Pictured are (l to r) Dine D. Kennedy, Margaret S. Aubertine (a 1975 SUNY Canton graduate) Darrel J. Aubertine, SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy, Robert J. Liggio, a senior forward from the men's hockey team, Roody the Roo, SUNY Canton College Council Chair Ronald M. O'Neill, SUNY Canton College Foundation Board Chairman Bernard C. Regan, and SUNY Canton Athletic and Public Relations Director Randy B. Sieminski cutting the ceremonial ribbon at Roos House.

SUNY Canton men's ice hockey forward Robert J. Liggio of Canton addresses the audience at the Roos House grand opening celebration. Liggio said, "Whether you were an Aggie, a Northman, or a Northstar – we now are all a part of the Roos House and we look forward to participating or watching our teams create future successes."

SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy addresses guests at the SUNY Canton Roos House grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration. Kennedy said that the new athletic center would benefit both the community and the college, and thanked all of the individuals who had worked on creating the building.

More than 150 people attended the official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony at SUNY Canton's new Roos House athletic center, which features an ice rink, a field house, a four-lane lap pool, student access areas, and the College's fitness center and athletic offices.

The SUNY Canton Kangaroos men's ice hockey team celebrates a goal against Lebanon Valley College in front of a full house of fans. The Roos' inaugural game ended in an 8-0 shutout.

The event kicks off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon on Saturday, Oct. 1. The event is free and open to the public. Parking will be available in Lot 3, and a shuttle service will be escorting visitors to the facility.

“There is an energy that can be felt throughout our campus community that I believe stems from having these new facilities open,” said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “Our athletic center, our new residence hall, our new eateries and our other renovations in recent years have transformed this campus and made it an even more welcoming place for students, employees and members of the community.”

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception, attendees are invited to take part in a variety of activities throughout the afternoon, including guided tours of the facility. The Roos have four teams playing at home on Saturday, including volleyball and women’s soccer at 1 p.m., men’s ice hockey at 2 p.m., men’s soccer at 3 p.m., and women’s volleyball again at 6 p.m. Each game will feature t-shirt and prize giveaways. In addition to the games and prizes, guests can enjoy face-painting, food at Joey’s, the new eatery in the athletic center, and a visit with Roody the Roo.

The College is offering a 15 percent discount on one-year single and family memberships to those who attend Saturday’s festivities. The membership must be purchased between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday only. The offer is not available to SUNY Canton faculty and staff members.

The $45-million athletic center features a fitness center with brand-new equipment, a lap pool, a field house that includes basketball, volleyball and tennis courts as well as a track, an ice arena, locker room facilities, athletic department office space and a new eatery.

“We have enjoyed the many immediate benefits of having such an outstanding facility on our campus,” said Randy B. Sieminski, assistant vice president for advancement and athletic director. “Our athletic teams have been highly successful at a critical time in the College’s history as we move towards becoming a member of the NCAA at the Division III level. But the excitement extends far beyond our student-athletes and coaches as we see more students, faculty, staff and members of the community enjoying the facility every day.”

Northland Associates of Liverpool was the general contractor for the LEED Silver Certified building. Many area subcontractors were hired to help complete the project. Northland was also the general contractor for the College’s brand-new residence hall, which also opened this fall.

The ribbon cutting ceremony is the latest in a string of grand opening celebrations across SUNY Canton. The College recently celebrated a Taco Bell and KFC Express located next to the existing Jreck’s Subs in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center and the grand opening for the Grasse River Suites residence hall was held last week.

Total applicants and deposits have both increased since 2010 when the College shattered previous records in nearly every admissions category.

“There are a variety of reasons why our numbers continue to increase each year,” said Vice President for Advancement David M. Gerlach. “We have added six in-demand bachelor’s degree programs in the last 12 months and we also have a new athletic facility and a new residence hall. Those reasons coupled with our affordability make us more attractive to incoming students than we have ever been.”

To date, SUNY Canton has received 5,369 applications for the upcoming academic year, an increase of more than 200 from the same time last year. The College is expecting to surpass SUNY Canton’s all-time record of nearly 5,500 applications set last year. The previous record was set in 1977 when 5,331 students applied. Applications have nearly doubled in the past five years when SUNY Canton had just under 2,800 people apply in 2006.

One of the most impressive aspects of the College’s growth is in the number of transfer student applicants, which has jumped by 25 percent since last year and more than 100 percent in the last five years.

