Entire Magazine - SUNY Orange

By Mike Albright“Teamwork is the abilityto work together towarda common vision; theability to direct individualaccomplishments towardorganizational objectives.It is the fuel that allowscommon people to attainuncommon results.”– Andrew CarnegieTo chart CAPE’s future course,director David Kohn (standing inphoto at right) relies upon, fromleft, Don Green, Linda Grammand Dorene Iacovino.Andrew Carnegie developed theopinion shown at left during the late1800s as he forged a steel empire thatreportedly made him the richest man inthe world. Remarkably, Carnegie’s 19 thCentury philosophy on teamwork stillholds true today.At SUNY Orange, David Kohn doesn’troam the halls and stairways of theChristine Morrison House quotingCarnegie, but the College’s director ofContinuing and Professional Educationhas employed similar principles whileoverseeing a CAPE resurgence thathas the College’s non-credit businessbooming.Over the past two years, CAPE haswitnessed a sizeable enrollment spikein non-credit courses, with nearly8,000 students in classrooms annually.Contract training with local businesses,through CAPE’s Business Solutions andProfessional Development division, hasincreased by 200 percent and enrollmentin English as a Second Language (ESL)classes is up seven-fold. In addition,Kohn has streamlined the department’sbusiness model and adjusted itsorganizational chart to create moreefficient day-to-day operations.“This department wouldn’t functionwithout strong teamwork,” Kohnexplains. “We’ve targeted four majorareas that need to work together forus to offer the top-quality education,curriculum and customer service thatour students expect and deserve.”Kohn views the areas of programming,operations, sales and marketing as thecore elements that, when clicking inunison, keep CAPE humming smoothly.“Without those four working together,we can’t generate the necessary revenueand deliver the quality products we areoffering now.”In addition to contract training, ESLclasses and tuition-based non-creditcourses, CAPE also offers statemandatedclasses for drivers convictedof driving while intoxicated, managesthe Institute for Nonprofit Leadershipand Management, and delivers an arrayof workforce training opportunities forindividuals and businesses.In order to deliver top-notchprogramming while also meeting thedemands of the department’s variedcustomers and clients, Kohn says CAPErelies upon a staff that is devoted to thedepartment’s mission and objectives.Don Green heads the BusinessSolutions and Professional Developmentdivision while Linda Gramm andDorene Iacovino direct CAPE’sprogramming and operations,respectively. Along with Kohn, thisfoursome forms the nucleus of CAPE’sprimary management team.In addition, Rob Larkin coordinatesthe Drinking Driver program, LouDeFeo oversees workforce developmenteducation and Debbie Horowitzmanages the growing ESL curriculum.April Kinne, Alice McGeadyand Charlotte Sobanski lead theadministrative support team.CA18 Learning AliveThe Academic Affairs Magazine of SUNY Orange