Our Partners : Office of Special Programs and Part-time Studies

Partnerships

The Office of Special Programs partners with many area business and organizations to expand programs, reach larger audiences, and to support our mission of helping people of all ages learn more about the world around them.

Businesses, organizations, and individuals have many options for partnerships. Some choose to provide financial support for scholarships, making it possible for students to participate in exciting non-credit educational programs or to take college courses for credit. Others businesses and organizations provide monetary or in-kind support for specific events, workshops, or classes, providing enrichment opportunities to the community at large.

For more information about how your business or organization can get involved, please contact the Office of Special Programs at (585) 275-2344. We look forward to partnering with you!

**Our Current Partners**

Bishop Kearney High School: Bishop Kearney High School, a Golisano Education Partner, is a private, Roman Catholic, co-educational high school located in suburban Irondequoit. It offers educational opportunities for students in grades 9-12 in the tradition of the Congregation of Christian Brothers and School Sisters of Notre Dame. Kearney/Golisano is nationally recognized for providing a quality college preparatory program in a family environment. The school of about 460 students boasts a championship athletic program, a music program, and a student-run television station all situated on a picturesque 42-acre campus.

Biz Kid$: If you are young person who wants to be involved in the community, learn valuable skills, have fun, and make money, Biz Kid$ camp is the place for you. Biz Kid$ is a week-long camp run by the City of Rochester Bureau of Parks and Recreation that helps youth, ages 10 to 18, start their very own real businesses. Biz Kid$ camp is a great opportunity to have fun and learn what the business world is really like.

BlueTie, Inc.: BlueTie, Inc. was founded in 1999 with the vision of providing small to mid-sized businesses with the same powerful business tools used by large enterprises. Today BlueTie is living that vision as a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS), delivering applications that are fast, inexpensive, and reliable. The company is democratizing technology by making its flagship collaboration suite - which includes email, calendaring, and sharing - available to small businesses at no charge, and to larger organizations at a fraction of the cost of its peers. BlueTie distributes its services via the web, direct sales, and through leading service providers worldwide.

Brueggers Bagels: Until Brueggers Bagels was founded in 1983 by Nord Brue and Mike Dressel, bagels were considered mostly an ethnic food and were not known much outside of New York. At that time, less than one-third of Americans had ever tasted a bagel! From their home base in Burlington, Vermont, Brue and Dressell pioneered a new concept that expanded the traditional bagel bakery into a quick service bakery with premium specialty cream cheeses, custom-made sandwiches, signature soups and exceptional coffee. In 2003, Bruegger's welcomed new ownership and expanded beyond bagels into breads, wraps and other lunchtime menu items, and began updating bakeries to reflect the welcoming feel of a New England farmhouse-inspired bakery-café that Bruegger's has evolved into.

Dixon Schwabl Advertising: Dixon Schwabl listens and delivers. Whatever the product, service or event, we get to the heart of your project to create a message that is heard and remembered. From traditional tactics to innovative, attention-grabbing promotions, we’ll help get you noticed. We’re a full-service agency with full-service solutions for you. By integrating advertising, marketing and public relations, we’re fully-equipped to create well-rounded campaigns around your needs. You name it, we can do it – print, radio, television, web, media placement, package design, event planning, public relations – on time and on budget.

Employee Relations Associates: Employee Relations Associates is one resource with three major components, created to give you the support you need at every stage of the employment process:

Worldwide outplacement and career transitions services
Executive search for highly qualified personnel
Contract and direct placement

Finger Lakes Wired: Finger Lakes Wired is one of 13 designated WIRED regions in the country funded by the U. S. Department of Labor WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) Initiative to support economic development and transform regional economies. Finger Lakes Wired initiatives focus on a nine-county region surrounding Rochester N.Y., to increase entrepreneurship and innovation, expand employment, advance opportunities for workers, and enhance the talent of the workforce through the creation of high-skill and high-wage opportunities.

The Flanders Group: The Flanders Group is a 28-person operation in Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester. The agency name comes from the Flanders region of Belgium, where as early as the 8th century A.D., groups or guilds of businesses came together to provide mutual assistance to each other in case of peril. The chief objective was to safeguard their welfare and to mutually insure against risk, the origins of commercial insurance.

Greater Rochester Enterprise: The Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) is a regional economic development organization supported by a team of private and public sector leaders dedicated to improving economic performance in the Greater Rochester region. Visit the Greater Rochester Enterprise online for more information.

Greece Chamber of Commerce: The mission of the Greece Chamber of Commerce is to enhance the business and economic vitality of the Greece community.

