Alumni News & Events
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- Send us your news
- All-Alumni Reunion
- Strategic Plan
- Newburgh Campus Expansion
- We Last Heard
- Get Involved With a New Alumni Chapter
- Remembering Dr. James Lynch
- From The Office of Alumni Relations
- Morrison Hall Wall coverings Restored
- Our Alumni Survey is All About You
Send Us Your News
Let us know your news
Tell us about your latest promotion or public service project. Tell us about community groups you're active in, or if you've recently moved or changed jobs or careers. Tell us if you've earned credentials or degrees, or any other news you'd like us to share with other alumni.
Please share your news for the "We Last Heard" column.
Mail your items to:
Alumni Office
Orange County Community College
115 South Street
Middletown NY 10940
or email us at ocalumni@sunyorange.edu
All-Alumni Reunion
Hundreds attend men's basketball game and reception
MIDDLETOWN - The day was beautiful, and SUNY Orange even won the men's basketball game: SUNY Orange versus Berkeley (99-47).
The All-Alumni Reunion on January 29, 2005 honored SUNY Orange athletes from the founding of the College to the present, and finished up with a reception at Orange Hall Gallery.
The cooperative effort between the Athletic department here at SUNY Orange and the Office of Alumni Relations, the All-Alumni Reunion was a big success, according to the many alumni who attended the free event. Even former executive director of the Alumni Association, Ada DeGeus, was here to enjoy the festivities.
The partnership between the Alumni Office and the Athletic Office began with a search of long-lost alumni, athletes and non-athletes alike. Many lost addresses were found, and many alumni were delighted to be invited. The goal was to find and to honor athletes from the earliest days of the College all the way through to the present day.
SUNY Orange has a long tradition of athletics since the very founding of the College back in 1950, so the process was a rewarding one. Athletes from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s were honored in a half-time ceremony, after which select audience members were given an opportunity to shoot free throws for among other prizes a potential $1000 giveaway.
After the basketball games, the alumni were invited to the art gallery in Orange Hall for a reception with food, drink and fellowship.
Stacy Morris, far left, SUNY Orange assistant athletic director and class of '89 applauds with other honored athletes at the men's basketball game. |
Former Alumni Association Executive Director Ada DeGeus |
Current students athletes enjoyed the even as well. |
Math professor Mrs. Frances Cummins, and Physics Professor Dr. John Cummins attend as well. |
The Hayes family, alumni, athletes, teachers and coaches all. |
Strategic Plan
New plan targets technology and more for a clear, focused vision of the future.
The newly-adopted strategic plan at SUNY Orange makes this an important and exciting time for everyone involved with the College, from students just beginning their academic career to alumni looking back at an education they value.
Approved by the Board of Trustees last December, the plan focuses the College's energy and strength on five major priorities:
The first Priority is to develop an Academic Master Plan. This means exploring new options in academic programming, examining what we currently offer, renewing what really works for our students and initiating the programs that will guide their future success.
Supporting this academic Master Plan will be:
- A facilities Plan, which will focus on capital improvements at the Middletown campus and the development of the Newburgh campus that's been talked about so much.
- A Technology Plan, which will enrich the learning environment, make education available to many more students, and make administrative functions easier all around.
- A Resource Development Plan, to help the College come up with means in addition to conventional revenue streams so that these plans may come to fruition for every student.
- An Enrollment Management Plan, that not only increases marketing and recruitment effectiveness but also improves student persistence, how long they stay in school, and their academic success.
The second Priority is to increase the effectiveness of the Planning Operations. The third is to provide adequate resources to allow the College to realize its strategic goals. The fourth Priority is to review and realign the missions and operations of all College departments to align with the Strategic plan, and the fifth is to provide a clear, compelling presentation of the College, its program and services.
For alumni, this means your alma mater is changing in a meaningful way, we are taking a hard look at the College and the way we operate, and we are willing to move forward to ensure that the students entering this year, and the next, receive the same quality education that you received.
In a more fundamental way, however, the College remains the same. We are ever more committed to remaining faithful to the tradition of excellence, and the community spirit that has guided this institution for over fifty years. With this new plan in place, we are sure to succeed.
For more information about the Strategic Plan, or to view it in its entirety, please visit our web site at http://www.sunyorange.edu/strategic
Newburgh Campus Expansion
Good for Newburgh; Good for the College
The many stories you've heard in the press may have you wondering: what exactly is going on over there at SUNY Orange regarding the Newburgh site for expansion? We'd like to set the record straight on exactly what's going on, and what hasn't even begun to go on for you, the alumni.
