The very first time Francis Battisti set foot on campus involved, of all things, a cow’s eye.
It was eighth grade and the future Dr. Battisti was, he admitted, a somewhat indifferent student. Hoping to spark his interest, his teachers in the Union-Endicott had him dissect a cow’s eye for a science competition. He qualified for regionals at Broome Technical Community College.
“I still remember walking into the main gym and thinking I was at Harvard,” he said. “The place was amazing to me.”
By its various names – Broome Tech, BCC, and now SUNY Broome – the college continued to inspire and motivate Dr. Battisti for more than 50 years.
He is now embarking on a new chapter in his life and career. While he handed the reigns to the new Vice President for Academic Affairs – Dr. Penny Haynes, another SUNY Broome alumna — he would prefer that you didn’t call it retirement.
“I don’t view this next step as a retirement. I’m going to work on a book about retiring retirement,” he said with a smile. “I’m leaving the college, but there’s more I have to do.”
Outside the college, he is a motivational speaker and consultant focused on individual, organizational and community transformation. He plans to continue this work around the country, as well as spend time with his wife, sons and seven grandchildren.
And, of course, he’ll give back. When he does consulting work – say, strategic planning for an organization, which was on the docket for August – he donates his services the next day to another group, one that can’t afford his services.
“My philosophy is strength-based servant leadership, to bring the best out of ourselves and use our strengths to overcome obstacles,” he explained. “I give and I receive.”
SUNY Broome has many dedicated faculty and staff, but few will likely exceed Dr. Battisti’s 49 years of dedication to the college and its students, reflected SUNY Broome President Kevin E. Drumm.
“One thing we know for sure from his indomitable, energetic character is that he will remain as busy as ever with his growing family, now with grandchildren, and getting back to his own consulting and speaking business. God bless him going forward in his next chapter of life,” said Dr. Drumm.
Counselor, Professor, VP
Education was a luxury not afforded to Dr. Battisti’s own parents, who ran a busy Endicott restaurant. His father had left Italy at the age of 14, and his mother dropped out of school to take care of her family.
In high school, Francis became class president, although his plans for his post-graduation future were somewhat hazy. The nation was in the throes of the Vietnam War, which presented him with a stark choice: He could enlist, work in his family’s restaurant or enroll at Broome.
He chose Broome.
He entered the Business Technology program in 1966, graduated in 1968, and then transferred to SUNY Albany to complete his bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis on finance. But a career in finance didn’t appeal, and he found himself intrigued by a 36-credit program in counseling and personnel services.
“It was all experiential. I had the greatest fun of my life,” he said.
He knocked out the program in two summers. It was 1971, the same year that Broome Tech changed its name to Broome Community College – and formally adopted an open admissions policy. To aid this transition, the college hired five full-time counselors – the first on campus – to provide personal, career and educational counseling to an increasingly diverse roster of students. Francis was one of those five, hired by director Gary Smith.
He found that personal counseling drew him, and consequently earned his second master’s degree in Social Work from Syracuse University in 1978. That same year, he became director of counseling services at the college. In 1981, he became dean of academic services and, in 1984, a professor in the Psychology department. He remained in the classroom until 2012, when he joined the Administration as executive vice president and chief academic officer.
Through the years, he forged lasting and meaningful relationships with many of his colleagues. Perhaps one of his most meaningful was with the late theater Professor Angelo Zuccolo. The two started their SUNY Broome careers on the same day in 1971 and became close friends, sharing a house and engaging in public speaking gigs together.
In fact, Zuccolo taught Dr. Battisti the skills he uses to this day as a speaker and consultant. The premise: The two could cadge a free meal by speaking to community groups. Angelo would speak first and connect to Francis’ presentation, gently guiding him in the speakers art. The two had other adventures – bringing 30 of Angelo’s theater students to Norway in 1974, for example – and Francis was the godfather to his friend’s two daughters.
Shaping the college
Look around, and you can see his impact on every aspect of SUNY Broome. Dr. Battisti – he and his wife Helen both earned their Ph.D.s from Marywood University the same year – has developed courses, offered seminars in human potential and, with professors Richard Romano and Doug Garnar, helped establish the campus childcare center.
In the 1980s, he and Professor Margherita Rossi established a grant-funded gerontology project that gave students applied learning opportunities at local nursing homes. In the 1990s, he offered an online course – one of the college’s first. Dr. Battisti, who earned both the SUNY Distinguished Professor Award and the Chancellor’s Award during his teaching career, also built synchronous courses that linked students in SUNY Broome classes to other remote locations.
During his 50-year career, he worked for every president in the college’s history – including the founding president, Cecil Tyrrell. While he didn’t know Tyrell personally, he found much to admire.
“He had a vision. He was one of the movers and shakers of community college. He helped create it,” he said.
Dr. Battisti – who applied for the college’s top job during the last presidential search — also finds much to admire in the college’s current president, Dr. Kevin E. Drumm. Under Dr. Drumm’s leadership, the campus has transformed dramatically – including the addition of the Natural Science Center and Student Village, the transformation of the Mechanical Building into the Calice Advanced Manufacturing Center and, now, the return to the college’s downtown roots with the new Culinary & Event Center.
“The guy he’s hiring wanted his job – that says something that he took a chance on me. We will disagree sometimes, but I felt a real ability to have a give and take,” Dr. Battisti said.
The role dearest to Dr. Battisti’s heart has been as a faculty member. He approached classes as laboratory spaces – places of experiment and exploration, where students can learn not only about the subject at hand, but about themselves. He has always made an effort to connect with students outside of the classroom, too, including the Taste of Success initiative, in which he met a half-dozen students for breakfast to chat about their future plans, and how the college is – or isn’t – meeting their needs.
A few years ago, Dr. Battisti was approached by another college – he won’t drop names – for a presidency, but chose to stay at his alma mater. Why?
“I love our community and I think Broome more than any other organization has impacted the community. Everyone has impact, from academics to ice skating,” he explained. “It’s been home. I’ve had the ability to be creative here. I didn’t have a supervisor or colleagues I didn’t like. They’re just good people, besides being experts in the field.”
In fact, SUNY Broome has been a home to his entire family. His sister and brother attended the college, as well as his wife and three sons: paul, Brian and Christopher. In his later years, even Dr. Battisti’s father took a few courses, and his granddaughter will attend next year.
“There are connections with community, family and colleagues. It’s just the connections,” he reflected. “I’ve made every graduation except one. We’re so fortunate to see the fruits of our labor. That, to me, is impactful.”
The future of Broome
As the Southern Tier evolved through the decades – with the rise and then departure of massive companies such as IBM and Endicott Johnson, shifts in technology and demographics – so, too, has its community college.
Facilities, degree programs, methods of instruction – change has been a constant companion, from that decision to adopt open admissions in Dr. Battisti’s first year. He leaves the college at another such tipping point in education, when the campus community is earnestly debating its future trajectory.
The magnet programs of the future may lie in culinary arts, controlled environmental agriculture or systems engineering – or something entirely different.
“Life is evolutionary; it’s like age. Whether I am aware of my age or not, I’m getting older,” he mused. “As an organization, we’re changing, whether we know it or not. Can we redirect some of that change in the ways that we want?”
“Everything we have today has been based on ideas from the past,” he continued. “Let’s take the best of our past to create our future.”
