Make a Difference Day on Oct. 24 provides the campus community with a great opportunity to help its neighbors. Mike Patterson, director of student activities and union services, said the day of national service is about neighbors helping neighbors.

“We have a unique ability to make a large impact on the community that we are part of,” said Patterson. “By making a commitment to Make a Difference Day, we as a college can continue to make a difference in the local region.”

Having faculty, staff and students engaged in the program is vital in this effort, he added. All members of the campus community are encouraged to participate by donating goods or their time, or both.

The college’s involvement in the program begins on Friday, Oct. 23. Donations will be accepted in the Student Union, room 100. College employees received a shopping list of needed goods with their paychecks on Oct. 14. The donations will benefit such local non-profit organizations as Family of New Paltz and The Queen’s Galley.

On Saturday, representatives from the college will volunteer from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at more than 11 off-campus service sites, including Village View for Seniors and the New Paltz Fire Department.

The entire event will conclude with a reflection dinner on Saturday beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union, room 100. The dinner is an addition to the program that Patterson hopes will help spread the spirit of service across campus.

“Through the experience of sharing and processing the day’s events, we hope that students, faculty and staff will be inspired to continue giving back to their communities,” he said.

For more details on the full program, visit www.newpaltz.edu/sub/madd.html.

The college is participating in its annual New York State Fire Inspection, which began on Oct. 19 and will last for approximately three weeks.

The mandatory program involves extensive inspections of all rooms and spaces in every building on campus.

This is a preliminary inspection conducted by the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Re-inspections will occur in December and January and will focus on all of the issues identified in the preliminary inspection. A final inspection will occur in January and February to address any issues that have not been corrected.

Scott Schulte, assistant director of environmental health and safety – fire safety division, asks the campus community to be on the lookout for any potential fire hazards and to contact his department.

Potential fire hazards include:

• Prohibited items: extension cords, multi-prong adapters, incense, candles, space heaters, surge protectors, tapestries and wall hangings;

• Propped doors;

• Blocked fire extinguishers, fire alarm pull stations, exits, fire alarm panels and electrical panels;

• Fire Doors not properly closed;

• Vehicles parked in fire lanes or in front of fire hydrants;

• Desks, chairs, tables and other furniture in hallways;

• Exit signs not in working order and illuminated;

• Smoking within 50 feet of any building entrance on campus;

• Properly inspected fire extinguishers;

• Items stored within 18 inches of a sprinkler head or within 24 inches of any ceiling;

• Waste accumulation;

• Obstructed room doorways.

If any of the above listed situations or hazards exist, contact Schulte at schultes@newpaltz.edu or x3310.

“This is our community,” said Schulte. “The responsibility lies with all of us to identify and report any fire code violations, so that we can live, work and interact in the safest environment possible.”

Front cover of WaterWrites. Image submitted

Laurence Carr (English) has set sail with an anthology that tells the story of the Hudson River through the creative works of Hudson Valley writers.

Sixty writers are featured in “WaterWrites,” which was published by Codhill Press of New Paltz on Oct. 21. There are well over 12 writers from the college who contributed to the 136-page book.

Carr added that “WaterWrites” is a SUNY New Paltz book. In addition to the more than 12 writers from the college, the 136-page book was designed by Laura Kniffen (Design Services) and the cover photograph was taken by Morgan Gwenwald (Library). Joann Deiudicibus (English), Penny Freel (English) and Rachel Rigolino (English) assisted Carr with the editing of the manuscript.

Inside, the works of professional and amateur writers from the area span the literary and environmental plain. There are essays, short stories, poetry and more. All works share a common theme: the Hudson River. Carr said there was an amazing amount of submissions from high school students, college students, graduates, professional and amateur writers. “The submissions cover the spectrum of every Hudson Valley person,” he said.

“I am so happy to have a very active profile of Hudson Valley writers to celebrate the region and prose and poetry,” said Carr.

