Alfred State College
Coordinates: 42°15′15.71″N 77°47′18.38″W / 42.2543639°N 77.7884389°W
 | |
| Motto | Hit the ground running... |
|---|---|
| Established | 1908 |
Academic staff | 223 [1] |
| Students | 3,500 [1] |
| Location | Alfred, New York, United States |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colors | Blue and Gold |
| Nickname | Pioneers |
| Website | http://www.alfredstate.edu |
Alfred State, the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Technology located in Alfred, Allegany County, New York, is a public college and one of the eight Colleges of Technology within the SUNY system. With a modern campus set in the beautiful, rolling hills of upstate New York, students are provided with varied housing options on-campus, as well as off-campus housing in both fraternities and sororities. Project-based learning is the cornerstone of Alfred State culture, providing students with work on real-world problems, and promotes a "how to think, not what to think" philosophy; as a result, Alfred State has a 99% employment and transfer rate.
This college, formerly the Technical College at Alfred, now grants baccalaureate degrees in 19 areas, associate degrees in 50 areas, as well as a number of certificates; fully accredited through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Rochester Area Colleges consortium along with Alfred University, the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint John Fisher College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Nazareth College, Monroe Community College, SUNY Brockport, and SUNY Geneseo. Full-time (12+ credit hours) students may cross-register at Alfred University to supplement their education with classes not offered at Alfred State at no additional cost.
History
Both Alfred University and Alfred State have their roots in an early teaching college called the Alfred Select School. The school was visionary in its equal opportunity policy. In 1908 President Boothe C. Davis of Alfred University persuaded the New York State legislature to locate the New York State School of Agriculture at the Alfred University Campus; the resulting allocation of $75,000 for three buildings, a farm, livestock, and machinery would set plans for the school in motion. In 1941 the school was given Junior College status, and renamed the New York State Agricultural and Technical College at Alfred.
In 1948 the enrollment grew to such large numbers that the state government decided to allow it room to expand, moving the school across Main street from Alfred University, where it remains today. In addition to a new campus would come greater autonomy, meaning that Alfred would now have two state-funded schools and one private university.
As of today, Alfred State SUNY School of Technology is a senior college.
Schools and departments
Alfred State offers more than 70 majors in the arts, applied technology, architecture and management and engineering technology. Teaching staff are in a 20:1 ratio to students, and are generally well-educated in their field, while maintaining ties to their profession.
The college is divided into the following schools:
- The School of Arts & Sciences
- The School of Applied Technology (located at the Wellsville campus)
- The School of Architecture, Management and Engineering Technology
Annual festivals
In 1972 two students, Mark O'Meara and Eric "Rick" Vaughn, started a charity festival entitled "Hot Dog Day". This festival was to be a charity fundraiser for the area and would focus on the hot dog. Now held in the third weekend of April, Hot dog day is a yearly celebration coordinated through both Alfred University and Alfred State.
Beginning in Fall 2008, Alfred State began hosting an annual Homecoming celebration, which is held in part at the new athletic complex. This event is held in tandem with Family Weekend, allowing for a weekend of fun for all.
Student government
The Student Senate of Alfred State administers over half a million dollars in club and administrative funds through the Student Activity Fee. Student Senate supports, facilitates, and leads its clubs and organizations through an annual Leadership Retreat, weekly leadership seminars, and various special projects. In addition to funding, Student Senate allows students of both Wellsville and Alfred main campus to participate in collaborative decision making processes. The Student Senate General Assembly has voting rights on the board of trustees of the college, known as the College Council, through its College Council Representative.[2] The Student Senate General Assembly also has a voice on the Faculty Senate with a non-voting member but has voting members on many committees including the Academic Affairs Committee. They also have three members on the Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and Services board of directors.[3]
Facilities and construction
Founded with three buildings, a farm, and some livestock, Alfred State has expanded to include 13 residence halls, state of the art smart classrooms, a motorsports facility, a developing organic farm, the Orvis Activities Center, as well as a second campus of Applied Technology located in Wellsville, NY.
