A look at activities atSullivan CountyCommunityCollege

SCHOOLA S p e c i a l S u p p l e m e n t t o t h e S u l l i v a n C o u n t y D e m o c r a t

SCENE

SECTION S • APRIL 22, 2016 • CALLICOON, NY

BY KATHY DALEY

C ommunity colleges aroundthe state face decliningincome and revenue, but if

students like Joel Reyes, Anita Dubasand Tyler Buchholz know about it,they’re not telling.

The young people at SUNYSullivan in Loch Sheldrake simplyfocus on getting a solid college edu-cation that is affordable and close tohome.

Reyes of Monticello is completinghis prerequisites as he prepares toapply for the college’s popular nurs-ing program. Buchholz of Rock Hill,who works at New HopeCommunity, wants to focus on theneeds of the disabled.

Dubas pursues an A.A.S. in theAdministrative Assistant Degreeprogram, which is a managementand human relations course that isone of the college’s 40 academic andprofessional programs.

“The teachers here are always will-ing to help,” said Dubas ofJeffersonville. “I’m getting a goodeducation.”

DOLLARS DOWN

It’s no Easy Street for New YorkState’s 30 community colleges.

“Every single community collegein the SUNY system is down inenrollment – no one is exempt,” saidSUNY Sullivan President Dr. KarinHilgersom.

The $42 million that New York Cityhas poured into its own CityUniversity of New York colleges – 11four-year schools and seven com-munity colleges – may factor in sig-nificantly. Instead of applying tojunior colleges like SUNY Sullivan,prospective students fromManhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, theBronx and Staten Island are choos-ing to attend colleges closer tohome.

Hilgersom said the head-count forlocal students entering SUNYSullivan is on an upswing, and that’sterrific. But it’s the out-of-countystudents that haul in major funds –they are billed twice for tuition, withthe student paying half, and theirhome county paying the rest.

In 2015, Sullivan County legislatorsincreased the county’s financialshare of the SUNY budget from $4million to $4.3 million, beginningthis past February.

“That was a welcome commit-ment,” said Hilgersom.

In the eyes of the presidentthe joys and challenges of a small community college

School SceneA Look at Activities at

SUNY SullivanPublished by

Catskill-Delaware Publications, Inc.Publishers of the

(845) 887-5200 Callicoon, NY 12723

April 22, 2016 • Vol. CXXV, No. 89

Publisher: Fred W. Stabbert III Senior Editor: Dan Hust Editor: Carol Montana Sports Editor: Ken Cohen Editorial Assistants: Willow Baum, Kaitlin Carney, Kathy Daley, Alex Rau, Richard Ross, Jeanne Sager, Autumn Schanil, Ed Townsend Advertising Director: Liz Tucker Advertising Coordinator: Sandy Schrader Advertising Representatives: Cecilia Lamy, Barbara Matos Special Sections Coordinator: Susan Panella Business Manager: Susan Owens Business Department: Patricia Biedinger, Joanna Blanchard Telemarketing Coordinator: Michelle Reynolds Classified Manager: Janet Will Production Associates: Nyssa Calkin, Petra Duffy, Elizabeth Finnegan, Ruth Huggler, Rosalie Mycka, Tracy Swendsen Distribution: Billy Smith, Richard Stagl

Credits:All photographs and stories for this special

School Scene are by Sul livan CountyDemo crat Photo grapher/Reporter

Kathy Daley. The Democrat would also like to thank the

SUNY Sullivan for all its cooperation in this project.

2S SCCC SCHOOL SCENE SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT APRIL, 2016

As the college deals with shrinking enrollment and revenue, ‘We need to re-prioritize andseek grants, and we’re doing it,’ says SUNY Sullivan President Dr. Karin Hilgersom. For exam-ple, the college is now seeking a grant to connect with the Latino community for potentialstudents.

APRIL, 2016 SULLIVAN COUNTY DEMOCRAT SCCC SCHOOL SCENE 3S

This year, the college raised tuitionbut, unlike other junior colleges, willrefrain from doing so next year.

“Families cannot afford it,” thepresident said.

DIGGING AND LINKING

Faced with belt tightening meas-ures including a handful of layoffs,the college welcomed the news of a$100 per-student hike in state aid,although the SUNY system hadasked for $285.

Partnering for grants has becomeessential.

As a member of the Hudson ValleyEducation Consortium, SUNYSullivan and other regional juniorcolleges learned they would receivea grant for a career readiness initia-tive that would, among other things,link students and community mem-bers with services and jobs.

A second grant will fund theCatskill Hospitality Institute atSUNY Sullivan. The faculty is at worknow on preparatory courses forthose wishing to enter the hospitali-ty and tourism trade, particularlybut not limited to the MontreignResort Casino due to open in a yearand a half near Monticello.

In networking with Montreign andthe county, Hilgersom has foundherself rubbing shoulders with occa-sional retired employees of Kutsher’sHotel, which shuttered in 2013.

“They were hotel tech majors whogot their degrees at SUNY Sullivanwhile they worked weekends atplaces like Kutsher’s,” Hilgersomsaid. “It’s exciting that the casinosand resorts in a small way are com-ing back, and that will help the col-lege. Hopefully we’ll get a lot of localpeople taking the new course.”

