Upstate Institute at Colgate University

The Upstate Institute at Colgate University

The Upstate Institute provides connections between Colgate University and the surrounding communities through the research conducted by our students, staff and faculty. Several of our programs are listed below and to the left. Our most recent newsletter provides additional information about our work.

Colgate students prepare to begin summer fellowships with community organizations

Colgate student fellows participating in the Summer Field School program are planning to work with 23 non-profit, community and government organizations this summer. In addition to providing capacity-building research while working full time with each organization, the students will study regional resources in an on-campus seminar. Visit the Upstate Field School page for information about this project.

New York Campus Compact announces Learn & Serve America Initiative for Faculty

The Upstate Institute is available to support Colgate faculty interested in pursuing a grant opportunity from New York Campus Compact for regional and discipline based projects in service learning and community partnerships. Please contact the Upstate Institute for more information.

Upstate Institute launches Lifelong Learning Program

A steering team of UI faculty, staff and community members has created a lifelong learning program for residents of the greater Hamilton community. The program's goal is to offer a continuum of learning and intellectual pursuits for a community of adult learners. For information about Lifelong Learning, visit the LLP page.

Colgate faculty discuss service learning

Four Colgate faculty members talk with Upstate Institute Director Ellen Percy Kraly about their efforts to incorporate various elements of service learning in their classrooms this year. Jennifer Brice, associate professor of English; John Gallucci, associate professor of Romance Languages and Literatures; Bruce Selleck, Harold Orville Whitnall Professor of Geology and director of the Harvey Picker Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study in the Sciences and Mathematics; and Nicole Simpson, assistant professor of economics, engage their students in a variety of field work, including participating in a naturalization ceremony and preparing resource inventories for local municipalities.

The mission of the Upstate Institute is to create linkages between Colgate University and the regional community to engage students, faculty, staff and residents in research and a reciprocal transfer of knowledge that will enhance the economic, social and cultural capacity of the area and sustain the environment. These projects provide a model of community collaboration and civic engagement for our students and within higher education. The Institute values scholarly collaboration as a way to support the region.

In the fall of 2003, Colgate launched the Upstate Institute to serve as a resource for organizations and individuals seeking regional expertise or information about Upstate New York. Directed by a senior member of the faculty, the Institute has inventoried the interests of more than 40 members of the Colgate faculty and staff whose work relates to Upstate New York. The Institute will leverage faculty expertise in disciplines as diverse as economics, history, art, literature, geology, and archaeology to create new intellectual capital and energy for the benefit of upstate New York.