MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—Dozens of SUNY Orange alumni returned to the community college on Sept. 27 to share their memories as part of the college’s year-long 75th anniversary celebration.
Nearly 75 years ago, a group of visionary citizens took it upon themselves to start a community college in Orange County to afford hometown high schoolers more opportunities in life.
With the blessing of state and county investments and a donated property from Christine Morrison, a prominent citizen, the college opened its doors to 160 students on Sept. 21, 1950.
Over the past decades, the college has nurtured the minds and souls of local high school graduates and prepared them for opportunities beyond the county; many later returned home to put their skills to use for the local community, according to alumni at the event.
Thomas Littner, a retired dentist, graduated from the community college in 1977 and moved on to attend Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York, and Georgetown University School of Dentistry in Washington before returning to Middletown to open his own practice.
“After high school, I felt like I needed to be home for two more years because I wasn’t quite mature enough and wasn’t quite ready enough to go away,” Littner told The Epoch Times. “A lot of my high school friends all came here, and we grew up together.
“And by going here, you save money, a lot of money.”
Lois Ann Hayes, a former SUNY Orange women’s basketball coach, graduated from the community college in 1975 before attending Marist College on a basketball scholarship and working 35 years as a special education teacher and coach at a local school district.
Four of her six siblings, including Lisa Hayes, now a student development program director at SUNY Orange, started their higher education journeys at the community college.
“We were a very large family with seven kids,” Lois Ann Hayes told The Epoch Times. “I think the biggest thing about the college was that it was affordable. It allowed us to go to college and led to a stepping stone for us to move on to a four-year institution.”
Adam McCarey, a 1996 graduate of SUNY Orange, told The Epoch Times that the community college helped him build up academic confidence in a caring and personal environment.
“When I graduated from Middletown High School, I wasn’t the best student. So, when I first came here, I had to start with a remedial writing class,” McCarey said.
“The education you get here is vastly different than a four-year university—you have smaller classes, and you get that one-on-one time with your professors,” he said.
“I believe that without SUNY Orange, I would not have been able to go on to a four-year university.”
McCarey went on to attend the University of Albany and then returned to Middletown to work as a firefighter and fire inspector. He now owns a code enforcement consulting firm and chairs the board of SUNY Orange Foundation.
Orange County Judge Richard Guertin, a 1975 graduate of SUNY Orange, told The Epoch Times that the college laid a foundation for his future education and professional growth.
“I had professors who were personal and focused on the students and their needs,” he said. “They taught us how to communicate and write well, and they encouraged us to do independent learning, so it really was the foundation for learning for the rest of my life.”
Guertin later attended Hamilton College and New York University Law School before returning to Middletown to practice law. He served for years as a city attorney and city court judge.
Lucca Dobson and Jacob Benoist—both of whom attended Valley Central School District and graduated from SUNY Orange in the past two years—told The Epoch Times that the college helped them build up foundational knowledge necessary for further higher education.
“I think it prepared me well,” Benoist, who now studies environmental science at New York University, said. “You can’t go wrong with biology and psychics, foundation kind of thing.”
“The story of SUNY Orange is truly the story of our alumni,” Carly Glassé, alumni engagement manager at SUNY Orange Foundation, said. “For 75 years, SUNY Orange graduates have built careers, communities, and lifelong connections.”
SUNY Orange Foundation will host a series of celebratory events before the college’s 75th birthday on June 9, 2025, including an on-campus event in Middletown on May 16, a gala on May 17, and a Newburgh campus salute on May 18.
SUNY Orange was the first county-sponsored community college in the State University of New York system and the first college in the nation to offer an associate degree in nursing.
