From left to right, school board trustees Dan Tew and Kevin Johnston, Superintendent Timothy Eagen, board vice president Diane Nally, school board trustee Joe Bianco, and transportation supervisor Steve Lee smile with one of the new buses. Photo from Timothy Eagen
Kings Park Central School District is continuing its commitment to the environment by introducing more propane buses to the school’s fleet.
Last year, the district joined a handful of Long Island school districts in going green for transportation in the form of propane-fueled school buses.
Thanks to the support of the community, Kings Park expanded its fleet of propane buses from four to eight for the start of the new school year.
Supervisor Timothy Eagen said the additional buses will help the district cut costs and contribute positively to the environment.
“For the second year in a row, the community overwhelmingly supported the purchase,” he said in a statement. “This choice is yet another way that the school district is looking to save taxpayers money. The transition to propane has gone very well for us, and I look forward to continuing this initiative.”
The purchase of the buses was a separate voting proposition in this past May’s budget vote.
The old diesel buses, originally purchased 15 to 20 years ago, were traded in for $2,500 each. The district owns a fleet of about 60 buses, and it is necessary to purchase buses on an annual basis to maintain the fleet.
Propane is seen as a positive alternative fuel for school buses because it is widely available and costs significantly less than diesel or gasoline. The newest propane engine technology is considerably more cost efficient, quieter, requires less maintenance and is more ecofriendly than either diesel or gas.
In cold weather, diesel engines need to idol for 30 minutes or longer to achieve the proper engine temperature prior to operation. This means wasting gas and paying workers overtime to warm up the bus fleet on cold days. This is not necessary with propane engines.
Moving forward, the administration said it intends to continue to slowly replace its fleet with propane buses.
Eagen said the district will always need a few diesel buses however, for longer sports and extracurricular trips.
“Propane is a fuel that is currently not readily available at gas stations,” he said.
Michael Larson was appointed the new assistant principal of Commack High School. Photo from Brenda Lentsch
By Joseph Wolkin
A new administrator will be walking the halls of Commack High School next week.
Michael Larson was appointed assistant principal of Commack High School this week, after working at the school since 2007.
Larson said he has been set on being an educator since he graduated high school.
Growing up, Larson wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in life. Over time, his love for American history developed into a greater passion for social studies, and eventually it led to him wanting to share his knowledge with others.
Working through the rankings at Commack High School since 2007, Larson went from serving as a secondary social studies teacher, to teaching history, economics and government to being named the school’s newest assistant principal.
Effective Aug. 15, Larson took over the position previously held by Commack High School’s newest principal, Leslie Boritz.
“I’m honored and humbled and honored to serve Commack in this capacity,” Larson said. “One of the things I’ve learned about working in this district for the past few years is that the leaders work very closely together.”
Last year, Larson was promoted to coordinator of student affairs, a position he says helped develop his friendship with Boritz. The job consisted of overseeing discipline and attendance, working with students who have conduct or attendance issues, along with any potential problems with student life at the high school.
“His experience working one-on-one as both a class and student council advisor and as coordinator of student affairs and attendance has provided insight into the culture and views of our children at the high school.”
—Donald James
No longer in the classroom when he was given the new role, Larson admittedly missed developing relationships with kids, which he worked with for 180 days out of the year. However, he said he was able to find a way to still connect with Commack students, even if he was no longer in the classroom with them.
“Having those experiences last year really helped advance my development as an administrator,” Larson said. “The fact that I’m now working as an assistant principal with some of the people who played an instrumental role in my development is truly a blessing.”
The Stony Brook native attended Stony Brook University for his undergraduate degree in 2004, and received a graduate degree from Plymouth State University in special education in 2006.
Superintendent Donald James said Larson will do great things for Commack.
“Michael is a dynamic educator, who is compassionate and committed to our students,” he said in an email. “His experience working one-on-one as both a class and student council advisor and as coordinator of student affairs and attendance has provided insight into the culture and views of our children at the high school. Michael’s commitment to the students, their parents and his fellow staff members is evident in his many accomplishments at Commack High.”