President Richards has characterized the Newburgh Campus project as &... the most compelling for the mission of the community college that I have seen in my 25 years in this profession.& The new campus will provide space for expanding programs that have waiting lists at Middletown, allow for the development of new programs, and generally enrich the services of the whole College.
To get things started, County Executive Ed Diana has appointed a Planning Committee whose charge is to provide oversight for the Newburgh Campus project from feasibility and space planning through construction. The Committee will hire a firm to conduct the space planning process by the end of July. That firm will work with faculty and staff over the next several months to conduct needs' analyses, create a list of programs and services, conduct site reviews and, finally, estimate the budget for the whole project.This phase of planning should be concluded in about ten months and will be followed by architecture, engineering and construction. If everything goes smoothly, we could open the doors of the new campus by Fall semester, 2007.
The Governor and State Legislature have budgeted $15.8 million for the project which the County must match. The William and Elaine Family Charitable Foundation has also given the College a very generous gift to help create first-class space for health professions' programming. The College is also working with legislators in Washington to budget funding for construction in order to lessen the burden of the State and County and also to allow for a larger facility.
There is no doubt that the new Campus will bring much-needed educational services to the Newburgh area but it will also contribute significantly to the economic revitalization of the City of Newburgh as well.
We Last Heard
Janet Borenstein (1962)
After graduating from SUNY Orange I transferred to the University of Wisconsin where I received a B. A. in English, 1964. Moved to Milwaukee in 1967 and have lived here ever since. Retired from full-time teaching in 1999 to my dream job as an independent private tutor for students in grades 3- 12. Raised two children, now 34 and 36 years old; one is a proud classroom teacher and the other a proud owner/founder of Rishi Tea Company (www.rishi-tea.com). At SUNY Orange I was an enthusiastic participant in theatrical and musical productions, and was an editor of the college newspaper. SUNY Orange spoiled me by giving me the opportunity to engage in these activities, which, to my distress, I found closed to me (not being a theater, music, or journalism major) when I transferred to the gigantic UW-Madison campus.
My wonderful parents still live in Middletown, so I'm usually around for a while in the summer visiting. I recently re-established a rewarding contact with one of my "long lost" classmates from SUNY Orange and would enjoy hearing from other old friends from the 1961 and 1962 graduating classes. Send email to rhafemann@usm.k12.wi.us (yes, that's really me after a couple of name changes). I wish everyone reading this a happy, healthy, and peaceful(!) 2005.
Kim Petro McCrum Consulting Wallkill, NY
Kim Petro McCrum of Kim Petro McCrum Consulting recently completed the Certification Course for QuickBooks 2004. Ms. McCrum is now certified in QuickBooks 2003 and 2004 and is also offering programs this fall in money management and identity theft through Mt. St. Mary College and Ulster BOCES. Kim Petro McCrum Consulting provides bookkeeping, accounting, tax, and business management services. They can be reached at 845-566-0391 or petromccrum@aol.com.
Zychowics named nurse practitioner of yea rr
NEWBURGH - The Nurse Practitioner Association New York State has selected Michael E. Zychowicz, assistant professor of nursing at Mount Saint Mary College, as nurse practitioner of the year. He is currently pursuing a doctorate of nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Zychowicz practices part time as a nurse practitioner at Orthopedics and Sports Medicine of New Windsor, NY and is a captain in the Army Reserve.
Robert Linderman, class of '72
I am currently a special education teacher in Newport News, VA
Andre Jesequel, class of '70
Brunswick, GA Graduated from SUNY Oswego with a BA in TV Communications. Entered the Air Force in 1972 worked as a film cameraman. In 1976 I went to work with the Agency for International Development. Traveled the world with them filming various AID projects. 1978 went to Mexico to work as head of the AV dept for the International Center for the Improvement of Corn and Wheat CIMMYT. Traveled all over the developing world with them until 1983 when I went to work for a film company in Los Angles, California named GOAL PRODUCTIONS. Here I produced Military and Wine Training films. In 1984 I was hired by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as a Producer Director of Law Enforcement Training Videos. I married in Mexico 26 years ago and we have 2 grown children and a grandchild.
John Vorees, class of '73
I graduated Middletown High School in 1965, joined the US Navy, got out in 1971 and entered SUNY Orange in May 1971, majoring in Engineering. I graduated SUNY Orange in 1973 and transferred directly into Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a junior in 1973.
Filling the first two years of my college career at SUNY Orange was the greatest and most rewarding experience in my life. My experience at SUNY Orange was greatly helpful in my further academic and professional endeavors. SUNY Orange prepared me fully and completely for my engineering degree experience at RPI. Without my ability to complete my first two years of my Engineering Degree at SUNY Orange, it would have been very difficult for me to continue, financially and academically.
