2013-14 President's Annual Report

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State University of New York at Canton

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Celebrate SUNY Canton

FOREWORD FROM PRESIDENT ZVI SZAFRAN The 2013-14 academic year was a great success, due to our steadfast commitment to our mission and the innovation of our faculty, staff, and students. Acting President Joseph C. Hoffman worked to optimize student enrollment, strengthen our academic programs, develop our active presence in the community, and build an infrastructure that can sustain continued long-term growth.

EXCELLENCE: SUNY Canton was recognized for its unique and accessible programs and its commitment to students: • We were named one of the top 50 Colleges Saving the Planet by Online College Database, in recognition of our bachelor’s degree in Alternative and Renewable Energy.

• G.I. Jobs and Military Advanced Education ranked us among the top military-friendly colleges and universities in the country.

• Our Civil Engineering Technology program’s student steel bridge team came in 13th in the ASCE’s nationwide competition.

• Our bachelor’s degrees in Legal Studies and Finance were named among the most affordable and accessible programs of their type by SR Education Group.

• Our bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management was named one of the top 10 programs nationally by the Emergency Management Degree Online Program Guide.

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS: We continued to establish articulation agreements with community colleges and other technologically-focused academic institutions: • We finalized agreements with two Chinese Universities to host 180 students completing the final two years of their bachelor’s degree in Management or Finance.

• We finalized or updated articulations with more than 60 community colleges and BOCES across the state and beyond.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH: SUNY Canton is a hub of activity for the North Country community: • We hosted the North Country Regional Special Olympics for the second year, uniting students, faculty, and staff with our local Special Olympians and their coaches for a truly special day of friendly competition.

• Our Living Writers and our Sustainability speaker series drew the public to hear world-renowned authors and professionals.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: We have designated several areas as Tax-Free Zones as part of the Start-Up NY Program, which partners colleges with businesses to create jobs and engage students in entrepreneurship and innovation. SUNY Canton has fielded over a dozen inquiries from interested businesses and is actively working to place our first partnership on Campus and into the program.

Finally, after an extensive nation-wide search, I was honored to be appointed as the College’s fourth President by SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and the SUNY Board of Trustees. I was drawn to SUNY Canton because I believe in its career-oriented, hands-on mission. I plan on building on its tradition of excellence and innovation by expanding our academic offerings, infusing a spirit of entrepreneurship in each of our programs, and growing both our enrollment and reputation across New York State and beyond.

GOALS One-Hop Shop for Student Services Several key offices have moved into one location to provide students with easily accessible services. Recently, the Registrar’s Office, Financial Aid Office, and representatives from the College Association moved to the bottom floor of the Richard W. Miller Campus Center creating the “One-Hop Shop.” Students can register or change classes, pay their bills, set up a meal plan, and get their college ID all in one location. The new space was created to make these services more convenient for students.

Cook Hall Renovations Following summer renovations, Cook Science Center, commonly known as Cook Hall, has reopened. The new classroom space features a state-of-the-art room for Business and Accounting students to practice Wall Street-style stock trades, a new Funeral Services Administration chapel, and other instructional spaces.

GOALS

Create a Robust, Active, and Enriching Campus Life SUNY and the Vibrant Community SUNY Canton offers unique opportunities for students to interact with one another and the entire campus community. The Student Affairs Division held more than 700 programs or events during the academic year, as well as numerous outreach programs and events that further strengthened the ties between the College and the North Country.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

For the second year in a row, SUNY Canton hosted the New York State North Country Region Special Olympics. Nearly 200 Special Olympians competed in more than 10 events, and approximately 200 student-athletes, coaches, faculty, and administrators volunteered.

Hall of Fame

The college-wide Hall of Fame Induction welcomed 25 more individuals who were instrumental in building the College’s rich history.

It was the final ceremony honoring the first class of inductees. The Advancement Division unveiled a permanent gallery display of all inductees in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center.

New York Times bestselling author George Saunders, who was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world, visited SUNY Canton as part of the ongoing Living Writers Series. Saunders was one of six authors who visited during the academic year.

Student clubs raised funds to purchase bulletproof Kevlar vests for local K-9 officers working for the Massena Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.

A student-run Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program led by faculty from the Accounting program

helped 68 community members file their taxes, generating nearly $30,000 in collective tax credits.

Veteran’s Living History Ceremony

The College hosted a Veterans’ Day event that featured an oral history presentation from more than 30 local World War II veterans. This event was part of an overall project to collect oral histories from area veterans to store in the College’s archives and submit to the Library of Congress.