The decision to make Larson the school’s newest assistant principal, along with naming Boritz as the principal, was part of a ripple effect caused by the retirement news of Commack’s last principal, Catherine Nolan.
In June, Boritz was named as the school’s new principal, replacing Nolan, who retired after holding the position for the last five years. She was the assistant principal at the school since July 2011, in addition to serving as the assistant principal of Commack Middle School for 11 years.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Commack High School is ranked as the 87th best high school in New York out of over 1,200 listed.
Larson lives in Stony Brook and will continue making the approximately 20-minute commute daily to the school that has given him the opportunity to advance in the education world. For that, he said he is indeed thankful.
“The priority for me this year is the continuation of the excellence that has come to represent the Commack School District,” he said. “I want to make efforts to continue an excellent program that’s great in athletics, academics, extracurricular and co-curricular, and expand on the opportunities we’re presenting our students and enhance them as we move forward.”
Rose Andrews gives children a tour of her family’s farm. Photo by Doreen O’Connor
By Erin Dueñas
Nineteen-year-old Rose Andrews has no idea what it means to be bored. Part of the sixth generation of Andrews who work the land at Andrews Family Farm in Wading River, there is work to be done from sunrise till sunset.
Up by 6 a.m., Andrews’ days begin by collecting eggs from the farm’s hens. Throughout the day, she might cut sunflowers to sell at the stand, deliver fresh-picked corn, zucchini or tomatoes to a neighboring farm, help customers or tend to the animals, including goats and rabbits.
“Being bored just doesn’t exist when you farm,” said Andrews. “There’s not much you can do after sundown, but even then you are planning for the next day.”
Working alongside her three older brothers and her parents, the constant work that goes into farm life doesn’t faze the Wading River resident in the least. She currently attends the University of Connecticut, where she studies agriculture and natural resources and agribusiness. Before graduating from Shoreham-Wading River High School in 2015, she said she recalls hearing classmates make weekend plans to hit the mall or the beach. But being in the family business, Andrews knew she would be at the farm instead.
“It’s just always been what my life is — the constant responsibility of the farm,” she said. “Being a farmer, it never stops.”
Rose Andrews works the Andrews Family Farm stand in Wading River. Photo by Erin Dueñas
According to Andrews, she’s never resented the farm life and constant workflow to maintain it, even while others her age might be out at a party or with friends.
“I’ve always been pretty different and I feel fortunate to be brought up this way,” she said. “I never cared what other people do. This place doesn’t make me feel like I’m missing anything. It’s my favorite place in the world.”
Andrews credits her parents with instilling a strong work ethic in her, calling them the hardest working people she ever met.
“They brought us up that family matters and the farm matters,” Andrews said. “It’s hard work, but at the end of the day, you love what you do.”
Her mother Denise Andrews concedes that there was little downtime for her kids growing up farmers. “There was no such thing as sleeping in past 7 a.m.,” she said. “The kids never had time for video games or television.”
Her children joined her at work on the farm as soon as they were old enough — a playpen was a common sight at the stand when the kids were still babies, and as young children, they pitched in.
Those early days working the land helped inspire Rose Andrews to begin Farm Days with Rose, a tour offered monthly to children interested in seeing how the farm operates.
“I want kids to see the farm as I did — as the best place in the world,” she said.
But there’s a larger lesson she is trying to spread through the tours. She wants people to know where food comes from and why others should care, especially, she said, because when she talks to children about farming, most don’t know where their food comes from, or even what certain vegetables are.
Andrews added that the kids are fascinated to see that an onion is pulled right from the ground.
“They always love that and it’s something people should know,” she said.
Her mother also tries to educate people any chance she gets about food origins and why buying local is better.
“The food we sell here at the farm traveled 20 feet,” she said. “That should make you feel safe. The stuff from the grocery store could have traveled halfway around the world before you get it. That has such a big environmental impact.”
“Family matters and the farm matters. It’s hard work, but at the end of the day, you love what you do.”
