SUNY New Paltz to Offer Business Program in Kingston

NEW PALTZ — SUNY New Paltz will offer business courses at the Ulster County Business Resource Center this fall, marking a first step in a new collaboration of the university with Ulster County Community College.

“SUNY New Paltz, the public university of the Hudson Valley, is about serving the community — with programs people want,” said Kathy Kraus, dean of continuing and professional education at SUNY New Paltz. “Collaborating with Ulster County Community College, our SUNY partner, we offer Kingston residents the best of both schools.”

SUNY New Paltz offers both graduate and undergraduate courses at selected extension sites throughout the Hudson Valley region. The university has long been interested in offering courses in the Kingston community.

“SUNY New Paltz should have a real presence in Kingston, in its home county, but in collaboration with, not competition with, the Ulster County Community College,” said Gerald Benjamin, dean of liberal arts and sciences at the university. To advance this idea, he asked the Ulster County government to survey its workforce to determine interest in courses that might be offered in Kingston by SUNY New Paltz. Results of the survey demonstrated that county workers are very interested in courses in business, as well as a number of areas in the social sciences.

Under the direction of Hadi Salavitabar, dean of the SUNY New Paltz School of Business, the university decided that its initial offerings in Kingston will be advanced courses in business, and that they will be open not only to county workers but all who wish to enroll. Additionally, Ulster County Community College has agreed to offer freshman and sophomore level courses through its department of business.

According to its dean of education, Robert Michael, SUNY New Paltz plans to begin with business courses, but hopes to offer courses in education, sociology and psychology in the future.

Ulster County’s Business Resource Center, located at 1 Development Court (off Albany Avenue) is a prime location for this endeavor.

This space collaboration is one element of the Carnegie Initiative, a multi-institutional effort sparked by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill to deliver a range of educational opportunities in Kingston based in the Carnegie Building on Broadway across from City Hall, once that facility is rehabilitated.

An Open House was held at the Business Resource Center on Thursday, June 28, with business faculty and staff of SUNY New Paltz and Ulster County Community College available for consultation.

Interested prospective students who could not attend the Open House may contact Helise Winters, coordinator of extension and distance learning at SUNY New Paltz, at 257-2904 or Rosanne Yetzer, director of continuing education at Ulster County Community College, at 339-2025.