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Assemblyman Marc Butler, fourth from left, and Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, fourth from right, hand a proclamation to SUNY Potsdam President Dr. Kristin Esterberg honoring the college on its bicentennial. They were joined Tuesday afternoon on the floor of the New York State Assembly by SUNY Potsdam students and staff.
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Assemblywoman Russell told her colleagues the representatives traveling to Albany for the Tuesday event included Dr. Kristin Esterberg, the college's 16th president; staff and SUNY Potsdam students.
The charter founding the college, initially known as St. Lawrence Academy, was signed on March 25, 1816, marking the culmination of a nearly four-year process from when the residents of Potsdam had sent a formal petition to the New York State Board of Regents seeking to establish the school.
Assemblywoman Russell, speaking on the floor in the Assembly chamber, said the efforts to charter the school started in 1812, but initial efforts were derailed by the War of 1812.
"It got delayed a little while. There were significant battles and skirmishes fought during that war in the North Country," she pointed out.
The college, one of the first 50 in the country, has a long and proud tradition. The St. Lawrence Academy opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 30, 1816. The Academy was later chosen to become part of the new Normal School system, officially becoming Potsdam Normal School in 1867. The Crane Normal Institute of Music, which later became The Crane School of Music, was founded in 1886.
In 1942, the institution became Potsdam State Teachers College, along with all other Normal Schools. Finally, in 1948, the State University of New York was established, and the campus would come to be known as SUNY Potsdam.
Assemblywoman Russell said the school's accessibility near the northern border has made it the college of choice for large numbers of North Country students over the years as well as offering programs that have attracted students from around the state, nation and world.
"I would like to express my gratitude for the role SUNY Potsdam has played to keep the American dream alive for residents of New York State and the North Country," she said.
She noted she was providing the SUNY Potsdam delegation with a proclamation honoring the college on its bicentennial.
Assemblywoman Russell said her mother and sister are graduates of SUNY Potsdam so the college always holds a special spot in her heart.
Assemblyman Marc Butler, a SUNY Potsdam graduate whose assembly district also covers a portion of central St. Lawrence County, joined Assemblywoman Russell in recognizing the college on its bicentennial.
Speaker Pro Tempore Jeffrion L. Aubry congratulated the SUNY Potsdam delegation on the college's 200th anniversary.
"This is an accomplishment and a tribute to the school, to the community and to the state," he said.
She noted she was providing the SUNY Potsdam delegation with a proclamation honoring the college on its bicentennial.
Assemblywoman Russell said her mother and sister are graduates of SUNY Potsdam so the college always holds a special spot in her heart.
Assemblyman Marc Butler, a SUNY Potsdam graduate whose assembly district also covers a portion of central St. Lawrence County, joined Assemblywoman Russell in recognizing the college on its bicentennial.
Speaker Pro Tempore Jeffrion L. Aubry congratulated the SUNY Potsdam delegation on the college's 200th anniversary.
"This is an accomplishment and a tribute to the school, to the community and to the state," he said.