— Rose Andrews
According to the Rose Andrews, sustainability is one of the most important issues facing farmers and consumers alike.
“How can we sustain the environment and still feed a massive population around the world?” she asked. She thinks purchasing local food is one way to do that.
She also noted the benefits of keeping dollars in the local economy, as well as the higher nutrient content of preservative-free produce that is fresh picked. Then there’s the flavor.
“There’s a big difference in taste,” Andrews said. “Farm fresh is just better taste-wise.”
Longtime customer Claudia Schappert of Wading River is a big fan of that taste difference. She said the tomatoes she gets from Andrews Farm are her favorite.
“They are so sweet and delicious — I make fresh sauce from them,” she said. “[The Andrews] are just the best people with incredible produce and flowers.”
Schappert also added that she feels like she has watched Rose Andrews grow up over the years.
“I would describe her as a gentle soul,” she said, noting that her granddaughter has been on one of Rose’s farm tours. “She has become so knowledgeable in her profession and her dedication to eating good food.”
Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, senior vice president for Health Sciences at Stony Brook University; said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.; and Dennis S. Charney, dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City shake hands during the signing of the agreement for the two hospitals to partner. Photo from Stony Brook University School of Medicine
By Talia Amorosano
Two major medical institutions have agreed to team up, and the partnership could lead to big scientific breakthroughs.
In order to create more academic research opportunities and streamline and expand clinical care initiatives, Stony Brook Medicine and Mount Sinai Health System, in New York City, have entered into a comprehensive affiliation agreement. The change will promote inter-institution collaboration encompassing all five of Stony Brook’s Health Science schools, Stony Brook University Hospital, all 25 academic departments of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System facilities and Medical School, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai inclusive of seven hospitals and an expanding ambulatory network.
Facilitators of the partnership believe that the expansion of clinical trials and research opportunities for both institutions will prompt research and studies that could lead to major discoveries, especially in the treatment and understanding of disease.
Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, senior vice president for Health Sciences at Stony Brook University, noted that the alliance will make use of the strengths of each individual institution.
“What we both get out of the affiliation is enhanced possibilities for science and education,” he said. “Multiple groups of investigators [with members from each institution] work together and look at things in slightly different ways.”
In a press release, he noted Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine for its strong biomedical, clinical research and health policy expertise and Stony Brook University for its advanced mathematics, high-performance computing, and physical and chemical science departments to illustrate the point that these institutions can accomplish collaboratively more than each can do alone.
“In the long term were gonna roll out more and more in the way of clinical interactions,” said Kaushansky, who mentioned Stony Brook’s recent recruitment of two new cardiac surgeons from Mount Sinai. “We don’t do heart transplants, but Mount Sinai does.”
He emphasized the new potential for patients to easily seek services from either hospital. In fact, joint research programs ranging from fields of biomedical engineering and computer science to medicinal chemistry science, neurology, psychiatry, therapeutics and more are currently in the works.
“Stony Brook Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are two powerhouses of research that when partnered will definitely yield more than just the sum of their parts.”
—Lina Obeid
In terms of education, University students will now be afforded the unique opportunity to take classes offered on either or both campuses, and participate in a variety of summer programs geared toward students of all ages. The two schools plan to facilitate joint graduate and medical educational programs in a wider range of subjects than ever before, and have agreed to invest a collaborative $500,000 for the development of academically challenging pilot programs to be supervised by a joint committee.
“The joint pilots in research have immense promise to advance health at the most exciting time in the biomedical sciences, including advanced computational, bioinformatic and engineering approaches,” said Lina Obeid, MD, dean for research and vice dean for scientific affairs at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. “Stony Brook Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are two powerhouses of research that when partnered will definitely yield more than just the sum of their parts.”
Other leaders of each institution have already expressed similar enthusiasm about the affiliation, which was effective immediately upon signing, and many have verbalized hopes that groundbreaking research will take place as a result of this strategic partnership.
Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, president and chief executive officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, said, “Together [Mount Sinai and Stony Brook] will use our outstanding resources to create changes in medicine.”
