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Media contact: 
David M. Henahan, director of communications
518-587-2100, ext. 2918
David.Henahan@esc.edu

518-321-7038
(after 5 p.m. and weekends)

May 21, 2012

SUNY Empire State College participates in 11th Annual Bike to Work Day

Alan Davis, president, and others seen here, bike to work often

Director of Environmental Sustainability Sadie Ross and Joe Boudreau, coordinator for special programs and retention with the college's Center for Distance Learning, decided to bike from Clifton Park to work in Saratoga Springs together Friday morning, May 18, using a network of bike trails or city streets with wide shoulders, talking all the way. Other employees at the Coordinating Center came from nearby Malta and the Saratoga Springs environs.

Bike to Work Day, celebrating its 11th anniversary nationally, has drawn Empire State College participants for the last four years, said Ross. Seventeen people took part in the event this year, including President Alan Davis and Provost Meg Benke, which Ross said "builds connections between the college and its surrounding community; provides camaraderie and exercise for employees; and to top it off, is an environmentally friendly way to get to work." The college started its Bike Share program last March; see launch video here. As a recent article in The Saratogian notes, the college has some of the highest participation in the city. There are at least five Saratoga employees who bike to work daily, Ross said.
 
“The results of the exercise lasts the whole day,” said Ross. “It’s also a lot of fun and gives you a wonderful sense of community.”
 
The 225 registered riders from such organizations as the Ballston School District, City of Saratoga Springs, GE and Blue Sky bicycles and residents of the Beekman Street Art District, rode a combined 2,722 miles, saved 108 gallons of gas and burned 116,702 calories, the equivalent of more than 368 chocolate Stewart’s ice cream cones (Stewart’s Shops was a sponsor), according to the Bikeatoga.org website. 

About SUNY Empire State College

SUNY Empire State College was established in 1971 to offer adult learners the opportunity to earn associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career. Students engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to learn at the time, place and pace they choose.

The college serves more than 20,000 students worldwide at more than 35 locations in New York state and online. Its 63,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more.

More information about the college is available here.

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