Continuing Education in Halford Hall

An aging residential-style building has become a showcase of the College’s energy-sustainability efforts. The newlyrenovated facility houses the Career Ready Education and Success Training (CREST) Center for Workforce Development. In addition to structural, cosmetic, and efficiency upgrades, faculty and staff led the installation of a tracking photovoltaic array that follows the sun to maximize energy collection throughout the day. The building also uses solar panels to create its own hot water without using a conventional electric or gas heater.

Charles W. Smith, a former 10th Mountain Division soldier from Plattsburgh, speaks with Command Sgt. Major Thomas W. Geddings from Fort Drum.

Following a series of donations by alumnus John L. Halford, the CREST building was renamed Halford Hall in honor of the Distinguished Alumnus.

The building has classroom and office space and is used to offer training in energy efficiency, solar heating technology, and other applied topics as continuing and professional education classes. CREST staff members oversee the majority of extended study options for professionals and graduates.

Over the past year, CREST offered a number of programs, including: • Programmable Logic Controller training to assist a BOCES apprenticeship program for area industry partners.

• Legal Research training presented by Legal Studies faculty from the School of Business and Liberal Arts.

• A CSEA training for an apprenticeship program.

• A police supervisor training session offered by the College’s David Sullivan St. Lawrence County Law Enforcement Academy.

• A course on Snap-On Tools automotive diagnostic equipment.

Each Friday throughout the academic year, Greek organization members volunteered at Grace Episcopal Church’s soup kitchen to help feed those in need.

On the annual “Hop to Help Day,” nearly 200 student-athletes helped elderly and disabled community members with landscaping and trash clean up.

GOALS

Promote Academic Excellence The Southworth Library Learning Commons was chosen as the winner of the prestigious 2013 Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award. The honor is given annually by the New York State Regents Advisory Council and recognizes organizations that have taken creative steps to improve the quality of library service.

The Emergency Management Degree Online Program Guide website named SUNY Canton’s bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management as one of the top ten online programs in the country. The program was chosen as eighth in the nation due to the curriculum’s emphasis on cutting-edge incident management and emergency operating center technology.

Business Management major Megan Mydosh was the first woman to receive the prestigious 2014 SUNY Ronald LaValle Leadership Award. Mydosh was selected from thousands of candidates for her academic and athletic achievements.

Recent Accreditations

The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education reaccredited the Physical Therapist Assistant program for ten years. Among other successes, the program has been continuing a partnership with the International Institute for Health Sciences in Sri Lanka. Students attend their home college for a year and a half before traveling to Canton to complete their degree. Of the first four students who started in the program, three are returning to complete their four-year degrees in SUNY Canton’s Health and Fitness Promotion program.

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program underwent a highly successful site visit from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing for its initial accreditation.

The program was created in 2009 and quadrupled its enrollment for the Fall 2013 semester with 139 students.

The bachelor’s degree has been recognized as one of the most affordable programs in the nation and is very popular among employed two-year nursing graduates.

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council accredited 19 courses in the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems program. Accredited courses include offerings in photovoltaic and solar-thermal technologies.

The Tutoring Center increased traffic by 1,903 visits and saw 343 more students than the previous year.

Accomplished Faculty

SUNY Canton faculty members published and presented their research or shared their expertise in a variety of unique ways. Some of the highlights include: • Paul R. Bowdre made several presentations at professional meetings that focused on homeland security, including two at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He is an assistant professor in the Criminal Justice department.

• Charles R. Fenner, Ph.D., a professor in the Business department and Janice C. Robinson, an associate professor in the Business department facilitated student participation in an International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition that ran for ten weeks and culminated in an on-site competition in Anaheim, Calif. Fenner also took a student business team to the North Country Regional Business Plan competition in spring 2014.

• Marcellina K. Hamilton, Ph.D., facilitated a symposium titled “College Professors as Leaders” at the International Leadership Association (ILA) Global Leadership Conference. She is an associate professor of business administration.

• Emily Hamilton-Honey, Ph.D., authored an article in an anthology of essays titled “Queer in the Choir Room” about the television show “Glee.” She is an assistant professor in the Humanities department.

• Brian K. Harte, Ph.D., authored two articles published in Texas Probation and presented research at the 2013 International Academy of Management and Business conference and at the Center for International Business Education and Research conference. He is a professor in the Criminal Justice department.

• Stephen F. Ledoux, Ph.D., published “Running out of Time - Introducing Behaviorology to Help Solve Global Problems” in 2014. He is a professor in the Social Sciences department.

• Alexander Lesyk, J.D., successfully argued six appeals in the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Judicial Department. Lesyk has won 27 consecutive prosecution appeals since June 2013. He is an assistant professor in the Legal Studies program.