“Each institution has so much to offer,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., “this is an opportunity that will prove to be beneficial to all — now and in the future — as we explore and grow this incredible collaboration.”
Looking toward the future, Kaushansky said that Stony Brook has more affiliation agreements in the works, contingent upon state approval.
“We are working very hard with our friends in the state of New York to get approval for affiliation with Southampton Hospital and Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport,” he said.
Also pending is a potential partnership with John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. “In April, Mather Hospital asked a number of healthcare systems — us included — whether they were interested in affiliating with Mather Hospital, and we said yes,” Kaushansky said. “We made a proposal to the Mather hospital board … and they were supposed to decide [with whom they wish to affiliate] back in June.”
About a year ago, Kaushansky said he wondered aloud how it is that the insistution could make a bigger impact on clinical medicine, education and research. He now expresses confidence that Stony Brook’s affiliation with large city medical center, Mount Sinai, and future mutually-beneficial partnerships with Long Island hospitals and medical centers, is the most surefire way to achieve such an impact.
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. File photo
By Kevin Redding
Under the sponsorship of Stony Brook University Hospital, John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson has recently launched two new medical residency programs: one focused in psychiatry and the other in diagnostic radiology.
These programs, which officially joined existing residency programs, internal medicine and transitional year, on July 1, will serve to solidify Mather as an ever-expanding hub of academic training for its medical school graduates, and offer high-quality health care to its Suffolk County patients.
Both are four-year programs, offered to five residents per year in psychiatry and three per year in diagnostic radiology, that will give residents hands-on access to technology, clinics and patients relating to the specific field.
Those in the psychiatry program will benefit from Mather’s two inpatient psychiatry units for adults and adolescents and various clinics, including one for eating disorders and chemical dependency. According to Dr. Noam Fast, the program’s director, the residents will undergo an unusually didactic schedule, rotating between classroom lectures from the clinical faculty and working with patients directly — which will allow them to hone their craft.
“We’re training the next generation… and hopefully they decide to stay in our local community and actually treat our community members.” — Jared Dunkin
“Mather actually had a lot of psychiatry services and that is what you need to be able to train residents the right way,” Fast said. “You need all of these services, and when you have all these opportunities, it becomes the basis to teach. The patients benefit, the staff benefits and the hospital and community at large do, as well.”
Radiology residents will learn to understand and operate the inordinate amount of technology the field consists of. The residents must know how to read a wide spectrum of imaging, including X-ray, radiographs, MRI scans, CT scans, ultrasound and mammography.
Dr. Jared Dunkin, director of the radiology program, said that even though it will be a steep learning curve — using the computers and dictation systems — it’s something that students will be acclimated to in just a few months. Residents will also be learning the tools of the trade that can potentially prevent life-ending ailments within the body.
“For us, imaging is giving insight into what is going on in the body without having to cut them open,” Dunkin said. “It gives us a window into the organs just to come up with a diagnosis. There’s a lot of screening programs through radiology. They’re developing chest-screening programs, for instance, to identify people at risk for lung cancer. We try to identify these cancers early, so that way the doctors can treat them earlier.”
In order to find their residents, Fast and Dunkin used what’s called a “match,” an elaborate computer program used as an application process in medical circles. Medical students in their fourth year send in their resumes, transcripts, school test scores and recommendation letters. Fast and Dunkin then sift through hundreds of potential residents and narrow the candidates down to a select few for interviewing and ranking.
Mather’s two new residency programs focus on psychiatry and chemical dependency. File photo
Then, on “match day,” the computer takes the list and pairs the students with a certain program. Usually, Fast and Dunkin have months to do this, but due to a late accreditation, they only had a little more than a week this time around. Even with limited time, the directors said they’re happy with the final selections.
The goal was to find those who are bright, dedicated, interested in learning and could potentially have a long-lasting career within Suffolk County.
