Four-year degree at Sullivan

SCCC teams up with SUNY New Paltz

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — A four-year degree is now available at Sullivan County Community College—thanks to public-private partnership formulated by Senator John Bonacic and Gerry Foundation founder Alan Gerry.

Bonacic and Gerry announced the $2.9 million partnership they intend to create between SUNY New Paltz and Sullivan County Community College that will allow Sullivan County residents to take Bachelor’s degree courses from SUNY New Paltz in Sullivan County.

The funding for the partnership comes from $1.5 million already secured by Bonacic and a commitment from the Gerry Foundation of up to $1.4 million.

“Higher property values and better jobs are meaningless if local residents are not offered those jobs because of educational requirements. As large companies move into Sullivan, I would like to see them hiring employees at every level from within this county and within this region,” Bonacic said.

“Higher education means higher opportunities. The lack of affordable higher education in this area is a problem. People cannot afford to pay the high tuition costs of private education. Bringing SUNY New Paltz here is a logical next step in addressing this county’s higher education needs,” Gerry said in a statement delivered by Darrell Supak.

Under this program, New Paltz will hire up to 10 full-time faculty and offer additional classes at SCCC via live, fully interactive video conferencing. New Paltz professors will keep “office hours” at SCCC and by private video conferencing.

It is expected that up to 30 New Paltz courses will be offered at the SCCC campus and an additional number, likely between 20 to 40 courses, will be offered via live, fully interactive video classes with faculty at New Paltz. Initial offerings will be in nursing, human services, business and elementary education beginning in the Fall 2004 semester.

Our plan is to offer top-quality classes that are key parts of a Bachelor’s degree program. While we are pleased to be expanding into Sullivan County, we are also impressed with the drive and determination of both Senator Bonacic and Alan Gerry for making this happen. Lots of community leaders talk about the importance of education. Here, we are seeing two of them step up and make it happen,” SUNY New Paltz president Steven Poskanzer said via satellite.

Sullivan County Community College President Dr. Mamie Howard Golladay said, “This is an outstanding opportunity for our students and community residents. It is another reason why people should consider SCCC, and it gives returning students the ability to obtain a higher education at an affordable price.”

Annual tuition to SUNY New Paltz is $4,400.

According to the United States Department of Labor, most of the job categories that are predicted to grow faster than average during the next decade require a college diploma. According to 2000 census date, Sullivan County’s percentage of residents with Bachelor’s degrees is about 45 percent less than the statewide average. All parties involved hope this new partnership will change that.

For more information, or an enrollment application, contact SUNY New Paltz at 845/257-3200.