• Edouard K. Mafoua, Ph.D., presented a paper titled “Bilateral Trade between Quebec with New York State: Granger Causality Analysis” at the Annual Meeting of the New York State Economics Association. He is an associate professor of economics.

Canton College Foundation Fundraising Fundraising Canton College Foundation

Scholarships funded 38 more students and $29,000 more than the previous year.

Accounting Professor Daniel G. Fay was featured in the Alumni Association publication “After Canton” for his years of service and dedication to the College.

• Sean O’Brien, Ph.D., co-edited the book, “Race & Immigration in the New Ireland,” and the work was selected as a finalist for the Foreword Reviews social science book of the year. He is an assistant professor in the Humanities department.

• Lenore VanderZee, J.D., LL.M., Executive Director for University Relations, co-authored a book chapter titled “The History of International Adjudication” in The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication. She is an adjunct instructor who teaches in the Social Sciences department.

• Eunjyu Yu, Ph.D., authored an article titled “Empowering at-risk students as autonomous learners: Toward a metacognitive approach” in the fall 2013 issue of Research and Teaching in Developmental Education. She is an assistant professor in the Humanities department.

Approximately $30,000 in campus enhancements were awarded to College faculty and staff.

Daniel J. Miller and Lawretta C. Ononye, Ph.D., resumed Women in Engineering Day. The event hosted 130 young women from area schools in the spring of 2014 and is designed to introduce the College’s science, technology, engineering, and math curricula to pre-college students.

Miller is an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program and Ononye is an associate professor who teaches physics.

GOALS Improve Operational Effectiveness The College’s employees are empowered to make informed decisions to increase effectiveness while keeping customer service and satisfaction at the core of their decision-making process.

Nine positions are currently shared with nearby SUNY Potsdam, allowing both schools to benefit from increased efficiencies.

Tina Flanagan, a calculations clerk in the Business Office, completely overhauled and streamlined travel procedures.

Updating a website used by traveling faculty and staff reduced phone traffic in her office by 10 percent. Additionally, she decreased the amount of paperwork travelers were responsible for and made the process more transparent and userfriendly. Her efforts reduced the time it takes to reimburse employees from about four weeks to approximately 10 days.

GOALS

SUNY and a Healthier New York

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently announced that SUNY Canton has been approved to enter its fourth and final year of provisional membership, effective Sept. 1. The Kangaroos are just one year away from becoming an active NCAA Division III member. The College was granted a waiver to consolidate its final two years.

The decision follows remarkable growth in the Athletic Department, including the addition of five new sports in three years, doubling the number of female athletes and more than doubling the number of student-athletes. All of the athletic programs have competitive schedules against top Division III programs including nearby St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University, and SUNY Potsdam, among other well-known colleges and universities.

Honoring a Legend

The foundation, alumni, and advancement team members orchestrated numerous efforts leading to a more beautiful college with a more visible and rich history. Alumnus Richard F. Layo, class of 1996, purchased a bronze statue of long-time and much-loved Hockey Coach Terry R. Martin.

The artist’s interpretation now adorns an outer wall of the College’s Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center.

Keeping Fit

The fitness center had more than 44,000 visits during 2013-14, up 2,000 from the previous year.

Fitness classes include Zumba, aqua Zumba, spinning, scuba diving, swimming lessons, cardio kickboxing, aerobics, self-defense classes, and yoga.

Newly-developed programming includes more intramural activities and highly-visible competitions. More than 375 students, as well as faculty and staff, participated in about a dozen sports.

The Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center hosted the 2013 USCAA National Volleyball Championships in November, the Wounded-Warrior Sled Hockey Tournament, and numerous Section X high school games.

GOALS

Focus on Sustainability SUNY and an Energy-Smart New York SUNY Canton teaches students the business and technology driving the sustainable energy industry.

ONLINE

COLLEGE DATABASE

COLLEGE RANKINGS The College joined Stanford, onlinecollegesdatabase.org Yale, Harvard, and Dartmouth as one of the top 50 colleges in the nation that are committed to saving the planet, according to the Online College Database. The four-year Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems program within the Canino School of Engineering Technology was specifically recognized for its appeal to students who are interested in pursuing a career in clean energy.

This year’s Sustainability Lecture Series brought renowned scientists and environmental experts to Campus to talk about a host of topics, ranging from renewable energy technologies and climate education to sustainable agriculture and invasive species.

Halford Hall utilizes solar panels to create its own hot water without using a conventional electric or gas heater.

Interim Dean Michael J. Newtown and Professor Emeritus Arthur G. Hurlbut received a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to measure the efficiency of automatic-feeding wood pellet boilers. The ongoing demonstration at the Cornell Cooperative Extension may provide heating alternative solutions to high home-heating costs.

