PRESIDENT’S UPDATE Mid-Semester, Looking Forward

he cooler air and changing leaves signal that we have all gotten into the rhythm of the semester. The Campus has the pleasant hum of things working as they should.

At the same time, we all find ourselves looking ahead to next semester. Our Admissions pro-fessionals are working hard to bring in a strong January class. Faculty are preparing for the classes they will be teaching over the Winterterm and in the Spring semester. And the Enrollment Services Center is near-ing completion.

Students are also planning for next semester, looking for the classes they need for their major or that are taught by their favorite professors. This semester we will no longer have “pre-registration.” Instead, to en-courage students to register for their classes, we are offering an Advisement Week from November 4-8. Students and their advisors will have access to the Spring class lineup and will work together to develop the right schedule. Registration for classes begins on November 11 and continues until the last day of final exams (December 13). After this date, a $50 fee will be imposed for late registration. We hope this new system will encourage students to sign up for the classes they want sooner rather than later and that it will give the Registrar’s Office – and faculty themselves – the ability to see which classes are filling up and which need more students. We can add sections and balance our offerings so we will avoid last-minute scrambling for extra service or adjunct instructors.

In the long run, the Enrollment Services Center will make this

process even easier, with a one-stop shop for all things enrollment-related. We had hoped that the Enrollment Center would be up and running for the start of Spring registration, but that may have been a bit optimistic. We are now hoping that the Center will be completed by the end of the semester, if not earlier. Thank you for your patience – I think you will find that the end result will be worth the wait. With changes come legitimate questions and concerns. I am in the process of sitting in on department and committee meetings, and I always take questions there. You can also visit one of my upcoming Open Office Hours, which are listed below. Please come by – I would be happy to chat. Best regards,

J.C. Hoffman

Upcoming Open Office Hours: ~ October 24, 2-3 p.m. ~ October 31, 9-10 a.m. ~ November 13, 10-11 a.m.

Vol. 1 �| Issue 5

October 18, 2013

Abby Williams and Cherise Carter won prizes in our annual Constitution Day Poster and Essay contests. Miracle

Hemmingson and Ryan Kocher (not pictured) were also awardees. Congrats!

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Shout-Outs

As the oft-seen faces of our Food Services staff at events on campus, Nicole Gooder, Catering Specialist, and Stephen Murray, Retail and Catering Associate, are always pleasant and accommodating, no matter how many last-minute changes are sprung on them – and always serve with smiles. Thanks so much, Nicole and Stephen! Many of our faculty members have taken up a new challenge this semester, serving as Faculty Athletic Liaisons to our various sports teams. They will visit practices, attend games, and be an accessible resource for our student-athletes’ academic and other concerns. Thanks to all of you for your commitment to the success of our student-athletes! Men’s Sports: Ron Tavernier – Cross Country Matt Metcalf – Golf Jennifer McDonald – Hockey Nick Kocher – Lacrosse Mike Newtown & Tim Perry – Baseball Brenda Miller – Basketball Bill Jones – Soccer Women’s Sports: John Conklin & Mike Herzog – Basketball Christina Martin – Soccer Ron Tavernier – Cross Country Raeleen Willard – Volleyball Johanna Lee – Hockey Dan Fay – Lacrosse Tony Beane - Softball The Admissions Office, Aimee Felt, Keyboard Specialist 1; Nellie Lucas, Clerk 2; Beth Madlin, Secretary 1; and Colleen Sheridan, Keyboard Specialist 2 took on the huge task of entering inquiries from the annual SUNY Canton Road Show (a three-day blitz of area high schools) and did it in record time. Excellent work, Aimee, Beth, Colleen, and Nellie!

n Assistant Librarian at Southworth Library Learning Commons, Michael Magilligan, became intrigued with the often untold stories of the veterans in the North Country. So, he did the only thing that makes sense; he started to listen. He sought out Veterans of World War II living in our community – and there are dozens! – and recorded their stories. These men stormed the beaches of Normandy and witnessed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. They struggled against German occupation in France and beyond. They fought on the Eastern Front and witnessed the end of the war. Then, they went about their lives in Northern New York: got married, had children, worked to better their communities. They were business owners and civil servants.

As their numbers dwindle – these veterans are well into their 80s – Magilligan wanted to preserve these veterans’ incredible stories for

posterity, and he knew that they were much more than just memories. They provide future generations with a more comprehensive under-standing of World War II and how it impacted the home front, then and now. These stories will be housed in an on-campus database as well as in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In recognition of Veteran’s Day, Magilligan will present the stories he has collected at a special event honoring these veterans and those that came after them. Several of the men he interviewed will be present to listen and remember – and receive our appreciation. Please consider joining us for the Veterans’ Living History Ceremony, presented by the SUNY Canton Veterans Association, the Southworth Library Learning Commons, and the President’s Office on Friday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

Celebrating Veterans: Event Celebrates Living History Project

Take Classes, Earn a Degree:

Tuition Assistance is Available s students are gearing up to sign up for classes, many staff and faculty are considering doing the same. Tuition assistance is available through a number of sources – including SUNY tuition waivers, the Associated Colleges of St. Lawrence Valley, your bargaining unit, and the President’s Office. If you want to continue your education, funding should not be an obstacle! Michaela Young, Assistant to the President, has been working with Human Resources to update the information on all of the tuition assistance resources for employees. All of the information can now be found on the Tuition Benefits Summary Sheet located on the Human Resources Tuition Assistance Page.

