Page 47 - 2024 June report

SUNY ULSTER SITE VISIT REPORT
May 13, 2024
SUNY Ulster Participants
Alison Buckley, Ed.D., President, SUNY Ulster
Jenn Zell, Chief of Staff, SUNY Ulster
Lorraine Salmon, Foundation Executive Director
Nancy Clarke, Administrative Program Coordinator, President’s Challenge Scholarship Ivy Cabrera, PCS Sponsored Student
Johnson Scholarship Foundation Participants
Bobby Krause, CEO
David L. Blaikie, Director
Lisa H. Loomis, Executive Coordinator
David, Bobby, and Lisa visited the SUNY Ulster campus in the Hudson Valley, which has views of the nearby Shawangunk Mountains on a bright, cool Monday in May. As we arrived during the graduation week, the campus was quiet, with students finishing their final exams. Lorraine Salmon, Foundation Executive Director, greeted us, and we met with Dr. Alison Buckley, President since 2022, and her staff, including Jenn Zell, Chief of Staff, and Lorraine and Nancy Clarke, Administrative Program Coordinator. They warmly welcomed us and shared the success of the JSF funding towards the President’s Challenge Scholarship initiative. Ivy Cabrera, current scholarship recipient and 2024 graduate, stopped by to share her experience as a PCS Scholar. She will continue her education in the Fall at SUNY New Paltz, a 20-minute drive from campus. Two of her sisters are current high school students in the PCS program.
Lorraine and her team shared a compelling narrative of their journey with the JSF. They started our visit with a well-produced video presentation that showcased the success of the PCS program and acknowledged the pivotal role of JSF in this journey. https://secure.smore.com/n/54zac-president-s-challenge-scholarship Initially funded for a 2-year grant of $100,800 to fund the PCS program, the next application was turned down for a grant and SUNY Ulster took the opportunity to review their plans and strategize for their future goals. The subsequent grant approval in 2021 from JSF not only provided the much-needed funding but also instilled confidence and credibility as they embarked on their outreach to local donors. Many of these donors, new to the area, have second homes in the surrounding rural areas and make the 2-hour drive from NYC on weekends.
President Buckley highlighted a staff/faculty mentoring program she developed and launched with the PCS student body last Fall 2023. Given the program’s success, a college committee is being developed to bring it to the entire student body this Fall 2024. President Buckley’s mentee even showed up at her office early one morning recently, asking for assistance in turning in his final exam.
The attached document shows the success of the PCS program in fundraising for the 50 students in the program. It highlights the JSF’s impact on the program. Regarding the Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) 5-year grant of $394,000, distributions will benefit students until the 2026-2027 school year. After that, PCS will benefit from the legacy donation of a SUNY Ulster donor, the late Darlene L. Pfeiffer, who established the PCS Student Experience Endowment in Growth. This $1M endowment will provide support to offset the administrative personnel costs, which JSF currently provides via $50,000 in annual grant funding. This endowment is the sustainability we encourage organizations to develop.
Bobby shared the history of JSF with the SUNY Ulster team. He asked for comments in working with our office and the comments were all positive. The staff has worked well with each other, been clear about the needs, and felt motivated to improve their application and reapply after being denied with their second grant application.
Education / A Powerful force for change Page 45