| Paul Smith's College | |
|---|---|
| Motto | “It's about the experience” |
| Established | 1946 |
| Type | Private |
| President | Dr. John W. Mills |
| Academic staff | 70 |
| Undergraduates | 1,000[1] |
| Location | Paul Smiths, New York, USA |
| Campus | Rural 14,200 acres (57 km2) wooded 35 buildings |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Athletics | Yankee Small College Conference USCSA |
| Mascot | Bobcat |
Paul Smith's College is a private college and is the only four year institution of higher education located within the boundary of the Adirondack State Park in Upstate New York. Paul Smith's offers both four-year and two-year programs in many fields, including natural resources, fisheries and wildlife science, forestry, recreation, biology, hotel & restaurant management, culinary arts, and business.
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Paul Smith's College was founded at the bequest of Phelps Smith, son of Apollos Smith, whose Paul Smith's Hotel was a famous 19th century establishment. The first class was matriculated in 1946, and was loosely based on the original hotel's business model. Paul Smith's College specializes in natural sciences, hotel management and culinary arts. Along with the money to start a school, Phelps also left more than 20,000 acres (80 km²) of land. Paul Smith's is located northwest of Saranac Lake, New York, in the hamlet of Paul Smiths in the Town of Brighton.
Paul Smith's College offers bachelor’s programs including Biology, Business, Culinary Arts and Service Management, Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Forestry, Hotel, Resort and Tourism Management,and Natural Resources Management and Policy (NRMP). Additionally, the college offers two year (or multi-year) degree programs in science, liberal arts, business; and certificate programs for surveying and GIS.
In 2007, Outdoor Life ranked Paul Smith's College as one of the top 10 colleges for outdoor activities and recreation.
Paul Smith's College is organized into three major academic divisions: the School of Forestry and Natural Resources( FNNR), the Division of Hospitality, Resort and Culinary Management (HRCM), and the Division of Sciences, Liberal Arts and Business (SLAB). Each division offers two- and four-year degree programs.
Classes are held in up to seven buildings on campus;these include the main classroom buildings at Pickett Hall, Cantwell Hall, and Freer Science Hall. Auxiliary areas include The Joan Weill Adirondack Library, The RATE Classroom, The campus' sawmill, Saratoga Hall, The Saunders Sports Complex, and The Joan Weill Student Center. All buildings are equipped with modern technological conveniences to enhance the learning experience.
Students in the Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs have the unique opportunity to earn academic credit for hands-on experience in operating a fully functional restaurant on campus, The St. Regis cafe. The restaurant serves American cuisine and is open to the public and the students during the week when courses are in session.
Most of the college population uses on-campus housing; residence halls are divided up to accommodate each individual class. Freshmen Residence Halls include: Lydia Martin Smith Hall, Currier Hall, and Livermore Hall. The freshman wellness building is Clinton Hall. Incoming transfer students are housed in Alumni Hall. Upper-classmen share Essex Hall, Franklin Hall,Lakeside Hall, Saratoga Hall, Upper St. Regis Hall, Lower St. Regis Hall . Upper-classmen wellness buildings include Blum House, and Hillside Hall. One non-coed facility is Lambert House(Female Only). A new dorm, open to upper-classmen named Overlook Hall, is slated to open Fall 2011, will be a 'green' residence hall that will be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified.[2]
Because of Paul Smith's rural location, the university abounds with campus based activities. There are many clubs on the campus which are mostly student directed and are administrated under the Office of Student Activities. Some current clubs on campus include: Fish and Game, Artisans' club, Outing club, Students for Environmental Action, Society of American Foresters, the Wildlife Society, WPSA (the campus' official radio station), Student Government Association, Whitewater Kayaking, Intra varsity Christian Fellowship, Ski and Snowboard Club, Gaming club, BGLAD (bi-sexual, gay, lesbian, and their defenders), Honors club,Wrestling club and several others.[3]
Though the campus is located on Lower St. Regis Lake, students are not permitted to enter the water from Paul Smith's College property.
The Lakeside Dining Hall is operated by Sodexo, and does not serve any food produced by the students in the culinary program. There is a bakery located in Cantwell Hall which opens a few days a semester to sell baked goods produced by Paul Smith's College students.
The college's size limits the amount and type of collegiate sports teams; currently the college raises teams from the school's general population and most teams are under the direction of administrative staff and faculty. Paul Smith's has intercollegiate teams in sports such as basketball, rugby, soccer and cross country running.[4] Due to Paul Smith's rural location and heritage, the college also offers more traditional sport programs such as snowshoe racing, co-ed woodsmen's teams,[5] co-ed Nordic skiing and canoe racing. In the warmer months of the school year students are given the opportunity to rent canoes to use on Lower Saint Regis Lake, located on the southern side of campus. Due to liability issues students are not allowed to swim in the lake.
In 2005 a multi-year renovation of the Saunders Sports Complex began. The building now houses the Bobcat fitness center, a gymnasium, dance studio and the campus pool. The pool is utilized by the SCUBA and dive training program, training for the campus' whitewater kayaking club[6] and log birling training which is an event in woodsmen's timbersports competitions. The facility is open to the general public for a nominal fee.[7] In 2010, a major renovation to the pool was completed, and a 32-foot (9.8 m)-tall climbing wall was opened in the adjacent Buxton Annex gymnasium.
The Paul Smith's woodsmen's teams have developed a very successful reputation in the east. The team has the longest winning streak in the history of intercollegiate lumberjack sports having won Spring Meet (the biggest meet of the season) from 1957-1966.[8] They travel to meets throughout the northeast as well as Ontario, Canada. Timbersports take place in both the fall and spring semester and the teams practice every month of the school year. Events include pole climbing, log birling, chopping, splitting, sawing, pulp toss, ax-throw, and pack-board relay.