STEP STUDENTS FLOURISH IN SCCC PROGRAMS 
This year, Suffolk County Community College celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and Collegiate Science and Technol­ogy Entry Program (CSTEP). Funded by New York state for students from underrepre­sented groups, both programs have helped steer students into careers in science, tech­nology, engineering and mathematics. Since 1987, enrichment activities have included Saturday morning classes in science, mathematics and communications; field trips to Brookhaven National Laboratory at the neighboring Stony Brook University; and participation in statewide conferences. STEP now serves 255 students in grades 7­12 from five area school districts and CSTEP serves 75 students. STEP graduates have gone on to establish impressive careers. Wesley Francillon, who joined STEP as a seventh­grader in 1989, earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science from Stony Brook University in 2006 and is now a practicing engineer. Georgina Garcia went on to graduate from Dartmouth College and the University of Iowa Medical College and prac­tices in the Boston area. And Medina Seng­hore completed her studies at Howard University and Harvard Law School and practices international law. STEP/CSTEP faculty and staff are reaching even deeper into the pipeline by visiting stu­dents in grades 4­12 to provide program infor­mation and engage them in hands­on learning. A Sullivan County CC student spent a few weeks in a Purchase College Laboratory watching tiny flies mate. 

BUILDING BRIDGES TO COLLEGE 
Adrian Ponce, a Sullivan County Community College student, spent a few weeks in a Purchase College laboratory last summer watching tiny flies mate. With three other students and two professors, Ponce was seeing whether a concentration of a chemical found in the Drosophila paulisorum fly’s body would enhance its mating prowess. Ponce was part of a summer bridge pro­gram designed to give students at two­year institutions scientific and laboratory experiences that could help them make the transition to a four­year degree program in science or math. For Ponce, it was also a first step towards medical school and an experience he said he would “definitely consider doing again next summer.” More than 30 students and nine Purchase College faculty members took part in 2006, said Joe Skrivanek, professor of Chemistry and program head. It began in 1996 with fund­ing from the National Institutes of Health, and has recently been expanded into the Research and Science Visions Program with funding from the National Science Foundation. A similar “bridge” to Purchase for students interested in the social sciences and humani­ties is being created with a multi­year start­up grant from the PepsiCo Foundation. 

ENGINEERING SUCCESS AT BUFFALO STATE 
Buffalo State’s mechanical engineering technology (MET) program gives students a broad education that encompasses mechanical design, mechanics, stress analysis, thermosciences and manufacturing—and it prepares them for careers in the rapidly changing field of engineering Graduates “get jobs—good jobs,” said Dave Kukulka, tech­nology professor and coordinator of the mechanical engineering technology program, ranging from applications engineer to field technician to senior product designer. In the materials processing lab, for instance, students become familiar with lathes and milling machines. In the materi­als science and testing labs, they understand the properties of materials. “Students have to understand what material to use for different applications,” Pawlik said. In the thermal science lab, students learn the principles of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics and how to apply them. The lab is also the site for this year’s Mini Baja engineering competition sponsored by The Society of Automotive Engi­neers. Students are challenged to plan and manufacture a new product for the consumer industrial market. Eric Barton ’04 was on a team that was challenged to redesign a Fisher­Price toy, the popular Bubble Mower. “We were able to redesign one component,” said Barton, “and they used it.” Barton, now a senior model maker with the company, said, “We bring the engineers’ ideas to life.” 

“As medical procedures continue to advance technologically and the need for specialized surgery increases, the need for professional, highly trained surgical assistants is also growing.” 
Barbara Black, clinical associate professor of nursing and program director at Upstate Medical 

NURSES GET OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE 

Upstate Medical University’s College of Nursing now offers a Registered Nurse First Assistance (RNFA) program that will educate and train nurses to directly assist surgeons during 
surgical procedures, such as clamping vessels, closing incisions and suturing, and provide pre and post­surgery patient care services. The program comes at a time when these advanced nursing skills are in demand. “As medical procedures continue to advance technologically and the need for specialized surgery increases, the need for professional, highly trained surgical assistants is also growing,” said program director Barbara Black, clinical associate professor of nursing. Black said that local nurses and nurse practitioners had sought out an RFNA program in Central New York so they could receive the extra training and still be near family and work. Previously, RNFA training programs have been offered at the University of Rochester and SUNY Buffalo. “We also know there is considerable interest among nurses from some of the area’s rural hospitals,” Black said. “The advanced skill sets these nurses would bring to rural hospitals would be especially desirable as it would expand access to surgical care for patients in those communities. 

