About the Genesee Valley Center at Rochester

ABOUT GENESEE VALLEY CENTER

Empire State College was founded in 1971, by the State University of New York, with a mission of innovation. The vision of then-Chancellor Ernest K. Boyer rings true now as then:

"Empire State College was created by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York in response to the urgent need to provide new and more flexible approaches to education for New York State. We are being asked to serve more students of all ages, and therefore our educational programs must be expanded and focused on new ways in which education can be delivered to the people.

"Meeting these needs is an ambitious undertaking. It will not be accomplished simply or overnight. Nevertheless, we must identify the most promising approaches and press ahead, keeping the individual student constantly in mind, and tailoring education to his requirements. To do this we must find ways of acting on what we’ve long known: that learning is not bounded by time or place, and that it is a life-long process."

The first locations of Empire State College opened in the fall of 1971 in New York and Albany, and the Genesee Valley Learning Center opened on January 14, 1972, in Rochester, in the former Sacred Heart Academy building at 8 Prince Street. By 1973, the center had 15 faculty members and administrators and a number of students. At least five of that early 15 later went on to become presidents or CEOs of other colleges.

Today the center has more than 4,000 graduates, most still living and working in the broad Genesee Valley region, from Lake Ontario south to the Pennsylvania line. They have studied with our units in Alfred, Batavia, Canandaigua and Corning, as well as in Rochester. They are engaged in our region in government, business, industry, human services, community leadership, the arts and education. Almost half have gone beyond the bachelor's degree to graduate and professional schools, usually to their first-choice program, where they report being very well-prepared for their studies.

In 1999, the center moved from Prince Street to 1475 Winton Road North, where it celebrates 30 years of service, of excellence and innovation.