The SUNY Adirondack Foundation received
a $100,000 gift from Ruth and Sandy
Lamb of Queensbury in support of SUNY
Adirondack’s Sustainable Agriculture Initiative.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the
growing agriculture curricula at the college,
increase workforce opportunities in
the community and support agricultural
businesses for the region at large, college
officials said.
SUNY Adirondack has offered popular
continuing education and credit-bearing
classes in small-scale, sustainable farming
and, with this gift, is set to develop increased
course offerings and potentially a degree
program for students interested in pursuing
agricultural careers, officials said.
As it embarks on this academic pursuit,
SUNY Adirondack said it will seek partnerships
that link students, educators, local
farmers and community stakeholders; create
a campus advisory committee; explore how
best to strengthen production and distribution
activities among local farms; and, with
community input, advise the eventual creation
of a credit college program.
Ruth and Sandy Lamb’s gift will partially
fund the salary of a coordinator of agriculture
initiatives position for three years, after
which the college will fully fund the position.
A college hiring committee has selected
Jared Woodcock of Cambridge to serve as
the coordinator of agriculture initiatives.
Woodcock has served as an adjunct faculty for SUNY Adirondack’s science division since
2012 and is the owner/operator of Taproots
Farm in Washington County.
“We are taking a holistic approach with
this Initiative to include all constituents of
the college,” Woodcock said. “However, the
deep roots of farming in this region make it
essential that we also gather input from representatives
of off-campus entities, including
agricultural businesses that are proven
successful, as well as food safety advocates
and restaurants.”
“A quarter of New York’s land is devoted
to agriculture and it represents a nearly $6 billion industry in this state alone,” said
Brian Durant, vice president for academic
and student affairs at SUNY Adirondack. “To
strengthen the college’s support of this key
industry and provide students a pathway to
careers in agriculture is a great opportunity
and one we pursue gladly.”
“We’re humbled and honored to accept
this generous gift from the Lamb family
to the college foundation,” said SUNY
Adirondack President Kristine Duffy.
“Through the work of Dr. Tim Scherbatskoy
and his connections in the community, the
Lambs learned about our work to date and
have pledged their commitment to support
our future. We are excited about developing
new opportunities that will place SUNY
Adirondack at the center of this exciting and
continuously changing industry.”
Ruth and Sandy Lamb are residents of
Queensbury, rooted in the geography of the
Southern Adirondacks from their years on
a family farm in Hague, college officials
said. They continue to pursue grassroots
community efforts through the Tri-County
Transition Initiative of Warren, Washington
and Essex Counties.
The funds offered will be administered
by the SUNY Adirondack Foundation under
the terms of the foundation’s policies and
procedures.
Established in 1983, the SUNY Adirondack
Foundation is a 501(c) 3 charitable corporation
and provides more than $200,000 in
scholarships for local students each year,
sponsors mini grants and special request
funding for faculty and staff initiatives, and
raises funds for college projects.
Photo Courtesy SUNY Adirondack