GCC

The brand-new Rosalie “Roz” Steiner Art Gallery opened Friday with great fanfare. Hundreds of people from throughout the county were on hand to see the gallery's first show and witness the opening ceremonies.

Above, the children and grandchildren of Roz and Stuart Steiner, from left: David Steiner, daughter Ava, Sarah Rogers, Robyn Steiner (holding Ava's hand), Lisa Rubin, Susan Steiner, Daniel Rubin and Dr. Steiner. A photo of Roz Steiner, background, was unveiled as part of the ceremony. 

Bottom photo, Eric Suritella and Carol Acquilano, the first artists featured in the gallery.

A team that has won at least 40 games in each of its last three seasons, swept Ithaca College at GCC on Saturday, giving the Cougars seven straight wins and an overall 10-5 record to start the spring.

Head Coach Skip Sherman said the program has been successful both at winning and helping players move onto higher levels.  

Three players over the past five years have been selected in the professional draft: Ryan Gugal (Phillies) of Batavia, Yimy Rodriguez (Dodgers) of Rochester and Chris Page (Reds) of Batavia. Page did not sign and is playing at Emery Riddle College in Florida.

Over the past five years, 32 GCC players have received baseball scholarships.

On the current roster, three players have already signed with four-year colleges, and more are expected to sign before the end of the season. John Polonius has signed a letter of intent to play at West Virginia next year and is expected to be drafted in June. Manny Hernandez has signed a letter of intent to play at Canisius College in Buffalo and John Broll has signed a letter of intent to play at Ashland University in Ohio.

"Keep an eye on Shaun Slemko who looks like he will have a great spring," Sherman said.

Three freshmen to watch, according to Sherman: Adam Grace, Tyler Koronas and Dan Sharpe. 

The team features six first-team all conference players: Pitcher Greg Rapp, Catcher Adam Grace, SS John Polonius, 2B Manny Hernandez, OF Jacob Featherstone, and DH John Broll.

The Cougars next game is at 1 p.m., Thursday, at Dwyer Stadium. For the full schedule, click here.

While I was up at GCC for the Eco-Fest, I noticed both the women's softball team and men's baseball team had games going.

This post contains a few shots from the softball games and I'll have a post later with the baseball photos along with more information about the 2011 men's team.

The Cougars split their double-header with Hudson Valley CC 2-5 and 10-5. The women's team is 4-9 overall on the season and 3-0 in its conference.

More pictures after the jump:

Hundreds of residents drove up to Genesee Community College CC on Saturday to drop off old computers, monitors, printers, TVs and other household electronics so they could dispose of the broken, outdated technology in a safe, environmentally friendly way.

While there, Todd Sloat, of Sloat Tires, would check the air pressure on the motorists' tires, if they wished.

When James Sunser, Ed.D, starts his new job in August it will be with a sense of purpose and a lifetime of experience in community college.

Sunser replaces Stuart Steiner, Ed.D, as president of Genesee Community College in August.

Sunser told WBTA's Geoff Redick that his passion for education was instilled in him by his parents.

"Our parents ingrained in us from an early age that getting an education is really a big part of the American dream," Sunser said. "I was a first-generation college student. My sisters and I were the first generation in our family to go."

Sunser says that experience alone was enough to push him to work in education for the rest of his life, and see other people live that dream.

"It's very natural for me to be in (education)," he says.

Steiner is retiring after 36 years of leading GCC, taking it from what he's said was sometimes referred to as a "high school with ashtrays" to one of the most prestigious community colleges in New York, if not the nation.

"GCC really has an outstanding reputation in all the SUNY system -- and nationally, too," says Sunser. "Dr. Stuart Steiner, the board of trustees, the whole faculty and staff and administrative team...they're really among the best that I've ever had the chance to come across."

Sunser also praised Steiner

"He is absolutely an icon in SUNY," Sunser said. "What he's done has been fantastic."

The newly selected president has spent the past 23 years at Onondaga Community College, ascending to the position of Vice President for Continued & Extended Learning in 2004.

During that time, he oversaw the the construction of the Whitney Applied Technology Center, the addition of residence halls for 600 students, the creation of a Center for Workforce Development, and the development of new degree programs in Nuclear Technology, Sustainability, and Overhead Lineman Studies.

For the full interview, click here.

James Sunser, Ed.D, currently VP for Continuing and Extended Learning at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, has been named the new president of Genesee Community College.

He's expected to start his new job on Aug. 1 at a starting annual salary of $177,832.

The 51-year-old veteran educator replaces Stuart Steiner, Ed.D, who is retiring after 36 years as president and 44 years serving the college.