Will Hilgersom herself be aroundfor that infusion of energy?

It’s no secret that, for the past year,the college president has applied forthe top spot in several colleges else-where in the country.

The road for Hilgersom, whoarrived at SUNY Sullivan in 2013,has not been easy. She inherited aneroded budget with literally noreserve fund, pitiful faculty salariesand no labor contract for four years,and no strategic plan to direct acourse for the future. She spent herfirst two years untangling, retrench-ing and rebuilding.

Lately, family and personal issueshave propelled her to seek employ-ment elsewhere, she said.

“This is an excellent college,”Hilgersom said, “and as long as Istay, I’ll continue to do my very bestwork.”

Her best includes a number ofmajor pluses this year.

LEARNING BY THE RIVER

The college’s outreach to the west-ern part of the county is takingshape at Narrowsburg’s former pub-lic school, which is now a communi-ty and business center a quick walkfrom the Delaware River. As ofJanuary, the Narrowsburg Union ishome to a number of SUNY Sullivancommunity enrichment courses anda credit-bearing 20th Century ArtHistory Class.

The newest offering on the col-lege’s Loch Sheldrake campusembodies the green technology andsustainability emphasis for whichSUNY Sullivan is duly heralded.Hope Farm, a two-acre plot, will becultivated by the New HopeCommunity for developmentallydisabled individuals. College stu-dents will work one-on-one withtheir neighbors on the project, andcourses will focus on farming to sup-port and celebrate people and theearth.

Further, the college is crossing itsfingers for Empire State Develop -ment approval of a project involvinga New York City beverage manufac-turer. The business would like tomove a small marketing team ontothe SUNY Sullivan campus, openingup internship opportunities in theculinary arts and graphic arts,Hilgersom noted.

“We have a faculty and staff whoreally want to try new things andwho really care about the students,”explained the president. “That partis joyful.”

Still, the need for an infusion ofcapital for the college – certainly ajewel of Sullivan County – is ongoing.

“When they’re looking for colleges,families seek a good program mix,which we have, affordable tuition andeye-popping facilities,” saidHilgersom. “Our competitors aredoing it. What we need is more helpfrom our friends in the private sector.”

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N arrowsburg’s got the river, baldeagles, boutiques and now acollege.

It’s a slice of a college, for sure, butthere’s more of the pie coming, andit’s got people licking their lips.

“You can’t imagine how excitedpeople are in the class,” said SUNYSullivan art professor Michael(Rocky) Pinciotti, speaking from aclassroom at the Narrowsburg Union.

A working artist and gallery directorfor the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance,Pinciotti teaches 20th Century Art toa class of 14 in the tidy red brickbuilding that for generations educat-ed local children as the Narrowsburgpublic school.

Pinciotti’s class, by contrast, is com-posed mostly of adults thrilled to bedoing college work so close to home.

“They’re waiting at the door before Iget here,” he said. “They’ve done theirresearch, they’re taking the class seri-ously. Their eyes light up.”

SUNY Sullivan officials couldn’t bemore pleased. They say the collegehad long wished to extend its reachinto the western part of the county.

“Here we are, and they’re all the wayover there,” said Hillary Egeland, thecollege’s Director of Special Eventsand Campus Activities. She’s organiz-ing the classes from her office in LochSheldrake.

“That end of the county is veryartistic ... people with secondhomes,” Egeland noted. “Some ofthem have not been familiar with thecollege. But the reaction to us hasbeen extremely positive.”

Years ago, the college offered cours-es in a satellite branch in Monticello,

but the office closed about five or sixyears ago. Narrowsburg, therefore, isthe only non-campus location tohost SUNY Sullivan courses.

In addition to Pinciotti’s art historyclass, which is for degree-seekingstudents and for community mem-bers alike, SUNY teachers instructpainting and drawing classes at TheUnion, along with yoga and musicclasses.

“We are looking to establish morecredit-bearing classes,” Egeland said,“as well as a program of summerworkshops in the arts.”

Local and New York metropolitanarea artists will teach those warm-weather workshops in drawing, land-scape painting, sculpture, watercolor,oil and pastel. Other subjects mightbe spinning, weaving and dyeing,along with woodworking and print-making, to name just a few.

The workshops will range fromone-day courses to those lasting aweek or two, Egeland said.

All will be targeted for the generalpublic as well as for working artistsseeking further development, andthey may include field trips to stu-dios, foundries, greenhouses and soon.

Brendan and Kathy Weiden, ownersof the Union, are delighted with thepresence of the college in their midst.

“Education is dear to our hearts,”said Kathy. “We have a solid workingrelationship with SUNY Sullivan, andwe’re working hard to give them rootshere.”

The Weidens both work in New YorkCity, Brendan as a partner in an engi-neering consulting firm, and Kathy,

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Weiden family members have livedon property on Swamp Pond Road forfour generations, once owning a mill.

