Advertisement. Advertise with us

6o ‘ENVISIONEER’ ACHIEVING

INCLUSIVE ONEONTA BY 2025

SUNY Oneonta President Nancy Kleniewski leads a discussion group that includes, clockwise from her right, Ernesto Henriquez from SUNY's Psychology Department; Southside Mall Manager and Foothills board president Luisa Montanti; Kelly Place from the Oneonta Arts Council; Ellen Sokolow, an architect now living in Franklin, and Joyce Miller, who chairs the city's Community Relations & Human Rights Commission.  (Jim Kevlin/allotsego.com)
SUNY Oneonta President Nancy Kleniewski leads a breakout group that includes, clockwise from her right, Ernesto Henriquez from SUNY’s Psychology Department; Southside Mall Manager and Foothills board president Luisa Montanti; Kelly Place from the Oneonta Arts Council; Ellen Sokolow, an architect now living in Franklin, and Joyce Miller, who chairs the city’s Community Relations & Human Rights Commission. (Jim Kevlin/allotsego.com)
City Superintendent of Schools Joseph Yelich reports back on his breakout session.
City Superintendent of Schools Joseph Yelich reports back on his breakout session.
Julia Goff, Destination Oneonta (formerly MSO) director, discusses the challenges a newcomer can face with Mark Vaugh of Corning Inc., keynoter at today's Inclusivity Summit.  Lynne Sessons of ARC Otsego listens.
Julia Goff, Destination Oneonta (formerly MSO) director, discusses the challenges a newcomer can face with Mark Vaugh of Corning Inc., keynoter at today’s Inclusivity Summit. Lynne Sessons of ARC Otsego listens.

ONEONTA – Sixty citizens spent half a day today “envisioneering” – a term coined by late Mayor Dick Miller – on what ONE-onta ought to look like in 2025.  “You have unity in your name,” observed the keynote speaker, Corning Inc. Ph.D. Mark Vaughn.

The occasion was an Inclusivity Summit, hosted in Foothills Performing Arts Center,  and while discussion included the need to make a diverse population welcome, also discussed was how to make everybody – college students, homeowners, natives and newcomers, the well-off and less well-off – be at home in the “City of the Hills.”  One  simple suggestion: Encourage everyone to say “good morning” to everyone they meet.

City Schools Superintendent Joseph Yelich and Vaughn made the same point: STEM, science, technology, engineering and math, is our future. Or perhaps STEAM – an acronym that adds art, the means of bringing people together.

Vaughn, a scientist who assembled Corning’s success UPWARD diversity program, reported that only 50 percent of people entering the work force in the Southern Tier have “basic competency” in seventh- and eighth-grade math. Yet, by 2016, eight of the top 10 jobs in the Southern Tier will require STEM education.

While there are 3.7 workers for every job opening in that region, STEM jobs are going vacant because qualified people can’t be found.  Raising STEM skills equals prosperity.

Following Vaughn’s address, attendees broke into 10 groups to brainstorm on ways to create a more welcoming Oneonta, then reported back their findings. The day ended with “gang voting,” whereby each attendee placed five stickers next to the most compelling recommendations.

Susan Turell, dean of SUNY’s School of Social Science, chaired the steering committee that put together today’s summit.  She said the steering committee will meet to compile the findings and report back.

Posted

Related Articles

Killer Ricky Knapp Dies In Prison

Killer Knapp Dies In Prison; Guilty In SUNY Coed’s Death ONEONTA – Ricky Knapp, the man convicted of the 1977 death of SUNY Oneonta student, has died in Mohawk Correctional Facility, according to prison records. Knapp, 66, died March 8, having served 40 years of a 25-to-life sentence for a 1978 manslaughter conviction in the death of 18-year-old Linda Velzy, a SUNY student from Long Island. According to reports, Velzy was last seen Dec. 9 1977, hitchhiking in downtown Oneonta.…

On Stage: ‘Cabaret’ from the Crew POV

After rehearsal, I sat with Drew, Katelyn, Tim Iversen (music director), Sophia Milton (assistant stage manager), and Tatum Sasser (assistant stage manager). Not surprisingly, the two directors spoke to the bigger picture of the production and how they have thought through the acting and musical numbers.…