Approximately 40 freshmen and sophomores from Massena Central High School and Ogdensburg Free Academy will officially become college students this Friday as part of the Smart Scholars Early College High School program at SUNY Canton.

Early College High School was established through a $200,000 grant from the New York State Education Department. Teachers from participating high schools offer college-level instruction supplemented by exploratory learning opportunities at SUNY Canton.

“Our program is part of National Early College Awareness Week,” said Adrienne C. Rygel, an assistant professor in the civil and environmental technology program and Early College High School program coordinator “Our goal is to have students earn a minimum of 20 college credit hours before they graduate from High School.”

Their day-long visit, including a tour of the brand-new Roos House Athletic Center and Grasse River Suites residence hall, will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, March 30, at SUNY Canton.

Instruction begins at 12:15 p.m. and includes a crime-scene investigation, a computer building class, concrete experiments, and three-dimensional computer modeling presentation, among other glimpses into SUNY Canton’s signature career-driven programs.

The Early College High School ‘dual enrollment’ program serves to increase high school graduation and college completion rates among those historically left in the gap, while reducing college tuition costs as a result of the more than 20 college credits earned in high school. The initiative fits well within the SUNY-wide plan to create a seamless educational pipeline to prepare students for college at an earlier age.

More on the Early College High School Program is available in the article “SUNY Canton Partners with Local High Schools.”

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Manager, or call 315/386-7527.

SUNY Canton’s Canino School of Engineering Technology will be challenging 50 young women from the Thousand Island Girl Scout Council to create sustainable pet shelters this weekend.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, in Nevaldine Technology Center Rooms 125 and 129 the scouts will be working with faculty members from the college on a variety of learning exercises to design and setup the structures.

The pet shelter theme was motivated by the recent strong community support and interest for the rehabilitation of the Potsdam Human Society and Animal Shelter.

“The girls will be challenged with a primary goal of using active and passive solar strategies to develop pet houses that could be used as part of a housing strategy at an animal shelter,” said Adrienne C. Rygel, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Construction Engineering Technology programs. “We will place special emphasis on using recycled building materials in the design, green energy utilization, and energy efficient construction.”

After the weekend, teams will be responsible for decorating and maintaining their pet shelter and routinely collecting inside and outside temperatures as experimental data. The end result of these experiments will be passed on to the Humane Society to help them consider incorporating passive solar strategies in their eventual building redesign.

This event, and the solar pet shelter kits are supplied through a grant from Corning Foundation. For the past five years, Corning has annually sponsored challenges and events at the college for the Thousand Island Girl Scout Council to introduce science and technology at an early age.

The event continues a series of learning opportunities offered specifically for Girl Scouts at the College. Previously, the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems program worked with Girl Scout troops to construct small houses to collect solar energy data, similar to the pet shelters. Additionally, the Criminal Investigation program has held a Girl Scout Investigation seminar, that teaches young women crime scene analysis and evidence collection techniques.

SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs. Most of SUNY Canton’s new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 100 courses online each semester. The College’s athletic teams belong to the NAIA’s Sunrise Conference, enabling students to compete in their respective sports for four years. Construction is now underway for the College’s new Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center.

Schedule of events:

• 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, project explanation with Matthew D. Bullwinkel, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Technology and Renewable Energy Systems Program.
• 11 a.m.  - Concrete demonstration with Adrienne C. Rygel, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Construction Engineering Technology programs
• 11:30 a.m. – Ventilation and air temperatures for pets with Lin Tian Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Air Conditioning Engineering Technology program
• 1 p.m. – Physics and science demonstrations with Feng Hong, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Engineering Technology programs
• 2 p.m. – Pet shelter kits will be distributed

Media members should contact SUNY Canton in advance, 315.386.7527, kie@canton.edu

Adrienne C. Rygel, SUNY Canton Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Technology, recently received a competitive American Society of Civil Engineers training fellowship.

A SUNY Canton faculty member has been selected for an exclusive American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) training that will enhance the hands-on career-oriented courses in the Canino School of Engineering Technology.

Adrienne C. Rygel, an assistant professor in the Civil Engineering Technology program received a competitive fellowship to the upcoming Excellence in Engineering Education program held in June at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She was selected for her commitment to excellence in education and willingness to serve as a future role model for other faculty members at the College, according the ASCE.

“As an instructor, I need to be able to take an advanced concept or problem and approach it from a number of ways for students to understand it,” Rygel said. “This fellowship will increase the creative and innovative ways that I present my material to encourage student participation and retention.”

Rygel, who is currently preparing a new curriculum for a four-year bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering Technology, will be responsible for conveying the lessons and objectives she learns at the ASCE program to other faculty members. “In order to convey this advanced material effectively, we as instructors at SUNY Canton are consistently challenged to remain in the top competitive levels within the career-oriented scope of the program.”

The Civil Engineering Technology program provides opportunities for students to obtain real-world experience while completing their degree and is considered among the quintessential “hands-on” programs at the college. There is a high-demand for graduates of this program and jobs are highly competitive. Last year, 100 percent of the program’s graduates were either working or continuing their education at graduation.

Rygel is one of the newest faculty members at the college. She and three other faculty members draw upon their past experiences as industry professionals to aid in the specialized training for students in the program. She is a former groundwater geologist for the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and Project Manager and Project Engineering at OP-TECH Environmental Services, Inc. in Massena. She has her master’s degree in Geology and her doctorate in Civil Engineering.

SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs, as well as three master’s degrees in conjunction with SUNYIT, Utica. Most of SUNY Canton’s new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 100 courses online each semester. The College’s athletic teams belong to the NAIA’s Sunrise Conference, enabling students to compete in their respective sports for four years.

Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.