College Names Three New Department Chairs in School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
September 12, 2016
Hudson Valley Community College has announced new leadership for three academic departments in its School of Liberal Arts and Sciences for the new academic year, which began on Monday, Aug. 29.
Heather Chase of Albany has been named the chair of the Liberal Arts Department, which oversees Liberal Arts and Science: Humanities and Social Science and the Liberal Arts honors programs. She also will be overseeing the Liberal Arts Advisement Center.
Chase served as an advising specialist in the department and previously held several academic and administrative roles at ITT Technical Institute in Albany. She led ITT's Academic Affairs unit, served as an academic dean and was an adjunct faculty member. Previously, she was a department chair and senior instructor at Empire Education, which operates two branches of Mildred Elley and Austin's School of Spa Technology. Chase earned a B.S. from The College of St. Rose, an M.B.A. from the University of Phoenix, and she is in the process of writing her dissertation for a doctoral degree in organizational leadership.
Scott Hathaway of Waterford has been named the chair of the Fine Arts, Theatre Arts and Digital Media Department, which oversees students in three academic programs – Fine Arts, Digital Media and Theatre Arts as well as the college's Teaching Gallery. The associate professor served as interim department chair for the past year.
Hathaway is a longtime faculty member at the college, having taught English Composition, Public Speaking, Advanced Journalism and Media and Culture courses for more than two decades. He earned the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2010. An alumnus of Hudson Valley with an A.A. in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Hathaway also earned his bachelor's degree in English and teacher education and his M.A. in English from the University at Albany.
Maryanne Pepe of Troy has been named the chair of the Human Services and Chemical Dependency Counseling Department. The department oversees students in five degree and certificate programs related to human services, addiction counseling and disabilities studies.
A certified social worker and longtime faculty member in the department, Pepe also served as interim chair for the department for the past year. The professor has been involved in academic advisement, curriculum development and mentoring of new adjunct instructors in addition to her teaching duties. She has been a faculty member at the college for more than 25 years and was a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2005.
Pepe received her bachelor's degree in sociology from Siena College and her M.S.W. from The University at Albany.
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Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College offers more than 85 degree and certificate programs in four schools: Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Science; and Liberal Arts and Sciences; and an Educational Opportunity Center for academic and career training. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, it has an enrollment of nearly 12,000 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and workforce training. Hudson Valley has more than 75,000 alumni.