Top 10 Achievements in 2014

10. The college has been named a military-friendly school for five straight years.

9. Alfred State ranks 22^nd among top regional colleges in the North for 2015 and seventh among top public schools, according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges list.

8. We are partnering with Burgard High School in Buffalo to create an advanced manufacturing early college program. Burgard teachers, together with Alfred State instructors, will train students in skills such as automotive technology, welding, and machine tool technology (CNC machining).

7. For registered nurses seeking a bachelor’s degree, the BS-N program is offered in an online format. This provides flexibility and learning style choices for the adult student and working professional.

6. Kayla Franchina, of Gerry, a 2014 graduate, won a national award for civic engagement for her role in launching Project Prom Dress, which collects donated prom dresses, accessories, and cash donations for underprivileged teenage women.

5. The Alfred State Solar Decathlon team is working with Alfred University to prepare for the 2015 Solar Decathlon in California.

4. The 2014 New York State STEM collaborative took place at the Alfred campus this summer, with more than 200 attendees. The college will host the collaborative again in 2015.

3. The college has joined the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

2. High school students applying for the associate-degree program in nursing who meet all established entrance requirements will be offered acceptance through a new 1+2+1 format. This allows students to earn the associate degree at the end of the third year, take the registered nurse licensing exam (NCLEX), then earn their Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in their fourth year.

1. The Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) program has moved one step closer toward accreditation after the National Architectural Accrediting Board granted the program initial candidacy status in August.

Campus-wide Achievements

• The college has been named one of nearly 100 colleges and universities in the nation as a Lead Institution by NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, the leading voice for the student affairs profession.
• Students contributed nearly 60,000 hours of service, civic leadership, and workforce-ready knowledge to communities in need last year.
• For the fifth straight year, Victory Media named the college to its Military Friendly ® Schools list.
• U.S. News & World Report ranked Alfred State 22^nd among top regional colleges in the North for 2015 and seventh among top public regional schools in the North. This marks the eighth consecutive year the college has made the prestigious Best Colleges list.
• The 2014 SkillsUSA New York State Leadership and Skills Conference Postsecondary Championship held on Alfred State’s Wellsville campus pitted 60 students from three schools against each other in one of the nation’s most prestigious showcases of career and technical aptitude. Contests begin locally and continue through the state and national levels. Alfred State students nearly swept this statewide competition with 25 wins in each of the 10 categories.

Athletic Achievements

• The college has joined the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
• The women’s volleyball team advanced to the 2014 USCAA Championships.
• Women’s soccer earned a bid to the USCAA Nationals in Charleston, WV.

Construction Achievements

• Alfred State is actively involved in meeting the growing demand for expertise in sustainable and efficient manufacturing through its Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing Center (SAMC), which will be located at the School of Applied Technology on the Wellsville campus.

Basic funding for the $5 million, 16,000-square-foot SAMC is through a NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program and the Western New York Regional Council. Craig Clark, executive director and dean of Applied Technology at Alfred State, said the building will house the first- and second-year welding and second-year machine tool technology programs.

The center will be used to train electrical construction and maintenance electrician, welding technology, and machine tool technology students in state-of-the-art renewable energy aspects of sustainable energy advanced manufacturing through installation of a photovoltaic system and energy monitoring of all energy systems in the center, including advanced lighting, HVAC, and process improvements through waste reduction and LEAN Six Sigma processes.

• The multimillion-dollar Workforce Development Center in Wellsville will soon be completed. The purpose of this facility will be to provide education and training that leads to job opportunities for local rural and urban youth.

Academic Achievements

• The Bachelor of Architecture program has moved one step closer toward accreditation from the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) after the board formally granted the program initial candidacy status in August.
• High school students applying for the associate-degree program in nursing who meet all established entrance requirements will be offered acceptance through a new 1+2+1 format. This allows students to earn the associate degree at the end of the third year, take the registered nurse licensing exam (NCLEX), then earn their Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in their fourth year.
• We now offer two four-year baccalaureate degree programs over an accelerated three-year time frame. Qualifying students will now have the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in human services management or a Bachelor in Business Administration degree in three years.
• Alfred State participated for the first time this past spring in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja competition, held from April 24-27 at the University of Texas at El Paso. The competition tasks engineering students with designing and building an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain.
• We are partnering with Burgard High School in Buffalo to create an advanced manufacturing early college program. Burgard teachers, together with Alfred State instructors, will train students in skills such as automotive technology, welding, and machine tool technology (CNC machining).
• The college provided a sponsor and tech team for this year’s Fireball Run, the annual life-sized trivia game that seeks to aid in the recovery of America’s missing children. This year’s Fireball Run began Sept. 26 in Frisco, Texas, and ended Oct. 4 in Independence, MO, covering 14 cities and 2,000 miles.
• The American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) renewed the accreditation of the construction management program.
• Dr. Kathleen Ebert, chair of the Mathematics and Physics Department,and Dr. Earl Packard,professor in the Alfred State Mathematics and Physics Department, served as College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Program readers in Kansas City, MO for seven days in June.
• Students in the Architecture and Design Department are helping to improve the quality of the built environment in Allegany County and the surrounding region through a number of Southern Tier Architectural Resource (STAR) Center civic engagement projects, including those at Pioneer Park in Dansville and downtown Bath.
• Alfred State celebrated its new Veterinary Technology Center Friday, Sept. 26, with an Open House.
• Architecture students in Design Studio 1 at Alfred State were able to actualize their plans for a housing-design project and gain hands-on experience thanks to A-Verdi Storage Containers, which let the students borrow a shipping container to use in their endeavor. The students had to design a temporary living environment for a single family unit within the confines of a standard 20-foot shipping container.

Sustainability Achievements

The Alfred State Solar Decathlon team is working with Alfred University to prepare for the 2015 Solar Decathlon in California. The design is in final phase, with students beginning construction during the fall 2014 semester.

The Sustainability Club acts as an information hub for sustainability ideals for the Alfred State populace and local communities. It is a resource for sustainability education and aid. The club also will lobby and carry out projects that deal with sustainability issues.

New LED lights have been installed at Lot 13 on the Alfred campus and a plan is being developed to install LED in all exterior lighting to include parking lots and buildings.

Our approach to sustainability is outlined in our sustainability and carbon neutrality plan, Pioneering Sustainability. The plan, which was developed as part of our commitment as a proud signatory of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, includes a pledge to eliminate or neutralize our direct carbon emissions by 2040.

Achievements to Look for in 2015 and Beyond

• Students will compete in the 2015 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja competition, to be held May 7-10 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
• Alfred State will be hosting the NYS STEM collaborative again in July 2015 because of the great success of last year’s event, which was hosted at the Alfred campus. In 2015, the college will highlight laboratories on both campuses, including the Zero Energy Home.
• The Automotive Trades Department is working on a vehicle for a return trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2015. They plan to use the same car from the 2013 trip, with a different drivetrain, for another attempt at a land speed record.
• The Architecture and Design Department is organizing students to take on four new projects - the retreat house in Rushford for Walking on Water, Inc., a pocket park at the Public Library in Scio, the future "Alfred State Opportunity Center" in Buffalo, and a master plan for Lion's Camp Badger in Spencer.