Victor manufacturing expo at #FLCC seeks to ‘dispel myths,’ inform students

March 29, 2016, 11:08 am

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FLCC Victor Campus Center off Route 251

The Victor Chamber of Commerce and Finger Lakes Community College will host an event for high schoolers and college students on summer jobs and careers in advanced manufacturing on Thursday, April 7.

The event, called “Think Manufacturing Student Expo,” runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the FLCC Victor Campus Center, 200 Victor Heights Parkway, off Route 251 west of the village of Victor. Entry is free and open to anyone with an interest in the local manufacturing sector.

Parents and local professionals are also invited as the expo is part job fair, part trade show, and part networking event, explained Mitch Donovan, executive director of the Victor chamber.

“We’re going to dispel myths students may have about manufacturing careers and educate students about the possibilities that manufacturing in the 21st century offers: clean, comfortable working conditions; exciting and challenging tasks; and a generous compensation package,” Donovan said.

Representatives from FLCC and Monroe Community College will be on hand to discuss programs that relate directly to jobs with local companies. FLCC’s instrumentation and control technologies curriculum was based on the needs of local manufacturers.

“FLCC and MCC have proven track records of training and graduating students that finish their certificate or degree program and move directly into rewarding careers with local companies,” Donovan said.

Representatives of local companies will be present to answer questions about career opportunities and demonstrate products and services they offer. Companies include Gorbel, New Scale Technologies, STC (Smart System Technology), Advanced Motion Technologies, Construction Robotics, Advanced Interconnect Manufacturing, Leonard’s Express, and LSI Solutions.

Representatives from these companies will have a chance to network with each other. Chamber networking events provide an opportunity to find customers, vendors and solutions to common business problems.

In addition, the Finger Lakes Workforce Investment Board will host a workshop on skills needed for interviewing.

For more information, contact the Victor chamber at (585) 742-1476 or email Bonnie@victorchamber.comor Sam.Samanta@flcc.edu.

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#FLCC gallery exhibit a fusion of ‘nature and abstration’

March 31, 2016, 11:22 am

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This piece, titled "Right Propelling Biomorphic Form," is among the works displayed in a new exhibit by Anne Novado at FLCC.

Opening events for an exhibit featuring the drawings and paintings of artist Anne Novado will be held on Monday, April 4, at Finger Lakes Community College. 

Novado will give a talk about her work at 2 p.m. An hors d'oeuvres reception sponsored by the FLCC Foundation follows from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The free, public events will be held in the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 at the FLCC main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua.

The exhibit, titled, “The Work of Anne Novado,” runs through Friday, April 22.

Novado grew up in Syracuse and currently lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. Her drawings and paintings are a study in the beauty of mark-making, sensitivity of touch, and mysterious forms. She said her images refer to micro-organisms, animal behavior, mutation, origin, cloud formations and cosmos.

“In these works, something occurs that fuses nature and abstraction,” she said. “The work is personal but open-ended in meaning – an invitation for individual response.”

The works displayed were created over the past 11 years. Each has taken anywhere from a few hours to weeks, depending on size. Most are graphite on drafting vellum.

Novado earned her bachelor and master of fine arts degrees at Syracuse University. She’s had several solo and two-person exhibitions, including “Drawings from a Period of Viscous Circularity” and “Origins & Mutations,” both of which were held at Exhibit A Gallery in Corning.

Additionally, Novado has been part of several group exhibitions in the area, including at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester and Gallery4040 in Syracuse. Her work has been displayed as far away as Iceland, where in 2007 she was part of an exhibit titled “Light Night 2007.”

From 2013 to 2015, Novado served as director and curator of Gallery4040. She also served as curator of the Limestone Gallery in Fayetteville. With a business partner, she’s now in the process of opening Novado Gallery in Jersey City, which is located across from lower Manhattan.

In addition to making art, Novado has taught it. She has worked as an adjunct faculty member at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse University and Cazenovia College.

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For information, contact interim gallery director Lacey McKinney at gallery34@flcc.edu or (585) 785-1368.

'Music Village' at #FLCC offers a night of original music and dance

March 31, 2016, 11:45 am

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David McGuire, FLCC professor of music, collaborated with colleagues at FLCC and other colleges to build the "Music Village," a concert of varied music and dance at FLCC April 15.

A Finger Lakes Community College professor has gathered colleagues and friends to stage a performance of his original musical compositions combined with spoken word and dance on Friday, April 15.

“Since it first occurred to me, I’ve been thinking of this event as the Music Village, given the array of performers and collaborators who are indispensable to a project like this,” said David McGuire, professor of music and composer of the pieces.

“Music Village” begins at 7:30 p.m. in the main campus auditorium at 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. The event is free and open to the public.

Faculty from Hobart and Williams Smith Colleges and Nazareth College are collaborating on the event. Faculty and students from the FLCC culinary arts program will prepare a reception.

McGuire has chosen 11 works written over the last 20 years, though most are fairly recent. Selections cover a range of styles and idioms, including an instrumental composition combined with spoken word called “Prayer Machine;” a body-percussion piece called “Clapelgel’s Cactus,” and an upbeat, “faux-bluegrass” number called “Cracker Barrel Two-Step.”

Donna Davenport choreographed David McGuire's music for the performance.

Donna Davenport, professor of dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, is completing new choreography to complement an electronic music composition recalling Dante, titled “Purgatorio.”

Kristen Shiner-McGuire, assistant professor in professional practice and percussion coordinator in music at Nazareth College in Pittsford, and also McGuire’s wife, will lead the Nazareth College Percussion Ensemble in the chamber concerto “Rhapsody for Piano and Percussion.”

David McGuire has been a professional performing musician since the late 1970s and a teaching artist/professor of music since the late 1980s. He has had numerous local performances as well as a few farther away; in 2003, one of his pieces was selected for a new music symposium at the University of Bucharest in Romania. 

Kristen Shiner-McGuire

In addition to personal projects, he has composed for a number of new music groups. One of the Music Village selections, “Dick and Jane/Perpetuum Mobile,” is a spoken-word piece, originally written for the word-music group F’loom. While such pieces usually pay attention to the sonorous aspects of words – rhymes, rhythms, alliteration, etc.— there is an added dimension of reference and cross-reference.

McGuire, who has a doctorate in music theory from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is an advocate of liberal arts education as well as interdisciplinary collaboration, has been a presenter for conferences concerning the arts and education and is a former fellow of the Leonard Bernstein Center for the Arts in Nashville, Tenn. He has performed in a wide variety of styles, including jazz, rock, ethnic, and chamber music and is also a founding member of a regional composer's collective.

