Hudson Valley Community College


Hudson Valley Community College is a public community college in Troy, New York. It is associated with the State University of New York. Although about eighty percent of the students are from the local area, the remainder is from other parts of New York, other states and from some 30 countries around the world.
The school currently has an enrollment of 10,896 students.

Academics

The college offers more than 80 academic degree and certificate programs in four schools:
Hudson Valley also offers three Honors Advisement Tracks, which include specialized curriculum in the liberal arts, math and science as well as business administration, designed to prepare students for transfer to higher-level baccalaureate programs. Students who complete the program receive Completion of Honors Study documentation upon graduation.
The college also oversees several other academic and training entities, including the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center and the Workforce Development Institute.
The college collaborates with several four-year institutions of higher education to host bachelor's degree programs on the Troy campus. These include three BS programs through Cazenovia College - Human Services, Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Inclusive Elementary Education. This is the only Human Services B.S. degree offered in this format in the Capital Region. The college also hosts a B.B.A. Business Administration degree from the State University of New York at Cobleskill.
The Marvin Library Learning Commons supports the college's academic programs through its collections and services. The library provides over 100,000 volumes in print, microform, and electronic format. It provides access to over 30,000 journal titles through a range of print and electronic journals. Research databases are available to all registered students and faculty and staff from the library and from off-campus. Faculty librarians are available to provide reference services and individual research consultation by appointment. The library sponsors the popular Voices lecture series with over a dozen speakers on topics from the arts, politics, and contemporary issues in the community. The college's archives are stored in and maintained by the library.

Student Senate

The Student Senate, elected from within the student body, is the elected student government on the campus. The Student Senate at Hudson Valley Community College, with administration and faculty guidance, assumes the responsibility of promoting and coordinating student affairs and student life, authorizing the establishment of new clubs and activities, promoting student welfare and assisting with the annual budget which supports the extracurricular program of over forty-five different activities.

Athletics

The college currently offers intercollegiate sports for men and women. Teams compete in Region III of the National Junior College Athletic Association and in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference.
The college's teams have won national championships in ice hockey, men's cross country, women's bowling, women's basketball and women's alpine skiing.

History

Growing out of the Veteran's Vocational School in downtown Troy, New York in 1946, the college was founded in 1953 as the Hudson Valley Technical Institute. Initially, the role of the college was to provide practical hands-on vocational training for veterans returning from World War II. Dwight Marvin, editor of the Troy Record, was one of several community leaders who pressed to create a broader mission for the college, which in 1959 would be officially known as Hudson Valley Community College. Marvin served as the first chairman of the college's Board of Trustees.
The college initially was housed in the former Earl and Wilson shirt collar factory building at Broadway and Seventh Avenue, but by 1955, the board of trustees was already looking for a larger location to site a campus. The trustees surveyed likely sites for a new campus and in 1956 announced that the Williams farm, which straddled the Troy-North Greenbush border, would be the chosen site.
The new campus was initially opposed by a group of Rensselaer County taxpayers, who argued that the county should not have to pay for half the cost of the campus construction if fewer than half the students were county residents. What would become a landmark case for community colleges in New York State eventually was heard by the state's Court of Appeals. On June 25, 1958, the court upheld the county's right to fund half of the cost of construction and paved the way for capital construction at community colleges around the state. The new campus, with five Indiana limestone buildings, was completed in 1961 and the former factory building was abandoned and eventually torn down.

Presidents

Maureen Stapleton Theatre – The Maureen Stapleton Theatre, dedicated in 1981, seats 350 people and is located at the north end of the Siek Campus Center. The space was named after the Academy Award-winning actress who was a native of Troy, New York.
Sculpture on campus – Two pieces by noted American sculptor Antoni Milkowski are sited on the campus. The college obtained Runner, which consists of a series of seven shiny stainless steel cubes, in 2009, as a gift from the Milkowski family. It is located in a new quad near the entrance to Administration/Classroom Building. 1971 AD, has been on view in front of the Siek Campus Center since the college's 25th anniversary. The large, cor-ten steel sphere was a gift from the artist who lived and maintained a studio for many years in New Lebanon, New York.
Teaching Gallery – The college's teaching gallery is located in the Administration/Classroom Building. The gallery displays exhibits by regional and national artists each year as well as student exhibitions.

Off-campus sites

Albany Center for Education – Hudson Valley Community College operates an extension center at 30 North Russell Road in Albany. The extension center, now named the Albany Center for Education, has served as the Albany location of the Capital District Educational Opportunity Center for several decades. Hudson Valley, which administers the EOC, also now offers credit-bearing college courses, along with credit-free career training through its Workforce Development Institute at the site.
TEC-SMART – Opened in January 2010, the TEC-SMART facility is a joint initiative between the college and NYSERDA. Located in Malta, New York’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park, the building houses the college's training classrooms in semiconductor manufacturing technology, as well as labs and classrooms for training in renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal power. TEC-SMART is also home to the program, a collaboration prepares high school students from around the region for college and careers in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy and advanced technology.

Growth in the 21st century

A science center on campus was completed in Fall 2013. The building houses laboratory and classroom space for the college's science programs and support degree offerings in biological sciences, biotechnology, physical science and environmental science.
In Fall 2019, the college opened the Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills.