Music industry students are already making good use of the fresh performance space in the Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media, but it took some rock stars to bring the project into fruition. The renovation of the space, formerly known as Jack’s Place and now called Studio G3, was made possible by the leadership and philanthropic support of Saint Rose Trustee George R. Hearst III and The Little Red School House Fund of The Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region. The space was celebrated with a music-filled ribbon-cutting on February 7.

Included in the renovation was: a new steel balcony with a control room, increasing capacity in the venue from an audience of 140 to 238; a new television in the hallway outside the studio to broadcast to overflow crowds; updated and more energy-efficient lighting; and upgraded sound and video equipment. Improved soundproofing means the performance space and recording studio next door can now be used at the same time. And a new acoustic glass door system with sidelights offers an expansive view into the space from the hallway, while a new entryway with a brick façade and a metal canopy give the space a club-like feel.

We captured how students feel about the space in a video.

The College of Saint Rose has signed an articulation agreement with Hudson Valley Community College, allowing students from HVCC to seamlessly enroll in the cybersecurity program at Saint Rose. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education has forecasted that the number of unfilled jobs in cybersecurity worldwide will grow to approximately 3.5 million by 2021.

“With a similar, holistic approach to educating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals, Saint Rose and HVCC were natural partners in this articulation agreement,” said Saint Rose President Carolyn J. Stefanco. “With decades of experience in the study of technology and an innovate approach to filling the need for professionals in a growing industry, Saint Rose looks forward to building upon the foundation in cybersecurity that HVCC has laid for its students.”

The articulation agreement sets up a clear pathway from the two-year degree at HVCC to a four-year degree at Saint Rose.

Read more about the agreement with Hudson Valley.

A recent installment in our video series “Love This Class” takes students inside the English classroom of Daniel Nester, associate professor at Saint Rose, on a day students were working on poetry.

Watch the video of Nester’s class to see what students came up with when presented with lines of text on strips of paper.

“I am an unlikely leader,” President Carolyn J. Stefanco wrote in her recent “President Speaks” column for Education Dive, which covers education news and trends. “As a first-generation college student and a woman who came of age in an era when the feminist movement was just beginning to challenge long-held assumptions about gender roles, I somehow managed to become a college president.”

In addition to sharing her personal journey to a college presidency, Stefanco also lays out several steps that should be taken to create leadership opportunities for women in the field.

Read Stefanco’s education Dive column here.