HVCC LAUNCHES “SMALL” TECH GRADUATES IN THE WORKFORCE 
Hudson Valley Community College this spring graduated its first­ever class of students specifically trained to work in the emerging field of semiconductors and nanotechnology. Three students earned associate’s degrees in Electrical Technology: Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT), one of 18 degree and certificate programs offered through the college’s School of Engineering and Industrial Technologies. 
In response to the Capital Region’s growing Tech Valley initiative, the Semiconductor pro­gram trains students for employment as work station operators in clean room environments or for transfer to bachelor’s degree programs upon graduation. “Hudson Valley Community College’s history is rooted in technology education, so it was only natural for us to seize upon this new opportunity to provide cutting­edge instruction in this emerging field,” said Phillip White, dean of the School of Engineering and Industrial Technologies. “We are proud of this program and look forward to providing Advanced Micro Devices and other companies in the region with a qualified workforce to further drive the Tech Valley initiative.” Two of the first three graduates have already landed full­time positions with GE Global Research in Niskayuna, and the third is continuing his education. The college’s ultimate goal is to train 80 students annually, White said. 

CAREER PREP ON THE MENU AT MORRISVILLE 
Mary Jo Middaugh leaned over a large silver bowl and carefully examined its contents before hand­picking a couple pieces of ginger root and tossing them aside. “I know how she likes it to look,” Middaugh said. “She is very particular about the consis­tency of her product.” A student in Morrisville State College’s dietetic technician program, Middaugh was referring to a client from Cooperstown who makes different kinds of chutney at Nelson Farms, a small­scale food processing facility located on Route 20 in the village of Nelson. The facility is run by the Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation (MAC), a not­for­profit organiza­tion which supports Morrisville State College. “Students gain so much experience working in a commercial kitchen,” Karen Metz, a production coordinator at Nelson Farms, said. “When they go out into the work force, they are prepared and are not overwhelmed or suprised by anything.” Middaugh is one of many Morrisville students putting her knowledge and skills to work at Nelson Farms. She’s partnered there with Kirsten Naylor, a fellow dietetic technician student, fulfilling a requirement for their Community Nutrition class. Students learning the basics of commercial cooking while gaining knowledge about the food­service industry as a whole, including state and federal health regulations, food safety and sanitation and aspects of kitchen management along with other specialties such as product development, marketing, and recipe formulation and testing among other things, according to Marie Smith, professor of nutrition, who teaches the class. “Students gain so much experience work­ing in a commercial kitchen,” Karen Metz, a production coordinator at Nelson Farms, said “When they go out into the work force, they are prepared and are not overwhelmed or surprised by anything.” 

DIVERSITY EQUALS OPPORTUNITY AND ACCESS 
EOP celebrates 40 years 
October marked the 40th anniversary of SUNY’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which uses a combination of access, academic support and supplemental financial assistance to make higher education possible for students with limited financial and educational resources. SUNY’s EOP has been creating opportunity for students since 1967, when Arthur O. Eve, then a first year assemblyman from Buffalo, helped launch the program and open SUNY’s first EOP office to 249 students on the Buffalo State campus. Today, more than 10,000 students on 45 SUNY campuses are enrolled in EOP. More than 47,000 EOP students have earned bachelor’s degrees since the program began. EOP has enabled a variety of students from around the state to achieve their dreams over the years. Anthony Kendall, Binghamton University ’83, says he was “ill equipped” for the academic rigors of Binghamton but the summer EOP program taught him the study habits needed to succeed in the college classroom. “I was once told by an EOP counselor that “when others doubt you, that’s when you must really believe in yourself,” Kendall says. “That statement resonates with me today.” Today Mr. Kendall is vice president of client services, Mitchell and Titus, LLP, in Albany. 
Dr. Helen Suchanic, SUNY Fredonia ’89, dreamed of being a physician since she was a little girl, but she feared she wouldn’t achieve her goal because she a woman of Hispanic origin. “Of course, this did not stop me, especially after learning of the Educational Opportunity Program at Fredonia State,” she says. “I realized that all people, no matter what nationality or gender, could achieve whatever goals they dreamed of, if they put their minds to it.” Today she owns a building in Dunkirk, in Erie County, where she practices family and occupational medicine. The history of SUNY EOP is rich with similar stories of the positive impact of the program on students, their families and the communities in which they live. SUNY EOP students perform at a very high level first year retention rates of 84.5 percent outrank the national public aver age by 11.5 percent; six year graduation rates for SUNY EOP students at doctoral granting institutions outpace the national average for that category by more than 7 percent. 