“We offer the opportunity for more than just first-time college students to get a great education,” said Assistant Vice President for Advancement Randy B. Sieminski. “Our wide variety of course offerings both on-campus and online opens up doors for a lot of transfer, part-time and non-traditional students who may not have considered pursuing or continuing with their degree. Both our flexibility and our growth in academic programs are attractive for students of all ages.”

Bachelor’s degrees added in the last year include sports management, civil and environmental technology, electrical technology, mechanical technology, health and fitness promotion, and veterinary technology.

Students visiting campus throughout the last year were impressed by SUNY Canton’s brand-new Roos House athletic facility, which will be open upon their arrival to campus. More than 300 students will have the chance to enjoy living on campus in the College’s newest apartment-style residence hall, which will open just in time for the Fall 2011 semester.

SUNY Canton Welcomes New Director of Admissions

The College recently welcomed Nicole Campbell to SUNY Canton as the new Director of Admissions. Campbell has more than 13 years of admissions and marketing experience and earlier in her career served as the Director of Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. She then served as the Director of Admissions and Marketing before becoming the Director of Communications and Marketing at The Barnesville School in Barnesville, Md.

“Nicole brings with her a wealth of knowledge and an abundant amount of excitement as she takes on this new position,” Sieminski said. “She has jumped right in with our phenomenal admissions staff and begun setting goals for what we believe will be another exceptional year for us.”

Campbell is a graduate of American University with a bachelor’s degree in international studies and a master’s degree in public administration. She replaces Interim Director of Admissions David Norenberg, who is returning to his role as Director of Career Services.

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

Bruce Carlin and Paul Frederick from Media Central film Roxanne Brown, a veterinary technology student, in SUNY Canton’s Southworth Library while Mohammed Doumbouya operates the boom microphone.

“Our commercials represent our most recent developments and changes on campus,” noted SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “They also reflect our commitment to providing an affordable, career driven hands-on education.”

The two television spots mention the College’s new degrees and the new buildings currently under construction on campus. In 2011, SUNY Canton will complete its new Roos House athletic center and the new Grasse River Housing Suites.

Nafeesa Johnson, a criminal investigation major from Brooklyn and College Activities Board president, was featured in each commercial. Johnson said the recent Southworth Library renovations were her favorite recent campus upgrades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG3P4_o49w4

“The school has grown a lot since I came here,” she said. “I really liked the way the new commercials emphasize motion and everything is moving. In my part, they had me walk through the library as I talked to them.”

The College contracts the Plattsburgh–based production company Media Central to film and edit the commercials. Bruce Carlin, the production director, hired Mohammed Doumbouya, a recent graduate of the SUNY Canton management program from Harlem, to record audio for the spots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsYt_wOTcak

“We place special emphasis on the areas that define us as a unique learning environment,” noted Assistant Vice President for Advancement Randy B. Sieminski, who created the original scripts for the commercials. “Our students did a fantastic job highlighting our strengths.”

Media Central captured approximately 94 clips or 25 gigabytes of footage in one day. They primarily used digital single-lens reflex cameras, similar to those used by serious photographers, to create the two 30 second clips. Their technique was in line with popular trends on television and online video to maximize shallow depth of field and deemphasize the digital feel of the media.

Flights of commercials will run throughout the state and on local North Country channels. The videos are also posted to the College’s YouTube channel and are available at www.canton.edu.

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

With a couple of weeks left until New Years, overall website traffic is up significantly from 2009’s year-end total of slightly more than 1.9 million visits. The website received a total of more than 4.6 million page views during 2010 and frequently surpassed 10,000 visitors a day during the academic year.

“The website is a gauge to measure our overall growth and popularity to prospective students,” said President Joseph L. Kennedy. “We’ve had record enrollments for the past three years, with 3,686 students enrolled this fall. The web traffic and our enrollments signify that we are growing in two incredibly important areas – current students and prospective students.”

Traffic was up among international visitors. The country with the most visits outside the United States was Bosnia. The College is well known for its international partnerships with the American University in Bosnia Herzegovina among others. Other top-referring countries included Canada, Russia, China, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. “We are seeing more global interest in our College as we increase our international presence through SUNY Canton OnLine,” Kennedy said. “Students from around the world and locally can earn a SUNY Canton degree without traveling from their homes.”

More than 57 percent of the webpage hits were generated by direct traffic, or when users typed in the College’s address into their browser’s address bar. Among the top referring sites, or sites that include links to canton.edu were Google, Facebook, North Country Now, and the SUNY Learning Network (which highlights the College’s online courses).