The Narrowsburg Union, located at7 Erie Ave., is being developed as amixed-use facility for commerce,education and community. Specialevent space includes a 550-seat audi-torium with stage. There’s also a com-mercial kitchen that could attract alight-industry food factory.

Education wise, the Weidens wouldlike to expand the de facto learningcenter to include courses offeredtoward a four-year college degree “sothat people don’t have to separatefrom the county for higher educa-

tion,” said Kathy.It’s all good, according to one of the

college’s Narrowsburg students, JaneLuchsinger.

“The art history class is phenome-nal,” said Luchsinger, who also serveson the Tusten Town Council.“Everybody looks forward to it, and asyou walk down Main Street, you hearpeople saying ‘Did you do yourhomework?’

“We’ll all be thrilled,” Luchsingeradded, “if SUNY Sullivan makes aneven greater presence here.”

“We believe education can be a gamechanger,” says Kathy Weiden, owner alongwith husband Brendan, of the mixed-usefacility constructed as the NarrowsburgSchool.

New facility: the Narrowsburg Union fea-tures a SUNY Sullivan art history coursetaught by Delaware Valley Arts Alliancegallery director Michael (Rocky) Pinciotti.

BY KATHY DALEY

alton Bauder is an expert atgardening.

“I have a garden at myhouse, where we grow

tomatoes, blackberries and raspber-ries, and a lot of beets,” he said.

Rosena Jett loves learning how toplant vegetables and fruit: “I like tomake them grow to be healthy,” shesaid.

Jett and Bauder are just two of thegardeners who will soon volunteer ona new farm at SUNY Sullivan. Thetwo-acre plot named Hope Farm willlink people who live in New HopeCommunity – like Bauder and Jett –with the college, which is only a fewmiles away.

New Hope Community providesindependent living for people with

intellectual and other developmentaldisabilities, both at the LochSheldrake site and in apartments,condominiums and family-stylehomes throughout Sullivan County.

The connection between New Hopeand SUNY Sullivan is longstanding.

New Hope residents delight in tak-ing special courses at the college onart, music, cooking and more, andthey graduate at annual commence-ment ceremonies. New Hope staffoften teach the classes, which alsoattract people from Center forDiscovery, Sullivan ARC and CrystalRun Village.

New Hope’s Jon Jon Thomas, whoruns the Community’s greenhouse,said the SUNY farm will yield apples,plums, pears, grapes, raspberries,blackberries along with greens, pota-toes, squash, broccoli, peas, cucum-

bers and corn. Planted in a field between the main

SUNY campus building and the col-lege baseball field, the crops will grownaturally, with organic fertilizer andno pesticides, said Thomas, whoserves as a Master Gardener withCornell Cooperative Extension.

The farm will provide learningopportunities for SUNY students:field work, internships and learningprojects related to the culinary arts,farming and human service.

For example, a hands-on seminarthis fall will introduce students to thesustainably-run farm, which will fea-ture a special “high tunnel” green-house and use of the compostingarea already in play on the collegecampus.

“We are so excited to have our stu-dents working with people from New

Hope,” said Kathryn Scullion,Instructional Assistant in the college’sDivision of Science, Technology andMathematics.

Scullion and chef Michael Bel,coordinator of the college’s culinaryarts program, conceived of the ideaof doing something extra with someof the college’s vacant acreage. Theythen spoke with president Dr. KarinHilgersom, and she suggested ameeting with New Hope.

“This project celebrates humandiversity and engagement,” saidHilgersom, “as novice farmers worktogether toward a common goal. Thefarm presents a terrific applied learn-ing opportunity. We can also takepride in providing nourishmentgrown from local and personal tend-ing.”

Officially, New Hope will staff the

Cultivating soil, student skills andhearty relationships at Hope Farm

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farm and have unlimited access.While the Community will own theproduce, a certain amount each yearwill go to the college for its culinaryprogram. The college will also store

the food and farm equipment.Meanwhile residents of New Hope

say they are no strangers to the joys ofgrowing things.

At the greenhouse on their own

campus, they may adopt a plot, plant,water, cultivate and reap the harvestfor their dinner tables.

They also volunteer at communitygardens on Main Street in Liberty and

at Cornell Cooperative Extension, aswell as for the flower garden behindCatskill Region Medical Center inHarris.

“The agency as a whole focuses onwellness and a healthy lifestyle,”explained Karen Russell, assistantexecutive director of New Hope.

At the new farm, protective fencingis due to be erected soon, along withsoil preparation, said Thomas.

Seedlings for planting are springingup in the greenhouse. Gently coaxingthe little green shoots into the earthat SUNY Sullivan can’t come soonenough for Wanda Green.

“I like being out in the weather,”said the New Hope resident with asmile in her eyes. “I like it whenthings are coming up.”

A new farm at SUNY Sullivan connects NewHope Community staff and residents withSUNY students and teachers. From left, backrow, New Hope’s Jon-Jon Thomas, WaltonBauder, Niki Binder, Tashayla Bright, SUNYSullivan’s Kathy Scullion, New Hope’s KarenRussell. First row, from New Hope, ChristinaSeti, Pedro Hernandez, Rosena Jett andWanda Green.

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