Category Archives: Education/ Training/ Personal Development

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Brian Rollo, a leadership coach and cultural business strategist, is re-examining his business model in response to the business climate caused by COVID-19 and challenges employers will face.
“I’m always thinking, ‘What is three steps from now? How is this going to change business for me, and for the people I help?’ There are three key things businesses will need to think about as we move into a new normal,” said Rollo, who does business as Brian Rollo Consulting.
“First, in what way do we bring people back into the office now that we’ve built the infrastructure for them to work remotely. How many and who? Or is it more efficient to allow people to work from home? Do we build a hybrid workforce?” said Rollo.
“Second, there’s going to be real conversations going forward on social distancing and wearing masks. If everyone is back at work, how do we navigate some staff feeling comfortable attending closely-packed meetings when others don’t? What does that look like? What if some people are more comfortable wearing a mask while others are not, and will that become its own source of unintentional bias?

By Jennifer Farnsworth
At the Saratoga Learning Center, owner Susan Kiley is working to help students meet their educational needs during the upheaval of normal schooling caused by coronavirus pandemic.
The virus temporarily closed schools for a time, then more recently the closing was made permanent for the 2020-21 academic year.
That leaves parents, students and educators in a place that is unfamiliar, trying to navigate through the process of distant learning. Kiley said the nature of her business is to provide that extra support to students, and she said her staff is ready to help.
Saratoga Learning Center is offering additional online tutoring and proctoring services to students due to the COVID-19 virus.
“We are closely following the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines and recommendations on steps we can take to help prevent the spread of the virus, including utilizing the practices of hand sanitizing, social distancing, and masks,” she said.

SUNY Empire State College announced seven new concentrations in its online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Management program aimed at providing the skills needed to enter growing fields like healthcare management, IT management, global trade, innovation and entrepreneurship, and more.
The new concentrations have received approval from SUNY and the state Department of Education.
SUNY Empire’s graduate business programs have seen an 80 percent increase in credits taught from the 2016-2017 academic year to the 2019-2020 academic year. SUNY Empire expanded its areas of study for MBA candidates to allow them to tailor their program to suit their interests, and in response to employers’ growing needs, officials said.

Saratoga Springs-based SUNY Empire State College 1-Stop student services staff are now located under one roof at the newly renovated building at 111 West Ave.
“SUNY Empire’s statewide footprint requires the college to provide the same level of service to students in real time during normal business hours, online, by telephone and in person, at the college’s 34 locations across New York state,” said SUNY Empire State College Officer-in-Charge Mitchell Nesler. “SUNY Empire’s adult, nontraditional and part-time student population requires approaches distinct from the traditional campus-based model, which focuses on a younger, residential, full-time student population.”

Cecilia Aldarondo, a filmmaker and assistant professor of English at Skidmore College, has been named a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow.
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced the prestigious award to 168 scholars, artists and writers Wednesday, April 10. The foundation said recipients are selected for “prior achievement and exceptional promise.”
“When applying for an honor as elusive as a Guggenheim Fellowship, I mostly had to close my eyes and hit ‘submit,’ and put all hope out of my mind,” Aldarondo said. “I am thrilled to have the support I need to continue two documentaries I am currently directing, one on the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, and the other exploring the keen anguish of adolescence.”

The application period for the Leadership Saratoga Class of 2019-20 is open.
The program is designed to orient and train persons who are interested in becoming more involved in their community in volunteer leadership capacities. In addition, participants will receive in-depth knowledge about some of the critical issues facing Saratoga County.
This will be the 36th class of this award-winning program.

The number of applicants for the incoming Class of 2023 at Skidmore College has climbed in each of the past four years. This year, Skidmore received 11,050 applications, the largest number in college history.
Applications have grown 31 percent over five years. Skidmore received applications from 50 states, Washington, D.C., five U.S. territories, and 141 foreign countries. New York, Massachusetts and California yielded the largest number of applications.
Officials said applications from domestic students of color also continue to grow, increasing from 20 percent to 34 percent of Skidmore’s applications over the past decade.