In addition to Shiner-McGuire and Davenport, McGuire will be joined by FLCC faculty Geoff Smith, Ines Draskovic and Curt Nehring-Bliss;dancers Kathy Diehl, Kaitly Wozer, Anne Harris Wilcox; and guitarist Robert Kulik; soprano Kim Upcraft of Nazareth; and violinist Elena Ryck.

An additional highlight of the evening will be hors d’oeuvres by chef Jamie Rotter, instructor of culinary arts.  “I approached Jamie last fall to see if he would consider collaborating and was delighted that he agreed – so the ‘village’ will also feature food,” said McGuire.

For more information, contact McGuire at (585) 785-1385 or David.McGuire@flcc.edu.

Jobs await #FLCC - G.W. Lisk’s 12 machinist graduates

April 1, 2016, 12:40 pm

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Twelve students graduated March 24 from the FLCC-G.W. Lisk Co. advanced manufacturing machinist program in a ceremony at Warfield’s Restaurant in Clifton Springs. Shown from left to right are: Shaun Sikes, Arthur “AJ” Riese, Jacob Judge, Patrick Hefferon, Anthony Tandle, Jacy Strahan, Gregory Miller, Kellen Pridmore, G.W. Lisk trainer Dave Phillips, Michael Paparone, Johnny Gamble, Zachary Reynolds, and Benjamin Baxter.

 When Gregory Miller laid eyes on his newborn son this past July, he decided to abandon a successful, 16-year career as a chef.

Miller loved to cook, but the profession demanded long hours and he rarely had a weekend or holiday away from work. He wanted more time at home with his wife, Megan, and their baby, Cullen.

The family was still at the hospital just after Cullen was born when Miller left to attend an orientation session for the Finger Lakes Community College – G.W. Lisk Co. advanced manufacturing machinist training program.

Gregory and Megan Miller

“I knew going to the orientation that this was something I wanted to do,” said Miller, of South Bristol. “I’ve been interested in this field since I took shop class back in high school.” 

Fast-forward to the present: Miller was among 12 area residents who recently completed the six-month training program. Eleven of them – including Miller – were offered full-time jobs at G.W. Lisk in Clifton Springs. The lone exception took a job at Badge Machine Products Inc. in Canandaigua. 

At a graduation luncheon held March 24, G.W. Lisk Co. President Ed Maier praised the graduates for their perseverance, especially Miller, who he called the “stalwart” for completing on time despite a stretch of bad luck: Twice in a week he struck deer on his way to class, and shortly after, he slipped on ice and broke his leg. 

Fellow graduate Benjamin Baxter of Canandaigua said he has been interested in the field since high school, where he was part of a robotics team and took an introductory machining class. He went to college for a year-and-a-half, but it wasn’t for him. 

“I still wanted a career in manufacturing,” he said. “And then I heard about this program and it was a perfect fit.”

Graduates are as follows:

Canandaigua: Benjamin Baxter
Branchport: Kellen Pridmore
Clifton Springs: Jacob Judge
Geneva: Patrick Hefferon, Shaun Sikes, and Jacy Strahan
Lyons: Anthony Tandle
Ovid: Michael Paparone
Romulus: Johnny Gamble
Waterloo: Zachary Reynolds
Vestal: Arthur “AJ” Riese
South Bristol: Gregory Miller

The training program is a partnership between the college and the Clifton Springs manufacturer to build an advanced manufacturing workforce. The expansion of advanced manufacturing – which uses computers to produce high-precision components – in the Rochester region has led to a shortage of skilled workers in recent years.

FLCC and G.W. Lisk launched the project in 2011 as a six-month, non-credit training program. The college expanded the program last year by partnering with ITT Goulds Pumps in Seneca Falls. Now, students are able to get college credit applicable to the precision machining and tooling certificate and degree programs at Monroe Community College.

“These are partnerships that work: industry, education and workforce development offices collaborating to fill skills needs in the local economy and change lives,” said Andréa Badger, custom training specialist at FLCC.

Alison Hunt, a member of Congressman Tom Reed’s staff, also attended to congratulate the graduates for their accomplishment and FLCC and G.W. Lisk Co. for the partnership. “This program is a prime example of what a public-private partnership should look like,” she said.

Students in the advanced manufacturing machinist program learn through classroom and hands-on instruction how to use machine tools to make precision components for the automotive, aerospace, medical and other industries.

“FLCC’s standard practice for a training program is to invite employers to the graduation ceremony to meet with the students,” said FLCC President Barbara Risser at the luncheon. “This fifth class of advanced manufacturing machinists marks the fifth time we have skipped the job fair because, once again, all of our graduates already have jobs.”

Risser cited a study that said the top concern of 80 percent of manufacturers is finding qualified workers, and that 5 percent of manufacturing jobs stay vacant because of a shortage of skilled workers. “Our small ceremony here today is part of a much larger national picture,” she said. “Across the country, manufacturing has re-emerged as an important economic driver.”

The next session at G.W. Lisk in Clifton Springs will start in September 2016; the next session offered at ITT Goulds Pumps in Seneca Falls will begin in March 2017. Tuition is charged and includes all materials. Tuition assistance may be available through programs for dislocated or unemployed workers and low-income youth. Attendance at an orientation session is required before enrolling. For more information or to be notified when the next orientation is scheduled, contact Andréa Badger at FLCC at (585) 785-1906 or Andrea.Badger@flcc.edu.

#FLCC awarded $240K grant to plan expansion of science initiative

April 8, 2016, 7:36 am

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Christian Case, left, of Trumansburg, and Brooke Foster of Macedon take part in a biology lab with assistant professor Kellie Gauvin of Victor at Finger Lakes Community College.

Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) is the beneficiary of a $240,500 grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to plan a 10-fold expansion of the college’s national initiative to teach science through research at two-year institutions.

The Helmsley Charitable Trust will provide the resources for the college to map out the necessary steps to significantly increase the number of institutions involved in the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI).

“We have 47 partner institutions that are using research projects to teach basic principles of science in a way that helps students learn and stay engaged. We have had such success that we’d like to scale that up to 470 community colleges,” said James Hewlett, professor of biology at FLCC and director of CCURI.

“This is an exciting opportunity for FLCC to take our research initiative to a new level. I am proud of the leadership our college faculty have shown. Their work has the potential to transform science education in community colleges across the country,” said FLCC President Barbara Risser.

The Helmsley Charitable Trust grants millions annually for health, education and human service projects. Helmsley’s grantmaking in higher education aims to increase the number and diversity of college graduates in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by improving persistence to graduation. 