“The residency programs are a lifeline for the community,” Fast said. “You have a chance to train residents in your own program, and then the expectation is that a proportion of the residents would be interested in this community, and we do hope that we can attract some of these doctors and recruit them, as well.” Dr. Joan Faro, chief medical officer at Mather, said last year that the partnership between Stony Brook and Mather, in forming a new graduate medical education program, would only strengthen the level of care the community hospital provides by reinforcing the facility’s standards. The new programs should take those standards to new heights.
Dunkin has an eye on the future of the hospital when speaking about the new programs.
“We’re training the next generation,” he said. “A lot of residency programs look to their former residents to fill the ranks when needed. So we’re training the next generation, and hopefully they decide to stay in our local community and actually treat our community members.”
Kevin Simmons is the new principal at Smithtown High School East. Photo from Smithtown school district
With school less than a month away, new leaders are prepping for the September start date in Smithtown.
Smithtown High School East and Nesaquake Middle School both have fresh faces at the helm, as Kevin Simmons and Daniel McCabe have been appointed to principal at their respective schools.
Simmons, a St. James resident, is no stranger to the Smithtown school district. He first joined the team in 2003, at Smithtown Middle School, as an assistant principal.
“There is something about the warm feeling, and the nurturing culture [at Smithtown],” Simmons said in a phone interview. “I am excited to continue to serve the district.”
The new high school principal has four children in the Smithtown school district, and said he is thrilled they are getting an education in such a successful district.
Simmons grew up in Ronkonkoma and received college degrees from Dowling College and Stony Brook University.
He also taught history to seventh- and eighth-graders in the Syosset school district before coming to Smithtown.
Daniel McCabe is the new principal at Nesaquake Middle School. Photo from Jessica Novins
The St. James resident said he is excited to revisit many of the students at the high school that he already has a relationship with.
“To work with the same families is something I’m extremely exited about,” he said. “To finish the educational journey with the kids is extremely rewarding.”
Simmons moved from Smithtown Middle School to Nesaquake Middle School in 2004, and served as assistant principal there until 2008, when he took over as principal.
Simmons said he thinks the new middle school principal will excel in the role he previously held.
“Dan is intelligent, a strong leader, and has great charisma,” he said. “He will meet the needs of the kids, the teaching staff and the parents there. He is a 21st century educator; he’s up to date on his research of curriculum and technology.”
McCabe has been at Smithtown for nearly 20 years, having started in 1999 as a student teacher at Smithtown High School before it was divided into east and west.
“I take great pride in the deep-rooted relationships I have with the community,” he said in a phone interview.
When the high schools were divided, he became an assistant principal at Smithtown High School West for five years, before making the move to Accompsett Middle School.
The Smithtown district veteran said he is excited for the new adventure.
Although McCabe said he has enjoyed working with various age groups, he thinks his talents are best served in a middle school environment.
“At the high school, there are very high stakes, with graduation requirements and SATs,” he said. “Middle school students are quite impressionable, they are going through a formative time period in their lives. I think it’s a blessing to be a positive influence on them during this time period.”
Additions address safety for students who walk to school
Workers excavate the east side of Mud Road to prepare for sidewalk installation. Photo by Donna Newman
This fall, the streets near the Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School will be safer for students who walk to school. The Brookhaven Town Highway Department is nearly finished installing sidewalks on Mud Road, a frequently used route for students who walk to school.
“I am grateful to have finally brought this project to fruition, as residents have been requesting additional sidewalks in the area for the last decade,” Brookhaven Town Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R) said. “In 2014, a year after I took office, school district administrators requested a traffic study, while noting 118 students walked to and from Gelinas Jr. High School. Clearly, this pedestrian safety project was warranted.”
The entire project, which will include the paving of Mud Road, will cost $300,000 according to Losquadro, add ding the undertaking will ” help to ensure the safety of students and pedestrians.” The cost includes the sidewalks, retaining walls, a drainage system, a crosswalk and electrical signal work.
A decorative pole with flashing LED lights, activated by pushing a button, will enable pedestrians to halt traffic to cross the street.