"We looked for all the qualities that Stu had given us over the years and tried to get a match," said Charles R. Ruffino, chair of the board of trustees. "No one is going to match Stu Steiner. He's one of a kind, but we were looking for a person is who is passionate, who lives and breathes community colleges, and who has financial experience."

Sunser is himself a product of community college education. According to a press release, Sunser graduated from Onondaga Community College in 1984, later obtaining a BS degree from Syracuse University, an MS degree from SUNY Brockport, a certificate of advanced study from the University of Rochester and his doctorate in 2010 from UR.

Neither of Sunser's parents attended college, but he told GCC's publicity office that his parents felt it was important for him and his sisters to attend college.

"My father was a very smart man and loved to learn," Sunser said. "Even though he didn't have a great deal of formal education, he was passionate about the importance of learning, and he urged me to get as much education as I could, and do as much good for other people as I could."

Sunser's family had limited financial resources, so he enrolled in Onondaga.

"A community college made all the difference in the world to me," he said. "My community college education gave me confidence, and opened up a world of opportunities."

His father, Carl "Sonny" Sunser, passed away in 1995 at 64 years of age.

"He would be very proud," Sunser said.

Prior to his current position with Onondaga, Sunser was was VP of finance, and it's that financial experience that was important to the search committee, said Ruffino.

"We’re looking at some difficult times, so we wanted a person who knows finances and would be able to cope with the possible problems coming up," Ruffino said.

Sunser's community activities in the Syracuse area include volunteering on the: YMCA of Greater Syracuse's Education Advisory Board; Syracuse City School District's Construction Advisory Council; Education Committee of Central New York Works; American Red Cross; and Onondaga Stop DWI.

Sunser and his wife, Roseann, a teacher, currently reside in Clay, a Syracuse suburb. They are parents of three children: Ryan, 23; Sean, 20; and Casey, 17. His hobbies include reading, especially books on leadership and history, golf, basketball and spending time with family and friends. The family plans to relocate to Genesee County this summer.

Howard and I both had a chance to stop over at Genesee Community College for Tech Wars 2011 on Thursday. Howard took some photos, I took some video.

Many thanks to the NXT Lego team members and their coaches for sharing their work with The Batavian.

Here is the video (with a scenic view of the space behind the college to close it out):

For previous coverage, see:

Float in Elba Onion Festival parade gives a 'FIRST' look at LEGO League

Elba students build robots one Lego at a time  

Elba's FIRST Lego League invites robot fans to a maze race at GCC

Photos by Howard Owens

Three graduates of Genesee Community College who went on to successful careers and have been active in their communities were selected as 2011 inductees into the GCC Hall of Fame.

The new inductees are Jacquelyn Dwyer, class of '76, Benjamin Bonarigo, Class of '77, and Matt Locker, class of '88.

Dwyer went on to become a nurse in Batavia City Schools and then an instructor of Human Services and Health Careers at Genesee Valley BOCES.

Bonarigo (pictured) is a local attorney who enjoys serving the community.

Locker started his broadcast career at GCC and has appeared in television and motion pictures. He has been active with the GCC Alumni Association. He currently resides in Wanaque, NJ.

The induction is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 30, in the Conable Technology Building, North Lobby.

Full press release after the jump:

BATAVIA, NY (03/16/2011)(readMedia)-- Genesee Community College will induct three new members to its Alumni Hall of Fame on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at 4:30 pm in the Conable Technology Building, North Lobby at the Batavia Campus.

"This year's recipients have a wide variety of degrees and career backgrounds," Jackie Christenson, alumni affairs coordinator, said. "These outstanding alumni serve as inspirations to our current and future students at Genesee. They not only have created successful lives after attending Genesee, but have found the time to serve their local communities and give back to the college."

The 2011 Genesee Community College Alumni Hall of Fame inductees are:

Jacquelyn Dwyer, Class of 1976 – Jacquelyn "Jacquie" Dwyer received her associate's degree from Genesee in Nursing in 1976. Prior to that, she earned a bachelor's degree in Education from St. Xavier University and later went on to obtain a master's degree in Education at SUNY Brockport.

She began her career in education and became a registered nurse in 1976 after attending classes at Genesee as a non-traditional-aged student. She began her nursing career at Batavia City Schools as a school nurse and then became an instructor of Human Services and Health Careers at Genesee Valley BOCES. She has dedicated her life to not only the education and health-care fields, but has also dedicated much of her time to volunteer in dozens of local community groups.

From Go Art to the American Red Cross, to Community Mental Health Services to the Richmond Library, Jacquelyn has made volunteering an important commitment in her life. She currently remains active in the UMMC League, Friends of the Library, YWCA My Sister's Closet, and Resurrection Parish.

Jacquelyn and her husband John have supported Genesee for several years and have participated in Encore, various capital projects and the GCC Foundation's Annual Fund. Jacquelyn and John had nine children together and currently reside in Batavia, NY.