"We are very pleased to support Finger Lakes Community College in advancing the success of the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative," said Ryan Kelsey, program officer for the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Education Program. "Providing as many community college students as possible with a high-quality early research experience for college credit is crucial for us to help aspiring STEM students reach family-sustaining careers in high-demand fields that will help maintain our country's prosperity."

FLCC will work with Redstone Strategy Group, a social sector consulting firm in Colorado, on a five-month study that will explore the need for laboratory equipment, training, additional staff to run a large national program, as well as potential funding sources.

James Hewlett

Hewlett began using research to teach science instead of standard lessons and labs in 2007 at FLCC, launching a project that would garner more than $5.5 million in National Science Foundation grants. FLCC used the funds to help community colleges across the country launch research projects involving more than 5,000 students.

Hewlett, along with John Van Niel, professor of environmental conservation, started in 2008 with a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for a pilot project, working with six other community colleges to revamp their biology programs to include research.

The success of the pilot led to a $3.35 million grant and the establishment of CCURI in 2011. Since then, CCURI has developed a network of dozens of partner community colleges, including Mesa Community College in Arizona, Ivy Technical Community College in Indiana, Oklahoma City Community College, Moreno Valley College in California and Seminole State College in Florida.

“Nearly half of all college students attend community colleges, so two-year schools play an important role in increasing the numbers of students who study science, technology, engineering and math,” Hewlett said.
 

Additional grants followed, including $133,000 for a national conference in 2013 and $210,000 to incorporate colleges serving Hispanic students in 2014.

In September 2015, the National Science Foundation’s fund for improving undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics awarded FLCC another $1.5 million to continue its work.

Under a CCURI project this year, students in FLCC general biology classes are learning scientific principles and procedures through a project to record the biodiversity of insects in the region. Students gather insects, try to identify them, and verify the identification by checking each insect’s DNA with an international database. They upload the location where each insect was found into the database, which more advanced biology students will use for analysis.

Learn more information about CCURI at www.ccuri.org.

Check out a book at #FLCC’s first ‘Human Library’ April 14

April 8, 2016, 9:55 am

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Anna and her sister Isabelle Bright of Victor will be the focus of their mother’s conversations as a “book” in FLCC’s first-ever Human Library on April 14. Anna was born weighing just over a pound, while her sister was diagnosed with a rare, life-threatening immunodeficiency weeks after she was brought home from China.

Kelsey Bright knew she wanted a second child, but she was frightened by the risks: Born weighing just over a pound at 26 weeks, her daughter Anna, spent months hooked to machines and under close watch in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Bright and her husband, Craig, decided to adopt from China, where strict population rules have resulted in overcrowded orphanages populated with healthy baby girls. They knew the process would be a long journey of hope and setbacks – but they never figured their second little girl would also spend her first months in a hospital.

Kelsey Bright will share her family’s unlikely story as one of several “books” participating in the first-ever Human Library at Finger Lakes Community College on Thursday, April 14. The free, public event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Charles J. Meder Library at the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive.

Attendees will be able to check out books to "read" with a 20-minute, one-on-one conversation.

"Books come from all walks of life," said event organizer April Steenburgh, FLCC’s electronic resources and online instruction librarian. “It is about starting conversations that might not otherwise happen naturally, and encouraging learning and understanding within the community. I’m excited to bring this experience to FLCC.”

Bright works as the assistant to the provost at FLCC, where her oldest daughter, Anna, is now a student and was just inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Shortly after her arrival to her new home in Victor, Anna’s younger sister, Isabelle, was diagnosed with a rare condition called Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, or HLH. After chemotherapy and other tough treatments, Isabelle received a life-saving bone marrow transplant. She’s now 10 and a fifth-grader in the Victor Central School District.

Anna’s story is included in a book published in 2000 titled “Living Miracles: Stories of Hope from Parents of Premature Babies.”

Bright has long wanted to compile the many email messages she and Craig wrote to family and friends during Isabelle’s ordeal several years ago. “I may never have time to string together my emails into a book,” she said, “but then this opportunity came up, and I thought, ‘I can tell my story this way instead.’”

Several of Bright’s FLCC colleagues will also serve as books at the FLCC event. Among them are Andrea Rossman, who will talk about surviving breast cancer, and Ryan Staychock, who will share stories from his years following improvisational rock band Phish.

Students, alumni and community members will also serve as books. They include a Muslim peace advocate, a childhood abuse survivor, a school psychiatrist and a transgendered individual.

The Human Library Organization is an international diversity effort. Steenburgh served as a book at human libraries at Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University.

"I had an incredible time, and learned as much from the visitors who checked me out as they learned from me as my book,” said Steenburgh. “My time as a human book has been some of the hardest and most rewarding of my life.”

#FLCC celebrates the written word with readings April 20

April 13, 2016, 12:50 pm

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Faculty member Maureen Maas-Feary presides at a past Campus Authors Reading. The event this year moves from the Honors House to Stage 14 at the main campus this year.

To commemorate National Poetry Month, FLCC will hold its 14th Annual Campus Authors Reading on Wednesday, April 20.

The reading will begin at 7 p.m. in Stage 14 at the main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. The event is free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served.

The event celebrates the literary accomplishments of the FLCC faculty and staff. The reading is offered each year in recognition of National Poetry Month, though all literary genres are represented. The following are some of the writers and readers who will be featured:

· Curt Nehring Bliss of Middlesex, professor of English and coordinator of The Gladys M. Snyder Center for Teaching and Learning

· Nani Nehring Bliss of Middlesex, manager of FLCC’s All Write project

· Maureen Owens of Seneca Falls, student support specialist/online learning

· Charlotte Cline of Rochester, assistant professor of English and chair of the Humanities Department

· Trista Merrill of Canandaigua, professor of English

· Sam Samanta of Canandaigua, professor of physics

· Greg Stoyles of Canandaigua, adjunct instructor of philosophy

· Maureen Maas-Feary of Rochester, professor of English

· Nick Aiezza of Hammondsport, adjunct faculty member, humanities and developmental studies

· Jon Palzer of Victor professor of English

· Barbara Murphy of Brighton, professor of English

· David McGuire of Rochester, professor of music

· Amanda Ferguson of Rochester, assistant editor of The Finger magazine

For more information, contact organizer and emcee Curt Nehring Bliss at (585) 785-1367 or at curtis.nehringbliss@flcc.edu.

#FLCC Honors House hosts one-night art exhibit

April 15, 2016, 8:55 am

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Artist Alexander Fals of Naples works on a canvas in Colombia, where he spent six months mining natural pigments he used as paints.

Artwork created by a former student during a recent stay in South America will be on display during a one-night exhibit at the Finger Lakes Community College Honors House on Friday, April 29. 