“In addition to incrementally redesigning the site, we’ve added more vibrant content and delivered our updates to users through social media sites including Facebook and Twitter,” said Assistant Vice President for Advancement Randy B. Sieminski, who oversees the College’s public relations department and athletics. “Whether it’s information on our growing academic offerings or connecting with the alumni office, it is easier than ever to find exactly what you are looking for on our site. Our Web Designer Travis Smith has done a wonderful job integrating the latest technologies to facilitate the latest web resources and organizing the College’s online assets.”

Top referring cities within the state included New York, Watertown, Syracuse, Rochester, Plattsburgh, Utica, and Albany. The cities with the most visitors in the entire United States included Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, and Orlando. The number of pages visited and the time spent on the site also increased during the year.

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

The College has 3,686 students this year. The total contains an incoming class of 941 first-time, full-time students and 241 new full-time transfer students. In 2008, the College had 3,056 enrollments and 3,343 in 2009. The 2010 enrollment figure reflects a second straight year of more than 10 percent growth.

“We’re consistently growing in all the right areas,” said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. “We continually increase our selectivity in order to strategically grow our College’s student population while adding new career-driven four-year programs. The College is a completely different place from when I first came here. More students are making SUNY Canton their first choice when starting and continuing their higher education.”

The College has grown 73 percent in just the past ten years, up from 2,126 students in 2000, and it’s nearly doubled in size since enrolling 1,880 students in 1970.

“This growth has helped us avoid the layoffs and reduction of staff that we’ve seen in many other colleges around the state,” Kennedy said. “It’s also a big benefit to our local economy and area businesses to bring in additional students. We recognize our responsibility to the people of the North Country to continue to help energize and revitalize the economy.”

The College broke a 33-year-old record for the most applications in the school’s history with more than 5,500 applicants this year. The previous record was set in 1977 when 5,331 students applied. The College has increased applications nearly 20 percent for four consecutive years, up 77 percent overall from 2006.

Several key developments have led to the College’s explosive growth, including virtually no turnover in admissions counselors and support staff, a clear, concise marketing message, and the addition of more new bachelor’s degrees. Most recently, the College added degrees in sports management, civil and environmental technology, and electrical technology.

“We’ve grown in nearly every way and we anticipate another strong class next year,” noted Assistant Vice President for Advancement Randy B. Sieminski, who oversaw the admissions office through this year’s record enrollments. “The spring opening of our new athletic facility and our new residence hall opening next summer will make 2011 one of the most exciting years in SUNY Canton history.”

The College began construction on the Grasse River Housing Suites, a 305-room apartment-style living complex. Each suite contains single occupancy bedrooms surrounding a common living area. The new residence is designed for upper-class students and is expected to open in August 2011.

The new residence hall comes in addition to the College’s new Roos House, otherwise known as the Convocation Athletic and Recreation Center, which is expected to open during the Spring 2011 semester.

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

Landlords who expect to have vacancies or homeowners interested in renting rooms in their homes may contact the Residence Life office at (315) 386-7513 or email their information to reslife@canton.edu.

The tight housing situation is due to continued growth in enrollment, according to Courtney B. Bish, SUNY Canton’s Director of Residence Life. The College anticipates a third consecutive year of record-breaking enrollment. Last year, 3,300 students attended in the fall semester.

“Our extraordinary enrollment growth has created an incredible demand for on-campus housing,” said Assistant Vice President for Advancement Randy B. Sieminski, who oversees the College’s admissions offices. “With the upcoming opening of our new athletic complex and the addition of even more new bachelor’s degrees, it’s a truly exciting time for our College.”

Applications to SUNY Canton have increased nearly 20 percent in each of the past four years, and the college expects to set an all-time record for applications this year, surpassing the old mark of 5,331 set in 1977.

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

The SUNY Canton Foundation has begun a campaign to help SUNY Canton students from the devastated nation of Haiti.

“We’ve seen both immediate and long-term needs that we can help address through our own SUNY Canton Haitian Student Relief Fund,” said SUNY Canton Librarian and Haitian Fund Chair Kathleen Horton. “We’ll be reaching out to raise the money necessary to provide our own specialized relief efforts, which are intended to benefit students who are attending the College. As with any initiative, our first priority is the health and well being of our students.”

STUDENTS HELPING STUDENTS – SUNY Canton Individual Studies Student Marquise Paillere (left) was left stranded in Port of Prince Haiti after the earthquakes. Her roommate, Management student Xiaoli Zhang, who goes by “Lilly” raised $200 to help Paillere get a bus to the Dominican Republic, and asked SUNY Canton to help fly her home. The SUNY Canton Foundation provided the airfare to get Paillere home and the two were reunited a day after classes began.

