Saranac Lake, NY, Apr 26, 2012 — A North Country native will take over as North Country Community College's sixth president. Steve Tyrell is from Mooers, in Clinton County. He's currently vice president for student affairs at Alfred State College. He will replace Carol Brown, who has served as president since 2009. Brown will retire on April 30 to spend more time with her family.

The Board of Trustees decision Tuesday came after a national search and in-depth interviews with the four final candidates. Chris Morris has our story.  Go to full article

Buffalo, NY, Feb 22, 2012 — Finishing college in four years is becoming less common. Now, SUNY Buffalo is piloting a new State University of New York program that guarantees students will finish in the traditional time frame, or the school picks up the cost of remaining tuition. The Innovation Trail's Daniel Robison explains.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 13, 2012 — Classes are canceled at SUNY Canton this week, as investigators work to determine the cause of an explosion and fire at Cook Hall on Friday.

Many campus buildings are also closed off, including two residence halls.
A school spokesman say they've sent air quality samples off for lab work, and hope to reopen the buildings as quickly as possible.

Classes are set to resume on Monday, Feb. 20. Students will be allowed to return to campus on the nineteenth.

Until then, the school's website offers assistance to those who can't get to their dorms, and need clothes, toiletries, and other essentials.

No cause has been determined for the fire.

There was an explosion in a chemistry lab on the north end of Cook Hall just before noon Friday. No one was injured.

Investigators were on the scene throughout the weekend, and will be there again today.  Go to full article

Syracuse, NY, Feb 01, 2012 — Governor Andrew Cuomo is leaning on New York's network of public colleges to play a bigger role in economic growth and he's proposing to provide the resources to do so.

But there could stiff competition for those funds, as the Innovation Trail's Ryan Delaney reports.  Go to full article

Buffalo, NY, Jan 13, 2012 — With the New Year comes new visions for what state government will try to accomplish over the next 12 months. Last week Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his State of the State speech. Monday, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher gave her annual State of the University address. As the Innovation Trail's Daniel Robison reports, 2012 appears to be another year of belt tightening for the SUNY system.  Go to full article

Nov 23, 2011 — The State University of New York is apparently softening on the idea of a shared president for the Canton and Potsdam campuses.

More than a hundred Canton College supporters attended a meeting of SUNY Trustees in New York City yesterday.

Afterwards, Chancellor Nancy Zimpher sent a press release saying that SUNY still wants the schools to reduce administrative costs and redirect the money to support students. But she says SUNY understands "that support falls short at the concept of one president serving two campuses."

SUNY trustees have asked for a joint report by the presidents of the Potsdam and Canton colleges on how they will reduce costs by sharing services by July 2012.

Similar reports are due from other campuses around the state targeted for partial mergers.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Nov 22, 2011 — A busload of Canton college is heading to New York City this morning - to defend their local SUNY campus at the meeting of the state university's Trustees.

SUNY Central has proposed merging some college presidencies around the state, to save money on administrative costs, and funnel more to academics. SUNY canton and SUNY Potsdam were on the list. Canton Town Supervisor David Button says the two schools are too different, and Canton should be able to hire a president that represents its own interests.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Nov 07, 2011 — A new SUNY report called "New York in the World" asserts that no other state in the nation has seen more benefits -- or suffered more harm -- from globalization. On Friday, the state university hosted the first of six public forums about the issue.  Go to full article

Buffalo, NY, Sep 27, 2011 — SUNY released its second-ever report card Monday. The self-assessment shows how the system's 64 campuses statewide are performing compared to other schools nationally. The Innovation Trail's Daniel Robison reports.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Sep 21, 2011 — The State University of New York is backing off from what had seemed like a done deal - that the Canton and Potsdam campuses would share one president.  Go to full article