The event, “Painting on Canvas, Colors of Clay,” will showcase 14 pieces created by Alexander Fals of Naples while he was in Colombia. It will held from 7 to 10 p.m. and includes a catered reception and live music by Fals, fellow former FLCC student Aaron Lipp and Bryan Davis, a percussionist from Ithaca. Admission is $2 or free with a valid FLCC student ID. The Honors House is located across from the main campus at 4340 Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua.

Fals has been living and painting in Colombia since this past November. He created his own paints using pigments collected from the earth. The colors were dried and mixed with water and a clear adherent. In reverence to the tones and hues of earth, no artificial color was added.

Fals spent his senior year of high school in Colombia, and his father hails from the city of Popayan in its southwestern reaches.

“Time is a reoccurring theme in my work,” said Fals. “As life can sometimes be reflected strangely in dreams, my experience is sometimes reflected strangely through my work. Connection, however simple or ironic, is also a favored theme in my paintings.”

He has his own line of silkscreen t-shirts and creates posters and t-shirt for bands and music festivals.

Fals is also a musician and is expected to play the kora, a 21-string lute bridge harp, at the event. Fellow Naples native and artistic collaborator Lipp is a singer and songwriter who has been a member of numerous musical collaborations including stints with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, The Cabin Killers, and the Robert Randolph Family Band. He’s now the bandleader for the Outland County. Davis plays with Mosaic Foundation and many other ensembles.

For the latest on the event, visit the FLCC Honors House Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HonorsHouse/.

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#FLCC gives free screening of ‘Schindler’s List’ April 26

April 18, 2016, 9:00 am

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In commemoration of Jewish Heritage Month, Finger Lakes Community College will present a screening of the Oscar-Award winning film “Schindler's List” at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26.

The free, public event will be held in the Student Center Auditorium, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. Jewish Heritage Month is marked each May; Robert Brown, professor of history at FLCC, decided to hold the screening earlier to give more students an opportunity to attend, as the semester wraps up early next month.

Based on a true story, “Schindler’s List” was released in 1993 and directed by Steven Spielberg. It stars actor Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German businessman in Poland who appears a Nazi supporter, but secretly works to save his Jewish workforce from death camps.

The film is over three hours long. Brown will introduce it and offer some insights on the Holocaust.

Three FLCC students receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

April 19, 2016, 1:45 pm

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FLCC Chancellor's Award recipients Taylor Rose Perez (top),
Kellie Damann (middle) and Kristen Karam are flanked by
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Jennie Erdle,
FLCC director of student life.

Three Finger Lakes Community College students Kellie Damann, Kristen Karam and Taylor Rose Perezreceived the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Albany earlier this month.

“This award is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to stand-out SUNY students whose achievements reflect their own impressive hard work as well as the support of their families and friends, and 

SUNY’s world-class faculty and staff,” said Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. “The 248 students we honor with this year’s award have excelled academically, become role models on campus, and established themselves as leaders in the community. Congratulations to all of the students receiving the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.”

Kellie Damann of Canandaigua, who will graduate in May with an associate degree in horticulture, has served as a student orientation leader and taken part in the FLCC Women’s Initiative on Leadership. President of the FLCC Horticulture Club, she has given presentations on plant safety with pets and volunteered to plant trees and shrubs at the Ganondagan State Historic Site’s new Seneca Art and Culture Center. She has also worked as a part-time technician in plant pathology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.

Kristen Karam of Corning will graduate in May with an associate degree in liberal arts and sciences. A member of the Campus Activities Board, she helped plan and run events for students, including FLCC’s Comicon and Study-a-Thon. Karam has also served as an FLCC orientation leader, a youth swim lesson instructor and summer camp counselor. A member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, she has taken part in service projects with adopt-a-highway and Habitat for Humanity.

Taylor Rose Perez of Horseheads serves as vice president of the FLCC Student Corporation and works as a resident assistant at the Suites at Laker Landing, a student residence run by the college’s nonprofit affiliate. She also led a Rock the Vote event on campus where 86 new voters were registered and has taken part in two Habitat for Humanity projects. Her internship in video production with the Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center led to an opportunity to join a crew filming a concert in Madison Square Garden. She will graduate in May with an associate degree in new media.

What is ‘metrology’? Find out at FLCC Victor

April 20, 2016, 8:01 am

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Metrology, the science of measurement fundamental to many high-tech industries, is the topic of a presentation by Finger Lakes Community College alumnus Chris Raw on Monday, April 25, at 5 p.m. at the FLCC Victor Campus Center, 200 Victor Heights Parkway, off Route 251. The talk, titled "Automation in Metrology," is free and open to the public.

Raw, who graduated from FLCC in 2013 with a degree in instrumentation and control technologies, is an applications engineer at RAM Optical Instruments in Rochester. RAM Optical provides high quality, easy-to-use dimensional measurement systems and accompanying software for manufacturing quality control.

Raw will give an overview of the basics of multisensory measurement and talk about how his experience in the field relates to his FLCC degree. A RAM metrology machine will be available for demonstrations prior to the presentation.

For more information, contact Sam Samanta, professor of physics, at Sam.Samanta@flcc.edu or follow his Twitter handle, @DrSamSamanta.

139 students join #FLCC honor society chapter

April 28, 2016, 5:40 am

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See more photos at the FLCC Connects Flickr site.

One hundred and thirty-nine Finger Lakes Community College students were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, during a ceremony March 31.

Phi Theta Kappa’s hallmarks are scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship. FLCC’s chapter, Alpha Epsilon Chi, was chartered in 1981 and provides leadership, service and scholarship opportunities for members. Membership requires completion of 15 hours of associate degree coursework and a GPA of 3.5. Phi Theta Kappa members also serve as campus ambassadors.