Some immediate needs will include purchasing textbooks and funding tuition for students whose families have been affected by the earthquake. Future and tentative goals potentially include sending the SUNY Canton Chapter of Habitat for Humanity to Haiti to aid in the rebuilding efforts. Several faculty and staff members at the College have already come forward to donate to the cause.

“We were initially asked to help a student return to her studies when she was left stranded in Haiti during the winter break,” noted Daniel J. Sweeney, Vice President of Student Affairs. “Through the Foundation, we were able to secure her a plane ticket back and she was able to rejoin her classes.”

SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy contributes to the SUNY Canton Haitian Relief Fund in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center.

To launch the campaign, and to aid in the creation of the SUNY Canton Haitian Relief Fund, students have begun collecting donations, according to the College’s Diversity and Orientation Director Lashawanda Ingram.

“Upon returning to SUNY Canton, students immediately began looking for ways to help,” she said. “The SUNY Canton Haitian Students Fund gives them the perfect opportunity to help their fellow students. We have already set up several collection points on campus and people have been wonderful in supporting our initial efforts.”

Ingram said that the students plan to set up donation points from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, at Kinney Drugs and Tops Market (formerly P&C Foods) in Canton.

The SUNY Canton College Association created ways for students to donate by using their Roo Express accounts, the College’s payment option linked to College identification cards. Students can swipe their cards at the Campus Center Store, or purchase a meal for victims while getting one themselves in Chaney Dining Center.

“Right now, we have about a dozen students that we know of with roots in Haiti,” noted SUNY Canton Director of Public Relations Randy B. Sieminski. “We are working to ease their transition back to College and looking to determine how we can best help them.”

For more information or to make a donation, contact the SUNY Canton Foundation at 315.386.7127, or email foundation@canton.edu.

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

Jonathan’s father, Jerry Reinsdorf, is the Chairman of the Chicago Bulls, which co-owns and co-operates the United Center with the Chicago Blackhawks. The United Center has played host to the NCAA and Big Ten Basketball Tournaments as well as occasional University of Illinois basketball games. Jerry Reinsdorf is also Chairman of the Chicago White Sox.

Jonathan Reinsdorf is the managing partner of Stonegate Alliance, a full-service higher education and pro sports consulting firm currently working with SUNY Canton to design the college’s new Sports Management program.  In addition, Jonathan Reinsdorf is the managing member of a real estate development company.

“Professional sports teams see colleges and universities as a feeder base for their business ranks,” said Reinsdorf. “They are increasingly involved in supporting college curricula with internships and seminars – to be followed soon by co-branding and program adoption. SUNY Canton is currently developing those relationships that will allow their students a variety of opportunities with several different teams. It’s the best way for students to get a foot in the door.”

The Sports Management major at SUNY Canton is expected to begin as early as next fall. Former NHL Florida Panthers Vice President of Communications Randy Sieminski will be joining Reinsdorf at the seminar. Sieminski spent ten years in professional sports, including five years with the Panthers. He is now the Director of Public Relations at SUNY Canton.

“This program is designed for current college and high school students, as well as prospective college students, who are considering a career in professional sports,” said Sieminski. “It’s a difficult field to break into unless you know the appropriate steps to take. This seminar will provide attendees the information needed if they wish to pursue those dreams of working in minor league and major league sports.”

The seminar is presented in conjunction with the SUNY Canton Career Services Office and the SUNY Canton Foundation.

“Like all of SUNY Canton’s majors, the sports management program will offer its students the opportunity not only to study about their career interests, but actually gain valuable experience,” said Director of Career Services David Norenberg. “This seminar will be provide invaluable insight for people interested in pursuing a career in professional sports.”

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.

Media arrangements should be made in advance by contacting SUNY Canton Public Relations at 315-386-7300, or email kie@canton.edu.

The College’s 99th Commencement Ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. under a tent on the Edson A. Martin Athletic Fields on Saturday, May 19. SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan will be the keynote speaker at the event.

College officials moved the event outdoors after it was discovered that Alumni Gymnasium in the Dana Athletic Complex was in need of repair.

“It will be a memorable day in the history of SUNY Canton,” said Director of Public Relations Randy Sieminski. “If it’s as enjoyable as we envision it, we may consider conducting the ceremonies outdoors in future years.”