Sidewalks were added in front of the school building and to the south. On the west side of Mud Road, sidewalks extend from the school to Brandywine Drive.
Previously, sidewalks had been installed in the fall of 2008 — heading north from the school and west along Christian Avenue to the spot where it meets Friends Road — to accommodate a blind child living in the neighborhood who walked that route to school.
The groundwork for the current project predated the formation of a grass-roots advocacy group called Sidewalks for Safety, founded by Annemarie Waugh in July 2015.
“It’s really wonderful that the town is putting in the sidewalk outside Gelinas!” Waugh wrote in an email. “I hope the sidewalk will go all the way around the treacherous corner on Mud Road, so children walking to and from Gelinas will be safe. I really hope the town will put in many more sidewalks, especially around all the schools and on the busy main roads, so we can have a healthy walkable community.”
Sidewalks for Safety was established by Waugh to raise awareness for pedestrian concerns throughout the Three Village area and to lobby local politicians to affect change. The organization mounted a petition on Change.org to gather signatures from supporters for submission to Brookhaven Town. That website garnered nearly 700 signatures, and the group has obtained more than 500 others on paper.
“Annemarie has been very active in trying to get folks on board with helping improve walkability,” said Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Setauket). “I think she is certainly working hard on raising awareness. I talked to her about what I did on Nicolls [Road]. I think most people don’t understand that they drive on roadways that have different levels of government responsible for them.”
Waugh and her group have ramped up their awareness-raising efforts.
“More recently we have been engaged in educating local politicians, school officials and Three Village residents with a newsletter,” she said. “We attended Earth Day at Stony Brook University … and joined with Scout Troop 1911 to collect signatures at the shopping center on 25A.”
Suffolk County Community College’s $2.9 million will be used to train individuals with the skills and credentials required to meet the growth in cybersecurity, manufacturing and health information technology. Photo from SCCC
A $2.9 million cybersecurity, manufacturing and health information technologies U.S. Department of Labor job training grant — the largest single grant in Suffolk County Community College history — has been awarded to the college.
The college will collaborate with Suffolk County Workforce Development Board, New York State Department of Labor, Suffolk County Department of Labor and independent business, including Alken Industries Inc., GKN Aerospace Monitor Inc., Precipart Inc. and Custom Computer Specialists Inc., as well as business-related nonprofit organizations the Manufacturing Consortium of Long Island, Long Island Science Technology Engineering and Math Hub and New York State Workforce Development Institute in executing the grant.
The $2,949,237 Resources and Education that Support Training Opportunities within the Regional Economy (RESTORE) Grant, according to college president Shaun L. McKay, will be used to train individuals by providing them with the skills and credentials required to meet the growth in cybersecurity, manufacturing and health information technology.
“The RESTORE Grant will allow our college to focus new and additional resources on recognizing and empowering residents in our region … to develop new skills and earn higher wages.”
—Shaun McKay
RESTORE is part of the federal government’s national TechHire initiative that is funded by H1B visa fees, nonimmigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as in architecture, engineering, mathematics, science and medicine; and intended to train local workforces with the skills required by regional industry.
“The RESTORE Grant will allow our college to focus new and additional resources on recognizing and empowering residents in our region with the education and training they need to develop new skills and earn higher wages,”McKay said.
The president explained that some workers may be just starting their careers, while others may be older workers who don’t have the basic skills to allow them to assume more responsibility and reach higher paying roles. Others could also be workers who may have the competencies but not formal credentials to excel at a more senior-level job in their field.
The RESTORE Grant will provide the resources for retraining individuals and upskilling to earn an associate’s degree and transfer to a baccalaureate program for expanded career options. Boot camp training programs will be developed and students will prepare for online coursework while learning valuable industry and job readiness skills to help them excel.
McKay said the college envisions the RESTORE Grant providing training for 350 students.
“Ultimately,” McKay said, “our goal is to ensure that local, highly trained and motivated individuals remain on Long Island.”