SUNY Orange and my advisors, counselors and faculty prepared me completely and fully for my future interests in nuclear power. My hat's off and I salute those who helped me in 1971 and 1972 to go to RPI !! I am proud to be an ALUMNUS.
Anne Stroup class of 1977/1988
Colorado Springs, CO. Married with 2 boys, living in Colorado and lovin' it.
Joann F. Conklin of 1994
Middletown, NY Since my graduation I have had several jobs both as a cashier and an office clerk. In addition, I did some work for the college in the Bursar office for my internship.
Christopher Wernau, class of '93
After graduating from the engineering science program, I transferred to Northeastern University in Boston, MA to complete my BS Mechanical Engineering degree. The Northeastern cooperative education program allowed me to get a year of engineering experience before graduating in 1996.
I met my wife Belinda at Northeastern and we were married in August 1997 after she graduated with a BS Chemical Engineering. Since 1996 I have worked as a manufacturing process engineer in Massachusetts (1996-1998), Kentucky (1998-1999) and Georgia (1999-present).
After five years at Vernay Manufacturing in Griffin, Georgia as a Manufacturing Quality engineer, I accepted a position at Gardner Denver Blower Division in Peach tree City, Georgia as Senior Quality Engineer in February 2005. I am responsible for maintaining the ISO 9001 system and certification for this facility, as well as supporting production operations and vendor quality management. Gardner Denver manufactures multistage centrifugal blowers for industrial and wastewater treatment applications as well as engineered vacuum systems.
Belinda and I have four sons Andrew (13), Daniel (6), Erik (3) and Ferris (1) and reside in Concord, Georgia on our nineteen-acre farm which produces blueberries, vegetables, chickens and goat milk soap. Our web site is http://www.goatengineers.com. Given the 1000-mile distance, my family and I make a couple of road trips each year back to Montgomery, NY to visit for family or community events.
Looking back, the SUNY Orange engineering science program was very beneficial: it combined qualified instructors, small class sizes, and competitive students without the distractions of moving to a four year school for the first two years at additional expense. Both parents Herbert and Madeline, my two younger brothers and I all attended SUNY Orange. My father and I both transferred to Northeastern University while my brothers Michael and Jason transferred to other schools.
Abraham L. Howell, class of '97
Grayslake, Illinois Since graduating with my associates in engineering science from SUNY Orange in 1997, I've gone on to SUNY Binghamton University to complete both a BSME in 1999 and then a MSME in 2003.
After receiving my BSME I worked as a process engineer with Baxter Healthcare in North Carolina. I returned to academia to complete a MSME at SUNY Binghamton and upon completion started working towards a Ph.D., but went back to work for Baxter in Illinois as a automation engineer.
Currently I'm preparing to return to SUNY Binghamton so that I can complete a Ph.D. in Engineering Education. I'm heavily involved in educational robotics outreach and currently maintain a web site, which provides educators, students and hobbyists with information regarding the use of robots in the classroom as teaching tools. My site can be viewed here: www.abotics.com. My ultimate goal is to teach engineering/science at a community college like SUNY Orange.
For more WE LAST HEARD visit our web site.
Remembering Dr. James Lynch
Beloved professor of English leaves a legacy of literary challenge
Dr. James Lynch, professor of English at SUNY Orange, died Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 11, 2005. He was 61. "Jim Lynch made every class a work of art, challenging students to think and to love literature," Chris Godwin, English and Foreign Languages department chair said."He fired up his students; he connected the best of our literary heritage with current life. Jim was also one of our true leaders as Governance president, Cultural Affairs chairman, and a colleague greatly respected and admired." Popular with students, with colleagues and with staff, Lynch pioneered new courses, advocated for others, and never stopped learning himself throughout his long career in academia. A devoted Shakespearean and Jungian scholar, Lynch was involved in campus life and was an advocate for faculty. At the time of his death, he was in his second term as president of the campus Governance system. Jim Lynch began his career at SUNY Orange 24 years ago, in 1981, after previous stints as an English professor at Oregon State University, a lecturer at the Center for Jungian Studies at Wainwright House in Rye, New York, and as a teaching assistant at the University of California at Davis, where he earned both his Master's degree and his Ph.D. Lynch's interests ranged widely, from myths to movies, and he freely shared those interests with the community and with the students at SUNY Orange. He created two popular courses, Introduction to Mythology and Fantasy Fiction, which delves into Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the Arthurian legend. He gave numerous guest lectures on campus and throughout the community on various films, and published widely on archetypes in literature, on various aspects of myth, and on cinema. His interests even included pop culture. He presented a paper called Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" at a philological conference. Lynch was chairman of the SUNY Orange Cultural Affairs Committee from 1985-1988. He was also chair of the academic policy committee, and served on the editorial board of Esprit, a literary magazine by and for faculty throughout the SUNY system. Lynch also served on the Chester school system Board of Education. Lynch was SUNY Orange's first recipient for a CUNY Fellowship for postdoctoral study in English. He leaves behind a wife, Gisela, three children and two grandchildren, and a campus community much enriched by his contributions, and saddened by his loss.
