Town of islip, Suffolk County, the Long island Association (LiA), and local Chambers
of Commerce and industrial Development Agencies (iDAs).
e workforce and education work group of the Long island regional economic
Development Council (LireDC) met this summer to review prospective project
proposals for the upcoming fifth round of program funding. e working group
is co-chaired by John Durso-President of the Long island federation of Labor,
Dr. Hubert Keen-President of SUNY farmingdale, and me. e College has submitted
proposals eight times since 2011 as part of this funding competition, and has
received four awards totaling over $548,000 during that time.
in June, we were a presenter at the Town of islip’s 5
th
Annual Summit, which focuses
on industry needs and helps support successful growth within the Town. Topics
covered during the presentation included: career sustainability, industry clusters,
College-industry partnerships, and training the workforce of the future. we
highlighted the efforts of the College’s Advanced Manufacturing Training Center and
its Corporate Training Center, including our newest training initiative for the
pharmaceutical industry that emphasizes programs for quality awareness and control,
eSL and computer graphics. is initiative is currently being piloted with LNK
international under a SUNY workforce grant.
e office of workforce and economic Development continued to support growth
within the Aerospace and Defense sectors, especially with many small- to medium-
sized subcontractors.
Taken altogether, these efforts continue to support our vision of transforming lives by
delivering programs that meet the varied needs of our regional workforce.
Veterans Services
Suffolk County Community College has a long history of assisting veterans in maximizing
their benefits and achieving their educational goals. During the past academic year,
the College made significant strides in improving student life for our veterans.
During the week surrounding veterans Day, various College activities took place. ese
included having a special guest speaker from the iraq and Afghanistan veterans of
America visit the Michael J. Grant Campus; inviting representatives from the Northport
vA Medical Center to provide medical exams and benefit information to veterans at
the Ammerman Campus; hosting Student veterans to discuss their experiences in the
military on the eastern Campus; and arranging a flag raising ceremony by the Student
veterans Association, which was followed by a special veterans breakfast. e week
concluded with a college-wide veterans Day ceremony, which included remarks by
the first Ammerman Student veterans Association president, oscar Salgado, and the
inaugural challenge coin presentation to our student veterans.
in April, the College hosted “empowering Defenders of our freedom” a daylong
veterans career conference. e program featured a keynote address by widely
acclaimed inspirational speaker and wounded Marine officer Justin Constantine,
a human resources panel that provided expert advice on finding employment, and
opportunities to meet with “veteran mentors” from companies in financial services,
health care, pharmaceuticals, and many other industry areas. e conference program
was designed to empower veterans with the knowledge and skills required to complete
a successful transition to college life or the workforce.
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2014-2015 Review of Accomplishments
