It s been almost a year since COVID-19 forced college leaders to shut down on-campus classes. At SUNY New Paltz, that meant figuring out how to bring study abroad students home, move 3,400 students out of residence halls, and transitioning to a virtual learning model. Spring break was extended by a week to give professors time to prepare to teach online. There was no playbook for making such sweeping changes. Through guidance from SUNY central, other institutions, and adaptation on the go, New Paltz brought just about half its students back to campus in the fall and relied on a mix of remote and in-person instruction. In January, I caught up with Donald P. Christian, the president at SUNY New Paltz. We recapped how the last year has played out and the promise of the coming semester.
Children at play at the YWCA of Ulster County in Kingston. Last March, at the beginning of the quarantine, the YWCA of Ulster County hoped to stay open and promised to continue their programs and services to the community for as long as they could. They kept that promise and never closed, but unfortunately many people who were now working from home didn t need their early childhood programs. Lack of attendance seriously impacted the YWCA s bottom line. It was an enormous financial hit, with the programs being reduced by 75 percent, says Susan Mack, executive director of the YWCA of Ulster County.
Photo by Winona Barton Ballentine Sun floods into Oldenburger and Smykowski’s kitchen,even on winter days. The thriving wall garden adds layers ofgreen to the beige-on-white design. Oldenburger found twoof the Vernor Panton chairs by Vitra at a vintage shop andmatched them with a round table and pillar pedestal base.The wall pots and hanging lamp are both by West Elm. “I dolove plants,” she says. “I try to have live plants throughoutthe house and encourage my clients to also.” Megan Oldenburger has mastered the art of not breaking the mold rather, instead, redesigning it. The founder of Dichotomy Interiors, Oldenburger has spent a decade taking the Hudson Valley s outdated Colonials, worn-out farmhouses, and funky, falling apart hand-built homes, as well as myriad other vernaculars, and transforming them into livable, flowing, th
Game Changer, Susan Copich Decay and mortality in America s Rust Belt, child labor, women depicting women, and the intersection of rigid graphics and lyrical line work in this month s round-up of Hudson Valley art exhibits.
Susan Copich at Windham Fine Arts Set in Youngstown, Ohio, Copich s latest work, then he forgot my name, is a self-portrait photography series examining decay and mortality in America s Rust Belt. The series emerged over three years while Copich shuttled between her hometown in Ohio and upstate New York, and spending time with her father, who was battling dementia. Using a rundown family-owned building in downtown Youngstown as a backdrop, she set out researching the structure s history and re-imagining past occupants. Copich s photography illuminates a psychological landscape through the pain of living, the continuum of decay, and the struggle for change while reflecting on the collective awakening of female
Now more than ever, we need to celebrate the diversity of our locally owned business community. Chronogram Media is supporting BIPOC-and-women owned organizations by donating services and advertising. Each month, we’ll be highlighting some of our partners in our pages and we invite you to join us in supporting them.