Dear Paul Smith’s College community,
As I write this, our campus is welcoming a great new group of incoming students. While we enjoy the beauty of summer and the many activities that we host on campus between June –August, we can’t wait to have students, faculty and staff back on at Paul Smith’s.
For those of you who are new to the college, Day 1 is a monthly email intended to let you know about some of the many things happening at the college. Typically, we send this out of the first of every month during the academic year.
Welcome (back) everyone!
Cathy
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Eric Holmlund has been appointed Director of Graduate Studies. His key responsibility in this role will be preparing the campus for launch of our first Master’s degree scheduled to launch next summer.
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The summer conference season has concluded with 12 conferences and 800+ guests yielding ~$350,000 in gross revenue for PSC. Some highlights:
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250+ mycologists with the North American Mycological Association attended the organization’s multi-day annual conference. Thank you to all those who drove and contributed!
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The Cycle Adirondacks Weekender at Paul Smith’s demonstrated two solid years of attendance – our 2020 event is already on the books!
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Campus guests also included a variety of groups including plein air painters, wooden canoe enthusiasts, writers, paddlers, adventure seekers, and more.
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The Paul Smith’s College Adventure Guide Service finished off the season in early August with more guided trips as well as a continuation of the Front Country Stewards pilot program with AWI. Our Guide Service is developing a national reputation – check out this feature article in Canoe & Kayak magazine!
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The PSC School of Logging program wrapped up with 16 graduates ranging in age from 17 to 41. This hands-on career skills development program was made possible by the NY State Workforce Development Institute, as well as Finch Paper, W.J. Cox insurance, and C.J. Logging Equipment. Check out this great coverage by NCPR.
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An internal advisory board has completed an in-depth exercise to refine the identity and core mission of PSC’s rural resilience initiative known informally as AIRRS. This has yielded an official title and tagline: the Paul Smith’s College’s Global Center for Rural Communities (GCRC) – “Cultivating resilience through education, collaboration and outreach”. Faculty and staff engagement to further develop this framing concept for our important work will continue this semester. If you are working on a resilience initiative and want to get involved with GCRC, please contact Kelly Cerialo.
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Professor Rebecca Sutter is midway through a certificate in Instructional Design and Technology. She also has completed 3 of 9 courses for a Data Science Micromasters Certificate through HarvardX. Becky will be assisting in the launch of the new Disaster Management Program and will be attending “RISE 2019 Conference – Transforming University Engagement In Pre- and Post-Disaster Environments: Lessons from Puerto Rico.”
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The New York Department of Environmental Conservation approved a Unit Management Plan that will allow for the establishment of the Hoyt-Peroni Memorial Forest in Lake Clear, NY. Students in this fall’s Natural Resource Management Capstone will develop interpretive trails and a fully accessible picnic area on the site.
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PSC is pleased to announce the addition of a Trap Shooting Club with Brett McLeod as Head Coach.
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The PSC Rugby Team played in the 46th Can Am Rugby Tournament, with two games played in Lake Placid, NY. A combination of present and alumni players played in the Men’s Social division and despite two losses, the opportunity to take part in the largest rugby tournament in North America, held locally in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid provided a great opportunity for our current students to play alongside their fellow Bobcats on a large stage, and learn from the graduates over the weekend.
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The PSC Bass Fishing Team dominated the first qualifier of the 2019 New York Bass Federation Collegiate Cup Challenge on Oneida Lake in central New York on August 24th, with three PSC teams placing 1st, 2nd, and 4th respectively. Justin Rozema and Nicholas Phippen placed first with 14.04 lbs at the post tourney weigh-in, and also won the largest fish of the day at 3.79 lbs. Izayah Mcgill and Dylan Harter placed second with 11.92 lbs, while Brandon Johnson and Ben Coolidge placed fourth with 9.57 lbs at the weigh-in. There were 14 collegiate teams attempting to qualify for the NYS Championships which will take place on Lake George on 28 September.
