Edward Lurie '70 Named College Council Member

Lurie, whose appointment runs through June 30, 2004, is from Niskayuna, N.Y. (near Schenectady). He will fill the unexpired term of Wayne H. Byrne, of Plattsburgh, who died in June 2002.
 
Byrne was vice chair of the Plattsburgh State College Council and was the longest-serving member of any college council in SUNY. He was first appointed to the council in February 1969.
 
Lurie, who is a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said he was thrilled with his appointment to the council.
 
"I'm excited," said Lurie. "Especially when you can go back to your alma mater and feel you can contribute something. I have wanted to do this for a long time."
 
Lurie said he hoped to be able to help the College more than ever "...at an interesting time with a new president coming in."
 
Robert Garrow, a 1952 alumnus of Plattsburgh State and chair of the College Council, said he looked forward to Lurie's active participation on the board.
 
"We have an immediate need to fill several vacant council seats, and we are very happy to have Ed's contributions especially since he is an alumnus of Plattsburgh," said Garrow.
 
Lurie transferred to Plattsburgh from Hudson Valley Community College in 1968.
 
A native of Troy, N.Y., Lurie graduated from Plattsburgh State in 1970 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science.
 
Following graduation and a tour of active duty as a U.S. Army reservist, Lurie joined the Republican State Committee as director of mailing operations and was subsequently promoted to administrative assistant to the state chairman.

Except for a short stint away from politics, Lurie has worked in New York state government and the political arena for more than 30 years.
 
He initially jumped back into state government as a legislative aide for State Senator Tarky Lombardi and has held several key positions in the New York State Assembly and Senate since then.
 
Those positions include assistant director of operations (Assembly); director of constituent relations (Senate); deputy director of communications (Senate); and director of legislative services (Senate).
 
Lurie has also served as executive director of the New York Republican State Committee and the New York State Senate Campaign Committee and has coordinated and managed more than 40 statewide Senate elections.
 
Lurie and his late wife, Carol, are the parents of two grown sons, Jason and Adam.
 
In addition to his degree from Plattsburgh, Lurie holds an associate degree from Hudson Valley Community College and a master's degree in communication from SUNY Albany.

Lurie will join four other Plattsburgh State alumni on the College Council. They are Garrow (B.S. 1952, M.S. 1959) of Morrisonville, Arnold Amell (B.S., 1953) of Scotia, N.Y., Donald Garrant (B.S. 1957, M.S. 1959) of Plattsburgh, and John Johnson (B.S. 1971, M.A. 1993) of Malone.

Roger Burke of Morrisonville and Suzanne Perley of Essex, N.Y. are also members of the College Council. There remains one vacancy on the College Council with the resignation of William Brooks of Plattsburgh in June 2003.

Lurie will attend his first meeting of the Council on Thursday, Oct. 9, which will be held in the Alumni Conference Room, 103 Hawkins Hall, beginning at 4 p.m.