Harris Beach, PLLC: As one of the country’s Top 250 law firms, Harris Beach provides a full range of services for clients across New York state as well as nationally. Our clients include Fortune 500 corporations, privately-held companies, emerging technology businesses, financial institutions, health care providers, educational institutions, not-for-profit organizations and foundations, state and local governments and authorities, and individuals.

Harris Interactive: Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation.

The Highlands at Pittsford: The Highlands at Pittsford is a not-for-profit senior living community experienced in delivering distinctive services within a continuum of living. We are committed to providing residents with the freedom to strive for their personal best. The Highlands offers opportunity for a fulfilled lifestyle by encouraging continued personal growth in an environment of mutual respect.

Insero & Company: Insero & Company has grown into one of the largest accounting and business advisory practices serving many companies in Western and Upstate New York. We are also more than just a regional accounting firm; Insero & Company is an integral member of the RSM McGladrey Network, the national accounting firm association of RSM McGladrey, Inc. and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. Together, the two companies rank as the fifth largest provider of accounting, tax and business consulting in the United States. (Source: Public Accounting Report)

JPMorgan Chase: JPMorgan Chase's corporate headquarters are in New York City. Our retail financial services and commercial banking headquarters are in Chicago. Our major legacy institutions- J.P. Morgan, Chase Manhattan, Chemical, Manufacturers Hanover, Bank One, First Chicago, and National Bank of Detroit- contributed significantly to the development of communities worldwide. Our corporate history is intertwined with innovations in finance and the globalization of the world economy.

Kauffman Foundation: The vision of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is to foster "a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities." In service of this vision, and in keeping with our founder’s wishes, the Foundation focuses its grant making and operations on two areas: advancing entrepreneurship and improving the education of children and youth.

Next Step Magazine: Next Step Publishing™ passionately creates innovative products to guide others in the pursuit of successful lives after high school. We are committed to helping our clients, our readers and our employees surpass their individual goals. We accomplish this by empowering our readers and employees while operating with the highest level of integrity and respect for everyone in our community.

PAETEC Communications: PAETEC Communications was founded in 1998 when CEO Arunas Chesonis and a core team of visionary executives recognized that existing telecommunications providers were failing to respect the most important factor governing the long-term success of any business -first-rate customer service. PAETEC was founded on the principle that extraordinary customer service is the essential prerequisite to financial success. With over 200 years of combined experience in telecommunications and information technology, PAETEC's executive team has crafted a dynamic corporate culture that emphasizes people as the essential corporate asset, and world-class partnerships as the foundation for long-term business growth.

QED Technologies: Founded in 1996, QED Technologies® (QED) is committed to developing a continuing stream of enabling technologies for precision finishing and metrology that dramatically enhance our customers' capabilities and positively impact their bottom line. As a full-service provider, QED always seeks to fully understand the customer's manufacturing process. We derive our unique market niche and success from this scope of understanding and complete customer service. Every QED employee assumes a personal role in ensuring that we deliver a quality product with outstanding customer service throughout the life cycle of the application. Based in Rochester, New York, QED is able to capitalize on the area's academic and industrial resources in the field of precision optics and engineering. QED continuously nurtures our quest for science-based finishing solutions to meet our customers' current and future needs.

Rochester Gas and Electric: RG&E is a subsidiary of Energy East Corporation, a super-regional energy services and delivery company in the Northeast. RG&E provides electricity and natural gas energy and related services to approximately 650,000 residents and businesses in a nine-county region centered on the City of Rochester in Upstate New York.

Scott Miller Salon: Located in Pittsford, NY, the Scott Miller Salon is committed to providing clients with an environment that is comfortable, clean and welcoming as well as a staff that is committed to seamless customer service, education, creativity and professionalism.

Small Business Council of Rochester: The mission of the Small Business Council is to provide services, support, and business-to-business opportunities to growth oriented small business owners throughout the greater Rochester metropolitan area.

Time Warner Cable of Rochester: With a presence in 33 states, Time Warner Cable’s local community outreach includes support for symphonies, art and dance organizations, youth after school activities, environmental concerns, economic development, adopt-a-school initiatives and more. In addition, Time Warner’s Employee Volunteer Grant program awards grants to employees to fund such varied nonprofit local initiatives as pet adoption services, refurbishment of youth sports facilities, community environmental projects and equipment for day care facilities, to name just a few.

United Way of Greater Rochester: As an organization of donors, the United Way motivates and organizes people to work for a better life for all by meeting our community’s most important human care needs. It does this through a unified, community-wide effort to mobilize resources--dollars, volunteers, in-kind support and public concern--and applies them in ways that best serve the needs of the greater Rochester region.