Benjamin J. Bonarigo Esq., Class of 1977 - Benjamin Bonarigo, a first-generation college graduate, began his education at Genesee with a degree in Business Administration and later went on to the University of Buffalo where he earned a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctorate degree.

Mr. Bonarigo has been a practicing lawyer in the local community for over 25 years. He has been appointed a member of the NYS Bar Association House of Delegates, NYS Appellate Division Grievance Committee for the Fourth Department, Secretary of the Genesee County Bar Association and a former Independent Judicial Qualification Commission Member.

He has served the local community including the Batavia Youth Football League where he has been a board member for over 20 years and was recently honored with the Notre Dame Service and Volunteer Award for having served in various positions on the Notre Dame High School Board of Trustees for 10 years.

Mr. Bonarigo has also supported many vital organizations such as UMMC, Go Art, United Way, GCASA, CASA and the Holland Land Office. Mr. Bonarigo currently lives in Batavia with his wife Diane and they have three children, Benjamin, Justine and Elizabeth.

Matthew B. Locker, Class of 1988 - Matt Locker came to Genesee by way of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and focused his talents on WGCC, the college's brand-new radio station in 1985. He dedicated his years at GCC to developing the station and even having a highly successful radio program. He coined the phrase "This is the Music FM, WGCC in Batavia, New York" and created the first logo WGCC ever had. His work on the radio has led Matt to be successful over the airwaves as well as in front of and behind the camera.

Matt has worked as the managing editor/anchor of "The Staten Island NewsCenter" in Staten Island, NY, as well as an anchor and program director on news stations in New Jersey. He has appeared in motion pictures, television programs, commercials and live stage theater performances.

Matt's commitment to the college has been remarkable and his efforts were the driving force behind the great alumni turnout for the first Homecoming celebration back in October 2010. He continues to help out with the student radio station and currently updates the WGCC Alumni Facebook page to continue to connect with Communications and Media Arts alumni.

Matt currently works as a freelance voice-over artist, and is president of Winbeam Light Labs, the company he founded upon developing the world's first high definition fluorescent lamp. Matthew resides in Wanaque, NJ.

The GCC Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes those alumni who have achieved outstanding success and made a lasting impact on the community. Nominations to the Hall of Fame are received from alumni, community members, faculty and staff.

The criteria for nominating an individual to the College Alumni Hall of Fame are based on the individual's contributions to his or her profession, distinguished service to the community and/or service to Genesee Community College. Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected from a committee of distinguished alumni, including past Hall of Fame honorees.

For more information regarding the Alumni Hall of Fame, please contact Jackie Christenson, Alumni Affairs Coordinator, at 585-343-0055, ext 6265.

More than 400 middle-school students were at Genesee Community College this morning for the 2011 Genesee County Youth Conference.

Students heard a keynote speech by bullying expert Michael Nerney (pictured below during a workshop later in the morning with teachers) called "Taking the Bully by the Horns."

Then they broke into a series of workshops lasting less than an hour each in three consecutive sessions. The workshops included "Hmmm ... is this the right decision?", "Energy Smart Choices," "Who Wants to Make a Good First Impression?", "Building Your Potential," "Nutritional Jeopardy" and yoga.

Above, Joni Yaskulski leads a class through a yoga session.

Nerney's talk focused on adolescent brain development and the negative effects of bullying on development. The message was geared to the concept of changing social norms among middle-school students so that everyone, especially bystanders, understand that bullying is not acceptable nor is it harmless.

Students from Holy Family, Oakfield-Alabama, Batavia, Elba, Alexander, St. Joe's, Byron-Bergen, Le Roy and Pavilion participated in the program.

The conference was organized and sponsored by Genesee Youth In Action, 4-H, NYS Office of Children and Family Services, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Genesee County Stop-DWI.

About 20 local business owners and managers attended a talk by Kevin Manne at T.F. Brown's this morning on social media, sponsored by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Manne, new media specialist for Genesee Community College spoke about how digital media is empowering customers, how that power can be harnessed to benefit a business and how to effectively promote a business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube.

Previously: College hires new media specialist, sees rapid online growth

This information is from Genesee Community College.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter allow Genesee Community College students to connect with peers, faculty and staff almost instantaneously. And in just two months time, GCC's social media presence has seen rapid growth thanks to a renewed, re-focused effort.

Whether it's information about the study abroad options, its Army ROTC program, campus closing information under the threat of an impending snowstorm, or just a place to connect and share memories with a friend -- the importance of social media is increasing exponentially.

"With 600 million people on Facebook alone, social media platforms are a great place to have a conversation with students, alumni and the community," said Kevin Manne, Genesee's new media specialist, who was hired in December.

