“The Role of Higher Education in the New Economy.”
WRVO will host another in a series of community forums on Monday, Sept. 14, in Syracuse. This program, which will be recorded and rebroadcast on WRVO, will allow audience members to participate in the discussion and ask any questions they may have about how higher education will be important in the new economy.
The panel will include SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley, President and CEO of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York (MDA) Robert M. Simpson, and Peggy Dudarchik, Senior Vice President of the Sensis Corporation. WRVO Morning Edition Host Jason Smith will moderate the discussion.
Biographical information about the panelists is included with this release (See below.)
This event is free and open to the public! Members of the media are welcome. Please let us know if you plan to attend.
WHAT: WRVO Community Forum
WHEN: Monday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m.
TOPIC: What is the role of higher education in the new economy?
WHERE: SUNY Oswego Metro Center
The Atrium Building
2 Clinton Square
Syracuse, NY 13202
Panel bios:
Deborah F. Stanley is the 10th President of SUNY Oswego.
Under Stanley’s leadership the School of Education achieved NCATE accreditation and the School of Business earned AACSB international accreditation. Other accreditations earned by the college include the American Chemical Society, National Association of Schools of Theatre, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, National Association of Music, and the Council on Technology Teacher Education.
President Stanley has served on the NCAA Division III Presidents Council and as a Commissioner for the American Council on Education. She is a member of American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Women Presidents group, a founding member of the New York State Campus Compact, and a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. She is on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York and vice president of the Metropolitan Development Association Foundation. President Stanley is a Director for Alliance Bank. Syracuse University has presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 2006 the New York State Senate named her a New York State Woman of Distinction.
Stanley is tenured in Oswego’s School of Business. She earned a baccalaureate degree with honors in English and a juris doctor degree from Syracuse University.
Rob Simpson serves as president & CEO of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse
Since joining the MDA in 2003, Simpson has led the organization’s efforts to guide and accelerate the transformation of the Central Upstate economy from a primary reliance on its traditional manufacturing base to a globally competitive knowledge-based economy.
To promote effective regional economic development and regional cooperation, Simpson has been a strong advocate of partnerships and coalition building, most notably through the creation of the Central Upstate Regional alliance, with members representing business, academia, and economic development organizations from each of the twelve Central Upstate counties.
Recently, Simpson led the Metropolitan Development Foundation’s successful effort to secure three grants from the Ford Foundation, a first for the Central Upstate region. These grants stem from work started under the Essential New York Initiative and further the effort to promote sustainable and equitable economic and community development in the region.
Prior to joining the MDA, Simpson worked as a policy associate and a government relations associate for Defenders of Wildlife and the State Environmental Resource Center, in Washington, DC. He also served as policy director for the State Environmental Resource Center, in Madison, Wisconsin. Simpson served as assistant legislative director for the Office of Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV, in the United States Senate.
Simpson is a native Central New Yorker who graduated from Colgate University in 1997. He earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Rob Simpson and his wife, Corinne Ribble, are residents of Syracuse.
Peggy Dudarchik is Senior Vice President and the Chief People Officer of Sensis.
Dudarchik joined Sensis in 1989 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer. In this role, she is responsible for strategic human resources planning, recruitment and staffing, employee development, training, benefits and regulatory compliance.
Prior to joining Sensis, Dudarchik spent nine years as a systems engineer with General Electric. As a systems engineer, she was involved in the design and development of detection and estimation algorithms for a passive sonar system for the U.S. Navy.
Dudarchik holds BS degrees in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Electrical Engineering from University of Dayton and MS degrees in Mathematics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University. She has also graduated from the General Electric Advanced Course in Engineering.
Moderator, Jason Smith, is WRVO’s Morning Edition host. Prior to becoming the local voice of “Morning Edition,” Smith served as the station’s morning news producer. He has won numerous awards from the Syracuse Press Club as well as the New York State Association of Press Broadcasters.
