President Matonak reflects on his time at Hudson Valley

Will Reed
Staff Writer

“Coming to Hudson Valley was the culmination of my career.”

As President Andrew “Drew” Matonak’s 13-year tenure at Hudson Valley Community College comes to end, he reflected on his experiences in what he says will be his final position in college administration.

Matonak’s passion for higher education started while he was in community college. He described himself as a poor high school student and was told by a counselor he was not college material, but community college was what gave him the resources and support he needed to succeed. Coming from this background, Matonak said it helped him relate to students with similar stories.

“I talk to students here, and I ask them, ‘How many of you have had someone in your life tell you that you can’t do something,’ and a lot of people have,” Matonak said.

President Matonak believes starting at a community college has an advantage over a four-year school.

“I probably wouldn’t have been successful if I went elsewhere,” he said.

He believes community college is the perfect place for students who are unsure of careers to start out or for those who are feeling subpar or unconfident about their academic capabilities.

“I know what it feels like to walk into a class feeling inadequate, and I know we have a lot of students who come in feeling that way,” he said.

Being the president of a community college yet understanding what students go through was crucial for him during his career.

As President Matonak was going through the process of becoming the seventh president in Hudson Valley’s history, he knew he wanted this to be his last job. He was impressed by everything on campus at the start but knew there was work to be done. One of the first initiatives his administration devised was a master plan to significantly upgrade the facilities on campus, a plan that would cost an estimated $200 million dollars.

“Hudson Valley is a great place with great people, and we need facilities that are of the same caliber, so we really did focus a lot of our attention on that,” Matonak said to faculty during one of his first addresses.

Little by little, the plan was carried out, leading to the construction of the Administration Building, the TEC-SMART facility in Malta, the Science Center and the parking garage, among others. Hudson Valley also opened a new outdoor athletic complex last year.

One of President Matonak’s fondest memories of his time at Hudson Valley was the visit of President Obama in 2009. He remembers it as an event that gave Hudson Valley national prominence and increased its regional significance.

“Community colleges in general are often considered second-class citizens,” Matonak said.

In talking to parents of students about to go to college, Matonak said there was always an emphasis on four-year schools.

“We [community colleges] don’t necessarily get the attention that we should,” he said. President Obama’s visit also personally affected President Matonak, who said the visit it was filled with interesting experiences he won’t forget.

“It was kind of cool to have the U.S. President here,” Matonak said.

An issue President Matonak believes Hudson Valley is facing today is the lack of diversity in the staff at Hudson Valley. While he is thrilled with the diversity of students on campus, he wants to see that identity in the faculty as well.

“When you take a look at the diversity of the student body, our faculty and staff don’t represent that same diversity, and we need to,” he said. “If we have an individual come to this campus, it’s good for [him or her] to see someone who looks like [him or her], who is like [him or her] in one way or another, so [he or she] can identify.”

After President Matonak steps down in August, he and his wife plan to move to their house in Myrtle Beach, and he says he will be doing whatever his wife wants to do for the first six months.

“After that, all bets are off,” Matonak said.

Matonak says it will be an adjustment, but his first plan will be to work as an usher for the local minor league baseball team where they live. He also recognizes he might not be completely finished in higher education. There is a local community college where he used to work, and he has contacts there if he so chooses to take up a position.

“I’m probably going to get bored,” he said.

As President Matonak wraps up his last few months at Hudson Valley, he said, without hesitation, the one aspect of the college he will miss most after serving for 13 years is the people. It is probably safe to say they will miss him as well.

We’ll miss you, Dad!
– The Hud