At a glance
Craig Clark, PE, PhD, has been promoted to vice president of Economic Development at Alfred State, effective Jan. 1.
Craig Clark, PE, PhD, has been promoted to vice president of Economic Development at Alfred State, effective Jan. 1.
Associated with the college since 1979, Clark has served in a variety of teaching and administrative capacities, including professor and chair of the Civil Engineering Technology Department, as well as interim vice president for Academic Affairs. Since 1996, he has been the dean of the School of Applied Technology in Wellsville, and he is also the executive director of that campus.
Clark holds a PhD and a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Colorado, and an Associate of Science degree in engineering science from Jamestown Community College. He has completed course work at Carnegie-Mellon University, College Management Program, Heinz School of Public Policy and Management.
Dr. Skip Sullivan, president of Alfred State, said, “Dr. Clark has done a terrific job in each position he has held at our college. We are excited that he will continue to accomplish great things for not only Alfred State, but Allegany County, as well.”
Curt Crandall, chairman of the Allegany County Board of Legislators, said, “We are looking forward to working with Dr. Clark as he takes on this new position, especially given his background and all that he has achieved for both Alfred State and Allegany County already.”
In his new role, Clark is responsible for developing and implementing an economic and industrial development program for Allegany County, with an emphasis on attracting businesses and industries to locate within the county and promoting expansion of existing businesses and industries. Work is performed under the general direction of the County Board of Legislators Planning and Economic Development Committee. He will continue to be college liaison with the START-UP NY program, Empire State Development, Appalachian Regional Commission, and other grant-funding and economic development organizations related to the college.
“The Bio-refinery Development and Commercialization Center is also a project that I will continue to work on to assure we have the funds to develop this exciting facility, which will lead to larger commercial plants,” Clark said.
As dean of the Wellsville campus, Clark has established many educational and business partnerships that stressed what is typically one of the top drivers behind economic development: workforce development. All educational programs continue to be updated and new programs in welding technology, machine tool technology, motorsports technology, and heavy equipment operations have been created and implemented. Most of the new Wellsville programs and many curriculum updates have been implemented using more than $1.9 million in grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Other major grants that have improved programs across the college include $1 million from the Gleason Foundation for manufacturing programs, $2.9 million from NYSERDA that developed clean-energy programs statewide, and $3.2 million to develop advanced manufacturing programs at Burgard High School. The Wellsville campus continues to improve its facilities through the Educational Foundation and private and public grant support, including the construction of the Zero Energy Home, the new 30,000-square-foot Construction Industry Workforce Development Center, and the new 16,500-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center, which is the first state-funded building on the Wellsville campus.
“My contacts developed over the past 20 years as dean of Applied Technology will greatly assist in this transition,” he said. “My 18 years on the Alfred Village Board of Trustees, including eight years as mayor, have also prepared me for the economic development role at the college.”
Clark said given the strong educational institutions in Allegany County, economic development will be easier than in some areas.
“I am often told by visitors from companies that they wish they had these educational institutions in their backyard,” he said. “Now, the goal is to attract these companies to our backyard to assure economic development success in the county.”