LOCH SHELDRAKE – Could cannabis-related courses become a new next-step in formal education at SUNY Sullivan? After securing a $1 million grant that will be split between six schools, SUNY Sullivan’s Board of Trustees entered into talks of addressing the emerging cannabis industry on campus.

SUNY Sullivan Vice President Marc Singer presented his report on the recently awarded grant at the Board of Trustees meeting on July 21.

According to Singer, SUNY Orange is taking the lead on organizing between six community colleges, including Dutchess Community College, Rockland Community College, Sullivan County Community College, Ulster County Community College, and Westchester Community College. These colleges together are known as the Hudson Valley Education Consortium. There are an estimated 200 participants in the consortium.

The $1 million grant comes in part from Governor Kathy Hochul’s $5 million grant for helping New Yorkers train for and secure careers in the cannabis industry. 

“New York’s new cannabis industry is creating exciting opportunities, and we will ensure that New Yorkers who want careers in this growing sector have the quality training they need to be successful,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Diversity and inclusion are what makes New York’s workforce a competitive, powerful asset, and we will continue to take concrete steps to help ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in the cannabis industry.” 

“This is something I believe SUNY and the State are taking very seriously as an emerging industry,” Singer said.

With the acquisition of the grant must come the construction and planning of courses, some of which Singer said would focus on safety and quality control of products and service in the emerging cannabis industry.

“Part of it is going to be working with local employers, part of it is about developing a curriculum based on micro-credentials,” Singer explained. 

Indoor athletic facility 

As previously reported by the Democrat, the Sullivan County Legislature recently committed $15 million toward a $30 million aquatic and recreation facility at SUNY Sullivan.

The County Legislature is requesting that New York State, through the SUNY system, contribute the other half of the project’s $30 million cost in the coming years. That application will be made for the 2023 State budget.

“Increasing athletic facilities is definitely something important to the growth and sustainability of the college,” SUNY Sullivan President Jay Quaintance said.

Quaintance noted that with the addition of an indoor athletic facility, high schools and the community would benefit alongside the college.

“There’s been a lot of conversations over the past many, many years about the lack of an indoor swimming pool in Sullivan County,” Quaintance said. “A lot of the school districts have some interest in starting swim teams, [and] it would allow us to start a swim team.”