Ribbon cutting ceremony for the SUNY Downstate World Trade Center Health Program satellite office

Stony Brook University’s Long Island Clinical Center of Excellence (LI-CCE) chapter of the World Trade Center Health Program has expanded to SUNY Downstate Medical Center.  This new extension site will allow medical professionals to care for thousands more non-FDNY 9/11 responders living or working in Brooklyn (Kings County).  An opening ceremony was held yesterday to mark the occasion.

The new satellite location opened on February 28, 2012 at 760 Parkside Avenue.  The convenient location and collaboration with SUNY Downstate Medical Center was chosen to ensure geographic accessibility and comprehensive, free medical services for responders living in Brooklyn. The facility offers services including annual health monitoring examinations, physical and mental health treatment, as well as diagnostic and specialist care and is staffed by a team of medical experts to serve responders suffering from WTC-related illnesses.

The program at SBU has been operating since the days after September 11 and is supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  The chapter expanded in response to the health needs of responders in the Brooklyn region who continue to suffer from various physical and mental health conditions following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the environment of the region in the days after.

“The establishment of the satellite clinic at SUNY Downstate Medical Center addresses two issues that have been missing ingredients in the delivery of healthcare to non-FDNY 9/11 responders living and working in Brooklyn – geographic accessibility and comprehensive care,” said Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director of the LI-CCE. “We have assembled a superb team of experts to enable a seamless coordination of services, and delivery of high-quality care for responders living in Kings County.”

“The number of Brooklyn residents in need of WTC Health Program services may exceed the number currently involved,” adds Jack A. DeHovitz, M.D., M.P.H., Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and the SUNY Downstate site director.

“Stony Brook is pleased to work with Downstate on this important initiative,” said Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., President, Stony Brook University. “The LI-CCE at Stony Brook has grown to serve more than 6,000 responders and is now a major component of NIOSH’s World Trade Center Program. Our expansion to Brooklyn offers the opportunity to work with Downstate Medical Center to make sure that responders in Brooklyn receive the highest level of care.”

“Expansion of the LI-CCE to Brooklyn furthers the mission of the program to reach additional 9/11 responders from the region who are experiencing many health issues related to their work at Ground Zero,” says Kenneth Kaushansky, M.D., M.A.C.P., Senior Vice President of the Health Sciences and Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. “The continued clinical care taking place at each of the Clinical Centers of Excellence is an important element to understanding the origins of the health problems experienced by this deserving and heroic group of individuals.”

“This program brings the expertise of two SUNY academic medical centers – Stony Brook and Downstate – to the health issues that continue to beset 9/11 responders,” said Dr. John LaRosa, President of SUNY Downstate. “This is a much-needed clinic and a very significant advance in providing care to Brooklyn-based responders affected by their WTC disaster work.”

“I am grateful that the World Trade Center Health Program has expanded to SUNY Downstate Medical Center where thousands of our first responders affected by 9/11 can have access to the medical attention they need right here in Brooklyn,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “It was an honor to be able to help secure the grant allowing the expansion of this very important program. Our 9/11 responders help protect this nation, and it is imperative that we help them recover from the potentially negative health effects that have lasted nearly 11 years later.”

Heather Saffer (photo courtesy of Dollop)

Alumni Profiles is an ongoing series highlighting successful graduates who, with a SUNY education, achieved interesting and influential careers.

Heather Saffer is an alumna of SUNY Brockport and the owner of Dollop, a gourmet cupcake shop, just outside Rochester, NY. In February, her bakery team won $10,000 on an episode of Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.”  Congratulations, Heather!

How did your SUNY education help prepare you for life and your career?

Well, majoring in psychology taught me about people and since I deal with many different people on a daily basis, I think that education is fairly useful.

What is a typical day at work like for you?

Each day is different and I actually never know what to expect. Something amazing might happen or something terrible might happen from day to day. I usually try to get a crossfit workout in when I wake up, and then the rest of the day includes going to the shop, dealing with staff matters, sales, meetings, phone calls, etc. There’s always something I’m working towards.

