New Nanotechnology Program to help students, region toward STEM-focused future

Fallen Heroes Memorial | Page 2Brewing Science and Service | Page 1

Spring 2015

Dental Lab Technology earns $5,000 grant | See page 5

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Local industry, students to benefit from state’s first Brewing Science and Service certificate program

ECC Kats win NJCAA Hockey title

“Local brewers have expressed a need for qualified personnel to help grow their offerings across the region.” – ECC President Jack Quinn.

They started their season by christening a newdowntown hockey home at Buffalo's Harbor-Center—and ended it by hoisting a national title.The ECC Kats (25-3) won their second NJCAAcrown in five years when they defeated WillistonState College (North Dakota) 2-1 in this year’sMen's Ice Hockey Championship game, held onFebruary 22 at the SUNY Broome Ice Center inBinghamton.Though WSC's Tetons got on the board first atthe 11:51 mark in the first period, ECC scored thegame's final two goals, courtesy of Tyler Riter in the4th minute of the second period (assisted by BradJones and Aaron Wanat) and tournament MVPTrevor Evans, who got the game- and title-winninggoal at the 4:20 mark in the third period (assistedby Riter and Rick Procknal). Both goals proppedup a stellar effort by Kats goalie Will Korczynski,who had 36 stops in the winning effort.

Erie Community College has prided itself on its ability to craft its curricu-lum for career-focused students

interested in entering Western New York’sgrowing industries. So with the proliferationof small breweries not only in the Buffalo Niagara region but across Upstate New York,the college has stepped up with possibly themost refreshing courses in its nearly 70-yearhistory.Starting with its Fall 2015 semester, ECC

will welcome students into New York State’sfirst one-year certificate program in BrewingScience and Service. Approved by the state’sEducation Department, devised by faculty

members Donald Spasiano and Eric Paner,and informed by such local brewers as BigDitch, Community Beer Works and FlyingBison, the 31-credit program—positioned inthe college’s Business and Public Service Division—will offer such courses as Intro toBrewing, Filtration and Finishing, and Brewing Microbiology on the college’s NorthCampus to both educate local students on thefiner points of craft beer brewing and injectskilled candidates into the region’s growingcraft beer market.The certificate program will provide

students with the knowledge to earn employ-ment with breweries, beer distributors and a

hospitality industry now eager for candidatesknowledgable in both the styles and processesassociated with the modern brewing landscape.Hands-on training along with theoreticalcourses and internships will enhance studentexpertise in this specialized field, which currently includes brewing technology, operations, sales and management, and advanced beer-related or brewery-relatedbusiness sectors.For more information about ECC’s Brewing

Science and Service certificate program, contact Don Spasiano in the college’s Hospitality Management Department at (716) 851-1393 or spasiano@ecc.edu.

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Fallen Heroes Memorial Park unveiledat North Campus

Pictured above: ECC’s Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Washousky joins local and collegeleaders to address the crowd at the college’s unveiling of North Campus’s Fallen Heroes Memorial Park.

In honor of Veterans Day, Erie CommunityCollege staff gathered with local veterans, police and fire departments, and community

members to proudly unveil its first responder-focused Fallen Heroes Memorial Park—dedicated to former students who have losttheir lives in the line of police, fire or militaryduty—on Thursday, November 13 outsideECC’s North Campus Law EnforcementTraining Academy.“This park stands as a tribute to those ECCalums that made the ultimate sacrifice,” saidECC President Jack Quinn. “It will now be aplace for others to remember and honor theirsacrifice for decades to come.”The park—aided by donations from suchlocal Western New York companies as Campobello Construction, Lakeside Sod,Love Joy Metals, Inc. and Occhino Paving;design and construction work from the

college’s Architecture Technology, Construc-tion Technology and Visual Communicationsstudents; and completion by ECC’s Buildingand Grounds Department—features treesand flowered latticework; steel silhouettes ofveterans, police officers and firefighters; sixtowering flag poles flying the American flagand the flags of the five branches of the ArmedServices; a 500-pound memorial stone, donated by ECC’s 117th Police Basic Training class and relocated from a nearbypolice recruit assembly area; and park benchesand picnic tables for those looking to comepay their respects and appreciate the sacrificesof fallen heroes. To date, 15 alumni have been lost to directcombat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, andtwo others have died while still on active dutyin noncombat circumstances. Many of the region’s police officers and firefighters who've

died in the line of duty were either ECC graduates or graduates of the college's LawEnforcement Training Academy (LETA) aswell, so the park will stand as a testament totheir lives and the community they calledtheir own.Morning remarks were made by PresidentJack Quinn; ECC representatives RichardWashousky, Dan Frontera and Ed Hempling;and various elected officials before the namesof all alumni lost through military, fire andpolice duty were read aloud. A memorial wreath was also presented toECC officials by members of Amherst’s Main-Transit Fire Department, followed bylocal bagpiper Dan McQue’s stirring versionof “Amazing Grace” and local vet Sam Piazza’s trumpeted “Taps” for the event’s hundreds of gathered attendees.