The President’s Office is continuing its supplemental support of tuition assistance and has created an application form for this program. When you apply for the tuition assistance that matches your bargaining unit designation, please take a moment to fill out the Presidential Support Program application form as well (located at the link above). Submission deadlines for each semester/term are below:

Winter – December 1 Spring – January 1 Summer – May 1 Fall – August 1

Shout-Outs Congratulations to Erin Lassial, Senior Admissions Counselor, who participated in a panel presentation at Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC). As one FLCC Student Services Counselor said, “She represented Canton exceptionally well and honestly set the room on fire!” Great work, Erin! Thanks to Dave Gerlach, VP for Advancement; Keith Rosser, Director of Financial Operations; Pat Hanss, Director of Facilities; Chuck Wagstaff, Plant Utilities Engineer; and Duke LaRose, Plumber/Steamfitter for their quick action and personal attention to a “mounting” problem on campus. When the washing machine in Newell Vet Tech Center broke, Dave and Keith purchased a new machine through the Foundation account, and even drove to Ogdensburg to ensure quick delivery. Pat, Chuck, and Duke delivered and installed the new washer and hauled the old one away. No more piles of dirty laundry, thanks to all!

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s President, there are things that I expected to be part of the job, but I am usually up to trying something new – especially when it exemplifies the “hands-on” education we so proudly offer. This, however, was really something new:

David Penepent, Director of the Funeral Services Administration program, invited me to make a mold of my face for a bronze mask. It was not to hang on my wall (that would be even stranger than the personal bobble-head I received as a birthday gift); it was for a class demon-stration. My entire face was covered in this green goop, with only a few holes for breathing, to show the students how to properly make a mold (a common practice in the Funeral Services industry). Thanks for the opportunity, Dave – but I do not think I’ll be doing it again!

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he team of librarians over at

Southworth Library Learning Commons refuse to let a monthly President’s Update pass without a feature story about some accomplishment or another. This month, we are highlighting a grant they won that will enhance access to digital technologies in the classroom.

The grant, from the competitive Northern New York Library Network Technology Service Improvement Grants program, funds the purchase of 20 iPads dedicated to collaborative librarian/faculty in-class instruction. The

Library will purchase an additional 5 iPads and a mobile charging cart so the iPads can travel to classrooms all over campus. “Developing a Mobile iPad Classroom will bring librarians into the classroom as digital content experts,” said Michelle L. Currier, Director of Library Services. “We will be able to offer instruction, facilitate content creation, and explore digital information tools that students might not otherwise be exposed to in conventional library instruction classes.”

Congratulations again to Michelle and the entire team of librarians on another win for Southworth and the whole Campus!

Southworth Library Wins Mobile iPad Classroom Grant

Embracing and Supporting Online Education System-

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UNY Canton has been offering online classes for years and has several programs offered exclusively online – including Bachelors programs in Dental Hygiene (2+2), Emergency Management, Finance, Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement Leadership, Legal Studies, Management, Nursing (2+2), and Veterinary Services Management (2+2). We have the second largest number of online course offerings in the SUNY System – only Empire State offers more.

Enter Open SUNY, a system-wide initiative aimed at maximizing online-enabled learning opportunities for all SUNY students. What Open SUNY is not is an attempt by System Administration to effectively “steal” our successful and lucrative online programs. Instead, Open SUNY seeks to support campuses in increasing access, completion, and success for their students. The Open SUNY concept is still in development, but campuses have been encouraged to submit programs and best practices in online learning to add to SUNY’s expertise and – crucially – to promote our own online programs and involvement in innovative learning systems.

Open SUNY seeks to be more than a clearinghouse of all online offerings in the system. It will provide information to students in New York and beyond on the courses and programs offered by various campuses, while promising greater cross registration, collaborative programs, and degree ladder oppor-tunities. Campuses will continue to develop and maintain their own programs, and SUNY will be more pro-active in identifying new degree programs and ladder opportunities. They will also establish services that will enable campuses to more easily partner to deliver online learning opportunities for students.

As part of building this initiative, SUNY System Administration asked campuses to contribute online programs to highlight as well as best practices in serving online students and developing faculty expertise in online instruction. We nominated six online programs to highlight through Open SUNY: From the School of Business and Liberal Arts, faculty nominated programs in Emergency Management, Finance, Legal Studies, and Management. From the School of Science, Health, and Criminal Justice, faculty nominated Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Leadership.

In addition, Molly Mott, Dean of Academic Support Services and Instructional Technologies, submitted four best practices that our Online Learning staff have established over the several years that we have been offering and growing online courses. First, she highlighted the ways in which the revenue from our online courses during Summer and Winter terms are funneled back into the respective Schools for professional de-velopment and equipment purchases. Second, she shared our online course review process that evaluates the ability of each of our courses to meet standards of high-quality content. Third, Molly showed how we work to retain online students through online mentoring and student support. Finally, she discussed our embedded librarian program for online courses, in which SUNY Canton librarians enroll in an ANGEL course and actively participate in the learning environment as an instructional partner and content provider.

Through these nominations, SUNY Canton has the opportunity to grow our online learning programs and be an integral part of Open SUNY, helping to shape its success as a leader of online education in the SUNY System.

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