For Release: Immediate – May 6, 2019
Contact: Tim Scee, Public Affairs Specialist
                    (315) 792-7307 | sceet@sunypoly.edu 

SUNY Poly Professors Receive Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency’s 2019 Community Builder Award

UTICA, NY – The Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency Inc. (MVCCA) Friday presented two SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) professors with its 2019 Community Builder Award at the organization’s 53rdAnniversary Gala. They were honored for their longstanding commitment to improving the lives of children throughout the Mohawk Valley. 

Dr. Veronica Tichenor, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Psychology Professor Dr. Joanne Joseph, who are core faculty members of SUNY Poly’s Community and Behavioral Health Program (CBH), were chosen to receive the award by a unanimous vote of the selection committee. The award is presented to a business or group that has contributed unselfishly to the betterment of our community. The business or group must be involved in the local community and committed to making a difference. 

“The work and guidance given by both Dr. Tichenor and Dr. Joseph to MVCAA has been an integral part of MVCAA’s ongoing goal of helping children to overcome the many obstacles they face and for our staff to have a better understanding of those obstacles and have the proper tools to assist them,” said MVCAA Executive Director Amy Turner. “SUNY Poly is a significant community partner in our mission of helping people, changing lives.”

“Drs. Tichenor and Joseph are to be commended for their dedication to guiding children as they overcome hardships, which can have a lasting, positive impact in our community,” said SUNY Poly Interim President Dr. Grace Wang. “I am thrilled that members of our faculty are so dedicated to making a tangible difference in people’s lives, and on behalf of all SUNY Poly faculty, staff and students, I am proud to offer my sincere congratulations for this well-earned recognition.”

“For a number of years, Dr. Joseph and I have been working with local organizations, including the STOP ACEs Initiative and Ready for Kindergarten (R4K), to help address pressing needs in the lives of children and their families,” Dr. Tichenor said. “Being involved in these partnerships has been a wonderful opportunity to work with a wide range of organizations, as well as to provide unique educational experiences for our Community and Behavioral Health students in the form of agency-based projects. Through these projects, our students have gained valuable skills and experience, all while contributing to the mission of a number of agencies in the greater Mohawk Valley. We are proud of them and what they have done for their community, and look forward to more of this kind of collaboration in the future.”

“Children are the most vulnerable during the first five years of their life. They need to be nurtured and protected,” Dr. Joseph said. “MVCAA’s Head Start programs are dedicated to the health and welfare of our nation’s most vulnerable youth. SUNY Poly is vested in promoting a culture of civic responsibility. As professionals from SUNY Poly, it has been our privilege to support the efforts of MVCAA’s Head Start program on behalf of the children in Oneida and Herkimer counties. We are pleased to accept this award on behalf of the institution and look forward to our continued partnership with MVCAA.”

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About SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)

SUNY Poly is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany campus, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visitwww.sunypoly.edu.

About the Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency (MVCAA)

Mohawk Valley Community Action is the frontline resource for people living in poverty in Oneida and Herkimer Counties, providing direct services and support for education, employment and family support services. For anyone living in the Mohawk Valley, whether they were raised in poverty, or they suddenly find themselves there due to unemployment, disability or a change in household, Mohawk Valley Community Action should be considered their FIRST STEP when seeking assistance.  By helping people in poverty follow a clear path to improvement, Mohawk Valley Community Action provides hope for a better tomorrow for those in our community who need it the most.