FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Kim Court, Public Affairs
January 20, 2010(315) 498-2054
OnondagaCommunity College Wins National Award for
Residence Life Programming Model
SYRACUSE, NY – OnondagaCommunity College’s Office of Residence Life was selected to receive the Commission for Student Development in the Two-Year Colleges Award from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). Cathy Dotterer (of Syracuse, NY), interim director of residence life and Residence Hall Directors Parker Gallo (of Manlius, NY), Afoa Thomas (of Syracuse, NY) and Rachel Donohue (of Turnersville, New Jersey) were recognized for creating the “SPACES” program, an innovative programming model that the ACPA said, “demonstrates [Onondaga’s] commitment to purposeful, learning-centered student programming in an area that is new for many two-year institutions.”The concept of the SPACES model integrates the College’s mission with targeted programming to effectively meet the needs of resident students.
“Two year institutions with residence halls are presented with staffing and programmatic challenges that differ from the four-year models in that the Resident Assistants (RAs) that serve in leadership capacities are at the same development level as their audience,” said Stephanie C. Reynolds, LMSW, associate vice president for Student Services. “Onondaga met that challenge by developing a program that allows RAs to simultaneously deliverprograms with confidence while also strengthening their individual knowledge base. In essence, we are training the trainer and educating them at the same time.”
An article authored by the award recipients was recently published in the national publicationCommunity College Times.Click here to read.
With more than 12,000 students, OnondagaCommunity College is the second-largest undergraduate institution in Central New York and one of the nation’s fastest-growing community colleges. Founded in 1961, it is a comprehensive two-year college operating under the State University of New York (SUNY) and is locally sponsored by OnondagaCounty. Onondaga offers nearly 50 programs of study, bachelor and master’s degrees available on campus through the Regional Higher Education Center, and more than 80 transfer agreements with four-year colleges and universities. Home to three-time NJCAA national champion men’s lacrosse and 2009 NJCAA women’s lacrosse teams, Onondaga has eleven intercollegiate men’s and women’s athletic teams.
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