What was your involvement with any clubs/student organizations on campus?

I actually never lived on campus and so I didn’t really have any involvement with clubs or organizations. I was that loner student going to class and going home.

Did you do any baking while going to SUNY Brockport?

I started baking and I started my business before I graduated. I almost wasn’t going to finish after my business started taking off but I was only 6 credits shy.

What advice do you have to share with SUNY students?

Go after your goals. Anyone can seriously do anything they want to do as long as they are willing to sacrifice and work hard. It won’t be easy but rule #1 is to not avoid doing something out of fear.

Online Extra: Watch President Obama's speech from CNSE – YNN, Your News NowCollege of Nanoscale Science and EngineeringState University of New York Albany, New York 1:24 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Hello, New York! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. It is great to be back in Albany. It is wonderful to be with all of you here today.

via Ynn

Yesterday, President Obama visited the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, where he was given a tour of the facility and delivered a speech on the U.S. economy.   Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher had this to say on President Obama’s visit.

“Today it was my honor to join Governor Andrew Cuomo as SUNY and the Capital District welcomed President Barack Obama to the University at Albany.

 “Our College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering served as an ideal backdrop as the President outlined his vision for rebuilding the American economy. SUNY’s role as a leading economic driver has been a beacon for job growth and for the preparation of tomorrow’s highly skilled workforce, helping to position New York as a model for the nation.

 “It takes visionary leaders like President Obama and Governor Cuomo, responsible public-private partnerships, an engaged community, and a higher education network that is committed to meeting workforce demands to achieve what we have in New York. It is clear from my ongoing conversations with President Obama and the White House around college cost and preparing America’s next generation of innovators that he aims to bring these values to scale across the country.

 “I commend President Obama for his strong leadership on economic development and his determined focus on creating – as we say here in New York – jobs, jobs, jobs.”

A SUNY Plattsburgh student speaks to girls about unrealistic images in the media.

Morgan Polhemus is savvy enough to know the models found in women’s magazines aren’t everything they appear to be.

The models use a lot of makeup and are digitally made to look a certain way.

The 10-year-old fifth grader gained that insight last weekend at the Shine On! Conference, an overnight event held at the CVPH Wellness Center in Plattsburgh, N.Y., for third-, fourth- and fifth-grade girls.

In one workshop, the girls looked at magazines and found pictures that portray unrealistic images of women in advertising. The girls would then rip the pages from the magazine and throw them out in a symbolic gesture of refusing to accept the message.

“We learned that beauty isn’t just on the outside,” Polhemus said. “We learned that we shouldn’t pay attention to endorsements that say you’ll look better if you do this or buy that, or you’ll be more popular if you do something in a certain way.”

The conference evolved from an extra-credit practicum created for public relations majors last year by Assistant Professor Colleen Lemza to a credit-bearing, two-semester event-planning class. It received funding through a grant from the CVPH Foundation in association with the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York.

“Last year, it was a four-hour workshop held on a Saturday. We had no money; we worked on a shoestring budget,” Lemza said. Ninety girls signed up. “This year, we went to Dean Kathy Lavoie, who gave us permission to do it as a credit-bearing course.”

More than 180 girls took part in the conference.

“This year, we had more than 180 girls attend,” she said. Lemza had to turn away an additional 92 girls. “Obviously, it’s striking a chord. The whole point of the conference is to try to develop resiliency in young girls. Everything out there — in the media, among their peers, in social media — says they can’t do this or they can’t do that. It’s all about looks; it’s all about being pretty or popular — being the fastest, being the best. As a result, we watch girls go from rambunctious 5- and 6-year-olds to girls who question their appearance and ask if their rears look big at age 8.”

Chyresse Wells, a senior PR major from Ballston Spa, N.Y., helped with the inaugural program and was back for a second time

“I loved the course — the whole idea behind it. I enjoyed the event-planning aspect as a class, but I especially loved the objective. Girls at this age are so impressionable. This is a great opportunity for us to give them positive role models to look up to before they head to middle school,” Wells said.

