With Pledge, Schenectady County Community College Moves Forward With Kindl Building Renovations
For Immediate Release: Oct. 20, 2014
Contact: Darren Johnson, c. (518) 728-4474
With Pledge, Schenectady County Community College
Moves Forward With Kindl Building Renovations
Board of Trustees Applaud Generous Donation, Approve Resolution for County Appropriation
Workforce Development training on the first floor, a business incubator on the second and third floors, and a garden on the rooftop to provide vegetables and herbs for a popular Culinary Arts program.
This is the vision for an historic Downtown Schenectady building, thanks to the pledge of a generous $200,000 donation from the Kindl Family Fund.
The Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) Board of Trustees tonight unanimously approved a resolution that now requests from Schenectady County appropriation of the funding. The County has been instrumental in helping the College continue its excellent relationship with the Kindl Family and manage its capital project fund.
“Schenectady County Community College is excited by the generosity shown once again by the Kindl Family,” said Dr. Martha Asselin, Acting President of SCCC. “We look forward to working with the County and SUNY in memorializing Catherine and Fred Kindl’s love for technology, innovation, new ideas, education and Schenectady itself. The Kindl Building promises to be a remarkable addition to the College and downtown.”
“It is our belief that the completed renovation of the building will foster the further revitalization of both the City and County of Schenectady and further integrate the College with the Community,” said Kindl family member Rosemary Harrigan in her pledge letter to the College. “Fred Kindl and now the innovators of tomorrow will continue the legacy of creativity in this lovely building.”
“Once again the Kindl Family has shown their love for education and commitment to our students and community college,” said Anthony Jasenski, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “On behalf of Schenectady County and my colleagues on the County Legislature, I want to thank Mrs. Kindl and the Kindl family for their continued support and understanding of the roll our college plays in developing our local workforce, promoting innovation and helping attract new businesses to the region.”
The Kindl Family donated the building, located at 201 State Street, to the College in 2009, in honor of Catherine and the late Fred Kindl, who made Schenectady their home for over 50 years. The building was valued at $150,000 and the family made an additional donation of $50,000 at the time. The family later added to that donation with a $150,000 donation toward renovating the building’s facade in 2013 and approximately $183,000 for scholarships over the past several years. Mr. Kindl used the building in his pursuits to expand knowledge in the areas of science and technology, so it seemed fitting to continue this tradition through these donations to the College. It is also interesting to note that George Westinghouse is believed to have once worked in this building.
With the most recent pledge and matching grants, the College will locate its successful Workforce Development program on the first floor, which offers non-credit and certificate training to improve worker skills and help area businesses; and hopes to allow the second and third floors to serve as business incubators, potentially through the Start-Up NY program, connecting students to the workforce and new technologies; and create a rooftop garden, to provide vegetables and herbs for SCCC’s signature Culinary Arts program. This also fits the wishes of Catherine Kindl, an avid gardener.
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About Schenectady County Community College: One of the 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, the nation’s largest comprehensive system of higher education, Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) in upstate New York enrolls more than 7,000 students. SCCC offers more than 45 career degree, transfer degree and certificate programs. The College opened its doors for classes in 1969 and continues to provide affordable comprehensive higher education and adult educational opportunities in response to local educational needs. To learn more, visit www.sunysccc.edu.
This activity has been funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration through Schenectady County Community College (Grant Number G06HP27890-01-00). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS.