FLCC Forward – FLCC News Center

SUNY ASAP: ‘It’s like a navigation system’

Three women and two mean seated in a row on chairs. The man is speaking with a miicrophone. — Nissa Youngren, left, assistant director of the ASAP program, hosts a panel discussion with students enrolled in the SUNY Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) initiative. They are, from left, Ariana Halloway, a health care studies major from Elmira, Myles Johnson, a liberal arts major from Rochester, and Ash Bertelsen, a fine arts major from Elmira. Photo by Rikki Van Camp

Three Finger Lakes Community College students shared their personal stories on Tuesday (Oct. 15) about the SUNY Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) initiative, a two-year model that has been widely demonstrated to increase student completion rates and narrow opportunity gaps.

The program provides financial and coaching support to ensure student academic success, retention, and on-time graduation.

Ariana Halloway, a health care studies major from Elmira, joined the program when it was first introduced in spring 2024. Myles Johnson, a liberal arts major from Rochester, and Ash Bertelsen, a fine arts major from Elmira, learned about the program from Halloway and joined this fall.

Halloway said the financial assistance that comes with the program has helped her pay for groceries and phone bills, easing her worries about how she would go to school and cover basic expenses. Having a single person to turn to for advice has also been key.

“SUNY ASAP is like a navigation system. It’s unique to each student. I love the program.” Holloway added.

Bertelsen agreed: “Just having someone to go talk to – I can talk to them about literally everything.”

She is also grateful for the financial assistance available for educational materials because costs for art supplies for fine arts majors add up quickly.

Johnson said the program has eased the pressure he feels to look after his mother, who is disabled. When he had trouble getting a specific textbook, it was a relief to be able to turn to his coach, Nissa Youngren, for help.

Youngren, also assistant director of the program at FLCC, added, “What we do is try to reduce stress and mitigate obstacles.”

The program provides an array of resources and support, including funding to cover textbooks, groceries, transportation, and other costs of attendance. Students enrolled in the program receive academic assistance, personalized advisement, and career development activities. It is open to full-time students who are eligible to pay New York in-state tuition and meet income eligibility requirements.

“Our goal for any student here is to help you succeed and do great things in life,” FLCC President Robert Nye told the student panelists as he thanked them for sharing their personal stories.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., who visited the FLCC main campus a few days earlier, issued this statement: “Student success drives everything we do at SUNY, and we are committed to meeting students and their families where they are to ensure they thrive. SUNY takes pride in scaling ASAP as a proven model for student success across our campuses. We look forward to continuing to invest in the next generation of SUNY graduates at Finger Lakes Community College and across the system.”

FLCC is one of 25 SUNY campuses statewide that opted in to the ASAP program or its four-year counterpart, called Advancing Completion through Engagement, or ACE.

A total of 150 students are enrolled in FLCC’s ASAP program.

ASAP and ACE began at the City University of New York (CUNY) in 2007 and expanded to the SUNY system in spring 2024, supported by the $75 million SUNY Transformation Fund and supplemented by private grants. In fall 2024, the SUNY ASAP and ACE programs will enroll a combined 4,200 students.

The ASAP and ACE programs have been proven to significantly improve degree completion rates, particularly for underrepresented students. They have since been replicated at more than 20 colleges in seven states across the nation.

To learn more about SUNY ASAP at FLCC, visit flcc.edu/offices/suny-asap or contact Nissa Youngren at Nissa.Youngren@flcc.edu or (585) 785-1750.

Anatomage: A new tool for teaching anatomy

Woman uses touchscreen on 84-inch table showing a human form — Angela Dutcher, coordinator of the Science Incubator, demonstrates functions of the Anatomage table.

FLCC is piloting one of the latest medical education technologies – called an Anatomage table – to help students in health care programs master anatomy and physiology coursework.

The Anatomage table is an 84-inch touch screen that offers digitized images of human cadavers and interactive medical learning tools. The table features highly detailed segmentation of 2,950 structures in male and female cadavers.

“There is so much to learn,” said Melissa Miller, an FLCC professor in health science and human performance. “To our students, anatomy is basically a new language. We’re trying to find ways to reach our students.”

Today’s students are more comfortable learning with interactive digitals tools than with textbooks, she added.

Anatomy and physiology, called A&P, is a challenging course due to the sheer complexity of human body systems. It is required for several FLCC programs: nursing, kinesiology and human performance, health care studies, physical education and exercise science, and nutrition and dietetics.

Melissa said her own experience working with cadavers was transformative and happened while she attended Northeast College of Health Sciences in Seneca Falls, previously known as New York Chiropractic College. She had taken anatomy courses before and found them unremarkable. The ability to see actual human bones and organs – as opposed to textbook images and physical models – “changed everything I felt about anatomy and physiology,” she said.

It is not practical or cost-effective for community colleges to have cadaver labs. The digitized versions give a similar experience to many more students entering the health care field.

More health care graduates mean more qualified workers to fill shortages in nursing and other jobs in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. FLCC offers programs to prepare students for licensure in licensed practical nursing and registered nursing. Health care studies, the most popular FLCC degree program, offers foundational courses that can lead to a wide range of careers in the field.

The College has been making targeted investments in nursing education for several years. In August 2022, FLCC opened the $7.2 million Sands Family Center for Allied Health. It began accepting a mid-year registered nursing cohort in January 2023; the first class graduates this December. This fall, FLCC launched a licensed practical nursing program.

Nursing students have already begun using the Anatomage table, for example, observing a birth simulation with life-size images that can be manipulated to see different angles or different levels of body structure.

The Anatomage table is housed in the Incubator, an academic support center for science students with professional tutors, models, and small group workspace. The Incubator opened in 2014 following a competition for internal grants to fund innovative ways to help students learn.

Like the Incubator, the Anatomage table is the result of a competitive internal grants process. Faculty and staff put forward proposals for funds set aside by the Board of Trustees for projects that would advance the College’s strategic goals of improving student retention and completion. After learning about the Anatomage tables at Northeast College of Health Sciences, Melissa submitted the successful proposal for the current table at FLCC.

The College welcomes high school biology classes to visit the main campus for an Anatomage table demonstration. Email to Melissa.Miller@flcc.edu.

Board of Trustees to hold public hearing on EV charging stations

Oudoor image of CMAC ticket booth adjacent to concert parking lot — FLCC plans to install chargers to accommodate up to 12 electric vehicles at one time in the parking lot it shares with Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center.

The FLCC Board of Trustees will hold a public hearing on Friday, Oct. 18, on its plan to install electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot it shares with the CMAC concert venue off Route 364.

The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. in the Carpenter Board Room on the first floor of the main FLCC campus at 3325 Marvin Sands Drive.

A $24,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Charge Ready 2.0 Program and additional funding from Rochester Gas and Electric under the Make Ready Program has been awarded to the college. With the funds, FLCC could provide six dual-port, level 2 charging stations for student and public use.

Parking spaces near a ticket booth — The EV charging stations would be installed in the northeast corner of the lot.

Each dual port station can charge two cars at the same time. Level 2 charging stations are common in home, workplace, and public settings and can charge battery electric vehicles in a few hours. The stations would be installed in the northeast corner of the Constellation Brands Marvin Sand Performing Arts Center lot, near the ticket booth.

The board is particularly interested in feedback on payment methods electric vehicle users prefer.

The installation of EV charging stations supports FLCC’s goal to create a greener, more sustainable campus through innovative initiatives and responsible practices.

For more information about the proposed project, contact FLCC at communityaffairs@flcc.edu

FLCC awarded $2.25M federal grant to improve first-year experience

The federal Education Department has awarded Finger Lakes Community College $2.25 million over the next five years to enhance programs that help first-time students succeed.

The funding will cover salaries for specialists to revise entry-level courses and programs and for coaches to provide regular guidance through the first semester for up to 500 students each year.

“Research has shown that students who learn to navigate college and do well in their first semester are much more likely to stay in school and complete their academic programs,” said FLCC President Robert Nye.

The new funding will also boost existing initiatives to reduce barriers to education, whether due to low-incomes, disabilities or other disadvantages. For example, the college’s current strategic plan prioritizes Universal Design for Learning, an approach to designing courses that considers students’ different abilities and learning styles. This might include routinely presenting material in both audio and visual formats and providing live captioning for every class.

“As a community college, we are very focused on equity. That means giving everyone a chance to succeed no matter their past experiences and backgrounds,” Nye continued. “Society benefits because higher levels of education lead to higher incomes and less unemployment.”

The college will receive $450,000 per year over the next five years with the goal of increasing the percentage of low-income and students of color who complete a credential, such as a certificate or an associate degree. FLCC provides 1-year certificates and 2-year degrees in about 60 programs, including nursing, health care studies, engineering science and networking and cybersecurity.

FLCC has also joined a SUNY-funded initiative to increase student completion rates and narrow opportunity gaps. Called Advancing Success in Associate Pathways, or ASAP, the program provides financial assistance, personalized academic advising and career development to low-income students. Those enrolled in the program are required to meet twice monthly with a coach during their first semester to review academic progress and career planning.

Urban League summer camp at FLCC ranged from fishing to music recording

Woman showing two students how to use a recording console — Kari Ripley, technical specialist for the music recording technology program, helps students in the Urban League of Rochester summer camp use a recording console at the main campus. Listen to their recording below.

Many children bring home projects from summer camps. For some students in the Urban League of Rochester’s day camp at Finger Lakes Community College, the take-home was an audio file of music they recorded themselves.

The Urban League and FLCC partnered to provide new experiences to students from the city who are starting grades 6 through 9 this fall. The 60 students in this year’s camp selected two focus areas from a list of eight topics: graphic design, American Sign Language (ASL), media, creative exploration, pond life, forest ecology, entrepreneurship and music recording.

For the first four weeks, students spent an hour on each of their chosen subjects daily. Those who chose music recording learned some basic functions of the state-of-the-art consoles used by students working toward an associate degree in music recording technology. The nearly three-minute instrumental track includes one student playing her bass.

“The students loved being able to make music. It has broadened their horizon and excited them for the opportunity to continue learning more in this area,” said Taurean Uthman, vice president of youth education at the Urban League.

Boy holding up a fish he caught in a pond nearby — A Rochester Urban League summer camper caught a fish in a pond on the FLCC grounds.

The camp ran from July 8 to Aug. 8. For the first four weeks, students participated in activities at FLCC’s main campus, including fishing – most for the first time – in the pond used by the FLCC logging sports team for canoeing competition.

American Sign Language was also a new experience. “The students enjoyed learning ASL, and their parents have mentioned that they’ve been practicing what they learned at home,” Uthman added.

During the fifth week, the students spent each day at the College’s Muller Field Station, an environmental research and education facility at the south end of Honeoye Lake. There, the students took part in hiking, canoeing and other outdoor experiences.

Two youths in a canoe looking back at camera — Students paddled canoes on the channels at the field station.

FLCC and the Urban League plan to maintain their partnership, with quarterly admissions events at the main campus and Victor Campus Center for older students.

FLCC is also working on a plan to bring some of its workforce training programs to the Urban League’s site in Rochester.

The mission of the Urban League of Rochester is to enable African-Americans, Latinxs, the poor, and other disadvantaged to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power, and civil rights.

FLCC gets $100K for food production research

Three students in lab coats looking at a liquid in a beaker — Matthew Brooks ’21, Demi Garcia ’21, and Joshua Serody, a former FLCC student who has transferred to Cornell University, work in the main campus biotechnology lab in fall 2023 on a project to study methods for extracting mushroom sugars with therapeutic properties. Brooks and Serody continue to work on the project with several new student researchers.

Finger Lakes Community College has been awarded $100,000 in a national contest to develop solutions to food scarcity.

The College and its partners will use the money to continue work on a research project that involves cultivating mushroom fibers for their nutritional content.

FLCC began a partnership with Henrietta-based Empire Medicinals four years ago to study methods for growing mushroom mycelium in a commercial setting. Mycelium are the rootlike fibers that extend below mushroom caps into rotting logs. If mycelium can be efficiently mass produced, their nutrients can be extracted and used in a variety of foods and food supplements.

FLCC entered the research project in BioMADE BUILD, a national academic challenge for college teams and industry mentors. On Aug. 12, BioMADE announced that FLCC was among seven projects chosen for funding. FLCC is the only project that has a community college as the lead agency.

SUNY Distinguished Service Professor James Hewlett

“This is a very competitive program, so we were excited to find out that the proposal reviewed strongly and was selected for funding,” said James Hewlett, FLCC professor of biology.

BioMADE is a U.S. Department of Defense institute created to promote innovation in the use of biological systems to make food and other products. It is part of national efforts to improve supply chains following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The name of FLCC’s project is “Submerged fermentation of mushroom mycelium for optimizing the production of mycelial-based food and nutritional products.”

“Our academic challenge focuses on finding solutions to problems related to food scarcity in rural and urban environments and bioproduced foods for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Hewlett explained. “Our student research group has been developing a fermentation system for producing mushroom mycelium and the nutritional compounds they generate, so shifting to this food challenge was a natural fit.”

“Mushroom mycelium is a nutrient-dense food with great potential for developing products that are highly nutritious and affordable and can be grown in environmentally sustainable production systems,” he added.

Hewlett, founder of the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative (CCURI), was named a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in 2021 for his work promoting the use of research to teach science at community colleges across the county.

With the new funding, FLCC and Empire Medicinals will continue the work with the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. This next stage will focus on a finding a cheap and widely available food source for the mushroom mycelium to convert into nutrients for humans.

“Mycelium needs food to grow, so if the amount of food going into production equals the amount you get out, that is obviously not a sustainable solution. NCERC and FLCC will work on using the waste that ethanol producers create. By using waste streams, you avoid the problem of using food to make food,” Hewlett explained. “We are also going to be testing the production of feed stocks from municipal solid waste, another abundant and readily available material.”

In the first phase of the project, Hewlett and his team of student researchers, faculty and staff are currently test the experimental feed stocks from NCERC. The second phase takes place at NCERC to demonstrate that production can be done at a commercial scale.

The project also serves the goal of exposing students to research methods and training the next generation of workers in biomanufacturing.

Current student researchers are:

Matthew Brooks of Canandaigua, a 2021 FLCC biotechnology graduate
Joshua Serody of Farmington, an FLCC student who has transferred to a Cornell University food science program
Asa McKaig of Canandaigua, a current horticulture student
Andrew Schorr of Canandaigua, a current biotechnology student
Logan Peer of Rochester, an FLCC student who has transferred to a Rochester Institute of Technology biotechnology program
Paul D. Kuehnert of Shortsville, a current horticulture and biotechnology student
Jocelyn Aitchison of Pittsford, a student at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry

In addition to Hewlett, the students work with technical specialist Jessica Halliley and adjunct instructor Sarad Parekh, also chief technology officer at Sweetwater Energy.

43 earn GED through FLCC

17 graduates in blue caps and gowns — Several GED recipients attended a graduation ceremony at the main campus in June.

Forty-three students completed a general equivalency diploma (GED) over the last year through the free program at Finger Lakes Community College.

FLCC’s program allows students to work at their own pace with an instructor to prepare for the four exams necessary to earn a high school equivalency diploma. Students take in-person assessments in math and reading to gauge their skill levels.

See our online photo album from the June 13 ceremony

Details about FLCC’s GED and English as a Second Language programs are available at flcc.edu/abe, (585) 785-1431, or ged@flcc.edu. Classes are offered in Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, and Yates counties at FLCC locations, libraries and workforce development offices.

