POTSDAM — SUNY Potsdam will officially open the new offices for the College's Center for Applied Learning, which is the first center of its kind in the State University of New York system.

The mission of the SUNY Potsdam Center for Applied Learning is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to have one or more "high-impact" learning experiences during their studies.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 11 a.m.

In its newly renovated location in the Frederick W. Crumb Memorial Library, the Center for Applied Learning joins the offices of experiential education, international education and student research, in a "one stop shop."

The college welcomes two SUNY officials who will visit Potsdam to help inaugurate the new center next week, including Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice Provost for Strategic Management and Student Success Paul Marthers and Director of Applied Learning Elise Newkirk-Kotfila. SUNY Potsdam President Kristin G. Esterberg will join other campus officials and student representatives for the ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an open house with tours of the new office spaces.

The center is overseen by the new Dorf Endowed Director for Applied Learning, Jenica Rogers, who also directs the college libraries. SUNY Potsdam created the first-ever endowed position thanks to the support of Joy (MacDonald) Dorf '58 and her husband, Richard Dorf, a 1955 Clarkson University graduate. The Dorfs made this possible through the creation of a $1 million endowment and the gift of start-up funding for the new center.

Through an investment of campus funding and resources, the college recently completed a renovation and construction project to build new offices for the Center for Applied Learning in the library.

"We are building a center that will make it easier for students to blaze their path and follow their passion, even when that doesn't fit neatly into the box of classroom learning. We want our students to find internship, study abroad or faculty-guided research opportunities just as easily as they find a cup of coffee -- so when they come to the library, they will see the center's open doors, our showcase of student work and our energized staff, and they'll believe this is something that they can do. And in the end, they will leave SUNY Potsdam equipped to solve problems, develop ideas fully, and address real-world challenges," Rogers said.

Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher has called for every SUNY graduate to have access to applied learning opportunities, including the recent launch of InternShop, which will connect SUNY students to internships across the state, through a partnership with the New York State Business Council.

For more information visit www.potsdam.edu/studentlife/services/appliedlearning.