News

Bill Hoffman, member services manager for the Syracuse VA Medical Center, will speak at the Thursday, Feb. 17, meeting of the Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP). Hoffman will discuss programs that are available to veterans, as well as soldiers returning from active military service. The program is free and open to the public. IRP meets from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Syracuse, 5833 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville.

Hoffman oversees three departments, including the Veteran Service Center, centralized scheduling and transportation. Additionally, he serves as the outreach coordinator for the medical center and the network of facilities throughout Central New York. He serves on the Onondaga County Veterans Advisory Board and the Onondaga County Community College Veterans Advisory Committee. Prior to coming to the Syracuse VA, Hoffman worked for several private sector companies over an 18-year career in sales, marketing and consulting. He is a United States Air Force Veteran and a graduate of Empire State College.

For more information on this program, call University College at (315) 443-4846.

The Feb. 17 session of Thursday Morning Roundtable (TMR) will feature Walt Dixie, executive director of Jubilee Homes.

Christopher Cofer, director of Summer College at University College, has been named director of Summer@Syracuse. Cofer joined SU in April 2007.

Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Andrew Keith Doss has joined the staff at University College of Syracuse University as the veterans’ advisor of the University’s Veterans Resource Center.

The Thursday, Feb. 3, program of the Institute for Retired Professionals will feature Gregg Tripoli, executive director of the Onondaga County Historical Society (OHA). Tripoli will discuss how the Historical Society is contributing to economic development in the community, which includes a new educational program, “Our Entrepreneurial History.” The OHA uses compelling stories from local history as case studies to help encourage entrepreneurship.

Tripoli received a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and a M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. After four years as a banker on both U.S. coasts, he relocated to Italy to serve as the special assistant to the minister of economic affairs for the Republic of San Marino. For the next 20 years, Tripoli traveled the world as a management consultant for a group of multinational companies headquartered in Kuwait.

Since February 2008, he has been the executive director of the OHA, which operates a museum and research center on Montgomery Street. Tripoli is also vice president of Cathedral Square Development Corp., a member of the Arts and Cultural Leadership Alliance (ACLA) and the Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association. He serves on the board of directors of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, the advisory board of Art-In-Motion and several committees for Syracuse University’s South Side Initiative, the Connective Corridor and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He is a 2010 recipient of the YWCA’s Academy of Diversity Achievers Award.

For more information on this program, call University College of Syracuse University at 315- 443-4846.