our saline pool on a weekly basis for area youth.
- The Brian W. Smith ’95 Memorial Basketball Game and jersey retirement was held on September 22. This event welcomed over 100 alumni, current students, parents, staff, faculty and friends. Special guests included Kim Smith ’05 (sister of the late Brian W. Smith), former basketball coach Mark Cartmill, former HEOP Director Terrye Wilson as well as retired VP Academic Affairs Linda Kirstein with her husband David Kirstein.
- Student employment is an important part of the college experience for many students. As of this week there are 225 active student employees.
- In addition to many well-received additions to Lakeside Dining, our culinary and baking students and faculty are providing a number of great new options:
- The Ganzi Restaurant is open Tuesday-Friday for lunch under the leadership of Kevin McCarthy and Amy Coddington-Burnett. The students have taken trips to Juniper Hill and Tucker Farms so far in support of a rotating menu focused on local products.
- The Culinary Club is up and running thanks to Chef Alec Abt, Bruno Neveu, and Senior Selena Hay. The club has been utilizing the food truck around campus and also for other select events.
- The A.P. Smith’s Adirondack Bakery is open for the semester Tuesday-Thursday led by baking capstone students Danielle Warner and Katelyn Aupperle under the supervision of Marlyse Waskiewicz and Alec Abt. We are also delighted to see the opening of the Ganzi AM where we can enjoy specialty coffees to complement the delicious baked goods. Other bakery enhancements include a food warmer display case, and a credit card/bobcat card machine will be available soon. By popular demand, the bakery will be taking occasional/seasonal cake orders.
- The junior and sophomore baking students produced delicious desserts for the Family Weekend Reception.
- The new Farm to Table class (CUL 123) is off to a great start. Two farms so far have been chosen by the students to experience from September-May, Asgaard Farm and Moonstone Farm. The students will be getting their hands dirty with at least 15 hours of hands on experience at the farm in array of jobs thus connecting the bridge from the farm to their lab. While learning about their designated farms they will also network with various clubs on campus as well as the Saranac Lake Farm to School Initiative. The class is collaborating with the Culinary Capstone class to put on six different events over the semester, three of which include a farm based long table style while the other three showcase the seniors’ interest in Culinary Arts
- We had representatives at the New York State Outdoor Education Association 50th Anniversary Conference in Port Jervis, NY. There were 400+ attendees including environmental educators, youth leaders, parent and student outdoor enthusiasts, etc.
- On September 15 almost 50 PSC alumni enjoyed a Lake George cruise.
- Dan Kelting and Corey Laxson have been doing great work giving public presentations about the research done on our campus. For example, Corey spoke to the St. Regis Property Owners Association at the Kimball camp on Spitfire Lake. He also led a field trip on the lake chain highlighting the methods and findings of the AWI for our neighbors and presented a lecture on the inputs of nutrients and road salt to Blue Mountain Lake at the Adirondack Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain. Corey, Dan and co-authors Elizabeth Yerger and Hunter Faverau authored a report on the limnology and water quality of our very own St. Regis Chain of Lakes. The report examines current and historical data reaching back 50 years.
- Annie Rochon has been keeping her languages classes busy with hands on class activities, her Spanish 1 class visited the Culinary Labs to make Churros and follow recipes in Spanish as well as her French class made crepes!
- Annie Rochon took her Latin American Studies Class to Bankers Orchards to meet with Jamaican workers. The students met with them one on one to talk about life in Jamaica versus life in the USA, their political views on our President Trump, the battles with Temporary Workers Visas, their day to day tasks at the Orchard, etc. It was a very educational and enriching experience.
- Richard Rosentreter’s English 102 Introduction to Journalism class will be interviewing leaders in the local area to learn how to write profile stories.
- The Homestead Festival was a great success, expanding to two days this year with an estimated attendance of over 1,000 visitors. One innovation was the foot-pedal power cider press. Lots of cider was made, and Kate Glenn made sure that the left over apple scraps were eaten by farm animals—achieving true “table to farm” efficiency. Other highlights included woodsmen’s demonstrations, excellent food by recent grad Autumn Florence, and a Capstone constructed tiny-house raffle.
- The Forestry Department hosted Dr. Brian Roth and Dr. Aaron Weiskittel from the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit who discussed the history of applied forest research in Maine with students, and met with forestry faculty to explore a CFRU partnership in the Adirondacks.
- The Counseling Center hosted “Hammock Haven”, which taught students healthy ways to cope with life stressors.
- In August, all Peer Educators and Resident Assistants were trained and certified in Mental Health First Aid.
- Student Activities and Alumni Relations hosted Family and Homecoming Weekend. 340 students, alumni and families attended the events.
- Residence Life and Housing hosted an Overlook BBQ. 40 Overlook residents, families, and students from across campus attended.
- During a Residence Life and Housing sponsored Currier vs. LMS Frisbee game, LMS residents are this year’s champions.
- 400 students, faculty, staff and local community members attended the 2nd Annual Fall Music Fest.
- Campus Safety Director Holly Parker and Sergeant Gary Lewis attended the Forensic Clinical Medicine and Investigations Seminar presented by Dr. Bill Smock at the New York State Police Academy in Albany, NY on September 18th and 19th.
- Campus Safety Director Holly Parker, Sergeant Gary Lewis, Campus Fire Safety Officer Matt Collette, and Officer Lisa Lawrence attended Recognizing Impaired Persons (R.I.P.) training.
Upcoming Events
- Oct 3: Hispanic Heritage Month Dinner in Lakeside Dining Room
- Oct 12-14: Board of Trustees and Alumni Board Meetings on campus
- Oct 13: Sophomore Class Dinner Cruise
- Oct 20: Day of Service in Saranac Lake
- Oct 27: Great Escape Fright Fest
- Oct 27: Admissions Open House. Contact Mary Gallagher to confirm a table.
- Oct 27: Alumni Bowling
- Oct 31: Student Activities and Residence Life Haunted House
