Theodore D. Weld

Colgate's Upstate Institute and the NAHOF organized the weekend's events, many of which are on campus and free for members of the Colgate community.

This tax season, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, Colgate student are expected to help return $1.5 million dollars to more than 1,000 local tax filers.

"Last year, we passed the million-dollar mark. We're on track to top that, putting a significant amount of money in the pockets of those who need it the most," said Nicole Simpson, associate professor of economics, who oversees Colgate's VITA program.

Thanks to a $45,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Colgate University's Upstate Institute will develop and implement a program that provides free legal services to local low-income residents who are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

In conjunction with the Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York, Inc., a not-for-profit law office that provides legal assistance at no cost, the Upstate Institute will start working with new clients in spring 2009 for the Consumer Bankruptcy Law Project.

Area residents flocked to Colgate University on Monday to voice their opinions about a controversial power line that is proposed to run from central New York to the New York City area.

Two brief informational sessions led by state Public Service Commission staff members were followed by public hearings on the $2.1 billion project proposed by New York Regional Interconnect.

Colgate University has been selected as a site for hearings involving New York Regional Interconnect's proposed $2.1 billion high-voltage power line project.

The Oct. 20 hearings will be in the university's Hall of Presidents. Information forums will be held at 1 and 6 p.m., followed by public statement hearings at 2 and 7 p.m.

Politics may be partly to blame for the demise of Syracuse's once vibrant salt industry.

That's according to Colgate geography professor William Meyer, whose research about the Salt City's salt springs was highlighted this week in The Post-Standard (Syracuse).

Meyer's research project was one of five funded this academic year by the university's Upstate Institute, a resource for organizations seeking regional expertise and information about upstate New York.

The Upstate Institute Student Philanthropy Council (SPC) at Colgate University has awarded three nonprofit organizations in central New York grants totaling $10,000.

The SPC is a service-learning program composed of twelve Colgate sophomores.

This year's grant money will support initiatives that enhance the personal and life skills development for underserved populations in the community.

This weekend, Colgate's Upstate Institute will host a series of events honoring four abolitionists who helped pave the way for freedom.

The celebration will culminate with the induction of John Brown, Lydia Maria Child, Wendell Phillips, and Sojourner Truth into the National Abolition Hall of Fame (NAHOF).

A student with a passion for video worked closely with a student who loves the outdoors on a special project that shows a sampling of what life can be like at Colgate.

Sam Torrey '09 was one of 18 students who took part in the Upstate Institute Field School this past summer.

A day after launching Colgate's new fundraising campaign with a festive celebratory dinner, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and students settled down to business. They convened on Saturday, March 3, for "Liberal Arts in the 21st Century: An Interdisciplinary Symposium with Colgate Faculty and Staff."