(NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Sept. 15, 2014) Niagara County Community College President James P. Klyczek and SUNY Empire State College President Merodie A. Hancock have announced that the colleges are partnering to offer students at NCCC’s Niagara Falls Culinary Institute (NFCI) a pathway to earn a B.S. in business, management and economics, with a concentration in culinary management, from Empire State College beginning this fall.

The pathways agreement guarantees admission for NCCC students who complete their A.A.S. in culinary arts into Empire State College’s bachelor’s program.

Course work will be provided through a blend of traditional classes at NFCI and online learning.

“We are incredibly excited to continue the momentum begun with the opening of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute last fall by offering our students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Empire State College, while remaining at the state-of-the-art facilities of NFCI,” said Klyczek. “This four-year degree with a concentration in culinary arts will give our students a competitive advantage in the quest for higher-level jobs in the industry. And, they will continue to learn and work in one of the region’s hubs for tourism, which is without question an added bonus when working in the hospitality field.”

“This is a great win-win partnership,” said Hancock. “NCCC Culinary students win by being able to get credit for what they know, as well as being able to move seamlessly into a bachelor’s program. Our colleges win, because together we are able to respond to the needs of our community. I would like to extend my thanks to staff at both NCCC and Empire State College for their work in reaching this agreement and for their continuing efforts in making the partnership successful.”

NCCC graduates will work one-to-one with faculty mentors from Empire State College to develop personal degree plans. As part of the agreement, Empire State College will offer the opportunity for NCCC students to earn credit for college-level learning gained through work or life experience.

In addition to advanced-level culinary courses, students in the bachelor’s program will study topics such as financial management, cost control, facilities and events management, management information systems, customer and vendor relations, marketing and sustainability. The courses designed for this program incorporate current best practices and emerging trends in the culinary field.

Klyczek noted that graduates of the bachelor’s program will be prepared to enter into management and various leadership positions in food service establishments, having been taught the practical skills and theoretical knowledge needed to manage the kitchen of a restaurant or hotel, or to own and operate their own restaurants.

Prospective students can contact SUNY Empire State College Senior Staff Assistant/Program Coordinator Colleen Reedy at 716-686-7856, or Colleen.Reedy@esc.edu and/or Niagara Falls Culinary Institute Student Service Advisor Hannah Berlund at 716-614-2537, or  hberland@niagaracc.suny.edu for more information.

More information about the partnership is available at https://choose.esc.edu/lp/pathways/nccc-culinary-management-pathway.php

About the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute

The Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, located in 90,000 square feet of the former Rainbow Mall in Niagara Falls, N.Y., opened its doors to more than 350 students Sept. 4, 2012. The institute boasts state-of-the-art teaching kitchens/laboratories, a student-run exhibition kitchen and a restaurant, pastry shop and deli.

The restaurant features an open view into the kitchen, allowing diners to watch the faculty and culinary students at work, adding a theatrical element to the dining experience. The dining facilities provide students the opportunity to showcase curriculum-based cooking techniques paired with elegant and proper presentations.

Other highlights include a culinary theater with a full demonstration kitchen for faculty and visiting guest chefs/speakers, a culinary-themed Barnes and Noble college bookstore, a wine boutique and exhibition space.

About Niagara County Community College

NCCC offers more than 70 high-quality degree and certificate programs, which provide graduates with job-ready skills that will put them on their path to a new career. The campus boasts a highly successful student development department, which is committed to providing students with the necessary support to achieve their personal and academic goals successfully.

Among the services the department maintains are career planning and services, academic counseling, accessibility services, advisement services, transfer counseling and veterans’ services. The campus also offers a rich student life, nationally ranked athletics programs and on-campus student housing.

The mission of Niagara County Community College is to provide a teaching and learning environment dedicated to excellence. Niagara County Community College is committed to maintaining the hallmarks of student-centeredness, accessibility, comprehensiveness, collegiality, community partnership and lifelong learning.

More information about the college is available at www.niagaracc.suny.edu.

About SUNY Empire State College

Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, educates more than 20,000 students worldwide at eight international sites, more than 35 locations in the state of New York, online, as well as face to face and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels.

The average age of an undergraduate student at the college is 35 and graduate students’ average age is 40.

Most Empire State College students are working adults. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part time.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each undergraduate student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career.

Working with their mentors, students design an individual degree program and engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or through a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to choose where, when and how to learn.

Students have the opportunity to enroll five times during the year.

The college’s 73,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more.

The college was first established in 1971 by the SUNY Board of Trustees with the encouragement of the late Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the SUNY system from 1970 to 1977.

Boyer also served as United States commissioner of education during the administration of President Jimmy Carter and then as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.

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Media contact: David Henahan, director of communications, SUNY Empire State College

518-587-2100, ext. 2918

David.Henahan@esc.edu

518-321-7038 (after hours and on weekends)###

Media contact: Gina Beam, director of public relations, Niagara County Community College

716-614-6222

gbeam@niagaracc.suny.edu