Upon registration, the girls were divided into groups with the intent that they wouldn’t know one another.

“They were forced to interact with new people and make new friends,” Lemza said. “The whole point was for them to overcome their resistance to being separated from their friends — that they could persevere and become resilient. We had a few tears, but that didn’t last very long.”

At regular intervals, the groups of girls would rotate to different areas such as the magazine station, a T-shirt station where they had to ask others to sign their shirts and a media presentation on body image and self-esteem.

As part of the event-planning coursework, the college students had to work out the logistics of feeding and housing more than 180 girls, moving them from station to station and giving each group time in the Wellness Center pool.

Kristie Casler and Dani Johnson, just two of the SUNY Plattsburgh students who helped put together the conference.

“I was worried about the rotation of workshops and how that would all work out, but everything came together beautifully,” said Kristie Casler, a senior PR major from Saranac Lake, N.Y. “People don’t understand the logistics of planning an event. This has helped me understand all the details. If one thing goes wrong, it can set off everything. I’m a detail-oriented person, and this has truly encouraged me to go into event planning.”

“That’s what struck a chord with me,” said Dani Johnson, a sophomore PR major from Malone, N.Y. “Doing all the details and seeing them all come together gives you such a satisfying feeling. All the hard work and stress of the past year was worth it, seeing how the girls love the experience.”

“The smiles on their faces tell you they’re having such a good time,” Casler said.

A parental component on the second day brought in 41 mothers and guardians and included workshops on how to talk to daughters about body image, how to provide healthy meals for families on the go, and how to address bullying — whether the daughters were victims or perpetrators.

Another aspect of the Shine On! Conference that Lemza appreciated is how it has crossed college departmental lines. More than 40 SUNY Plattsburgh students majoring in counseling and teacher education signed on as volunteer counselors for the groups of girls.

“The counselors are all here because they love kids,” Lemza said. “It’s good experience, and it’s great community service, but truth be told, they’re here because they want to be around the girls.”

UB All In One recycling bins increase efficiency of on campus recycling by accepting bottles, cans, and paper.

The University at Buffalo is the 14th largest green power user among U.S. colleges and universities, according to new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rankings.

UB bought more than 44 million kilowatt-hours of green power, about 20 percent of the university’s electricity usage, for the 2011-12 academic year. That’s up from 22 million kilowatt-hours, or roughly 10 percent, in 2009-10, an indication that UB is moving toward reaching its goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030.

In fact, with the opening of the new 3,200-panel Solar Strand on UB’s North Campus and additional renewable energy purchases, about 30 percent of the university’s power will be coming from renewable sources.

As a result of these efforts, UB has been able cut carbon emissions by 23 percent during the past 10 years. During the same time, university facilities’ square footage grew nearly 7 percent.

Well ahead of its peers in the Mid-American Conference, UB was named Individual Conference Champion by the EPA.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with electricity use. For additional information, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

For more information about EPA’s College and University Green Power Challenge, visit the Challenge website at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/initiatives/cu_challenge.htm

At today’s launch, the partnership also released The Albany Promise 2012: Baseline Report To The Community, which provides a snapshot of current student academic achievement and well-being data such as kindergarten readiness, proficiency in English and Math, and high school graduation rates, as well as statistics on bullying, substance abuse, missed classes, and more. The metrics in the report were chosen to create a student roadmap to success. Subsequent reports on the partnership’s progress will be issued each year.

“The launch of Albany Promise marks the critical first step toward a brighter future for all of Albany’s schoolchildren,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “SUNY and the national Strive Network are proud to support this effort. The Albany Promise partners are to be commended for their commitment to working together to improve the city’s education system and ensure that every student in Albany has an opportunity for success within that system. Congratulations to all involved.”

