SUNY Orange officially opened its new Frontier TechLab, a state-of-the-art laboratory at the heart of the college”™s new telecommunication”™s degree program, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the college”™s Middletown campus Wednesday morning,
SUNY Orange President William Richards and Maggie Wilderotter, chairman and CEO of Citizens Communications Company, the parent company of Frontier, hosted the event, which featured brief remarks from state Sen. John Bonacic, Orange County Executive Ed Diana and Joan Wolfe, chairwoman of the college”™s board of trustees.
The 1,400-square-foot lab, located on the third floor of the college”™s Bio-Tech Building, will greatly enhance the curriculum of SUNY Orange”™s new associate”™s degree program in telecommunications, broaden students”™ academic transfer options and place students and graduates in position for internships and employment opportunities with Frontier.
The lab features an array of the latest telecommunications equipment, all linked directly to 20 computer workstations where students will be able to convert classroom discussions and theory into real-world projects and experience. The room also features an area where students can meet in small groups for lectures or class discussions. The college began offering classes in the telecommunications program this fall after 18 months of work by SUNY Orange and Frontier employees.
“The Frontier TechLab is a state-of-the-art telecommunications research laboratory where our students will study and train on the latest equipment available in the telecommunications field,” Richards said. “Few colleges at any level are fortunate enough to have a laboratory of this caliber on campus. The Frontier TechLab adds instant credibility to our new telecommunications degree program. We are tremendously grateful to Frontier and its vendors for collaborating with us on this project and turning the lab into a reality.”
“The TechLab is a tangible reminder of Frontier”™s strong partnership with SUNY Orange and a place where technical skills are taught through actual experience,” Wilderotter said. “It”™s a good investment for everyone: the community, the college, the students and Frontier. Communications is a technology that will never become obsolete.”
“We”™ve been given a great opportunity due to Frontier”™s willingness to be part of this project,” said Fern Steane, chairwoman of SUNY Orange”™s applied technology department, which oversees the telecommunications program. “Without a lab like this, you can”™t have an adequate telecommunications program at the two-year level when technicians today are expected to have ”˜hands-on”™ experience. You can”™t talk and work from a book when you are out in the field. What we”™ve created is an academic program that also includes an internship component with Frontier. We will be able to give our students hands-on training in the lab, and they”™ll be able to supplement that in the field during their internship course.”
As the college and Frontier moved forward with work on the lab, SUNY Orange and Rochester Institute of Technology finalized an agreement that facilitates smooth transfer to the RIT telecommunications bachelor”™s degree program for SUNY Orange students. Students in the college”™s applied technology department have also transferred successfully to New York Institute of Technology, Fairleigh Dickinson, SUNY Utica and SUNY Farmingdale, among others.
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