president’s report to the community President Robert Nye greets a graduate during commencement on May 20 at Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center. photo by rikki van camp Dear Community Member, As president of the College, I like to share student stories at commencement. They can be humbling. Take Kim Nelson, who enrolled in her 60s following an exceptionally difficult life that included addiction and incarceration. She embraced higher education for the lifeline that it is, finishing with an associate degree and an acceptance to Keuka College’s bachelor’s program in social work. I also remember Lway Soe, a nursing graduate who grew up in a refugee camp in Thailand and became the first in her family to finish college. Over 55 commencements, our College has celebrated some 30,000 graduates, each with a story of striving and perseverance. As FLCC makes a difference in each of those lives, it leaves a lasting, cumulative impact on the community. The average associate degree graduate from FLCC will earn $313,900 more in a lifetime than a high school graduate working in New York. They will pay taxes on that income, more than repaying the public investment in their education. A recent study of the College’s economic impact, commissioned by FLCC and Ontario County, offers a fascinating look at how our employees, students and alumni contribute to the prosperity of the region. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year alone, FLCC added $197.9 million in income to the Finger Lakes region’s economy, supporting 2,411 jobs. Over this same year, state and local governments provided FLCC with $24.3 million. This investment yields returns in added tax revenue on students’ higher lifetime earnings and increased business output, amounting to $51.7 million. Additionally, for every dollar of public money invested in FLCC, taxpayers will receive $2.40 over the course of students’ working lives. The economic message is simple: Everyone benefits from community college – regardless of whether they take a class. Yet this study does not tell the whole story in so many ways. It does not demonstrate the full value of the most important thing we do at FLCC: transform the lives of our students. It also does not include the value local residents derive from free concerts, art shows, and sporting events at FLCC. Nor does it include the impact of our faculty and staff who contribute to our community. Examples include our faculty studying the water quality of the Finger Lakes and advising on strategies to manage invasive species. The Laker magazine tells many individual stories. This special section tells a collective story about FLCC’s role in the region. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about your community’s college, and when you get a chance, stop by to see all the great things we are doing! Best wishes, Robert K. Nye, President Finger Lakes Community College IN THIS REPORT Economic impact pages 16–17 Who we serve page 18 Striving for equity page 19 Program update page 20 Strategic planning page 21 Budget page 22 Foundation update page 23 Our supporters pages 24–27
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