Congratulations Deborah Hauser ’94 Appointed Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2023-2025

Suffolk County Community College Alumni Association Congratulates

Deborah Hauser ’94 Appointed Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2023-2025

Sunday, June 25, 2023 3:00 PM

Walt Whitman Birthplace Association
246 Old Walt Whitman Road
Huntington Station, NY 11746

For Immediate Release

Babylon, NY, June 17, 2023 — Deborah Hauser of Babylon, NY was named Suffolk County Poet Laureate for the 2023-2025 term effective June 1, 2023. Suffolk County has had a Poet Laureate since 2003.  Hauser succeeds Dr. Richard Bronson and will be the county’s 11^th Poet Laureate.

Hauser is the author of Ennui: from the Diagnostic and Statistical Field Guide of Feminine Disorders (Finishing Line Press) of which poet and author Erica Wright says: “While important, feminist theory is rarely charming, Hauser brings charm to the subject of repression. Wordplay is combined with research and the poet’s particular brand of insight . . . this long poem is immediately accessible. It also constitutes one of the most disarming chapbooks I have read in quite some time.”

This appointment is a full circle moment for Hauser who has been an active member of the poetry community since 2007 when she attended a workshop taught by the county’s first Poet Laureate, George Wallace, at Walt Whitman Birthplace. Hauser also spent many years studying with Judy Turek and Paula Camacho at a workshop held at the Farmingdale Public Library as well as taking post-graduate classes at the 92^nd Street Y, New York University, and The New School.

An alumna of Suffolk County Community College, Hauser holds a Master’s Degree in English from Stony Brook University. She has taught literature and writing at both schools. Her poems and book reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in Ms. Magazine, Women’s Review of Books, Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Bellevue Literary Review, and CALYX. Her work explores the intersection of poetry and activism and is influenced by feminism, but often contains a bit of humor and whimsy.

She has featured at the Northeast Modern Language Association, New York University, Newman University, KGB Bar, Walt Whitman Birthplace, and Bowery Poetry Club and has presented her academic work at conferences including the Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference and graduate conferences at The City University of New York and Stony Brook University. She curates and hosts a monthly reading series at Jack Jack’s Coffee House for the Babylon Village Arts Council with funding from Poets & Writers Inc. and is the Secretary of the Suffolk County Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), a board member at the Long Island Poetry and Literature Repository, and an editor at Poetrybay.

Hauser appeared before the Suffolk County Legislature on June 6, 2023 to have the resolution designating her as Laureate approved. She read “After,” a poem with a modern twist on Cinderella and what really happens after “happily ever after.” The position will give her the opportunity to promote poetry and support poets in the local community.

“Everyone enjoys stories of double lives and secret identities. Children have Superman; intellectuals have Wallace Stevens” writes Dana Gioia. Hauser leads a double life on Long Island where she works for The Hartford; the same insurance company that Stevens worked for. She lives in Babylon with her spouse and two cats. She also enjoys running, yoga, music, and theater.

A celebration and reading will be held at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, NY, June 25 at 3 pm. Upcoming appearances and readings include The Muse Exchange at Neir’s Tavern, Woodhaven, NY,  July 12; The Gazebo, Oceanside, NY, July 24; Babylon Village Arts Council Art Walk in Babylon, NY, September 16; Arts on Terry, Patchogue, NY, September 17; and the Word Festival, Oceanside, NY, October 14.

Contact:

Deborah Hauser

Babylon, NY 11702

Dhaus@optonline.net

631 356 5058

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Suffolk Credit Union supports scholarships you can too!

New Community College Scholarship Program Announced by LIPA

Officials from the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) joined with representatives from Nassau Community College and Suffolk County Community College to announce a new community college scholarship program. The LIPA Scholarship is designed to provide education and training for students from households with incomes below the median income of Long Island and the Rockaways (approximately $100,000 for a family of four) living in historically underserved communities.

The LIPA Scholarship is a $350,000 commitment over the next five years to provide 50 full scholarships for students to attend either Nassau or Suffolk County Community College to obtain an associate’s degree or certificate that will help them pursue a career in the electric utility or clean energy sectors.

This investment is an effort to ensure that our workforce represents all the communities LIPA serves and that all of our customers can participate in the growing career opportunities available in the electric utility and clean energy industry.

Thomas Falcone, Chief Executive Officer of LIPA, said: “Electricity is the clean fuel of the future. Studies predict electricity will provide more than 70 percent of New York’s energy needs by 2050, and that it will be entirely carbon-free. With this growing industry, LIPA’s commitment to fund 50 scholarships at Nassau and Suffolk Community College over the next five years will ensure that our workforce represents all the communities LIPA serves, and that all our customers can participate in the fabulous and growing career opportunities available in the electric sector.”

Dr. Edward T. Bonahue, President of Suffolk County Community College, said: “The Long Island Power Authority’s generous scholarships will help us recruit and sustain students entering the STEM fields transforming our workforce and our region’s economy. With this support, LIPA joins the college in bridging our promising students from financial need to the high-need, high-wage disciplines that lead to a rewarding career.”

Dr. Maria Conzatti, Interim President of Nassau Community College, said: “Together with LIPA, Nassau Community College is pleased to meet the workforce development needs of our business partners and the educational aspirations of the Long Island community.”

The curricula offered at Nassau Community College and Suffolk County Community College include courses relevant to the work LIPA does to meet the clean energy goals set by New York’s Climate Act, as well as to fulfill LIPA’s mission of providing clean, reliable, and affordable energy to Long Island and the Rockaways.

The LIPA Scholarship will support income-qualified, graduating high school seniors, allowing them to extend their educational development and enter the utility and clean energy sectors. Participation in the LIPA Scholarship will provide graduates with a competitive edge in applying for employment at LIPA and its contractor, PSEG Long Island, who plan to hire hundreds of entry-level workers over the next five years.

This five-year program will provide annual funding for ten full-time, two-year scholarships for low- to moderate-income students who reside in disadvantaged communities, as identified by New York’s Climate Justice Working Group, planning to attend Nassau Community College or Suffolk County Community College. Residents of the following communities served by LIPA are eligible for the LIPA Scholarship:

Nassau County

• Westbury Village, New Cassel, Elmont, Hempstead Village, Uniondale, East Meadow, Valley Stream Village, South Valley Stream, Inwood, Oceanside, Roosevelt, Long Beach City, Glen Cove City, and East Massapequa

Suffolk County

• Huntington Station, East Farmingdale, Wyandanch, West Babylon, North Amityville, Copiague, Lindenhurst Village, Brentwood, Islandia Village, Bay Shore, North Bay Shore, Central Islip, Ridge, Patchogue Village, Yaphank, Shirley, Mastic, Calverton, Flanders, Westhampton Beach Village, and Tuckahoe

Queens County         

• The Rockaways

Awardees of LIPA’s Scholarship will have the opportunity to:

• Obtain a scholarship toward an associate degree or certificate program at either Nassau Community College or Suffolk County Community College
• Attend LIPA Workforce Seminars with utility executives and subject matter experts
• Receive job placement support for available positions at LIPA, PSEG Long Island, and other LIPA contractors and suppliers

The first recipients of the scholarship are expected to be announced in 2023. To learn more about the program, please visit www.lipower.org.

The announcement was held at the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center in Wantagh, an educational facility that LIPA maintains in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Source: Suffolk County Community College