College plans southern Ulster satellite campus

MILTON, N.Y. >> SUNY Ulster, the community college based in Stone Ridge, might soon open a satellite campus in southern Ulster County to serve residents of that area, county officials say.

County Executive Michael Hein, members of the Legislature and local government officials gathered Tuesday outside the former Milton Elementary School in the town of Marlborough to announce the planned southern Ulster campus, which would be housed in the school and called the Marlborough SUNY Ulster Extension.

SUNY Ulster opened a satellite campus at a former elementary school in Kingston in August 2015.

Hein said that, in light of the changing economy and global competition, it is imperative to make sure all county residents have the opportunity for quality higher education within easy commuting distance.

“Now we have an extraordinary, extraordinary community college, one of the top 10 in the entire state of New York — nothing short of amazing — but it’s in Stone Ridge, and our county is a very big place,” Hein said. “The campus in Stone Ridge is amazing, but our county is the size of Rhode Island. And so providing ease of access to higher education, for more people, is one of the most important things that we can do because, without question, we can shape the future that way.”

Officials said many students from the southern part of Ulster County go to Dutchess Community College or SUNY Orange because those schools are closer to them than the Stone Ridge campus.

SUNY Ulster President Alan Roberts said he is glad to know the county executive, the Legislature and local government officials from southern Ulster all support the planned new satellite campus.

“The mission of a community college is to provide affordable and accessible education, and this is all about accessibility,” Roberts said. “We’ve really neglected this part of the county, and the location of the campus on Stone Ridge is fabulous, but we really need to reach out to the community and provide the services that really are required to change the workforce of our state.”

Hein said the former Milton Elementary School is well suited to house a SUNY Ulster facility because it has existing, educationally purposed infrastructure.