The idea came to Carr at a meeting discussing events for the Hudson River Quadricentennial. Carr thought it would be a good idea to have a literary component to the historic celebration. Carr, who had previously edited Riverine, an anthology of works from Hudson Valley writers, decided to get to work.

“This is a people’s book, not an academic publication,” he said. “It also combines the community and university and makes us one entity.”

There will be readings held up and down the river. A launch party is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz.

By Samantha Thomson ’09 (Communication and Media)

Public Affairs Intern

Images from the extended "Panorama of the Hudson River" show. Top image is a section of Greg Miller's 2009 photo; bottom image is from a 1910 photo commissioned by the Hudson River Day Line Steamer Company.

Greg Miller’s “Panorama of the Hudson River” has had a lasting impact on the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

The photographic panorama’s run at the Sara Bedrick Gallery has been extended into next year. The show, which opened in July, will continue through Dec. 13 and will reopen on Feb. 6 for seven weeks.

Sara Pasti, the Neil C. Trager director of the museum, said the show was extended because of its popularity and to allow students who arrive in the spring semester to view the exhibition.

The museum commissioned Miller, a photographer from Monroe, to create a photographic panorama of the Hudson River that was modeled on earlier painted, engraved and photographic views of the river.

Miller’s photograph of the Hudson River includes both banks and stretches from Manhattan to Albany. The image is paired with a 1910 photographic panorama developed for the Hudson River Day Line Steamer Company; both photographs are 80 feet long.

The show is part of the college’s Art and the River project, a six-month series of exhibitions, lectures and events celebrating the Hudson River’s Quadricentennial.

State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher is applying an all-inclusive approach to planning for the public higher education system.

Divided into four phases, the goal of the SUNY Strategic Plan is to guide the public higher education system for the next five years and advise in the system’s development over the next 10 years.

Phase I was Zimpher’s 64-campus tour, which took place from June to September of this year. Zimpher visited New Paltz on June 15.

The second phase of the strategic planning process includes seven Conversations designed to engage all audiences, solicit ideas and create a statewide dialogue. The first Conversation takes place on Oct. 21 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. College President Steven Poskanzer, Associate Vice President for Regional Engagement and Director of the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach Gerald Benjamin, SUNY New Paltz Foundation Chair Noah Dorsky and New Paltz College Council Chair Ken Abt have been selected to represent New Paltz as part of the group of 200 at these conversations.

System administration has also implemented a social media component to the information-gathering phase. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube allow for participation in what progress is being made on the strategic plan by any interested party.

Individuals can also communicate via e-mail by sending their thoughts to StrategicPlanning@suny.edu. Additionally, visitors to SUNY.edu can use the existing Share Your Ideas feature that has been available since the chancellor took office.

Phase II is scheduled to be completed in February 2010.

Phases III and IV include the launch of the Strategic Plan, Feb. 16, 2010, through June 30, 2010, and implementation and assessment, July 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2020.

William Tucker, a psychology professor from Rutgers University – Camden in New Jersey and award-winning author, will present a lecture at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the Coykendall Science Building Auditorium.

In his lecture, “Measuring Intelligence or Measuring Persons: The Politics of Assessment,” Tucker will discuss racial and eugenic controversies in research on intelligence testing.

The event is sponsored by the Provost’s Office and the Psychology, Black Studies and Sociology departments. For more information, contact Carol Vázquez (Psychology) at x3469 or vazquezc@newpaltz.edu.

The Women’s Studies Program has announced a series of events for its Fall 2009 Colloquium Series.

Anne Roschelle (Sociology) will present “Homeless Under the Golden Gate: Marriage and Mothering Among Christians” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in Jacobson Faculty Tower, room 1010.

Salavatore Engel-Di Mauro (Geography) will give a lecture titled “Gendered Environmental Practices and Soil Quality” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, in the Honors Center.

Edith Kuiper (Economics, Women’s Studies) will deliver a lecture called “A History of Women’s Economic Writing” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Honors Center.

The events are free and open to the public. For more information, call x2975.