Where you choose to learn and intern can have a significant effect on your success. Photo from Ryan DeVito
Ryan DeVito
The adage “location, location, location” should be applied beyond the real estate market. Where you choose to learn and intern can have a significant effect on your success. Like it or not, urban environments trump sleepy suburbia every time.
I’m not a sociologist, but it’s hard not to notice certain trends in my peer groups. Those who attended college in urban areas seem to have found post-graduate employment more easily. Their networks tend to be large and diverse, too. On the other hand, those who ventured out into the hinterlands for college seem to have had decidedly less luck when it came to immediate post-graduate employment.
What’s the difference-maker for urban students? It boils down to a few key elements.
First, urban environments multiply the network effect. Students attending urban colleges have more opportunity to network with diverse audiences who, in turn, refer those students to their own networks. This is a big deal when it comes to landing an internship or job. Having someone recognize your name —or, better yet, offer a personal recommendation — goes a long way in the hiring process.
Second, so-called hybrid professors are more likely to reside and teach in urban areas. These are the professors who have vast experience outside of academia. They are the movers and shakers who, for one reason or another, choose to impart their wisdom on a new generation of students.
Third, colleges and companies are connected to their cities. Urban colleges often encourage their students to engage with their city community, whether it be through service or some other outlet. Companies that are invested in the socioeconomic development of their community tend to prefer to hire those who are already a part of that community. Therefore, someone studying at New York University is likely going to have a much easier time landing a position in New York than would someone studying at Indiana University, a cultural world away.
There’s a reason why New York University spent enormous amounts of money to build housing for students in the village. Prior to the late 1980s, NYU had a reputation as a commuter school in the shadow of Columbia University and Fordham University. Giving students the opportunity to live in the city and become a part of its social fabric quickly changed the university’s reputation in the region.
Now, there are always those rising stars who are able to transcend geographic factors. Going to college in the middle of nowhere isn’t a success-killer. Far from it. Some of the most renowned colleges in the world, including Cornell University and Dartmouth College, feature isolated locations.
Location matters. As you plot you future, consider how an urban environment could help you take your education and career to the next level. Urban environments are professional accelerators. Still, it’s up to you to make the most of that grand opportunity.
Ryan DeVito is a Miller Place native who started a college advising company to help Long Island students reach their potential. Learn more at www.TheModernGraduate.com
Stony Brook University, President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr. MD
By Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., MD
At Stony Brook University, we’re proud to be a diverse community of scholars, researchers, educators and professionals representing many races, ethnicities, ages, genders, religions, abilities, socioeconomic levels, sexual orientations and veteran status.
In consideration of persistent issues of inequality in our society, Stony Brook University is implementing a new Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, which will build on successes and address opportunities to take us to the next level in enhancing student, faculty and staff diversity and building an inclusive community.
Involving the campus community was key in developing a comprehensive plan, which embraces SUNY’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy in aspiring to be part of the most inclusive state university system in the country. In March, Stony Brook students, faculty and staff were invited to view a draft of the plan and share feedback. Their thoughtful comments and suggestions were received, reviewed and included, where possible, prior to releasing this plan.
While people celebrated some or all of their experiences at the University, many also recommended ways to improve how we embrace our diversity to create and maintain a welcoming environment on campus. Opportunities raised by all groups encompassed the broad areas of hiring, student enrollment and the daily campus experience.
The plan has four overarching goals: improve the diversity of the Stony Brook Community through enhanced recruitment and retention; expand educational, research, healthcare and other efforts to ensure that Stony Brook students have the ability to thrive as members of the campus community and as global citizens in a diverse society; support the development of a campus climate that values diversity, equity and inclusion in a way that promotes the ability of members of the community to thrive and to achieve their individual goals; and establish a culture of accountability and assessment around diversity and inclusion initiatives and policies.
Each goal will be achieved through a variety of initiatives and action items identified specifically in the plan, and highlights of data on our students and employees provide an overview of where we are today, giving us the ability to understand and monitor progress toward those goals. I invite you to view Stony Brook University’s new Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity at stonybrook.edu/diversityplan.
Prev
