Founder of Honors Program Dies On Eve of Homecoming

Founder of Nationally Recognized Honors Program
at Rockland Community College Dies On Eve of Honors Homecoming

Suffern, NY - The major force behind the nationally recognized Rockland Community College Honors Program lost his fight against cancer before his special guest appearance at the first Honors reunion to be held on Saturday, which is drawing alumni from as far away as California.

Saturday, October 24, 7 - 10 p.m.

Honors Homecoming -- Features premier of a documentary about the Program

Cultural Arts Theater, RCC Suffern campus

Admission: Free and open to the public

Sam Draper of Monroe, Retired Professor of English and co-founder of the Sam Draper Mentored/Talented Students Honors Program, was desperately trying to live long enough to attend the first reunion of his Honors students. He died on October 22 at the age of 84. There will be no funeral services at this time.

Dr. Cliff L. Wood, RCC President, said, "Sam Draper was a legendary scholar, teacher, mentor and friend who had a significant impact on Rockland Community College and the thousands of students with whom he worked. Sam had spent the last year planning the first Honors Homecoming as part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, and now this Homecoming will be a celebration of the life of our friend Sam."

Draper joined RCC as Professor of English in 1968, and in 1977, he co-founded the Mentored/Talented Student Honors Program. The program serves as a national model for community college honors programs. Draper continued to provide financial and advisory support to the program, which was renamed by the Board of Trustees in his honor the Sam Draper M/TS Honors Program. Draper was proud of the program and his students: "More than 2,000 students have completed the M/TS Honors Program earning an Honors Concentration in Liberal Arts and Sciences and have transferred as full juniors to Ivy League and Tier One colleges. No other community college in this country has such an enviable record." Libby Bay, Retired Professor of English, also co-founded the M/TS Honors Program.

For more information about Honors Homecoming, contact Hannah Lowney at (845) 574-4796 or hlowney@sunyrockland.edu

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Suffern campus map: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/about/campus-guide/map

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Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.