Hein, accompanied by (L-R) county legislature Chairman Kenneth Ronk, legislators
David Donaldson (behind Hein),
Richard Gerentine
MILTON – Ulster County officials announced there may soon be another addition to SUNY Ulster’s growing number of satellite campus locations, one that will serve the residents of Southern Ulster.
County Executive Michael Hein, members of the legislature and local government gathered on Tuesday outside the former Milton Elementary School, the proposed location for what will be called Marlborough SUNY Ulster Extension, to make the announcement.
Hein said, thinking about the changing economy and global competition, that it is imperative to make sure all county residents have the opportunity for quality, continued education within a commutable distance.
“Now, we have an extraordinary, extraordinary community college, one of the top 10 in the entire State of New York – nothing short of amazing, but it’s in Stone Ridge and our county is a very big place,” said Hein. “Now, the campus in Stone Ridge is amazing, but our county is the size of Rhode Island. And so, providing ease of access to higher education, for more people, is one of the most important things that we can do because without question, we can shape the future that way.”
Officials pointed out, that quite often, students from the southern parts of the county will attend SUNY Dutchess, or SUNY Orange because they are closer to it than the Stone Ridge campus.
SUNY Ulster President Dr. Alan Roberts said he is glad to know the county executive, the legislature and the local government officials from the southern municipalities are all on board with providing a site for students who have been, until this point, overlooked.
“The mission of a community college is to provide affordable and accessible education, and this is all about accessibility,” said Roberts. “We’ve really neglected this part of the county and the location of the campus on Stone Ridge is fabulous, but we really need to reach out to the community and provide the services that really are required to change the workforce of our state.”
As the proposed site for the Marlborough satellite has an existing, educationally purposed infrastructure, Hein said there will be significant savings and will also make the project eligible for shared-service grant funding, which the county is looking to secure for the project.
