Elana Stern has been paving a pathway to partnership between business and academia for nearly 14 years, and she says she's witnessed a dramatic change in attitude on the part of the educational and corporate communities. "Companies and educators are partnering more and more," she adds, reinforcing the fact that the collaboration benefits both.

"Businesses are hiring our students and sending students to college here. They understand school financing needs, whether public school or college, and politically, they have clout," remarks Stern during the interview with Networking magazine. For colleges like Dowling, she continues, these partnerships "help the college solidify business relationships and increase enrollment. Many full time faculty who teach in the corporate setting gain a different perspective. They enjoy dealing with adult students, and it helps them keep in touch." Most importantly, Stern underscores, "these relationships help Long Island, and ultimately, the economic development of Long Island."

Through the Dowling Institute, Stern plays a major role in this partnering process by her personal involvement with business associations and by the corporate in-service training and certificate and degree programs that the Institute offers.

Adult learners notwithstanding, keeping college educated young people on Long Island also benefits the community's workforce. Through partnerships with students, i.e. internships and job shadow days, "companies let students know about opportunities." In turn, she says, "Industry people have become interested in teaching part time." One advantage of this partnering atmosphere that hits home with Stern is that students show increased focus on what they want to do in life. "There are so many resources now for young people Ð and for everyone."

Stern not only believes that education is a lifelong experience, but she has lived and is living that lifelong educational experience. Born in Netanya, Israel, Stern and her family settled in Nassau County's Freeport community when she was in grade school. "I didn't know what I wanted to do after high school," she says, and "guidance counselors didn't encourage me to go to college." She loved languages and expressed an interested in becoming an interpreter at the United Nations, but she says, counselors discouraged students from doing anything that was nontraditional. So she enrolled at Nassau Community College, thinking she'd become a teacher.

"College was really not a priority for me at that time," remarks Stern. "It was something I did to get by." She transferred to Hofstra University, and with an overabundance of teachers in the workforce, she switched her major to psychology. While a full-time student, she worked full time for a group of psychologists, who happened to have been her teachers at NCC. In time, she realized that she didn't love the study of psychology as she thought she would, but instead, loved running the clinic office.

Following her ambitions, Stern landed a business manager position for the privately operated faculty/student association at Nassau Community College, with responsibilities including the management of student government funds, purchasing insurance for athletic teams and overseeing transportation to athletic events. But working in a college atmosphere led her to appreciate the advantages of a graduate degree, especially if she wished to advance her career.

"I was in my thirties when I went back to school for an MBA at Adelphi," says Stern, and that's when she came face-to-face with the difficulties of being an adult learner. She remembers rushing from NCC to Adelphi and trying to find a parking space. "And if you worked a little late, you were sure to be late for class," she adds. These challenges impressed her; looking back, if she weren't so tenacious, passing up the educational experience may have been an option.

Stern moved on to a position at Suffolk Community College, where she worked directly for a college vice president and managed student association and foundation monies. Later, she applied for a job at SCC's Techni-Center, working with the business community and providing in-service training. As money became tight and grant funds limited, Stern perfected her own marketing style to entice businesses to continue training programs. "Instead of writing letters or making Ôcold calls,' I made the decision to join the Hauppauge Industrial Association and serve on a couple of committees. They welcomed me with open arms," Stern continues. "I met fascinating people in the business community and they became a part of my life."

Stern initiated an annual conference, called Long Island Teaming for Success, which she ran from Suffolk Community College. The conference attracted colleges that wanted to partner with businesses. "We knitted together for quality, and the support was amazing. Even though Long Island seems like such a big place, it's really a very small, close community."

In 1993, Stern came on board as director of the Dowling Institute, moved up to executive director and today, serves as a vice president and college secretary. She attends board of trustee meetings, serves on the College Cabinet and the negotiations committee. Even though she is very much a part of the college mainstream, she believes there was "a tough adjustment," in the beginning, to accept a nontraditional group, like the Institute. But, she adds, "We work well with the faculty and administration," and she has the full support of Dowling President Dr. Albert Donnor.