New members are as follows, listed by county and town:

ALBANY

Albany: Peter Jones

BRONX

Bronx: Ashley Brown-Gordon

CAYUGA

Cato: Ryan Haskins

Moravia: Kirk Swan

CHEMUNG

Horeseheads: Josh Stowell

CHENANGO COUNTY

New Berlin: Jared Hanslmaier

ERIE

Cheektowaga: Patrick Kearney

GENESEE

Stafford: John Woodworth

LIVINGSTON

Conesus: Elizabeth Gunner

Hemlock: Jordan Vieira
Geneseo: Kaisa Rosas

Lima: Alexandrea Livings

Nunda: Alex Wampole, Ariel Wood

MONROE

Fairport: Grayson Kent, Kristen Moore

Gates: Lorraine Bryan

Henrietta: Khadesha Bryant

Honeoye Falls: George Beinetti, Amelia Vallone, Abigail Werner

Penfield: Marete Seymour

Pittsford: Tory Davenport, Aidan Fischer, Connor Tubiolo

Rochester: Christopher Herbert Rochester, Jenna Infantino, Reilly O'Brien

Webster: Zane Knight

NIAGARA COUNTY

Wilson: Colin Delgado

ONONDAGA

Clay: Pamela Smith

ONTARIO

Bloomfield: Kayla Ferris, Laura Helker, Shanli Jerome, Alyssa Porter

Canandaigua: Bonnie Barbour, Joshuah Barry, Starbuck Beagley, Jonathan Caves, Sonata Gill, Megan Godlewski, Mia Harper, Brendan McWilliams, Curt Nehring-Bliss, Quyen Nguyen, Michelle Nicodemus, Alexander Pisarek, Noah Tantillo-Estrella, Abigail Zenteno

Clifton Springs: Rita Fullerton, Bonnie Shaffer

Farmington: Jeffrey Babcock, Christian Johnson, Nicholas Kloos, Susanna Lamarti, James Lilly, Autumn Lux, William Shaw, Stanley Sigl

Geneva: Mitchel Burnell, Patrick Climie, Joshua Dutcher, Anna Laurenza, David Mitchell, Cameron Roll, Matthew Thomas

Honeoye: Meghan Mulley

Manchester: Taylor Harris, Morgan Vandermallie

Naples: Rachel Golding, Kathryn Swank, Jessica Witherow,

Phelps:  Anna Frere, Austin Jensen, Mariah Spacher

Port Gibson: Eliza Mead

Shortsville: Colin Clark, McKenzie Henry, Lindsay Johnsen, Nathaniel Murad, Cassandra Wallace

Stanley:  Alan Goda Jr., Jesse Rosato, Nathaniel Smith

Victor:  Anna Bright, Patricia Loiacono, Matthew Roeder, Kyleigh Tice, Mark Years

OSWEGO

Lacona: Alina Quintana

QUEENS

Rosedale: Kevin James

SCHENECTADY

Scotia: Matthew Thompson

SENECA

Interlaken: Pamela Bower, Cierra Hand, Joseph Porter, Caitlyn Smith

Ovid: Keziah Reigle

Seneca Falls: Marianne Allen, Kassandra Gibbons, Anthony Siccardi

Waterloo: Christopher Mitchell, Amanda Webb

STEUBEN

Prattsburgh: Evan Dlugos

Savona:  Amanda Boughan

WAYNE

Macedon: Judith Allen, Jonathan Coyle, Felicia Kunzer, Oran Morton, Stephen Ross, Kailee Smith,

Tamarah Swarthout, Joshua Thorp

Newark: Starr Cole, Amanda Danforth, Caleb Lead, Jenna Sharlow,

North Rose: Valerie Cray

Ontario: Adam Badura, Holly Kashmer,

Palmyra: Tracy Geldorf, Kathryn Hill, Marina Hurlburt, Ashleigh Slater,

Rushville: Abbey Brown, Stacy Hilts, Karen Luong

Sodus: Mikaela Correia

Walworth: Richard Harrison, Lane Howard

Williamson: Jennifer Meyn, Kristina Tunley
Wolcott: Elizabeth Ticconi

WYOMING COUNTY

Perry: Jacob Kelly

YATES

Branchport: Marcus Nesbitt

Penn Yan: Sarah Alexander, Jodi Moran, Courtney Starkweather, Ashley Walker

OUT OF STATE

Lake Elsinore, Calif: Stefan Subotic

Sugar Grove, Pa.: Ariana Inman

#FLCC’s Spring Arts Festival showcases theatre, music, art

April 29, 2016, 6:12 am

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FLCC student actors Darine Emmanuel of Brooklyn, Dakota Earl of Inlet and Ali Henderson of Williamson are shown during a recent performance of “Miss Electricity” at the college’s childcare center.

An upcoming event at Finger Lakes Community College will showcase the musical, artistic and theatrical talents of its students.

The annual Spring Arts Festival is scheduled for Friday, May 6, and starts with the FLCC theatre department’s performance of the short play “Miss Electricity” in the Student Center Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

“Miss Electricity” will be followed by the presentation of awards for the Student Honors Art Exhibition at 7:15 p.m. in the George M. Ewing Sr. Atrium; the group then heads to the nearby Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 to view displayed works. Then, at 8 p.m., visitors will return to the auditorium for performances by the College Singers and Vocal Jazz, Guitar and Percussion ensembles.

The auditorium and gallery at located on the main campus at 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. The festival is free and open to the public.

“Miss Electricity” tells the story of a 10-year-old named Violet who is determined to show the world – especially the cool kids at school – how special she is. With the help of her assistant, Freddy, she sets out to break a world record but accidentally becomes extraordinary when lightning strikes give her the ability to control electricity.

The ensemble piece features student actors Keonna Archer of New York City, Sean Britton-Milligan of Geneva, Dakota Earl of Inlet, Darine Emmanuel of Brooklyn, Ali Henderson of Williamson, Terrell Johnson Jr. of Geneva, Lester Mayers of the Bronx, William Pulver of Newark and Sydney Stell of Macedon.

“While the play is designed for an elementary school audience, the fun script and universal themes make this a fun play for all,” said Beth Johnson, professor of theatre at FLCC.

The College Singers will present a “world music” program featuring several American pieces interspersed with Hebrew, Arabic and Hungarian songs. The guitar ensemble will perform works by Vivaldi, South American dance music and a piece from Australia. The percussion ensemble will perform a piece for basketballs, a Super Mario Bros. medley, a Dave Matthews transcription and more.

The Student Honors Art Exhibition runs through Saturday, May 21. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information, contact gallery interim director Lacey McKinney at (585) 785-1368 or Lacey.McKinney@flcc.edu.

The Spring Arts Festival is presented by the FLCC Visual and Performing Arts Department, which offers degrees in communication, new media, fine arts, graphic design, music and music recording technology and a theater arts concentration.

Holocaust survivor gives free talk at #FLCC May 12

May 6, 2016, 12:45 pm

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Eva Abrams and her sisters were forced to construct anti-tank ditches against the approaching Allied army during the Holocaust. Her parents and niece had been sent to the gas chambers months before she was finally lined up to be shot. A bullet missed her, and she faked her own death to survive.

Holocaust survivor Eva Abrams will give a talk at Finger Lakes Community College on Thursday, May 12.

The free, public event will commemorate Jewish Heritage Month. It begins at 12:45 p.m. in the auditorium at the FLCC main campus, 3325 Marvin Sands Drive, Canandaigua. Visitors should arrive early for parking.

