SUNY Plattsburgh to Host Audio Conference on College-Community Relations

October 19, 2007

PLATTSBURGH (October 19, 2007) - Members of the faculty, staff and student body at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh want to be good neighbors to their community. This is why they worked with local government to create a City-College Commission and that is why they are doing their best to implement its recommendations. But they want to do more. They want to learn about "best practices" at other colleges that have worked to be good neighbors in their communities.

As a result, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Center for Fraternity/Sorority Life at SUNY Plattsburgh are co-sponsoring an audio conference, titled "Town/Gown Partnerships: How to Create Campus-Community Coalitions."

The conference, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 31 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Cardinal Lounge of the Angell College Center on campus. It will feature panelists who have had extensive experience launching campus-community coalitions and whose programs have been used as models for other campuses to follow.

"The conference is another step in our ongoing efforts to improve college and city relations," said Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Laundry. "Every little bit helps, and you never know what you may pick up from an event like this."

Topics covered by the conference will include the following:
* the sharing of two model college/community coalition programs,
* the development and maintenance of an effective coalition,
* ten keys to a successful campus community coalition,
* an environmental management approach to improving student/community relations,
* a 15-point plan to begin the year addressing inappropriate behavior and safety issues off-campus,
* tips on working with local tavern owners to improve town/gown relations,
* the creation of a dual education program for off-campus residents
* the utilization of media to get positive messages out to the community,
* and ways of keeping a positive focus and finding common ground.

The panelists will be Thomas L. Gebhardt, director of personal safety and off-campus affairs, University Police Department, and chairman of the Committee on University and Community Relations at the University of Albany, State University of New York; and Michelle Leiberman, director of student safety and off-campus and community services at East Carolina University.

For more information on the audio conference, contact the Center for Fraternity/Sorority Life at 518-564-4825.