It’s usually students and their families who must adjust to a new location as college starts. But in Plattsburgh, students and staff at Clinton Community College are getting used to new surroundings as the college opens in a new location.
Students from the Advancing Success in Associate Pathways program, which provides added support and assistance to students, are among the first to line up Thursday for tours and orientation at the new Clinton Community College.
The former Redcay Hall on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus has been transformed into the main building for Clinton Community College.
Acting President Ken Knelly explained that the move, announced over a year ago, from its former campus at Bluff Point overlooking Lake Champlain, was motivated by financial and accreditation issues.
“Easy is not a word I would use to describe the move. But it was fast,” Knelly remarked. “The college announced in January of ’24 that it was intending to move the campus because of the financial and the accreditation challenges that it had. We were really focused last fall on building enrollment and getting re-accredited because if those two things hadn’t happened last year we wouldn’t be standing here now. And they actually began the move about a month and a few days ago. It took us almost three weeks to move the full campus from the Bluff to here.”
On Thursday, Students entering the new Moore Building for the first time found the new space brighter and more convenient to city amenities than the old site. Danika Clowney, from Peru, New York, is in her second year at Clinton Community studying criminal justice.
“Sadly we lost the view. That was really nice. But I like being at Plattsburgh around here because now we have a lot more people to like socialize with and more areas to wander, which is nice,” Clowney said. “And downtown is right around the corner with a lot of nice coffee places, bookstores. I feel like it’s a good area just to like be at and wander.”
Knelly led a tour of Clinton Community College’s new George Moore Building.
“So we’ll do, um, I’ll go downstairs and then the classrooms and then the faculty offices and then do you want to go over to the house?” Knelly asks.
A person answers, “Sure.”
Along the way, the group encountered Humanities Professor Gina Lindsey tidying up a new office.
"I do think it’s going to be extremely helpful to have us sort of all in the same area.” Lindsey continues, “Just being in closer connection with one another it can streamline our services for students. So I think that’s going to be a big improvement for us just to be able to help them with what they need.”
Lindsey had been teaching at the Bluff Point campus since 2000. While she’s excited about the move, it’s also an emotional change.
“I was up there for 25 years. It’s very hard to leave a place where you’ve spent most of your life and career. And you know it’s such a beautiful place. I actually am up there about three or four times a week. I still walk up and down the hill most nights. So I haven’t entirely left. You know I see it most nights of the week,” Lindsey said. “But I’m not going to say it’s not sad and wistful but we are very excited about our new location and what we can accomplish here.”
Clinton Community College expects full and part-time enrollment this semester to be about 500, a 10 to 12 percent increase over last year.
A separate building next door houses administrative staff.
The college community will have the weekend to adjust to their new digs – classes begin Monday.