Abrams was born in Oradea, Romania in 1926 and was 17 when the Nazis occupied her hometown and sent her family into a ghetto. A month later, her family was deported to Auschwitz.

Abrams’ parents and niece were sent into the gas chambers while she and two sisters were part of a group selected, four months after their arrival, to construct anti-tank ditches against the approaching Allied army. As the Allies drew closer, the surviving members of her work detail were death marched to Helmbrechts, Bavaria.

When Abrams was incapable of keeping up with the march, she was lined up to be shot, but the machine gun bullet missed her. A sympathetic German nursed her back to health, and provided aid to another survivor, Hyman Abrams, who eventually became Abrams’ husband. The couple came to the United States in 1949 with an almost 3-year-old son. Seven years later, they had a daughter, Bonnie, who is now the director of the Center for Holocaust Awareness and Information in Rochester.

Abrams is now 89 and resides in Rochester.

“We are honored that Eva has agreed to speak to the FLCC community and recount her experiences of this tragic episode of modern history,” said Robert Brown, FLCC professor of history and coordinator of the event. “She is a fantastic, and compelling, historical resource in our community, and her poignant eyewitness testimony provides invaluable, but sobering personal insight into the 20th century's greatest crime."

In late April Brown also organized a screening of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Holocaust film “Schindler’s List.” Brown has researched the Holocaust extensively for publications including “The Holocaust Chronicle” as well as classes; he previously offered a summer course on Nazi Germany at Syracuse University and now covers the topic in his FLCC classes, including Age of Total War.

LaGuardia’s Gail Mellow to deliver #FLCC commencement address

May 9, 2016, 7:12 am

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From left, students Caitlin Fox of Canandaigua, Taylor Rose Perez of Horseheads and Colin Delgado of Wilson pose for a pre-graduation selfie with FLCC President Barbara Risser.

The president of one of the country’s most ethnically diverse community colleges got her start at Finger Lakes Community College, and on May 21 she’ll return to deliver the commencement address.

Gail O. Mellow has led LaGuardia Community College in Queens since 2000. She attended FLCC in fall of 1974 and went on to receive an associate degree from Jamestown Community College, a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Albany, and her master’s and doctorate in social psychology from George Washington University.

Mellow’s remarks will be before a crowd of thousands at FLCC’s 48th annual commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 21. It begins with the processional at 1:45 p.m. at the Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center on the FLCC main campus in Canandaigua.

The ceremony celebrates the estimated 900 students who will receive degrees and certificates from FLCC between August 2015 and August 2016.

LaGuardia serves over 50,000 students. In the 16 years since Mellow took the helm, the college was named one of the Top Three Large Community Colleges by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and was awarded the prestigious 2006 MetLife Foundation Community College Excellence Award for Service to Underserved Students.

An expert on the history, development and future of the American community college, Mellow co-authored “Minding the Dream: The Process and Practice of the American Community College.”

Gail O. Mellow

Mellow is frequently sought as a commentator on the changing landscape of higher education and the important role community colleges play in expanding America’s middle class and strengthening the economy. She was invited to join President Barack Obama at the 2014 White House College Opportunity Day of Action, where she presented her work to a breakout session on college completion.

Retiring FLCC President Barbara Risser; Eileen “Izy” Grooms, assistant professor of biology; and Devin Armstrong, president of the Student Corporation, will also give remarks at commencement. Lori Vail, instructor of English, will give the invocation and benediction.

Commencement is preceded by the Nursing Advancement Ceremony at 9:30 a.m., which recognizes the advancement of the freshmen to the sophomore level and the sophomores to the graduate level. The FLCC Nursing Department anticipates 55 graduates this year.

Commencement and Nursing Advancement photos and videos will be posted on the FLCC social media site, www.flcc.edu/connects. Live coverage can be found on FLCC’s various social media sites, including Instagram and Twitter. Follow the college’s handle @flcc_connects and search the hashtag #FLCC2016.

The college will livestream both the Nursing Advancement and Commencement ceremonies at http://bit.ly/1pyXSji. Tune in at 9:20 a.m. May 21 for Nursing Advancement and 1:40 p.m. for Commencement.

A recording of the FLCC Commencement ceremony will air on Finger Lakes Television, on Time Warner cable in the Finger Lakes region at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 28, and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 29. Finger Lakes Television, based at FLCC, offers the public access to the cable broadcast system.

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#FLCC offers more than 250 summer classes

May 12, 2016, 9:03 am

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Finger Lakes CommunityCollege is offering more than 250 summer classes for current and incoming students, students on break from other colleges and community members.

Courses are offered online and in the classroom. They are scheduled in four-week, six-week, and 12-week sessions through the summer as follows:

• Four-week day sessions beginning May 31, June 28 and July 26
• Six-week evening sessions beginning May 31 and July 12
• Six-week online sessions beginning May 31 and July 12
• Twelve-week online session beginning May 31

FLCC routinely offers summer courses to provide flexibility and hands-on opportunities for current students, including field experiences for students studying viticulture and conservation.

Other offerings are meant to help new FLCC students get a head start on general education courses such as English composition, college algebra, western civilization, biology and chemistry. These courses are open to students enrolled at other colleges who want to save money on lower FLCC tuition and transfer the credits.

Community members may be interested in taking music appreciation, digital photography and advanced first aid.

To view the full course listing or register, visit the website at flcc.edu or call the One Stop Center at (585) 785-1000.

Summer classes are $184 per credit hour or $552 for a standard three-credit hour class. Online courses have an additional $15 per credit hour fee. Courses with labs may include a lab fee. Current, degree-seeking FLCC students may be eligible for financial aid.

How to watch #FLCC2016 Commencement -- live and later

May 20, 2016, 12:31 pm

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Watch Commencement

The college will be livestreaming both the Nursing Advancement and Commencement ceremonies at the link below. Tune in at 9:20 a.m. May 21 for Nursing Advancement and 1:40 p.m. for Commencement.

Watch Live

A few tips if you have trouble with the live stream:

To watch the live stream, open the below link in Firefox or Chrome browsers. Do not use Microsoft Internet Explorer.

If you are prompted to install an “Octoshaper plug-in”, select the “no thanks” option. It will still proceed to the live broadcast. If you experience any image freezing or audio/video issues, please refresh your browser.  It may be necessary to restart your computer or update your browser if issues persist.

If the link above does not take you to the Live Broadcast, select the “Live Schedule” button at the top of the web page. Once you have navigated to the live schedule page select the green “Watch Now” button. If you have attempted to watch the live stream before it has begun, please refresh your browser 3-5 minutes before the start time of the event.

