Rich Bodenschatz sent the following message to the Director's List Serve upon hearing the news of the passing of two of our founding members.

With his permission, I am re-releasing his words to the rest of our membership so that we all can benefit from learning about those who made what we have today possible.

Tom Nesbitt
SUNYCAP President
SUNY Potsdam

Colleagues:
For those of us who have served in SUNY for more years than we'd like to count, today is indeed a sad day. Two of our founding members have passed on and with them an important link to the growth and maturation of both SUNY and SUNYCAP.

Dave Truax, admissions counselor, then director at Plattsburgh, then the first Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment at SUNY System, was a true SUNY pioneer. A graduate of Cortland, he was SUNY to the core.

While his focus at Plattsburgh was Plattsburgh, he also understood the bigger picture of SUNY and what SUNY could and should be. As president of SUNYCAP and later on at SUNY System, he worked tirelessly for the expansion of the SUNY message to all publics in and out of state. A true gentleman, he was a keen observer of talent, as evidenced by the success of Rich Higgins and Mike Walsh at Plattsburgh, and a mentor to dozens of other young admission professionals who now hold positions of significant responsibility.

Larry Appel. All you need to is say his name and people's faces light up and a "Larry" story comes to mind. For over 30 years Larry was Sullivan County Community College. His favorite recruitment statement to the thousands of guidance counselors he met with over his career was, "I'll gladly take the top 100% of your graduating class!" And he meant it with all his heart. Larry also was the poster child for the community college movement. He believed deeply in the mission and the opportunity that our community colleges offered to all New Yorkers. In the early days, his voice was sometimes the only, unapologetic voice, that spoke for the community colleges. Those of you who serve your regions as members of community colleges owe a huge debt to Larry for his tireless efforts. And that was just one side of Larry. SUNY was also Larry's life and his involvement in a variety of SUNYCAP ventures testifies to this. For decades, it seemed, Larry's presentation at New Professional Orientation, helped to lead many of us to successfully navigate that first, confusing, year in admissions.

For those of us who had the privilege to know, to work with, break bread with and laugh with Dave and Larry, this is a bittersweet time for sure. Yet remember there can be no doubt amongst us that we are better professionals and better people for having shared the experience.

God bless.
Rich Bodenschatz
SUNY New Paltz

Thank-You Note Enters College Admission Game

Interesting article published in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/education/09thanks.html?ref=us

***SAVE THE DATE***

SAVE THE DATE: NYS LEGISLATIVE FORUM FEBRUARY 4 -5, 2008 ALBANY NY

Greetings. Please plan on attending the 2008 Legislative Forum in Albany. The 2008 legislative session will likely be an exciting time, with many new initiatives being proposed and debated. The upcoming session will be shaped by such factors as the recommendations from the Governor's Commission on the Future of Higher Education (which will include k12 proposals), the looming budget gap, round 2 of "Contracts for Excellence", the Presidential primary, all 212 Members of the Legislature up for election (with the Senate holding on to a slim 2 seat majority).

Our steering committee of the Legislative Consortium has moved forward with '08 planning that includes a refocusing on school counselor advocacy, access to higher education and advocacy training. Participants in the Legislative Forum recognize and appreciate the training that is conducted at the annual conferences. After 10 years of successes, all ten member associations have many trained advocates to further the noble cause of high quality K 12 and higher education in New York State.

I look forward to communicating further with you during the weeks ahead.

See you in Albany in February if not before!

SUNYCAC Conference Information

Dear SUNY Colleagues

Join those from your campus Bursar, EOP, Institutional Research, Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Disability Services offices for “Survivor SUNY”.

Just a mere 58 days left until we all gather at The Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls New York for the 2007 SUNYCAC Conference “Survivor SUNY” November 14-16, 2007. The conference committee has been hard at work and has put together an informative program. Presenters from across the State will share their expertise on a variety of topics such as Information Security, Pandemic Planning, Enrollment Management, Helicopter Parents and much much more.

REGISTER NOW!!!!!! The most up to date conference agenda, registration, and hotel forms are available on the SUNYCAC website at www.sunycac.org.

Some Friday Humor - submitted by Chris Lewis (Binghamton)

Top Ten Reasons for Being in Admissions:

10. Big Bucks!

9. Enjoy being told by a prospective student that you have a specific major, because they know someone, who knows someone, that went to your school and was in that major you later find out they are thinking about another school.

8. Enjoy listening to parents tell stories about their kid's academic prowess, great athleticism, 300 extra curricular activities, etc, only to find out s/he has a 1.6 GPA.

7. Enjoy being in a caravan of 50 cars that have to do an illegal U-turn in the middle of a major intersection because the leader “knows” where they are going.

6. Big corporate bribes for relaxed Admissions standards!

5. Enjoy driving 1 hour for a 30- minute college day program only to see 3 students.

4. Enjoy explaining in-depth about your colleges programs only to have, at the end, the student say that s/he's at the wrong school's table.

3. Great dinners at college fairs that consist of fruit and cookies.

2. When working for a large school, being asked if you know their friend.

1. It's better than being in Financial Aid!

Pictures from NPO

Here are some pictures shared by Aaron Marshall...

SUNY at the State Fair

Here are some of our colleagues working at the State Fair...(submitted by Cammie Baker-Clancy)