Diversifying SUNY 
The Office of Diversity and Educational Equity 
The office, which reports directly to the University Provost, is primarily responsible for devising and implementing a range of programs to pro mote the diversity of SUNY’s academic human resources. While this objective is critically important, to be successful the Office of Diversity and Educational Equity must promote the integration of diversity related instruction and research into ongoing SUNY system wide initiatives to enhance academic excellence. SUNY must play a pivotal role in preparing a new generation of public and corporate leaders, as well as a highly skilled, technically proficient workforce, that can work effectively in a culturally diverse environment and in an increasingly globalized economy. Success in our fast paced, internationally competitive world depends on developing the knowledge, cognitive skills and cultural competence to respond to new opportunities and challenges propelled by the forces of globalization. The Office of Diversity and Educational Equity is centrally involved in the Provost’s innovative program to recruit a stellar faculty and student body, to provide them with the support to excel, and to strategically invest resources in order to enhance SUNY’s level of academic excellence. In this way, SUNY will make a significant contribution to New York State as it adjusts to the dramatic forces of change, while it tries to harness those forces for the benefit of its citizens and residents. The Office of Diversity and Educational Equity will contribute to this challenge of our time by promoting the diversification of SUNY’s human academic resources. This entails recruiting professors, graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups that have historically been underrepresented in higher education. The synergy between academic excellence and diversity is indispensable in the modern university, and will be achieved at SUNY through a variety of programs. With funding, the Office of Diversity will support curriculum reform that promotes diversity, fund new research directions, as well as a regionally based faculty diversity research initiatives. The Office will organize best practices workshops for academic officers and deans to explore and develop new recruitment and retention approaches. In addition, campuses with successful diversity programs will receive support to further develop and expand these programs. By creating an intellectually supportive climate, faculty will be much more inclined to retain their appointments in SUNY’s colleges and universities. Campuses will be provided with incentives to stimulate interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars engaged in diversity related research; and in the process diverse create intellectual communities. These communities will serve to attract new faculty and graduate students from diverse backgrounds, and define new areas of applied research of benefit to New York State. 

Preparing teachers for NYC Schools 
SUNY’s Urban Teacher Education Center assists the 17 SUNY campuses that offer teacher preparation programs to place teacher candidates in New York City public schools. Through SUTEC, prospective teachers are prepared to become competent and confident professionals in urban, multicultural environ­ments. The Brooklym­based program is a vital force in New York City for SUNY’s education and professional studies programs, offering the opportunity for a semester­long student teach­ing program in the city’s multicultural, multieth­nic and socio­economically diverse schools. SUTEC also offers student teaching seminars while students are in the city, hosts confer­ences for SUNY faculty and collaborates with campuses on urban education research. 

NY ALERT KEEPS STUDENTS SAFE 
The largest coordinated campus safety and alert effort in the country was launched this fall by New York state and SUNY. NY Alert is a secure, web­based emergency alert system that will dramatically strengthen the ability of individual SUNY campuses to communicate potentially life­saving information in the event of a major emergency. SUNY information technology and emer­gency response officials, working with the State Emergency Management Office (SEMO), adapted the state’s all­hazards alert and notification system, NY­Alert, for use on its SUNY campuses. “The safety of our students, faculty and staff is of the utmost importance,” Governor Spitzer said. “Integrating NY­Alert with SUNY data collection methods will provide the nation’s largest state university system with the most powerful emergency communica­tions tools available.” 
SUNY NY­Alert can notify registrants by email, text message, telephone and cell phone messaging, Short Message Service and paging, dial­out voice messaging, web pages and fax. Designed as an “opt­in” system, individuals must indicate how they wish to be contacted in case of an emergency. For example, a student who rarely checks his or her campus e­mail would register a personal e­mail address and /or cell phone number with the system.