Albany Promise partners will meet monthly to align and leverage the city’s existing resources to drive better results in education. They will evaluate the baseline report and work collaboratively to improve the metrics and give every child access to high-quality early learning programs and services; ambitious, rigorous and comprehensive education reforms; college- and career-readiness programs; and family and community supports, including improved family engagement in student learning through adult education opportunities.

SUNY is also an important partner in cradle-to-career networks that have formed throughout New York, in Clinton County, Harlem, Rochester, and Queens. In addition, many other neighborhoods in the State have expressed interest in pursuing this major education reform initiative.

For more on today’s launch, click here.

 Times Union:  Obama sees a political charm in third visit (UAlbany, HVCC)

Business Review:  Obama now headed to Albany NanoTech

NY Post: Cuomo’s big plans (UAlbany)

Buffalo Business First:  Sunser inaugurated as Genesee Community College president

 Daily Gazette:  SCCC plans state-of-art recording studio

 Ithaca Journal:  Campus Watch TC3 professor wins SUNY chancellor’s international award

 Evening Observer:  National History Day Competition held at SUNY Fredonia

 CNET: Obama to take made-in-America tour to N.Y. chipmaking hub (UAlbany)

 WBTA: GCC Inaugurates New President

 Time Herald- Record: High-flying fun at SUNY Sullivan’s kite festival

 Huffington Post: Complex Problems have complex solutions (Empire State College)

 Post- Journal: SUNY Fredonia Honors Outgoing President

 Capital Tonight: Location Of Obama’s Cap Region Trip Moved (Updated) (Albany)

 The Journal News: Rockland helps stock food pantry (RCC)

 Watertown Daily Times: Sustainability a prominent theme in SUNY Canton research fair

 Times Herald Record: SUNY Sullivan program helps create richer lives for the disabled

 Finger Lakes Times: FLCC celebrates opening of new student center

 Finger Lakes Times: FLCC ranked in top 10 percent of community colleges in U.S.

 Syracuse.com: Crooked Arrows: The Onondaga Nation goes Hollywood (Oswego)

 Auburnpub.com: Online education: A critical component to the future of CCC

 Auburnpub.com: NAACP recognizes community members (Cayuga CC)

 Auburnpub.com: Nellenback earns Keuka scholarship (Cayuga CC)

 Cultural Resources Council: Michael Harms Theater Festival (Cayuga CC)

 Daily Courier-Observer: SUNY Potsdam performers earn standing O at Lincoln Center

 North Country Public Radio: Wild about Klezmer music in Potsdam

Photo Credit: UAlbany Athletics

“SUNY students who earn this award have excelled in our classrooms as well as our athletic programs,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “With an average GPA of 3.6 and a number of championship competitions among them, this year’s scholar athlete awardees are a highly commendable group.”In order to be considered for this award, student-athletes were nominated by their campus athletic director. Nominees’ academic credentials and athletic accomplishments were then reviewed by a panel of athletic directors from across the State University system and members of the provost’s office.

A complete list of this year’s winners is available online.

Congratulations to these exemplary student athletes!

Dr. James M. Sunser began his tenure as the fourth president of Genesee Community College on August 1, 2011.  Before coming to GCC, Dr. Sunser served as a member of the staff of Onondaga Community College for 22 years, as Bursar (1989-1996), Vice President for Finance (1996-2004), and Vice President for Continuing and Extended Learning (2004-2011). Dr. Sunser is also an alumnus (1984) of Onondaga Community College.

A native of Syracuse, Dr. Sunser holds a B.S. degree from Syracuse University, a M.S. degree from SUNY College at Brockport, a Certificate of Advanced Study from the University of Rochester, and an Ed.D. degree from the University of Rochester.

Dr. Sunser said that his personal and professional commitment to students will guide him in his new role. “I know firsthand how community colleges make life-changing differences to the people we serve. Making education possible is not a job. It is a vocation. I can think of no better way to spend my life, and I am humbled and honored to join with the trustees, faculty, staff, and many supporters of Genesee Community College in bringing the gift of learning to our students and our communities.”

For more information on the Inauguration, please visit www.genesee.edu/gcc/inauguration/.