News Releases

Outreach center appoints new assistant director

The Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO) at the State University of New York at New Paltz has appointed Kathleen Tobin Flusser as assistant director.

In September, the CRREO announced it had been awarded a $286,899 grant by the U.S. Department of Education. Flusser will have a major role under this grant in helping to develop measures of Hudson Valley communities’ social, economic and environmental character that are broadly accepted and allow the tracking of change over time.

Flusser will be involved with faculty in the development of teaching materials for use in college courses, and other materials that will be prepared for distribution to local government decision makers – county executives, county legislators, mayors, city councils, town and village board members.

“KT is a perfect fit for this job,” said Gerald Benjamin, director of the CRREO and associate vice president for regional engagement. “She is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at SUNY Albany with formal graduate training in social research at Hunter College and extensive experience at the Marist Poll in designing and conducting applied research. Moreover, she is a terrifically engaging person with a real passion for involvement in community life. I am delighted to have her as a colleague.”

Previously, Flusser was the assistant director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, where she provided a variety of research and technical support for all survey projects, including proposal development; study methodology and sample design; questionnaire construction; programming for computer assisted telephone interviewing; report and press release writing; and graphic and tabular presentation of results for clients, media and publication.

Flusser’s research includes studies of registered and likely voters in primaries and general elections in the United States, New York State, New Jersey, New Hampshire and New York City. She also has performed extensive research in emergency preparedness; children’s issues; community surveys; higher education; business and economic development; and environmental issues.

Directed by Benjamin, the Center serves as the principal locus of the college’s efforts to raise its level of engagement within communities, government and businesses across the Hudson Valley.

For more information about the Center, visit www.newpaltz.edu/crreo.