SCHENECTADY — If he had chosen a different path, Schenectady County Community College President Gabriel Basil could have been a computer programmer or engineer.

The 67-year-old Basil, who is retiring today after 26 years at SCCC and 17 as president, worked at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna in 1962 after graduating from West Virginia University.

He met his wife in the Capital Region. After three years at Knolls, he took a leave of absence to attend graduate school.

“Once I was away for a year, I started doing some teaching and I realized that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.

Schenectady County Community College President Gabriel Basil looks back over his tenure as he prepares to retire at the end of November.
Watch Video»

Basil said what excited him the most in administration is the opportunity to make changes in higher education. However, the process was often too slow in traditional colleges. That’s what attracted him to community colleges.

Basil worked at Lehigh University, Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania, Larain Community College in Ohio and Genesee Community College in Batavia. He returned to the Capital Region in 1982 when he was appointed SCCC dean of academic affairs.

For Basil, it was the ideal job because he could still be in the classroom, but he could also have a role in developing the curriculum.

He served as interim president in 1991, thinking that the job would be temporary. He was appointed president in April 1992.

Basil said as an administrator, he always wanted to make sure there was an open line of communication between faculty and administration. He also wanted to keep the focus on the students, saying “student learning is always our highest priority.”

SCCC has changed dramatically during Basil’s tenure. There are a host of new degree programs, including computer science and computer information systems. “We didn’t even have a computer lab back then,” he said.

SCCC, once thought of just the old Van Curler Hotel, has changed physically as well. The stately hotel remains, but the college is now more of an actual campus with new biology and geology labs, new academic buildings including the Gateway Building and the Stockade Building and a landscaped quad.

“We finally overcame the fact that we were always stretched for classroom facilities. It didn’t last very long because again we are growing in numbers of students.”

The college has also seen a surge in enrollment. It had almost 3,500 full- and part-time students in the fall of 1991 compared with a total enrollment of 5,114 this past fall.

Basil said in the next two years, the college will probably have a space problem.

SCCC has also grown in reputation. It and community colleges in general have had to overcome the reputation of being a “second-class institution,” Basil said.

“[They] don’t come because they have nowhere else to go. They come here because there’s a choice to come here.”

Basil said he had hoped that the college would have broken ground on the 313-bed student housing project across the street, but college officials delayed the project until spring because of the financial market turmoil.

He had also hoped to see the expansion of the music department, but that project was held up as the county and college negotiated its scope.

Basil said he will miss the faculty and staff, as well as interacting with students.

Freshman Erin Wilbur, 24, was gathering signatures Monday for goodbye scrapbook. She said she is enjoying the diversity of the campus. “The teachers are excellent. The classes are great. It’s really a great start to my college experience.”

Campus officials sang Basil’s praises at a party on Tuesday.

Edward Baker, the dean of continuing education, who has been selected as the interim president, praised Basil for helping to advance curriculum, construction and computerization of the college, as well as working on the school’s accreditation.

“We’ve had this long tenure of someone who expects quality and really mentors people to produce their best.”

Diane Smith Faubion, the immediate past chairwoman of the college’s nonprofit foundation, called Basil “indispensable” to SCCC.

“He’s a quiet leader but he certainly speaks volumes with his accomplishments,” she said.

SCCC Board of Trustees Chairman Michael Karl said Basil “personified” the institution during his tenure.

Carolyn Pinn, coordinator of personnel, said Basil would be missed greatly.

“I think we’re just blessed to have had him as president — his insight, his wisdom, his compassion for the community, his love for the students and their success.”

Three finalists are currently in the running to replace Basil — Patricia Kay Adkins, provost of Columbus State Community College in Ohio; Quintin Bullock, provost of the Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College in Virginia; and Gary Porter, academic vice president at Bergen Community College in Paramus, N.J.

Basil said he plans to relax and spend time with his family for the next month. He plans to go to Florida for January and February. He and his wife have a home in Niskayuna, so he plans to continue to be active in the community. He would consider returning to the classroom.

Basil said he always enjoys hearing alumni talk about what their experience at SCCC meant to them.

“They talk about this college with a sense of pride and a sense of accomplishment. They remember the faculty and staff that served them well in the classroom.”