"When I came to Dowling, I was able to continue corporate training and also bring degree programs to companies," says Stern. Recalling her days as an adult learner, she adds, "I kept thinking of all the barriers I faced when I went back to school in my thirties, and I wanted to eliminate every barrier." Stern identified those barriers that Long Islanders face: not having the opportunity to go to college after high school, tight lifestyle and the costliness of a college education. She realized, too, that companies often offer tuition reimbursement, and many companies have good facilities where learning can take place. Putting two and two together, Stern came up with more than four times four ways of helping the business and educational communities partner.

Preparing employees for any work setting, Dowling's corporate training programs teach customer service and telephone etiquette, new technology and understanding the functions of the company telephone system. "Corporate training has to be flexible and customized," adds Stern, noting that she personally meets with clients to assess the corporate culture and ascertain their needs.

"Companies sometimes don't want the typical canned training," comments Stern, and she points to the three-phase professional development program the Institute developed for Aer Lingus. Phase one taught basic professional skills, such as management and accounting; phase two developed industry specific skills where participants prepared presentations on starting an airline and designed airport facilities, and phase three included a company mentoring program that helped participants enter the area of the company in which they'd like to grow.

Dowling's corporate training programs reach beyond Long Island shores and stretch across the nation to California. In the past, Stern also developed an English learning program for college students in China who wished to transfer to colleges in the United States. She organized teams of teachers who taught students about America's educational settings, its culture and customs.

"Working with adult learners is unbelievable," remarks Stern, who is proud that she is now able to bring full college degree programs directly into corporations. "Everything that was difficult Ð admissions, registration Ð was made easy. A representative of the Institute works with each business client, knows the students by name, calls, emails and even visits them." Dowling offers advisement and scheduling assistance, and brings the courses and the professors directly to company headquarters. Dowling also partners with institutions that will accept participants from various companies. For example, Dowling has partnered with LIM, the Laboratory Institute of Merchandizing, a fashion retailing school in Manhattan, to offer an MBA program to any qualifying student.

"I never go around saying ÔHere's my business card. Take courses from us,'" Stern says. "I'm not a salesman. Education is something very valuable, and I don't see it as something you have to go around selling door to door." Stern credits "word of mouth," as well as the college's reputation, as major promoters of Dowling's corporate training and education programs.

In addition to corporate education programs, Stern is also responsible for Dowling's continuing education program, and brings many of her low-key techniques to its administration. This educational outreach has no whistles or bells, but contains a solid program of interesting and informative courses. "We have no fancy catalogs," she says, "they're costly and inefficient." Instead, the Institute uses monthly mailers. "I also try to get faculty involved in teaching courses they want to explore."

Stern says she has learned to delegate. "I'm here to solve problems, but I let my staff of 14 do what they do best. I'm in an environment where I don't own my own business, but I'm running a business."

Stern identifies her passion for bringing education to adult learners as the major strength she brings to Dowling. "Adult learners are so excited about the opportunity, and all those years of experience make them look at things differently," Stern remarks. "These are students who didn't think they would have the chance to go back to school."

Stern continues to serve as a board member of the Hauppauge Industrial Association, and she also serves as a trustee of Long Island Works, the Island's first comprehensive effort to forge collaborative working relationships between employers and the educational community. At L.I. Works, Stern reports on internships and job fairs, assists with policy-making decisions and serves on the scholarship committee. "On both boards," she adds, "everyone pitches in, rolls up their sleeves and helps out."

A Smithtown resident, Stern is currently completing a three-year doctoral program in Educational Administration, Leadership and Technology, and expects to graduate in May. She is planning a July wedding to August Zolfo, a marketing and sales executive whom she met waiting on line at JetBlue while returning from a business trip. Stern says her fiancé has encouraged her to take skiing and golf lessons, and she had learned to appreciate his passion, sailing. Of her career, Stern says, "It's been fun. The experience has been wonderful and none of it was in the plan."