Barbara Reer, SUNY Ulster Assistant Dean for Workforce, Career Development, and Apprenticeship Initiatives Named 2024 Council of Industry Manufacturing Champion
May 8, 2024 – Stone Ridge, NY – SUNY Ulster is proud to announce that Assistant Dean, Barbara Reer, has been named a 2024 Council of Industry Manufacturing Champion at their annual Awards Breakfast & Workforce Developers Expo. The Manufacturing Champions Award recognizes individuals who have helped make it possible for Hudson Valley manufacturers and employees to prosper by helping to overcome industry challenges.
Ms. Reer has spent over 20 years creating pathways to careers in manufacturing, clean technology, business, and health-related fields at SUNY Ulster. In this capacity, she creates training programs, secures grants, and develops stackable microcredentials that help students build careers that pay a living wage. Through a recent SUNY Apprenticeship Grant she secured, registered apprentices have the opportunity to take up to $5,000 worth of trade courses for free. For students who are not yet at an apprenticeship level, she received funding for a Pre-Apprentice program which awards $500 for courses.
“What I enjoy most about this job is working with the students and helping them face their challenges”, says Reer. “Sometimes we get students who tried college a long time ago and it didn’t work out for them, but now they’re coming back and discovering that with the right career pathway, they can succeed.”
Barbara Reer serves on the SUNY Ulster Business Advisory Council and the CUNY/SUNY Clean Jobs Consortium, among others. She is the recipient of the 2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service and the 2019 Krembs Family Innovation Award. And, her current work includes creating programs sensitive to the training needs of those in the community with autism spectrum disorders who wish to further their education at a community college.
The Council of Industry is a not-for-profit organization promoting the success of member firms within the manufacturing sector and their employees whose work contributes to the success of the Hudson Valley community.
If interested in learning more about SUNY Ulster’s advanced manufacturing or other workforce programs, contact Barbara Reer at reerb@sunyulster.edu or visit sunyulster.edu/ce.