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Even as we welcome our newest students, we have been busy talking to prospective students for next fall and beyond. Activities include:
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August recruitment events included the Cazenovia Equipment Small Farm Show in Pompey, NY and NYS Woodsmen’s Field Days in Boonville, NY
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56 students toured the campus in August 2019
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A variety of group visits were held
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7 PSC Adirondack Watershed Institute Summer Science students
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23 students from the NOLS Northeast program
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24 middle school students from the Liberty Partnership Program out of Syracuse University
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Alumni Jim Voorhies and Donald Jones attended the NY State Fair and worked with the NY Statewide Future Farmers of America (FFA), helping to recruit students, giving demonstrations on our mechanized forest harvesting equipment, and handing out scholarships to FFA competition winners.
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Alumni volunteers once again attended the NYS Woodsmen’s Field Days in Boonville, NY.
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The regional organization Homeward Bound has agreed to a long-term lease for use of the Onchiota property as a retreat. This arrangement brings greater opportunities for collaboration with veterans, continues to make the property accessible for faculty and staff use, and generates additional revenue for the college.
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100+ of our St. Regis Chain neighbors attended the 4th Annual St. Regis Neighbor Day. Presentations by faculty, staff and students along with a beer tasting provided by Blue Line Brewery were the highlights of the evening as our neighbors learned about college programs, centers, and academics.
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The VIC staff continued its work delivering environmental education for the local region
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50% annual growth (season to date) in both program participation and revenue
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140+ participants in 5 private programs for various camps, K-12 programs, and Unity College
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Another great summer for the Butterfly House – hundreds of visitors were able to discover 865 adult butterflies of 30+ different species, many hundreds of eggs, 1,257 caterpillars and 1,291 pupae! The team has identified 100+ monarchs for tagging and release for migration.
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The Annual Clam Bake at Bob’s Trees in Galway attracted more than 80 alumni and friends for a huge feast and fellowship. Thanks as always to alumnus Dave Eaton ‘61 and his wife Linda for their hospitality!
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The college’s membership in the National Student Exchange has been finalized. This North American exchange program allows PSC to offer single-semester experiences for students from other colleges while also expanding the off-campus study options for our own students.
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The library is implementing a new discovery service allowing users to search the library catalog and databases from a single search box.
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The student-run Apollos achieved a traffic milestone with 60,000 visits from 21,000 users since January 2019.
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We continue to take sexual assault prevention and education very seriously. Training was held over the summer for AWI and VIC staff, and is in progress for all Campus Safety officers, Resident Assistants, Peer Educators in the Counseling Center, Orientation Leaders, and all our First Year students.
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Student Activities sponsored the Student Employee Appreciation Picnic on August 6th
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Rebecca Romeo gave a presentation on Word and Paragraphing with Graphic Organizers to the New York State Association of Agriculture Educators.
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Shakirra Jones provided Cultural Competence training to the Resident Assistants and Peer Educators.
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Peer educators and Counseling Center staff received Mental Health First Aid Training.
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Shakirra Jones became the Co-chair of the CCRT team (DOJ OVW Coordinated Community Response Team) and a member of the Tri-Lakes Community Alliance for Addiction Prevention.
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Director of Financial Aid, Sonya Stein, attended an exclusive design workshop to help New America prototype award offers that meet the needs of students and institutions.
Upcoming Events of Note
- Sept. 2: Convocation
- Sept. 2: Butterfly House final day
- Sept. 5: Jason Aldean Concert
- Sept. 5: Open Mic Nights start
- Sept. 6, 10, 16: Sexual Harassment Training
- Sept. 9: Club and Organization Fair
- Sept. 12: American Red Cross Blood Drive
- Sept. 16: Smitty Lecture Series Speaker Katie Koestner
- Sept. 27-29: Family Homecoming Weekend
- Sept. 28: Alumni Basketball Game, Saturday Visit Day
- Sept. 28-29: Adirondack Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival
