College Names New Department Chair for Liberal Arts and General Studies

September 21, 2020

Casey Jakubowski, Ph.D. was recently named the department chairperson for the Liberal Arts and General Studies Department at Hudson Valley Community College.

Jakubowski has had a two-decade career in teaching and administration at the K-12 and collegiate levels. Most recently, he served as associate director of the Archer Center for Student Leadership at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he taught and helped lead curriculum development and mentorship programs for students. He has taught American history and global studies at the high school and collegiate level and has a background in curriculum supervision through seven years of employment at the State Education Department’s Office of School Accountability. He also served for five years as the coordinator of distance learning at the Capital Area School Development Association.

He is the author of the book, Thinking About Teaching: A Rural Social Studies Teacher's Path to Strive for Excellence, as well as dozens of peer-reviewed articles.

Jakubowski takes over the college’s largest academic department, which has nearly 2,000 students during the Fall 2020 semester. The department oversees advisement for students in Individual Studies and Liberal Arts and Sciences associate degree programs as well as part-time non-matriculated students through the Office of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions.

Jakubowski holds a bachelor of arts in history from SUNY Fredonia and a master’s in history from Binghamton University as well as permanent teaching and school district leadership certificates. In 2020, he completed his doctoral dissertation in educational leadership through the University at Albany, with a focus on rural education.

“We are excited to have Casey take over this very important post at the college,” Vice President for Academic Affairs Judith DiLorenzo said. “His background and willingness to implement new initiatives will certainly help guide the advisement staff and faculty of the department.”