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Whether in classrooms, laborato-ries or the Oval Office of theWhite House, conversation has

persisted about the importance of propertraining in science, technology, engineeringand math (referred to as STEM) for our nation’s current and future generations of students. Erie Community College recognizesthis and, starting with its Spring 2015 semester, is now proud to offer the area’s firsttwo-year degree in Nanotechnology—andserve as Western New York’s leader in STEM-related training. “ECC prides itself on providing affordable,

career-focused education for all of WesternNew York,” said ECC President Jack Quinn.

“But after this education, our students need totransition into sustainable careers. In recentyears, STEM-related job opportunities havemultiplied not only across the country, butright here in our Buffalo backyard. We wantto prep our students for these opportunities,and this program will help us do that.” Instituted with $5.75 million attained in

September through NYSUNY’s 2020 Challenge Grant Program and faculty preparation through the Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization atPenn State University, ECC’s NanotechnologyA.A.S. degree program is designed to help

prepare students from a broad range of disciplines for careers in fields involving nanotechnology, which is engineering at theatomic-length scale, a size range which, untilrecently, was only available to nature. Beingable to engineer such small structures opensthe door to a multitude of new opportunitiesin the fields of electronic and semiconductorfabrication technology, micro-technology labs,material science labs, chemical technology,biotechnology, biopharmaceutical technologyand environmental science. “ECC is proud to be the first local institu-

tion to offer a degree in Nanotechnology,”said Rick Washousky, ECC’s Executive VicePresident of Academic Affairs, and a drivingforce in delivering the program and awardedgrant funds to the college. “This new A.A.S.program will further reinforce ECC’s effortsin STEM technology.”Students will study electronic device and

circuit behavior, basic chemistry and fabrica-tion techniques used to create micron andsubmicron scale structures. Techniques covered include reactive ion etching, metallization, thick and thin film depositionand photolithography; and graduates will beable to enter the Western New York job market with the skills necessary for sought-after positions in such fields as biotechnology,pharmaceuticals and university research.The program—which will also involve

Genesee Community College students work-ing in shared space with ECC students—wasestablished in response to the various largescale nanotechnology-related projects an-nounced across upstate New York. And withonly two other semiconductor manufacturing-related A.A.S. programs in New York State(at Hudson Valley Community College and Schenectady County Community College),this degree program will develop a highly-skilled homegrown workforce capable in filling the large number of nano-related jobsbeing created across the state. Existing aforementioned A.A.S. degree programs offered in the Capital Region primarily supplytheir local employers, who themselves still are

forced to hire 50 percent of employees out ofstate. This project will train homegrown employees to work in the nanotechnology sector here in New York State.$3.1 million of the NYSUNY grant was

spent on renovations to the ECC North Campus Bretschger Hall, with the remainingallocation dedicated to equipment used totrain both ECC and GCC students. The program aims to enroll 50 new students; usher20 graduates into regional employment on anannual basis; ensure that there is a trainedworkforce to take advantage of forthcomingopportunities at South Buffalo’s RiverBendcampus, on the Buffalo Niagara MedicalCampus and within the planned WesternNew York Science and Technology AdvancedManufacturing Park in Genesee County. Additional ventures and growth in the region’s nanotechnology sector will lead tomore opportunities for community college students, as well as the eventual creation of ahomegrown workforce.

New Nanotechnology Program to help students, region toward STEM-focused future

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“Training for

sustainable careers,

right here in

Western New York.

That’s our pledge

to our students,

and their success

will help move

our community

forward.”

