Those employees honored for 10 years included Ann Baldwin, admissions assistant, Admissions; Wayne Bensley, associate professor, Physical and Life Sciences; Scott Bingham, lieutenant, University Police; Pamela Brandes, secretary, School of Applied Technology; Barbara Brockway, secretary, Office of Vice President for Student Affairs; David Carli, associate professor, Architecture and Design; Casey Cowburn, staff associate, Student Success Center; Mark Cragg, instructional support assistant, College Farm; Cynthia Flurschutz, office assistant (keyboarding), Electrical Trades; Gregory Howe, campus public safety officer; Stephanie Hoyer, digital marketing specialist, Marketing Communications; Steven Jacobi, assistant professor, Automotive Trades; Edward Kenney, university police officer, University Police; Stephen Kielar, instructor, Electrical Trades; Dr. Matthew Lawrence, professor and department chair, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology; Martha McGee, bursar, Student Records and Financial Services; Jaime Palmatier, staff assistant, Health and Wellness Services; Mark Payne, assistant professor, Building Trades; and Elizabeth Weber, secretary, Admissions.
Lawrence, Gregory Howe, Casey Cowburn, Wayne Bensley, and Scott Bingham.
Members of the faculty and staff at Alfred State were honored recently for their years of service to the college.
Those employees honored for 20 years included Joanne Bailey, janitor, Facilities Services; Debra Burch, associate professor and department chair, Culinary Arts; Evan Enke, assistant professor, Computer and Information Technology; David Hunt, associate professor, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Technology; Regina Pollard, professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Michael Putnam, professor, Physical and Life Sciences; Christopher Staba, associate professor, Automotive Trades; and Bradley Thompson, assistant professor and department chair, Electrical Trades.
from left to right are Bradley Thompson, Regina Pollard, and Michael Putnam.
Gary Porter, maintenance assistant, Facilities Services, was honored recently for his 25 years of service to Alfred State.
He received a college chair and a certificate to commemorate the occasion.
The conference is scheduled to take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 30 in the Allegany Room of the Central Dining Hall of the Alfred campus. Guest speakers for the event include Russ Wilson and Dave Hartman.
Wilson, along with his wife and two children, operate Wilson Land & Cattle Co., a 220-acre farm in Forest County, PA, raising cattle, sheep, goats, poultry, and honey bees, and custom graze for other producers. They employ adaptive management techniques to make the farm more profitable.
Wilson enjoys sharing his unique management strategies with other farmers and ranchers with a hope to make them more profitable. In his presentation, Wilson will instruct attendees on how to adapt their farm’s grazing needs through simple, practical management, and how to tailor their grazing plans for their operations.
Hartman is an extension educator based at the Lycoming County Penn State Extension who holds a bachelor’s degree in animal production and a master’s in forage agronomy from Penn State. Possessing more than 31 years of experience in agricultural work, Hartman’s main area of interest is the management of forage and grazing systems.
Additionally, Hartman is the owner/operator of Clovermont Grazing Company, specializing in grass-finishing of cattle, at his farm in Montour County. In his presentation, Hartman will discuss using annual forage species to improve grazing systems.
An optional tour of the Alfred State College Farm will also take place during the event. The cost to attend is $15 for those who preregister, and $20 for walk-ins. A hot lunch is include in the cost.
Preregistration must be completed by June 23. For more information, contact Dr. Phil Schroeder, chair of the Agriculture and Veterinary Technology Department, at 607-587-3983 or schroepd@alfresdstate.edu.
Alfred State recently presented Casey Cowburn, staff associate, Student Success Center, with the college’s Freshman Advocate Award.
Larry Fox, locksmith, Facilities Services, was honored recently for 35 years of service to Alfred State.
He received a rosewood clock/weather station and a certificate to commemorate the occasion.
Members of the faculty and staff were honored recently for their years of service to the college.
Those employees honored for 40 years included Sandra Gerling-Yelle, professor emeritus, Business Department; Barbara Greil, librarian, Library Services; and Charles Neal, associate vice president, Office of Vice President for Academic Affairs.
To commemorate the occasion, honorees each received a certificate, as well as a recognition gift of their choice. Gerling-Yelle chose a rosewood clock/weather station, while Greil selected a brass desk lamp, and Neal received a gift certificate to the campus store.
In 2015, Alfred State College in Wellsville, New York, entered its first Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty, running a 1953 Dodge Power Wagon – liberated from the school’s surplus vehicles list – in the X-Cup class. The school returned with a two-vehicle effort in 2016, with one squad running the Dodge and the other campaigning a 1928 Ford Model A Speedster, loaned by Ken Lumberry and family. Only one of these vehicles made it to the finish line last year, so for 2017 the team is hoping for fewer challenges and perhaps a better finish than last year’s third-in-class.
When we first covered the Alfred State effort in May of 2015, the Power Wagon had received the mechanical attention needed to compete (successfully, as it would turn out) in that year’s Great Race. Ahead of the contest, students rebuilt the truck’s 230.2-cu.in. L-head six-cylinder engine along with the transmission, transfer case and differential, replacing the stump-puller 5.83:1 gears with a highway-friendly 4.88:1 set. New floorboards were welded in place of the rusted originals, broken glass was replaced, the truck was rewired, and finally, the deep-lug bias-ply tires of unknown age were replaced with a set of contemporary radials.
As prepared, the old Dodge held together well enough for the students to complete the 2015 event without incident, finishing fifth in class. Looking for a bit more power, the team installed a Weber two-barrel carburetor and a modified camshaft ahead of the 2016 Great Race, work that advisor Mike Ronan points out takes place after the regular school day is over.
Last year’s Great Race began in San Rafael, California, and the Alfred State team appeared at the starting line with the Dodge and the loaner Model A Speedster. Before the day was out, the Ford would be temporarily out of the race, the victim of a snapped connecting rod. Undaunted, the students pulled the engine, removed the broken parts and installed a used connecting rod to continue. This repair held together for nearly half the race, but when the engine let go a second time, near Cheyenne, Wyoming, the car was relegated to the trailer.
That’s not to say it was entirely out of the race. When the rear axle on another competitor’s Model A failed, the Alfred State team swept in to swap out the good rear axle from their Ford, allowing the other team to finish the race. The same day as the second engine failure, a Model A enthusiast named Jack Crabtree loaned the Alfred State team his own 1929 Model A sedan, then followed the team cross-country to the finish in Moline, Illinois.
The 1953 Power Wagon wrecker attracts attention wherever it goes. The truck is used to promote the college at numerous shows and parades throughout the year. The successful journeys across the country have proved the dedication and drive of the Alfred State College automotive students. The school day is full of meters, laptops and scan tools, so the truck provides an outlet to those students interested in the classic car hobby.
Running in the Great Race, even in the X-Cup class, costs money. While entry fees are reduced, and sometimes covered by grants, there’s still food, fuel and lodging to consider, and inevitably, things go wrong along the way. If you’d like to help Alfred State compete in this year’s Great Race, the team has set up a crowdfunding page to cover the costs of competition.