The trend that started in post-war Alfred has continued today in the multimillion-dollar campus renewal program, including an all new athletic field that accommodates Lacrosse, Soccer, Football, and is be surrounded by an 8-lane running track, an extensive renovation and expansion of Central Dining Hall, a 150-bed townhouse complex including a student activities center, renovations of the School of Architecture, Management & Engineering Technology building, and the building of the brand-new Student Leadership Center (to be finished in the Fall of 2013.)[4]
Students can enjoy food at a campus snack bar (Exit West Cafe), Friendly's Cafe, Taco Bell Express, Freshen's Smoothies and Pretzels, 10 Elm (Fresh Market and Cafe, Pizza Hut Express, and a small grocery store), as well as all-you-can-eat cafeteria style dining.
Greek life
Alfred State has a long and valued history of fraternities and sororities on campus, starting with its first fraternity in 1920 (Theta Gamma),[5] and continuing through the present day. Fraternities and Sororities contribute to the campus and community through philanthropic works, charitable contributions, and alumni interest in the college. Pledging is a four-week process requiring a minimum of ten hours of library time per pledging week amongst other requirements, hence the common phrase "Four Weeks For Life".
Currently 5 fraternities and 6 sororities are recognized by the college and Greek Senate: Kappa Sigma Epsilon (KΣE) fraternity, Pi Rho Zeta (ΠΡΖ) fraternity, Theta Gamma (ΘΓ)fraternity,[5] Mu Theta (ΜΘ) fraternity, Psi Delta Omega (ΨΔΩ) fraternity,[6] Alpha Beta Chi (ABX) sorority, Pi Nu Epsilon (ΠΝΕ) sorority, Delta Chi Omega (ΔΧΩ) sorority, Alpha Sigma (ΑΣ) sorority, Psi Sigma Psi (ΨΣΨ) sorority, and Zeta Psi Omega (ZΨΩ) sorority are all fully recognized by the College.
Greek Senate has developed an autonomous Greek Judicial Board which allows for the full self-governance of the Alfred Greek System, adjudicating cases of organizational misconduct. Hazing is not allowable by any organization on campus (enforced by state law), but most especially in any fraternity or sorority. Regardless of recognition status all members of the campus community are expected to abide by college policy and all applicable laws.
Museums and galleries
The Bret Llewellyn Art Gallery at SUNY Alfred State in Alfred, NY is located in their campus Engineering Technology Building. This single space has shown digital media and animation both of the students as well as international artists since 2010 when the current and only curator, Professor Brakett, Chair of the Digital Media and Animation at the Alfred State, founded the gallery. The WordPress website is also run by Professor Brakett and provides extensive information regarding each event as well as including a calendar of future events and artist lectures. Unfortunately this website has not been updated since November 2011. Each post on their blog includes at least one image of the piece exhibited along with a description of the event including duration of exhibition and names of students involved. The space is open Monday through Fridays from 10am–4pm for students and faculty to visit. The security system on campus and in each building allows for this room to be unattended yet there is no accessible catalog, only a visitors guest book. There is however a television monitor outside the room to advertise upcoming events. A gallery like this needs more contributors for it to continue to flourish such student docents and gallery assistants for example. Student involvement within the space as volunteers or interns under close direction of Professor Brakett would be beneficial to both parties. All in all, the space is well kept for being a new space
Services
See also: ACES and Blackboard Academic Suite
Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and Services (ACES) has been providing services to Alfred State since 1946 including dining services, telecommunications and the Alfred State Bookstore.
Blackboard Inc. provides networked vending account and building access solutions, as well as the Course management system.
Athletics
Alfred State teams participate as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Pioneers are currently an D-III Independent school. They formerly competed in Region III of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), primarily competing in the Western New York Athletic Conference (WNYAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.
The NCAA Division III Management Council announced in April 2013 that Alfred State has been accepted as provisional members. The announcement moved Alfred State into NCAA Division III competition, effective in the 2013-14 school year. It was announced on January 27, 2016 that the Alfred State Pioneers football team would be joining the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference for the 2017 season.[7]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Fast Facts | Alfred State". Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ↑ "Alfred State Student Senate Constitution".
- ↑ "Student Senate Executive Board Application".
- ↑ Alfred State Student Leadership Center.
- 1 2 http://www.Thetagamma.com
- ↑ Greek Life.
- ↑ "ECFC gains two members". D3Football.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
External links
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