On September 17 and 18 the Upstate Institute (in partnership with Colgate’s Lampert Institute) sponsored a two day series of events on the topic of, “Local Food Cultures: Traditions and Futures.” Each of the events in the series was very well attended by our campus community as well as by our neighbors interested in the topics of food, politics, culture, and environment. If you couldn’t join us, click below for some highlights from the events.
The role of regionally-based food systems, their role in our history and culture, and the promise and perils of depending on locally-sourced food in coming decades was the focus of a series of events in September, held by the Upstate Institute and the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs at Colgate. Read more
Though the 2015 Summer Field School has just begun, On Tim Tang ’17 has already been working on her Summer Field School project for several weeks because she had previous experience in working with her community partner: the Legal Aid Society of Mid New York (LASMNY). In the spring semester, “OT” was involved in the Consumer Bankruptcy Law Project, a volunteer program in which students receive training on bankruptcy law and legal ethics, and then work under LASMNY supervision to prepare bankruptcy schedules for clients. These schedules are then used to recruit pro bono attorneys to represent the clients in bankruptcy court for free.
OT Tang and Susan Conn at the Utica office of the Legal Aid Society of Mid New York
Three faculty-proposed research projects on the Upstate New York region will be funded by the Upstate Institute in the coming year. These funded projects will promote community collaboration and civic engagement through the creation of knowledge and enhance community capacity throughout the region. Each year, the Upstate Institute chooses projects to fund in order to promote scholarly research that relates to the region’s social, economic, environmental, and cultural assets. Faculty receiving a research award share their research at the annual Upstate Institute Research Symposium.
Ethan Liu ’16 is a computer science major from Chongqing, China who wanted to complete a Field School Fellowship this summer by using some of the skills that he is developing through his computer science courses at Colgate. The Upstate Institute matched him with Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County, where he worked with their staff to create tools that will help them work more efficiently.
Ethan Liu ’16 and Kendall Drexler at the offices of Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County
Sarah Katz ’16 spent her summer at Colgate working with Friends of Rogers through the Upstate Institute Summer Field School. Friends of Rogers is an organization that operates and provides community programming at the Rogers Environmental Education Center in nearby Sherburne. The organization is working to develop a way to evaluate programming offered by the Center and gather information on ways to increase successful programming at Rogers. They are looking at how their school field trip programs operate and determining ways to increase enrollment in programs for students during the year.
Geology major Sarah Katz ’16 collected data on programming at Rogers Environmental Center this summer.
Mallory Keller ‘17 completed the end of her first year at Colgate by accepting a Field School Fellowship to work with Pathfinder Village in West Edmeston. Pathfinder Village provides program services and supports for children and adults with Down syndrome and related developmental disabilities. The Pathfinder School currently provides educational instruction for residential and day students beginning at age 5. Opening in 2014, Pathfinder’s Otsego Academy will offer a 2 year post secondary college experience for young adults who have completed high school or its equivalent. The academy will combine functional academics with vocational employment preparation within the Pathfinder Village campus.
Mallory Keller ’17 at Pathfinder Village
Yusra Siddique ’16 spent her summer working with the Madison County Agricultural Economic Development (AED) program to organize Open Farm Day. On July 26, 35 farms and three farmers’ markets welcomed visitors to learn about the small farm production process. The event is unique and well publicized, and brings visitors from across the region. The event is designed to help small farms reach out to new customers in an attempt to help them compete with larger grocery chains that have the resources to reach a larger consumer base. Open Farm Day brings customers closer to the production process and shows them the value of local purchasing.
Yusra Siddique ’16 collects data on Open Farm Day at Fruit of the Fungi farm.
Lauren Kasparson ’15 is majoring in neuroscience at Colgate and is completing a Summer Field School Fellowship at the Kelberman Center, an organization in Utica that is dedicated to the advancement of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Lauren is working as a part of Kelberman’s Awesome Summer Days camp, a five-week summer program designed to increase inter-camper socialization through a variety of fun activities. Lauren is helping to create and implement an assessment tool that will measure qualitative and quantitative progress and help document social skill improvements in individual campers. By the end of the summer the social skill measures Lauren is collecting will allow Kelberman to see which specific tools are most effective for campers. It will also allow their staff and counselors to provide information to parents and families about their child’s social skill development and how it has changed at their time at camp.
Lauren Kasparson ’15 with a camper at the Awesome Summer Days Camp.
Monica Murphy ’16 is working with two organizations that preserve and promote a local trail as an historic and public recreation site. The Chenango Canal Association, located in Bouckville, works to preserve the canal, surrounding waters and lands and maintains five miles of trail along the canal towpath and three miles of trail extension in the Village of Hamilton. Similarly, the Chenango Greenway Conservancy, located in Norwich, maintains a series of public recreational trails along the Chenango River, the former Ontario & Western Railroad, and the historic corridor of the Chenango Canal, and focuses on establishing a Riverwalk Trail in Norwich.
Monica Murphy ’16 at the Chenango Canal in Bouckville.
