Hudson Valley: Expanding to Orange County

by Kurt Gottschalk

When Eileen Chadwick started her career at Adelphi University 32 years ago, she was overseeing field internships as one of only two staff members working at the recently opened Hudson Valley facility. In her final year, Chadwick, now director of the social work program in Hudson Valley, helped oversee the opening of a new, upstate operation for Adelphi’s School of Social Work.

Adelphi is set to offer courses for the first time this fall in Middletown, New York. Two classes will be held in a rented classroom in the Bio-Tech Building at Orange County Community College (SUNY Orange). The initial offerings will be Issues in Social Welfare Policy I and Human Behavior Theory for Social Work Practice I, with second levels for both courses to be offered in Spring 2016. And that, according to Chadwick, is just the groundwork for building a presence in Orange County.

“In the future, students should be able to take additional classes online and also to come to the Hudson Valley campus to take some classes,” she said. “We’re trying to make a real connection to the service providers and the healthcare centers catering to a working
student population.”

The parallels between the two northern campuses aren’t lost on Chadwick. The older facility, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year, opened after the Hudson Valley Division of the National Association of Social Workers and other agencies in and around Poughkeepsie approached Adelphi with a need for continuing education for working professionals in the area. The Orange County location draws working students from across the Sullivan/Orange/Rockland counties corridor, some driving as much as an hour to get to class. With a growing base of graduates working in the vicinity, the need for an expanded presence was realized.

“We developed a program to have some flexibility, which was unusual,” Chadwick said of the early days at the Hudson Valley Center, adding that these efforts are being mirrored in Orange County. “We had evening courses and a part-time program. We now have a history in the community of graduating people. That helps us with initiatives and identifying needs.”

The Hudson Valley Center currently awards 40 to 50 Master of Social Work degrees per year. While the upstate operations remain considerably smaller than at the main campus, Chadwick said she recognizes the support the University provides. Three years ago, the Hudson Valley Center moved to a new building, increased staff numbers and updated technology.

“We continue to work on developing, enhancing and professionalizing the workforce,” she said. “The resources the University has given us have really been great.”