"Students are becoming more comfortable using social media than traditional forms of communication like direct mail or even e-mail."

Genesee's Facebook page has seen 169-percent growth, with a total of more than 1,100 "likes" from students, alumni, faculty, staff and local community members. Genesee's new Twitter account, @sunygcc, was established in December and has already connected with more than 140 "followers."

A big advantage of these digital platforms is the analytical information that can be compiled and analyzed for future use and reference.

"The majority of our Facebook fans are between the ages of 18-24, a segment that we regularly communicate with because that's the age range of most of our students," Manne said.

"But the demographics show that we're connecting with people from 13 to over 55, illustrating that the reach of these platforms goes beyond the 'traditional' student."

Social media are attractive to businesses because most are free to use. But Manne said organizations should be prepared to invest a significant amount of time to them if they hope to achieve social media success.

"Facebook and Twitter don't shut down when you leave the office at the end of the day," he said. "A social media administrator should listen, respond and provide relevant and entertaining information in a timely manner – and that means keeping tabs on your social networks beyond traditional office hours."

Along with the college's Facebook and Twitter pages, the YouTube page (videos), Flickr page (photos) and student Wordpress blogs have been revamped with a new look and more unified usernames.

Other new communication technology Genesee is using includes applying Quick Response (QR) codes to print ads, fliers and posters. These black and white, two-dimensional bar codes allow users to "scan" the code using the camera on their mobile device or smart phone to instantly connect online.

In addition, the college will soon begin using geo-location-based social networks such as Foursquare and Facebook Places to offer special deals when users "check in" to the Stuart Steiner Theatre for discounts on tickets.

Get connected with all of GCC's social media pages from the college's homepage using the special icons on the lower right corner.

Manne leads Genesee's communication efforts across social media, blogging, Web and other emerging mediums. He previously served as communications and public relations specialist at Catholic Charities of Buffalo.

Manne earned his associate degree from GCC and graduated magna cum laude from Buffalo State College with a bachelor's degree in Public Communication. He serves as secretary on the Public Relations Society of America, Buffalo Niagara Chapter Board of Directors and is a member of its E-Communications Committee.

In 2009, he was awarded the platinum "best of show" Excalibur Award for development of a Web-based employee newsletter and in 2010 he received a silver Excalibur Award in social media.

Manne and other guest speakers are available to make presentations to local community groups at no cost to their organization through the Genesee Community College Speakers Bureau.

For a complete list of speakers, visit:

<http://www.genesee.edu/resources/SpeakersBureau.cfm.>

Here's a news release from Genesee Community College.

Genesee Community College’s Batavia Campus will come alive with the sounds of rhythm and blues music and the flavors of delicious Cajun fare at the Batavia-bayou Cross-cultural Connection on Saturday.

This culturally diverse event will present and explore Louisiana’s struggle to rebound from Hurricane Katrina and the devastating oil spill. The full-day event features live music by the Frank Mayo Band, educational guest speakers and discussions, a documentary film by Genesee students, a Taste of New Orleans and much more.

Saturday’s events begin at 8:30 a.m. with a full day of presentations and question-and-answer sessions with various guest speakers. A welcome and documentary film presentation by GCC students will start the daylong events.

Guest speakers throughout the day include: Diane Huhn of the Bayou Grace Community Services of New Orleans, who'll make a presentation on wetlands conservation after the Gulf oil spill; Pete Nunually of the Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana who'll talk about on the rebuilding and volunteer efforts; and Captain Wendy Billiot, former oil and gas industry employee, who will speak about the threat to the region’s wetlands and the poisoned landscaped after Katrina.

Saturday will also feature dinner with New Orleans-style food samplings, a photography exhibit by Genesee students who traveled to New Orleans for Alternative Spring Break, and Zydeco dance exhibitions and lessons. Highlighting the evening will be a concert by the Frank Mayo band and a Café du Monde dessert station.

"I am amazed at the resiliency of the people of New Orleans who have come together to help rebuild the region,” said Lori Mould, president of Genesee’s PTK chapter and student trustee.

“This event will highlight the rebuilding efforts and bring to light the issues the city is still dealing with years after Katrina and the BP oil spill. This cultural event should also uncover the amazing cultural gems the city of New Orleans holds."

Mould, a Multimedia and Fine Arts major, has traveled to the New Orleans area about a dozen times over the last year and a half. Her efforts have brought other Genesee students to the bayou region and helped make this event possible.

Proceeds from this event will support Genesee students’ Alternative Spring Break 2011 in New Orleans, Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana and Bayou Grace Community Services.

Tickets for Saturday’s events are $20 general, $15 seniors, and $10 students with valid ID. For tickets, contact the Box Office at 343-0055, ext. 6814, or purchase at the campus.