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FORMER NYS ASSEMBLYMAN ROBERT SWEENEY NAMED TO FARMINGDALE COLLEGE COUNCIL

Appointed by Governor Cuomo to Four-year Term

(Long Island, NY) Governor Andrew Cuomo has named former New York State Assemblyman Robert Sweeney – who served in the 11th Assembly District from 1988 to 2014 – to a four-year term on the College Council at Farmingdale State College.  Mr. Sweeney lives in Lindenhurst.

Robert Sweeney. Photo Credit: Farmingdale College.

The College Council is comprised of local community leaders who are appointed by the Governor. The Council serves in an advisory capacity to the college. Each member brings his or her particular expertise to the college, as well as his or her advocacy on particular issues of importance to Farmingdale State College. They are required to meet with the college administration four times per year to review college operations as well as new initiatives.

“I believe that Robert Sweeney will be a valuable asset as a Council member,” said Patricia Hill Williams, chair of the College Council. “We welcome his involvement and continued support of the College.”

“Farmingdale State College is an integral part of Long Island’s educational and economic structure,” Mr. Sweeney said.  “With a diverse and growing student population, mostly from Long Island, the college’s ongoing success is critical to Long Island’s well-being. I look forward to working towards that goal with President Keen, incoming President John Nader and the Council.”

Mr. Sweeney, a lifelong resident of the Town of Babylon district he represented, was one of the Assembly’s most effective legislators.  Areas in which he authored and helped pass legislation included health care; science and technology; economic development; transportation; and environmental conservation.

His association with Farmingdale extends back to the creation of its Broad Hollow Bioscience Park, a collaborative effort between the college and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory that aids in the development and advancement of high-tech industries, and offers students the opportunity of internships.  Broad Hollow now houses two tech start-ups as part of the state’s Start-Up NY program.

If there were such a volume, Mr. Sweeney would be in the Who’s Who of Award Winners too.  During his years of service in Albany he was honored by groups such as:

  • American Diabetes Association
  • ADDAPT, a consortium of more than 100 downstate manufacturing firms
  • EPL/Environmental Advocates
  • New York League of Conservation Voters
  • Healthy Schools Network
  • Audubon New York
  • Long Island Pine Barrens Society
  • Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment
  • Sierra Club Long Island Chapter and the national Sierra Club

A strong supporter of higher education, Mr. Sweeney received the 1996 Friend of SUNY Award and the 2001 Friend of Farmingdale State College Award.

Farmingdale State College prepares students with the education, skills, and critical thinking needed to meet tomorrow’s challenges. As the largest of SUNY’s colleges of technology (with almost 8,700 students), FSC equips students with the resources and knowledge sought by today’s emerging industries. Offering bachelor and associate degrees, FSC will soon offer its first graduate program.  At FSC, students learn in small, personalized classes and have abundant opportunities for applied learning—internships, clinical training, and guided research—that provide practical instruction and personal growth. Located an hour east of Manhattan, the campus offers residential halls, a lush 380-acre campus undergoing major renovation, and a highly successful NCAA Division III athletics program with modern facilities to make FSC one of the fastest-growing colleges in the region. In addition, in 2015, 2014 and 2013, FSC was listed one of the best colleges in the North and in 2013 FSC was the only SUNY school (and the only LI school) listed in the LEAST debt category in the section titled Student Debt Load at Graduation for regional colleges in the north. In 2015 UniversityPrimeTime.com again listed FSC the fifth safest college in the nation. Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/farmingdale.

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