SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy announced at his annual State-of-the-Campus Address that Theresa Corbine, Instructional Support Technician, is a recipient of the 2005 SUNY Canton President's Meritorious Service Award.

"We had two recipients of the Meritorious Service award this year," said Kennedy. "Theresa Corbine was unable to attend Recognition Day earlier this year, so we are recognizing her as the College opens for the Fall 2005 semester. Theresa has one of the most complicated jobs on campus. The range of knowledge she has is amazing, as is her dedication and hard work. We are blessed to have a person who is friendly, helpful, and has the expertise to keep us connected to the rest of the world."

Corbine, a 1978 alumna of SUNY Canton, supervises the Information Technology (IT) Services Help Desk where technicians deliver hotline tech support for the majority of SUNY Canton, according Mary Holland, Chief Information Officer. "Ms. Corbine is responsible for technology training, virus protection, and maintaining knowledge of new technology," said Holland.

Corbine started at SUNY Canton in 1978 as a stenographer, according to Holland. More recently, a completely computerized campus has developed with wireless technologies, modernized equipment, and "smart classrooms." There are approximately 1100 personal computers at SUNY Canton. Corbine and the Help Desk staff must be familiar with 21 models of computers produced by 11 different companies. "In 2000, Ms. Corbine implemented a campus-wide plan featuring standard computers with cloned software configurations," Holland said. "This strategy reduced the time required to rebuild heavily damaged software. The implementation of this practice couldn't have come at a better time; virus and worm outbreaks were becoming routine."

Ellen Beeler, Manager of IT User Services at SUNY Canton, said Corbine has exponentially increased the Help Desk Student Assistants' people and technical skills. "When a campus user has a computer-related question or problem they contact the Help Desk," Beeler said. "A trained skilled student is available to address each request. She has taught them the necessary software and hardware skills."

"Computing has become an essential ingredient of almost every SUNY Canton function and Corbine's expertise, leadership, and dedication enable us to keep the focus on people's needs with the computers running efficiently and reliably in the background," Beeler said.

Corbine resides in Canton with her husband George, and three children, Katie, Patrick, and Kelley.

September 1, 2005

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