– ECC President

Jack Quinn

New Nanotechnology Program to help students, region toward STEM-focused future

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T hrough its English as a Second Language Pre-Collegiate StudiesProgram partnership with

Journey’s End Refugee Services and Pilgrim-St. Luke’s/El Nuevo CaminoUnited Church of Christ, Erie CommnityCollege is now offering courses in lifeskills, math, and ESL—as well as general college and high schol equivalencyprep courses—to provide local refugees,immigrants and other ESL students withcollege preparatory experience that is de-signed to meet their unique educationalneeds. “We are excited to host this new

ESL Pre-Collegiate program,” said theReverend Justo González, II, co-pastor ofPilgrim-St. Luke’s and El Nuevo Camino.“This collaboration offers refugees, Latinos and other immigrants the oppor-tunity to grow personally and professionallyby investing in their own potential whilehaving a team of dedicated teachers tosupport and mentor them along the way.This new program is consistent with our mission and outreach efforts to the newand emerging faces of the West Side of Buffalo.”Instruction started last fall and is now

running through spring semester at theaforementioned partnership locations.Those academically ready after one semester session could be admitted to

ECC as soon as the following semester, which is a possibility ECC President JackQuinn would welcome.“ECC is always eager to work with its

surrounding communities, and this is another example,” said Quinn. “We look forward to assisting these students, welcoming them into our college community and preparing themfor their lives and eventual careers.” The goal of this groundbreaking

partnership is to provide an underservedpopulation of students with an entry pointto higher education; community-basedsupport to help them excel; and the necessary skills to not only attend andgraduate from ECC, both also to continueon to a four-year education or WesternNew York-based career. So far, 25 students are enrolled but more could beadmitted after the start of what Journey’sEnd Education Director Donna Peperoconsiders innovative instruction. “This program applies an “out of the

box” approach to educating refugee andELL students that have experienced littleacademic success in high school,” saidPepero. “Students are highly motivatedand excited about their dreams of highereducation. Journey's End Refugee Services’ MAC program is proud to betransitioning students into this programthis fall.”

Dental Lab Technology Program earns $5,000 foundation grant

Erie Community College’s Dental Lab Technology Program earned a $5,000 Foundation for Dental Lab Technology’s Keystone Grant, announced before spring semester by the foundation’s Tallahassee, Florida-located representatives.The prestigious Keystone Grant was

established to support educational institutionswith dental laboratory technology programs. The annual and competitive grant selectionprocess awards national recipients based on submitted materials that include a program outline, current efforts being made to strengthenthe program and planned usage of the funds. For ECC—a school that also boasts competitiveprograms in Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene—the award will certainly strengthen an already solid dental focus.“Our faculty’s number one goal is to train

our students for sustainable careers,” said ECC President Jack Quinn. “This grant will certainlyhelp with that mission.”ECC’s Dental Laboratory Technology

Program trains students to be capable of the design, fabrication and production of dentalprostheses, including full and partial dentures,crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances.New state-of-the-art techniques, equipment andmaterials are emphasized, and students are instructed in all aspects of prosthodontic dentistry. Opportunities are available for second-year students to work with dentists in privatepractice, at hospitals and at commercial dentallaboratories as they prepare to join the profession.

Partnership offers education opportunities to growing refugee, immigrant communities

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Erie Community College has announcedUniversity at Buffalo’s former director of highschool relations and player development—andformer ECC assistant coach—Scott Pilkey asthe school’s new head football coach.“There were many outstanding candidateswho expressed an interest to lead our programinto a new era,” said ECC athletic directorPeter Jerebko, “but Scott’s proven ability to recruit both local and regional student-athletes—along with his national network he developedwhile at the University at Buffalo to moveplayers onto future football opportunities—gives me strong reason to be confident in Scottand the potential of the Kats football program.”After coaching with Niagara Falls HighSchool (offensive and defensive line coach,2000) and ECC (wide receivers, quarterbacksand tight ends, 2001-05), he moved on to asuccessful stretch under UB’s Turner Gill andJeff Quinn, starting in 2006. He served theprogram as an offensive and defensive assistant(with both lines and running backs), but hisexpertise as a developer of student-athletes hasallowed him to be an integral part of moldingmore than 16 current, past and future NFLand CFL professional athletes. This past experience—as well as his success as a UB recruiter—should help an ECC program (2-7in 2014) looking to return to the consistentwinning ways last familiar when Pilkey was aKats assistant. “ECC prides itself on offering students achance to start here and go anywhere,” saidECC President Jack Quinn. “To have a coachas committed to that same mantra and to theoverall development of our student athletesmakes us all very excited for next season.”

Alumni Spotlight David Heer ’93 • Don Needham ’79

D avid Heer began his career in1986 at Moog as a full-time machinist before he enrolled in

the Industrial Technology Program atECC. After graduating with an AOS degree in 1993, he accepted a positionwith American Axle as a die manufacturingand assembly supervisor while continuingtoward a Bachelor of Science in IndustrialEngineering Technology from BuffaloState College (2008). Upon graduation, here-joined Moog as its employee develop-ment manager. He entered into opera-tions as the company’s process managerfor the $8.8 million Valve Cell (managingover 70 highly skilled machinists), and iscurrently working in Moog’s supply chainas a commodity lead for machined partscomponents.Don Needham has been with Moog

for more than 31 years. Four years afterearning an Associate Degree in MaterialsScience in 1979, he earned a job as a rawmaterial inspector at Moog in 1983,

thanks to his career-focused classroomtraining at ECC. While working inMoog’s Quality Department, he earnedhis B.S. in Industrial Technology at Buf-falo State College in 1995. Ten years later,he received an Master of Arts in Organi-zational Leadership from Medaille Col-lege. In his time at Moog, Needham’sheld positions with duties that includeemployee development, operations man-agement and assisting in the managementof flight control systems configuration forthe F35 Joint Strike Fighter. He’s now inhuman resources, focused on buildingand maintaining a talented supply chain ofindividuals to support Moog’s strategies.

ECC welcomesPilkey as head football coach

Dental Lab Technology Program earns $5,000 foundation grant

2015 Celebrate ECC HonoreesTen individuals, one company and one college were recognized at Celebrate ECC on Thursday, March 12 at City Campus.This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award winners included:Thomas R. Allen ’03, Clinical Director, CCS Oncology

Dr. Brendan Alleyne ’06, Plastic Surgeon Resident, Cleveland Clinic

Joyce DeLong ’75, Owner, Insty Prints of Cheektowaga

Deborah L. Pease ’77, Director of Education, NY, Wendel Companies

Richard S. Pyszczek ’94, Social Studies Teacher and Staff Developer, City Honors

Carl Stokes ’01, Team Leader of Youth Services, L.I.F.E. Program, Heritage Centers

Nathan Witkowski ’99, Assistant Professor, Industrial Technology ProgramErie Community College, received the Distinguished Alumni Employee Award.

Western New York Dental Group received the President’s Award for extraordinarysupport of ECC’s academic programs.

Penn State College of Engineering received the Trustees’ Award for outstanding leader-ship in higher education.

Mark L. Martin, Administrative Vice President, M&T Bank received the FoundationAward for extraordinary support and dedication to the ECC Foundation.

Eugene Vukelic, Chairman and CEO, Try-It Distributing Co., Inc. received the Community Impact Award as an outstanding leader in Western New York.

John Danna received the Louis J. Billittier Honorary Alumni Award as a non-alumnuswhose personal and professional pursuits reflect the standards associated with ECC.

David Heer ’93 Don Needham ’79

Savings earned after one year at ECCVersus a public four-year college: $4,280Versus a private four-year college: $26,372 *Information from College Board’s Trends in Pricing, 2014-15

O n behalf of the students, facultyand staff of Erie

Community College, Iwould like to thank you forreading about some of ourrecent achievements. Sincearriving at this venerable institution in 2008, I’ve beenconsistently amazed at notonly the good news we’vebeen able to share, but alsoat the focused educational

and professional opportunities we’re able to provide forincoming students, year after year. We offer more than 100 degree and certificate programsin the areas of Business and Public Service, Health Sciences, Liberal Arts and Engineering and Technologies,designed by an award-winning faculty with the purpose ofadvancing students forward. Our three-campus collegeprovides an accommodating environment, and is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top associate degree producers—as well as the number one choice ofWestern New York high school students and veterans.According to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center, our college’s average net price is the lowest in New York.Students can enter ECC, endure through their first college classes, then continue toward a one-year certificate, two-year degree or utilize our comprehensivetransfer agreements with a litany of colleges or universities—all while saving on tuition costs. Howmuch can a student save by attending ECC? Look up thetuition cost of your local public and private universities.Compare these totals with the cost of a year at our college—taking the same classes offered at a traditionalfour-year—and you’ll see why an ECC education makessense. Do these savings come at the expense of opportunity?Absolutely not. Aside from our associate degree-relatedsuccesses, the college boasts more than 25 one-year cer-tificate programs, all crafted to train students for sustain-able professions in the region. And, when it comes to connections, the college currently boasts more than 300partnerships with area businesses like Delaware North,Moog and M&T Bank, all knowledgeable of ECC’s career-focused curriculum.I, along with every member of our college community,am dedicated to continuing this momentum of goodnews. Until next semester, stay tuned for more excitingdetails for students interested in starting, restarting orredirecting their academic journey at Erie Community College.

Sincerely,

Jack Quinn,President of Erie Community College

(716) 851-1ECC www.ecc.edu

City Campus121 Ellicott Street Buffalo, NY 14203

North Campus6205 Main Street Williamsville, NY 14221

South Campus4041 Southwestern blvd.Orchard Park, NY 14127

ERIE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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