A message from President Sullivan and from the Director of facilities:
Dear Campus Community,
As President, you never want to face this task of informing the campus about the passing of one of our own. Monday morning, Theresa Bates made us aware that her son and our beloved member of the Facilities crew, Monroe Bates, 39 of Hornell, had died from the coronavirus.
At this time, I can share more about Monroe. He was recently promoted to Maintenance Assistant in the Facilities trades group. He tested positive for COVID-19 and on April 6 was admitted to Strong Memorial Hospital. He was immediately placed on a ventilator but later improved when he was taken off of the ventilator allowing him to eat and rest more comfortably. While attempting physical therapy at the hospital this past weekend, he took a turn for the worse. Monday morning we received word that our colleague had passed away.
Health and Wellness is available with counseling for the entire campus community and our team is in close contact with Monroe’s family. Employees may also reach out to the Office of Human Resources at hr@alfredstate.edu or call Wendy Dresser-Recktenwald directly at 587-4014 to connect with a professional to assist them during this difficult time.
I know this will hit hard. I pray for Monroe’s family and for the entire college as we face another indication of the brutality and severity of the coronavirus situation.
Be safe Pioneers,
Dr. Skip Sullivan, President
