College defends spending $30K to set up networking
SCHENECTADY — Schenectady County Community College officials are defending their $3,000-a-month contract with a consultant to help new President Quintin B. Bullock network with local business leaders and develop new programs.
Wallace Altes, the former president of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, is charged with arranging meetings with senior executives, providing background on local companies, identifying partnerships for SCCC and securing invitations for Bullock to join organizations and boards. Altes’ contract runs through May 2010 at a total cost of not more than $30,000.
Bullock said last week that he and Altes have already begun holding conversations with prominent people in the community with the goal of expanding college programs and offering training opportunities at the college to support area businesses.
“He’s one professional that knows individuals in the community that I should connect with and introduce myself to,” he said.
However, Schenectady County Legislator Joe Suhrada, R-Rotterdam, called the contract the most absurd thing he had ever heard of.
“I can’t imagine that you need to pay somebody $3,000 a month to set up your social calendar and make friends for you.”
Suhrada said he has met Bullock and found him to be quite personable. “He can make contacts on his own.”
Altes deferred all comment to SCCC board of trustees chairwoman Denise Murphy McGraw. She said Monday that hiring Altes was necessary because the college wants to expand its geographic reach and, with Altes’ background, it can tap into Albany, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties and beyond.
“The guy has got the best Rolodex in the region,” she said. “President Bullock is certainly doing his own networking. The trustees are helping him do that, in addition to the staff.”
McGraw said one of the reasons why Bullock was hired is he has a history of developing new programs, which he did in his previous job as provost of the Norfolk Campus and Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College. He also wants to position the college as a center for economic development. This process cannot be done in a vacuum, McGraw said.
“That’s a lot of what they’re doing — meeting with business leaders to see what we can do to meet their needs.”
McGraw also said that the board is trying to encourage more local students to attend SCCC.
“We’re sending an awful lot of county dollars to Rensselaer County because our students are going to Hudson Valley [Community College]. We want to keep them here,” she said.
In 2008, the county spent about $2.3 million on tuition paid to other counties.
In addition, she wants Altes to help the college’s nonprofit foundation arm to raise money to help with sorely needed capital projects.
Also, she said Bullock is strictly business. She said that Altes asked Bullock whether he prefers breakfast or lunch meetings and he said he preferred meetings without the meal.
“This isn’t the wining and dining tour. This is going in, getting work done,” she said.
County Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, who sits on the board of trustees, said he found Suhrada’s comments interesting since on the night Bullock was introduced to the Legislature, the Republican was one of the most outspoken about the need for the college to brand itself more and get out into the community.
Career management specialist Dan Moran said it is not uncommon for a college president to seek help to network with the business community.
“You want somebody who knows the community, that has the gravitas and the connections to be able to get in at the level they need to,” he said.
Moran is president and founder of Next-Act.com and also serves as an expert member of the Capital Region Human Resources Association, which provides training, organizational developmental and employee engagement advice.
College officials want to capture training dollars that many of these companies provide, according to Moran. “Colleges are looking for new revenues or incremental revenues besides the traditional in-state tuition,” he said.
For example, GlobalFoundries, which is building a computer chip factory in Malta, is partnering with Hudson Valley Community College on potential programs.
“Some employers need training that you can’t buy off the shelf. They need something that’s more customized to their needs and the academic community really can do that,” he said.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
I will set up meetings for any of you good people for only $1500 per month - HALF PRICE of this guy! Shhhhh...don't say anything because it might interfere with the vendetta you all have of ridding the last few Republicans from the county! Shhhhhhhhh.....hush
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
However, Schenectady County Legislator Joe Suhrada, R-Rotterdam, called the contract the most absurd thing he had ever heard of.
“I can’t imagine that you need to pay somebody $3,000 a month to set up your social calendar and make friends for you.”
Suhrada said he has met Bullock and found him to be quite personable. “He can make contacts on his own.”
I agree!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Shhhhh...don't say anything because it might interfere with the vendetta you all have of ridding the last few Republicans from the county! Shhhhhhhhh.....hush
I would call it resurrecting the Republican Party. The Republican Party rode out their ONLY consistently conservative party member Mertz for pseudo conservative Suhrada. Suhrada... The guy who preached about how over taxed Schenectady County is as a legislator. Now running for the town board, he runs on a platform of creating a taxing district for a service that a PRIVATE company offered. Very capitalistic, very conservative, wouldn't you say? Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.....hush, don't let anybody know Suhrada's a phony. Suhrada is the man who complained about the Democrat one party rule in Schenectady County. Then gave up his seat at the county where he was in the minority. So he could run for a seat in Rotterdam where it is ONE PARTY RULE. One party rule is fine, when it's his party. The hypocrisy.