A recording of the FLCC Commencement ceremony will air on Finger Lakes Television, on Time Warner cable in the Finger Lakes region at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 28, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29.

9 graduate from #FLCC mechatronics program, next info session is July 28

May 24, 2016, 11:24 am

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Pictured, from left, back row: Anthony Lowe of Hemlock,
Joseph Andrews of Waterloo, Bruce Benton of Bloomfield,
Jon Sadowski of Macedon; front row: Joel Yaddow of
Middlesex, Kimberly Cooper of Newark and Gail Steele
of Waterloo. (Not shown: Melissa Galens of Clifton Springs,
Debbie Wormuth of Seneca Falls).

Nine students graduated from the Finger Lakes Community College mechatronic technology job training program in May with all attending multiple job interviews before the classes ended.

Michael Manikowski, Ontario County economic developer, told the graduates the advanced manufacturing field provides plenty of opportunity. Employers, he said, are “always in need of a skilled workforce and they make that need known on a daily basis.”

Mechatronics is a 12-week program in which participants learn the mechanical and electrical fundamentals common to many local businesses. Training includes three nationally recognized industry certifications in soldering and safety.

The graduates are as follows: Joseph Andrews and Gail Steele of Waterloo, Bruce Benton of Bloomfield, Kimberly Cooper of Newark, Melissa Galens of Clifton Springs, Anthony Lowe of Hemlock, Jon Sadowski of Macedon, Debbie Wormuth of Seneca Falls, and Joel Yaddow of Middlesex.

The mechatronic technology program is currently offered twice each year, with the next class running Sept. 26 through Dec. 16, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the FLCC Victor Campus Center, off Route 251. Those interested are required to attend an orientation session scheduled for Thursday, July 28, at 9 a.m., also at the Victor Campus Center.
To reserve a seat, contact the FLCC Professional Development and Continuing Education Office at pdce@flcc.edu, andrea.badger@flcc.edu, or (585) 785-1906. Potential students who are unemployed may be eligible for financial assistance under the Finger Lakes Hired program.

#FLCC honors outstanding alumni

June 3, 2016, 8:17 am

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The Finger Lakes Community College Alumni Association recognized the following outstanding alumni with a ceremony on May 20, the evening before commencement.

Chuck Collins, 2015 Scholar Athlete

Brittany Williams, FLCC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee

Cathern Boylan, Outstanding Nursing Alumni Achievement Award

David Keefe Jr., Outstanding Humanities Alumni Achievement Award

Donnell Jackson, FLCC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee

Gail Mellow, Distinguished Alumni Award

Holly Stekl, Outstanding Conservation Alumni Achievement Award

Jeffrey Feinen, Outstanding Art Alumni Achievement Award

Louise Mulvaney, CCFL/FLCC Exceptional Service Award

Jack Moran, Distinguished Alumni Award

John (Jack) W. Moran Jr.’79 of Canandaigua was one of two recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award. Moran is well-known in the community for his involvement in civic organizations and ownership of Roseland Bowl, a recently renovated family entertainment complex and bowling center that has hosted the U.S. Bowling Tournament twice. He has been honored in his profession with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America Victor Lerner Memorial Award, and he was inducted into the BPAA National Hall of Fame. Organizations he’s active with include the Canandaigua American Legion Post 256, Canandaigua Elks Lodge 1844, the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club, and the FLCC Association Board of Directors. He has received eight Paul Harris Fellow Awards, Rotary’s highest honor. In January, the Canandaigua Chamber recognized him as Mr. Canandaigua.

Gail O. Mellow ’74, president of LaGuardia Community College, also received a Distinguished Alumni Award. Mellow got her start as a student at FLCC and returned on May 21 to serve as the college’s commencement speaker. For the past 16 years she has headed LaGuardia, which is located in Queens and serves over 50,000 students. An expert on the history, development and future of the American community college, she co-authored “Minding the Dream: The Process and Practice of the American Community College” and the new book “Taking College Teaching Seriously: Pedagogy Matters!”  She has served on the board of the American Association for Higher Education and the National Commission for Cooperative Education, and she has been extensively quoted in national publications. In 2014 she was invited to join President Obama at the White House College Opportunity Day of Action.

Louise M. Mulvaney ’00 of Canandaigua received the CCFL/FLCC Exceptional Service Award. During her tenure as a professor of English at FLCC from 1979 to 2011, she was recognized for her dedication to students multiple times. Her peers gave her a Distinguished Service Award in 1994, and a year later, she received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was named an honorary member of Alpha Beta Gamma, a business honor society. And, from 1986 until her retirement, she served as an advisor to FLCC’s chapter of the honor society Phi Theta Kappa. In her retirement she has stayed involved with the college, helping raise funds and organize the FLCC Foundation’s annual Book Feast fundraiser.

Jeffrey F. Feinen ’70 of Clarence Center received the Outstanding Art Alumni Achievement Award. After FLCC he went on to earn a degee in art education from Buffalo State College and a master of fine arts in illustration/visual communications from Syracuse University. He launched an ad design and art direction company, Sawmill Studios, before going to work as a creative director at advertising agencies in Buffalo. He served as president of his own advertising company, The Feinen Group, until about four years ago. He has also worked as an adjunct professor and guest lecturer at campuses statewide, and his work has appeared in publications like “Step-By-Step Design” and “American Showcase.” Today, he remains active in fine arts – particularly watercolor and oil painting, as well as various community organizations.

David L. Keefe Jr. ’70 of Canandaigua received the Outstanding Humanities Alumni Achievement Award. After earning his degree from the then-Community College of the Finger Lakes, he transferred to SUNY Brockport and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He worked for over 30 years in Rochester and Monroe County government, in positions ranging from human services to municipal parking administration. He also shared his expertise teaching classes on public administration as an adjunct faculty member at colleges, including Rochester Institute of Technology. He has shared his knowledge across the globe, teaching public administration at the American University in Kosovo, and, two years ago, he served on a panel of expert judges for the Dubai Smart Government Competition in Dubai. These days he works as a consultant and coordinator of the Genesee Region Clean Communities Coalition.

Holly D. Stekl ’03 of Ovid received the Outstanding Conservation Alumni Achievement Award.  After FLCC, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in environmental forest biology at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a master of arts in teaching adolescent biology at SUNY Cortland. She has also completed graduate coursework in Montana State University. Among her experiences is a summer internship at Rocky Mountain National Park, work as a director at a summer camp and a job as a zoo director at a Long Island game farm. These days she keeps busy in the classroom. After receiving her state teaching certifications in adolescent biology and earth science, she worked in Elmira for one year and then took advantage of an opportunity to teach science in the Romulus school district. She has come full-circle, now teaching FLCC Gemini classes that allow high schoolers to earn college credit.