It’s Electric!

The College installed an electric vehicle charging station outside of Nevaldine Technology Center. The building houses both the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems and Automotive Technology programs.

Green Cleaning

The Janitorial staff will be piloting a green cleaning program in two of the residence halls during the upcoming year. Almost all of the cleaning solutions are certified green, and all of the cleaners have been trained on how to use the new products effectively.

Online Learning Systems Manager Jerry J. Bartlett tied for the most Fuel-Efficient Vehicle award in the Toyota Green Grand Prix at the Watkins Glen International. His home-built diesel coupe achieved an estimated 200 miles per gallon on the course. His achievement was highlighted on the SUNY Blog.

GOALS

SUNY and the Entrepreneurial Community

SUNY Canton began its participation in Governor Cuomo’s Start-Up NY Initiative. The program offers businesses ten years of tax-free operation when they partner with an approved college or university in the state. The College is offering more than 1,300 square feet of office space and 30 acres of developable land and is opening its doors to business partnerships with companies that share its academic mission and commitment to student success. The College has already fielded inquiries from interested parties and anticipates that Start-Up NY will bring dozens of jobs to our community in the coming years.

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Approximately students scheduled appointments with Career Services in the past year; 428 sought assistance in 2012-13.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helped nearly 250 current and future entrepreneurs, generating approximately $2.2 million in economic impact. Among the standout businesses was Jamila’s Kitchen, founded

by SUNY Canton Finance graduate Jamila Saleh who launched her niche business cooking delicacies from her native Eritrea. Jamila’s Kitchen works with area colleges to enhance the culinary experience in the North Country.

GOALS

SUNY and the World

Partnering with China

Students who start their education in China will soon be able to complete their degrees at SUNY Canton. The College has reached an agreement with Sichuan Post and Telecommunication College and anticipates another agreement with Beijing Vocational College of Finance and Commerce that will allow students to earn a Bachelor of Business Administration in either Management or Finance.

Students will complete three years at their home university and then spend the final two years at SUNY Canton.

The first cohort of 20 to 40 students is anticipated for the fall 2017 semester. Some faculty members may begin teaching in China in spring 2015.

The School of Business and Liberal Arts worked with the Chinese partner colleges through the PathPro initiative with the assistance of SUNY Global and the China Education Association for International Exchange.

Bringing Smiles to Jamaica

Two Dental Hygiene students used a 10-day program in Jamaica to provide outreach. After collecting donations from an area dentist, the future dental hygienists distributed floss, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to children and taught them about proper dental care. Pictured are Hannah Weaver (far left) and Janelle O’Gorman (far right).

GOALS

Build Greater Awareness of SUNY Canton SUNY Canton once again earned a spot in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 “Best Colleges” publication. The College is among the top schools in the Regional Colleges—North division.

G.I. Jobs magazine named SUNY Canton as a 2014 military-friendly school. The exclusive list honors the top 20 percent of colleges, universities, and trade schools in the country that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and dependents as students and ensure their success. More than 120 students are eligible to receive military or veterans benefits, and the College actively promotes programming at nearby Fort Drum.

SR Education Group named the College’s bachelor’s degree programs in Legal Studies, Finance, and Nursing as some of the most affordable programs in the nation.

Great Food for Happy Students A new assistant director of dining and executive chef is bringing the best food the North Country has to offer to the College’s table. Steven W. Maiocco started at the College in December 2013 and immediately began using the freshest locally-grown ingredients to make the best food possible. The dining center is in the process of adding a new bakery aided in part by a senate appropriation from Senator Patty A. Ritchie.

Students helped launch the College’s social media outreach campaign. Graphic and Multimedia Design students posted their views of campus to the @sunycantongram Instagram account.

@sunycantongram

Student Shuttle Bus Picks Up Roos Branding efforts became a little more mobile with a new student shuttle bus.

Publications Coordinator Matthew J. Mulkin converted a 15-passenger student bus into a rolling billboard. Mulkin won a SUNY CUAD award for his innovative design.

The public relations department also won a Best of Category award and a Judges Citation in the Excellence in Writing category.

Solid Structural Contender The Steel Bridge Team placed 13th in the 2014 National American Society of Civil Engineers and American Institute of Steel Construction Competition, held May 23 through 24 at the University of Akron, Ohio.

Dr. Zvi Szafran noted that he knew that SUNY Canton is one of the most competitive entrants before he applied to be the College’s president. Dr. Szafran’s former university, Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga., finished 14th in the competition.

GREAT MAJORS, GREAT CAREERS.