College mourns death of KC Stevens, longtime director of business affairs

It is with sadness that we share news of the death of Kathryn Collette “KC” Stevens ’95g (Humanistic-Multicultural Education), who served from 1995-2010 as the College’s director of business affairs.

Memorial services for KC will be held on Friday, April 29, from 4 – 7 p.m. at Copeland-Hammerl Funeral Home, 162 S. Putt Corners Road in New Paltz. All are welcome.

KC is remembered by colleagues as a trailblazer who was ahead of her time. She joined the College in the late 1980s and distinguished herself via her interest and aptitude for computer programming, in an era when computers were less common and less understood by many professionals. She gained hardware and software skills – including teaching herself how to program in BASIC – that provided great benefit to the College through many office technology transitions.

She was a campus lead working with the Research Foundation for SUNY, overseeing everything from fee approvals to post-award administration. As she took on more responsibilities, she proved an excellent administrator. Among her contributions was the creation of a mail services package program that accurately tracked the receipt and distribution of all student packages.

After completing her graduate degree in Humanistic Education at New Paltz, she assumed leadership of campus telecommunications and oversaw the growth of that department during a period of tremendous technological advancement.

Perhaps KC’s greatest passion was for golf, and even there she leveraged her expertise to benefit the College and its students. She was part of a small group of campus employees who together created the Doug Sheppard Classic Golf Tournament. In its more than two decades of existence, “The Shep” has generated more than $700,000 in funding that supports scholarships and programs for New Paltz students. The tradition KC Stevens helped establish continues this year on June 13.