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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Office of the Mayor
February 11, 2010 518-841-4311
Mayor Thane Discusses Education and Job Creation
with State Officials
Mayor Ann M. Thane and Dr. Dustin Swanger, president of Fulton-Montgomery Community College, met this week with officials from the NYS Office for Technology to discuss curriculum development and job opportunities in the area of information technology systems.
In speaking with Dr. Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, the agency’s director and State Chief Information Officer and Deputy CIO Catherine Durand, Mayor Thane and Dr. Swanger highlighted FMCC’s emerging Center for Engineering & Technology and the competitive skill set students will receive from the program. In addition, discussion with Christine Thayer, director of NYS Technology Academy, focused on the IT curricula offered by area institutions and the continued recruitment of qualified information technology professionals by NYS. Currently, consulting firms provide NYS with much of its necessary IT workforce, however the state continually seeks to provide placement in job and training opportunities to those who have attained at least entry-level IT certification.
In addition to FMCC’s partnership with an on-campus BOCES and the Business Education Alliance under Swanger’s leadership, Mayor Thane touted the successes of the Greater Amsterdam School District in forging programs such as Upward Bound with FMCC to combat the high school drop-out rate. Mayor Thane also spoke of the incentives created with Amsterdam’s potential selection for the newest NYS Office for Technology consolidated data center including necessary job creation. Citing the need for academic and professional advantage for the city’s youth and growing minority population, Thane argued that the efforts of the state technology office, local SUNY community college and the City of Amsterdam should work in concert to enhance professional development and employment opportunities in the immediate area, thereby reinforcing mutual benefits between the entities and support for the community.
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