Jeffrey R. Standish ’08 of Athens, Ga., received the Outstanding Horticulture Alumni Achievement Award. After graduating from FLCC he continued his education at SUNY Cobleskill. A requirement to receive a bachelor of technology degree in plant sciences was an internship, which he fulfilled by working for six months as an agricultural science intern at “The Land” pavilion at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park. There, he maintained food crops in hydroponic greenhouses seen on the “Living with the Land” boat ride, in addition to guiding one-hour “Behind the Seeds” walking tours. He later worked as a general assistant for Syngenta Lawn and Garden in Florida, where he developed an interest in plant pathology and decided to pursue a master’s degree at Mississippi State University. After earning his degree in May 2015, he began working on his doctorate at the University of Georgia.

Cathern (Cathy) F. Boylan ’92 of Naples received the Outstanding Nursing Alumni Achievement Award. She attended the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES Practical Nurse Program and became a licensed practical nurse in 1985. After graduation from the program, she started her career at the Canandaigua Veterans Administration Hospital, working as an LPN while attending CCFL part-time. After receiving a VA scholarship, she started her studies full-time, earning her associate degree in nursing. Since then she earned a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Rochester and a master’s degree in management from Keuka College in 2006. At the VA she rose from a staff nurse to the associate director for patient/nursing services. She has been honored with the VA’s Excellence in Nursing Award twice, and, in 2007, she received its prestigious Hands and Heart Award.

Charles (Chuck) C. Collins’15 of Geneva received the 2015 Scholar Athlete Award, given each year to an athlete from the previous year who achieved the highest grade point average while participating on an intercollegiate athletic team. At FLCC, he was a stand-out member of the cross country and track and field teams. He was the second in FLCC history to win the Bruce Bridgeman Invitational. At the 2015 Region III Championships, he broke the school record for the 1,500 meter run by nine seconds, running a personal best time of 4:12.19. Overall, he won the Region III Championship in the 1,500m, 5K, and 10K runs and is ranked third, second and first in the NJCAA rankings, respectively. He is the first FLCC runner to win the NJCAA national championship in the 10K, and he was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Northeast Region Male Track Athlete of the Year. He excelled academically, and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at St. John Fisher College, where he continues to run cross country and indoor and outdoor track.

Brittany Williams of Rochester was inducted into the FLCC Athletic Hall of Fame. After graduating from Wilson Magnet High School she enrolled in FLCC and played on the women’s basketball team from 2007 to 2009. During her first season, she averaged 15.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.1 steals. She was recognized as the New York State Junior College Player of the Year by the Basketball Coaches Association of New York, Player of the Year in the Mid-State Athletic Conference, and Region III Division III Player of the Year. She was a second team All-American selection and was named to the All-Tournament team in the regional tournament. The following year she was selected as Pre-season First Team All-American and she was again honored as Player of the Year by the Mid-State Athletic Conference and Region III Division III. She was named to the All-Tournament Team in the regional tournament and helped FLCC to a 26-6 record. Nationally ranked in all categories, she averaged 22.3 points, 16.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 3.0 steals and 1.3 blocks.  She became FLCC’s leading scorer with 1,124 points during her two-year career at FLCC, tying the College’s record for points in a game with 40. After FLCC, she attended Roberts Wesleyan College and majored in education. Today, she works as a consultant at Sutherland Global Services in Rochester.

Donnell Jackson of Niagara Falls was inducted into the FLCC Athletic Hall of Fame. A single parent with a full-time job, he overcame several obstacles to attend FLCC after attending Edison Tech High School in Rochester. During the 2009-10 season, he scored 468 points, averaging 18 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game for the Lakers Men’s Basketball Team. He was named First Team All-Conference for the Mid-State Athletic Conference, and the following year, he was named Mid-State Athletic Conference Player of the Year, National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Second Team All American, First Team All-Region, and First Team All-Conference. He averaged 20.9 points per game (third on the all-time list) while shooting 63 percent from the field and 40 percent from the three-point line, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 1.7 steals per game. Donnell finished his career at FLCC having scored 1,095 points in his two years, placing him third on the all-time list. He was the first FLCC Men’s Basketball player to be named NJCAA Division III Player of the Year. Donnell transferred to SUNY Brockport where he majored in criminal justice and was a forward on the men’s basketball team for the 2011-12 season. Today he works as a school bus and coach services driver.

New #FLCC workforce director, new round of job training classes

June 7, 2016, 7:37 am

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Finger Lakes Community College has promoted Marcia Lynch to director of workforce development and continuing education, overseeing all of the college’s short-term training programs.

Marcy Lynch

Lynch has been with FLCC since 2009, working as a custom training specialist focusing on health care, leadership development and soft skills training. Lynch had primary responsibility for the college’s certified nurse assistant (CNA) training program, which has recently graduated its 1,000th student.

Lynch, a Canandaigua resident, has a doctorate in higher education leadership and management from Capella University. She succeeds Lynn Freid, who is now the regional director for the Workforce Development Institute in Rochester.

“FLCC is fortunate to have such a strong workforce team that we were able to promote from within. Marcy’s extensive knowledge of the region and best practices in job training will continue to ensure that our graduates are well-prepared to meet local employers’ needs,” said Joseph Nairn, FLCC’s chief advancement officer.

“This is a great time to work with some pretty phenomenal people throughout our region – my team and FLCC, the Finger Lakes Workforce Investment Board, the county workforce and economic development offices, the Workforce Development Institute, employers such as G.W. Lisk Co. and ITT Goulds Pumps, Thompson Health – there are so many and all so invested in improving the well-being of our communities on all economic fronts,” Lynch added.

Lynch’s duties will now include oversight of all the FLCC Professional Development and Continuing Education offerings, including its advanced manufacturing programs. The college is now taking reservations for information sessions about its 12-week mechatronic technology and six-month advanced manufacturing machinist programs.

The information and orientation session for the advanced manufacturing machinist program is scheduled for Thursday, July 14, at 9 a.m. at G.W. Lisk Co., 39 Pearl St., Clifton Springs. Call (585) 785-1906 to reserve a seat. The classes run Sept. 12 to March 17.

The information and orientation session for the mechatronic technology program is Thursday, July 28, at 9 a.m. at the FLCC Victor Campus Center, off Route 251. Call (585) 785-1906 to reserve a seat. The classes start Sept. 26.

Meanwhile orientation sessions for the CNA program continue to be held on the first Wednesday of every month. Anyone interested in attending should call (585) 785-1660.