Albany Tech's medical, transportation and criminal justice initiatives highlighted in State of the College address

Sep. 21—ALBANY — The shoes that needed to be filled were big ones indeed, and Albany Technical College's interim president brought his own. However, the red tie he wore once belonged to the late President Anthony Parker and were given to Emmett Griswold as a gift from Parker's wife.

Griswold's Wednesday State of the College address, delivered on Wednesday, ushered in a new era with Parker's absence after nearly three decades at the helm. Griswold has served as interim president since Parker's death in June.

"He's been the president of this college for 27 years," Griswold said during an interview following his presentation. "There's a tremendous void to fill, (but) he poured everything he had into us. We're going to do everything we can to fulfill his goal of technical education."

One of the accomplishments listed by Griswold for the 2022 academic year that began in fall of 2021 is the "Living and Learning Center" at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. Parker proposed the concept as a way to increase the number of local graduates in medical programs, with the idea being to retain those new nurses and phlebotomists as staff in area medical facilities and address the shortage of nurses.

"This is an agreement and a collaboration between Albany Tech and Phoebe," Griswold said. "This collaboration has been going on for years. We wanted to ensure we were providing the nurses to service our region."

The new center is expected to increase graduates in those fields by at least 20 percent.

Construction of the facility, proposed for a location across North Jefferson Street from the main hospital campus, has hit a snag with a challenge from the Albany-Dougherty Historical Preservation Commission. The commission decided not to issue Certificates of Appropriateness for the demolition of five historic structures at the site.

Griswold expressed optimism that the project will be delayed but not derailed, and predicted it would be open at the latest in early 2025. When completed, the college will rent one floor for instruction, with students getting the opportunity to train at Phoebe as well as live on campus.

"They'll do their clinicals across the street at Phoebe Putney Hospital," Griswold said. "This is one of Dr. Parker's dreams and his vision that he wanted to bring to Albany. This is a project we're excited about and has gone through a lot of planning, a lot of discussion."

Another initiative will come to fruition in October when Albany Municipal Court Judge Willie Weaver Sr. begins holding evening sessions in Albany Tech's mock courtroom, which is part of the Criminal Justice Technology program facilities.

On many occasions the judge's sentences include a provision for the defendant to acquire a GED, which is where the college comes in.

"We will have a representative right there in the courtroom," he said. "Someone from admissions will be there and go see them and get them signed up."

While the enrollment numbers for the 2021-2022 academic year declined — going from 3,660 compared to 4,127 the previous year — and high school dual-enrollment dropped from 658 to 411, Griswold predicted the number will be up for the fall 2022 semester.

The college's retention rate also slipped by 1 percent, to 65 percent this year.

"That's not good enough for us," Griswold said, adding that an acceptable rate would be at least 70 percent. "We'll have strategies to improve the retention rate."

The interim president also announced that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held for the Anthony O. Parker Transportation Academy once a construction contractor has been identified. Commercial driving and mechanics, including diesel work, were passions for Parker, and since his death the college received permission to name the estimated $9.1 million facility in his honor.

"We will continue to carry the torch and continue to move forward and do what he wanted us to do," Griswold said. "He poured everything he had into this college. He (told us) 'These students deserve the opportunity to succeed, just like you and I.'"

The address can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pAgQOxKF4A.