...yeah, I am losing it! Why? because I am the only conservative Republican standing by my guns and I haven't quit, cut and run like the democrats do when they get a whiff of running for higher office and enjoying self advancement? Why, because I don't back down and girl private out like the democrats do when confronted by terrorists (always better to send them to Bermuda to eat ice cream.)? Why, because even though you checked, you couldn't find that I was ever arrested, or molested a boy, or grabbed a girl, or shoplifted? Why, because I pay my debts? Why, because even though the bloggers think I "sold out" by backing the Republicans I realize that the nation is headed for a dictatorship of one party and I won't condone it? You democrats are all the same and you use the same template over and over. People are waking up in America and don't like it.
Paying someone to take you to social networking appointments is something capable people don't do. Either we hire a social unskilled individual who can'tt make friends in a new community OR there is some more Democrat back scratching going on now. Which is it? How do you defend these Democrats now, liberal?
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
...girl private= puddie in the above censored post.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
This is why we need Joe Suhrada in the COUNTY. Where's Farley on this outrage? The problem of Schenectady County students going to HVCC {for engineering courses} will not be solved by "networking".
Another note is McGraw is running in Nisky. SCCC is a training ground for future socialist candidates. This waste of taxpayer money should be immediately ended. This will do nothing to improve SCCC which is becoming another taxpayer pit. This calls the judgement of the new President into question.
When Kevin DeFebbo moved here from Wyoming County, he didn't need an escort service to go out and meet people! WTH?
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
HE IS CAUSING THE TROUBLE AND WE DONT NEED THAT NUT ANY WEAR PEOPLE HE IS LOSING HIS MIND AND COMPLAINING OVER THINGS THAT DONT MATTER AND THAT ARE GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE
"good for people" wasting $30,000 on a social director. Here's an idea-why didn't the puppets on the SCCC Bored make Death Ray the new President? He knows all the movers and shakers already-lol!
Editorial: County money being thrown around again Friday, September 18, 2009
Schenectady County Community College may well get $30,000 worth of bang for its investment in a local business consultant to open doors for the college’s new president, but it’s hard to imagine that, for that kind of money, Quintin Bullock can’t make a few phone calls and open his own doors. It would probably be easier to justify spending $3,000 a month for the services of a guy like Wally Altes — former Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce president and head of Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton’s transition team several years ago — if the county was in better financial shape. But like most governments in the area, it’s struggling. In fact, without the juicy, $7.3 million assist it got from the federal economic stimulus program, the county would probably be passing a third consecutive tax hike this year. Instead, its proposed budget would cut the tax levy by 2 percent. (It is, after all, an election year.) But the proposed $288 million county budget represents an increase of more than 3 percent over the current budget, and with the nursing home and county court fixes yet to be implemented, the situation for county taxpayers is bound to get worse before it gets better. Which is why stories like the one about Altes and his $3,000-a-month contract can’t help but raise eyebrows. And it’s not as if it’s the first such example: Within the past three years, county Democrats have created cushy, Civil Service-exempt jobs for an assortment of party officials and friends: The most notorious was probably the hiring of Ed Kosiur, former county legislator, to an $80,000-a-year assistant social services commissioner’s post; but there was also the $60,000-plus spokesman’s job now occupied by Joseph McQueen, Glenville Democratic chairman; the $66,400 deputy director of human resources job for Ellen Malkis, Niskayuna Democratic chairwoman; and the $95,000 director of human resources job for David McGraw, Democratic committeeman, friend and neighbor of county Chairwoman Susan Savage. By themselves, none of these patronage jobs could be considered bank-breakers for the county, but cumulatively, the amount of money they involve is hardly peanuts....................>>>>........................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/sep/18/918_prrints/
...people WAKE UP- WE HAVE TO GET RID OF THE LAST FEW REPUBLICANS IF PROGRESS IS TO CONTINUE!!
Right???
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Logged
This is why we need Joe Suhrada in the COUNTY. Where's Farley on this outrage? The problem of Schenectady County students going to HVCC {for engineering courses} will not be solved by "networking". 