To make a donation to the Dr. James Lynch Memorial Scholarship, please write to:
The educational Foundation of Orange County Community College
115 South Street
Middletown, NY 10940
Please make checks payable to: The Educational Foundation.
From The Office of Alumni Relations
Welcome to the Spring-Summer newsletter of the Alumni Association. I’m privileged to have met many of you now, through some of the events we’ve had, particularly the All-Alumni Reunion in January. What a delightful bunch, and what a fun event.
What I see, over and over again, as I meet with you, are the fond memories you have of Orange County Community College. You, more so than with any other school I've ever known, seem to have more close relationships with your professors, more long-lasting friendships with your classmates, and more warm memories of your classes.
It is because the classes were small, and the teachers so dedicated? Maybe.
Is it because the students who come here are so committed to learning? Maybe
Is it because it's a lot more fun here than it might have seemed at first? Maybe
Is it because SUNY Orange has, and maintains, an underrated commitment to excellence in academics that means you got an education that really worked for you? Maybe.
Or is it because you're part of a tradition - a SUNY Orange tradition - that has lasted more than 50 years?
I think that might be it. I'm proud to have become a part of that tradition. And you should be, too.
Elizabeth Bushey
Coordinator of Public and Alumni Relations
Morrison Hall Wall coverings Restored By Nick Mancini
Orange County Community College is rare among community colleges in the SUNY System in its beautiful and historic Middletown campus. The centerpiece of the campus, donated over 50 years ago by Middletown's Morrison family, is magnificent Morrison Hall, featuring Louis Comfort Tiffany lighting fixtures and a large stained glass window, a variety of marble and wood from around the world, ceiling murals, exquisite carvings, and woodwork that could not be duplicated today.
The challenge of keeping the building historically accurate while preserving its beauty is one the College takes seriously, so when the leather wall coverings in the dining room on the first floor showed signs of serious wear and damage, SUNY Orange alumna and Morrison descendent Siggie Morrison donated $7,000 to the College to hire craftsman Nick Mancini to restore the panels.
"It's a rewarding job," said Mancini. "I like repairing something that's been around for 100 years and restoring it to almost its original state."
Mancini, who works with a muralist partner, has been working in the field of high-scale residential work, doing finishes for walls for 33 years. He does gold leafing, antiquing, Venetian plasters, and more, and can tell simply by looking at a wall, no matter how old it is, how many layers of different colors went on it to achieve the look.
For instance, in the dining room at Morrison Hall, he was able to discern that the moldings that held the 13 leather wall covering panels in place were not only originally mahogany, but were also gilded in silver.
"I know how to see through colors," Mancini said. "It's what I do." Mancini can also duplicate finishes, making exact duplicates of any texture. Using his long experience and the right techniques, he can even make a wall look like suede, he says. So restoring the leather wall coverings is "not a big job," he shrugged. "They were unbelievably dirty," he said. "I removed the contaminants. You could actually hear the leather moving, crackling."
Mancini's attention to detail and historical accuracy is precise, down to the glue he used to replace the panels. After he bought new cotton muslin to back the panels, he got wheat paste, an old-fashioned adhesive that was used to hang the wall coverings in the early 1900s. "Nobody really uses it," said Mancini, "but you can still buy it. It becomes a very strong adhesive. I used it when I was a kid [working for my father.] It'll adhere to these panels." Because the plaster is sound, but is breaking down in some places, Mancini took an extra step and built panels to mount the wall coverings on, for easy removal for future repair and cleaning. It is these extra steps that make Mancini such a good match for a place like Morrison Hall, a dedicated, skilled craftsman interested only in restoring the original beauty of a building, and a building whose beauty is available to all who wish to learn in Orange County. Mancini ran a loving hand across the woodwork in Morrison Hall. "You couldn't build a place like this today," he said.
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The Alumni Association is an independent organization whose purpose is to work actively and effectively to advance the mutual interests of the college, the alumni, and the community.
Alumni Association,
SUNY Orange County Community College,
115 South Street, Middletown NY 10940.
845-341-4751
or e-mail us at ocalumni@sunyorange.edu.