Woman in PhD regalia speaking at podium — Linda Ross, Ph.D., retired psychology professor

Among the speakers was retired professor and current adjunct Linda Ross. Linda was a high school dropout working as a seamstress when she decided she wanted more out of life. She embarked on an educational journey that ended with a doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Click here for an audio recording of her personal story.

GED graduates are listed below by county and town.

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‘Generation Earth’ paintings tell stories in natural pigments

Painting of a woman stirring a large clay pot with another small pot and vase nearby. — “La Mujer” by Alexander Fals

“Generation Earth” is a new exhibit by Alexander Fals and Hayley Dayis opening Saturday, July 13, at the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 on the first floor of the main FLCC campus.

The artists will be available for informal discussion on Saturday, July 13 from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

A reception will be held on Aug. 29 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Watch events.flcc.edu for details.

Through the summer, the Williams-Insalaco Gallery 34 is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday; and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

A painting of a naked women, seen from the back, sitting in a mountainous terrain and holding an orb of light — “Hope” by Hayley Dayis

Alexander and Hayley work with foraged mineral pigments sourced from volcanic soils in the region of Cauca, Colombia. Both Finger Lakes natives, they discovered the art of natural pigment painting at different points along their journeys.

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Two FLCC leaders complete NYS Leadership Academy

Two women and two men posing at an award event — Johanna Duncan-Poitier, the senior vice chancellor for community colleges and the education pipeline for the State University of New York (SUNY), far left, and Robert Nye, president of Finger Lakes Community College, far right, pose with Lindsey Chamberlain, executive director of the FLCC Association, and Ryan McCabe, FLCC associate vice president of academic technology and high impact practices.

Two Finger Lakes Community College leaders were among 34 recognized for completion of the New York State Community College Leadership Academy at an event at FLCC on June 13.

Leadership Academy fellows included Ryan McCabe of Farmington, FLCC associate vice president of academic technology and high impact practices, and Lindsey Chamberlain of Bloomfield, executive director of the FLCC Association. The Association supports the college with auxiliary services, such as food service and a bookstore. They were joined by representatives from 20 other community colleges across New York, including Adirondack Community College and Monroe Community College.

“FLCC is very grateful for this superb learning opportunity provided by SUNY,” said FLCC President Robert Nye. “We are especially proud of our graduates and the great work they will do in the future as a result of this exceptional leadership development.”

Learn more from SUNY at this link.

The curriculum covers essential roles of leadership in student success, keeping students’ end goals in mind, the student experience, leadership traits that drive change, managing and advancing institutional change, and effective external partnerships and the leadership journey.

New York was selected, along with Michigan and Texas, as part of a national scale-up project to replicate Ohio’s Leadership Academy for Student Success with funding from Ascendium Education Group, the ECMC Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

Six honored with SUNY Chancellor’s Awards

Three men and women posing in academic regalia — From left, Kimberlie Noyes ’00, Maura Sullivan, Terrance Dominguez-Hover ’24, John Onorato, Drew Bateman ’24 and Beth Johnson

Four Finger Lakes Community College employees and two students were honored with the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence at the commencement ceremony in May. They are as follows:

Drew Bateman of Hilton, a 2024 graduate, the 2023-24 Student Corporation president, and recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence

Terrance Dominguez-Hover of Bristol, a 2024 graduate, the 2023-24 Student Veterans Organization president, and recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence

Beth Johnson, Ph.D. of Canandaigua, professor of theater, recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service

Kimberlie Noyes, D.N.P., of Pittsford, a 2000 FLCC graduate and associate professor of nursing, recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

John Onorato of Geneva, building maintenance mechanic, recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service

Maura Sullivan of Naples, associate professor of environmental conservation and horticulture, recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

Below are excerpts of remarks shared at a luncheon prior to the commencement ceremony.

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