Dr. Kristine Young to serve on governor's re-opening panel
Middletown. SUNY Orange president among education representatives on 'New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board.'
| 01 May 2020 | 11:18
Dr. Kristine Young, president of SUNY Orange (
)
SUNY Orange President Dr. Kristine Young has been tabbed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on an advisory board that will shape and guide the state’s re-opening strategy following expansive social distancing restrictions enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A blue-ribbon panel of more than 100 business, civic, health care and education leaders forms the group Cuomo has called the New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board. Young is one of nine college presidents named to the panel.
“We’ve come up with a phased plan to re-open New York so every region in the state has the same opening template as we begin this process,” Cuomo said when he announced the board membership. “We have to be smart about this – emotions can’t drive our re-opening process – and we’ve come up with factual data points that each region must monitor as they begin to re-open. We’ve also created a New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board made up of business, academic, community and civic leaders from across the state to help guide this process and ensure businesses are following the necessary guidelines to preserve public health as we work towards a new normal.”
Young is nearing the conclusion of her fifth year as president at SUNY Orange. In that time, she has begun to significantly reshape the student experience, while at the same time expanding access to the College and cementing public-private partnerships that place SUNY Orange in the midst of academic and workforce training innovation.
“This is a critical juncture in the history of our global community, and a pivotal time for New York State," Young said. "The Governor is asking all New Yorkers to reimagine a new normal. Community colleges will be just one important piece of the infrastructure that anchors our state’s reopening and guides us to the brighter tomorrow that the Governor envisions for all of us.”
Young is a member of the Hudson Valley Regional Economic Development Council and is completing her first year on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Community Colleges. The HVREDC encompasses Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.