Saying Farewell to the Dean of Fun
Jim Tucker, who has been a familiar face around campus for the last 35 years, has recently retired from his role as Athletic Director at Paul Smith's College. His career has spanned 5 decades, and in that time, he has touched the hearts and minds of countless staff, faculty, students, community members, officials, athletes, visitors, family, and friends. His dedication to the college rivals no other, and the lives that he has touched will be forever grateful to have known him in his many capacities on the campus and in the community.
He started at Paul Smith's College in 1987 as the Director of the Higher Education Opportunities Program (HEOP). In that role he acted as the chief administrator for NY State funded academic support program for disadvantaged students. Responsibilities included writing program grant proposals and reports, supervising program staff, developing program components, recruiting disadvantaged students, and acting as an advocate for program students in all aspects of college life. The first eight years of seeking potential students who were academically and financially under-prepared for college and who didn't have the financial resources to attend a private college proved to be the bedrock on which he developed his outlook on helping students.
In 1995 he was hired to be the Recreation and Intramural Coordinator where he was able to bring his love for activity and the outdoors to the masses at PSC. Fittingly, from 1995-2010 he was cordially referred to as the "Dean of Fun." In his time in that position, he developed and maintained indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, participated in trail route maintenance for outdoor pursuits, coordinated aquatic programs supervised undergraduate Recreation, coordinated and supervised intramural athletics, coordinated a broad-range of outdoor recreation programs for the campus community and contracted public service organizations and corporations, and supervised year-around outdoor treks.
One of those most memorable outdoor adventures occurred in 2000 when he led a dozen students, staff, faculty, and alumni from Paul Smith's College/Lower St. Regis Lake to the Statue of Liberty. "Enviro-trek 2000," as it came to be known, provided environmental education programs to over 1,200 school children in pre-arranged locations along the 425-mile route. Jim worked with Stu Buchanon at the Region V DEC Office to establish camping opportunities on state land during the 17-day excursion, finishing at Liberty State Park on Liberty Island. The local population followed their adventures as Enviro-trek 2000 was featured on the front page of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise each day. Thom Hallock of WPTZ – Channel 5 featured the group's exploits on the evening news in a weekly segment called Champlain – 2000.
Jim has also enjoyed getting hundreds of students into snowshoe racing. When asked about his time with the PSC Striders, Jim thought back fondly. "A great many of them likely ran further in snowshoe racing than they thought was possible over the past 35 years. I still have video footage of Andrew Lockhart from St. Vincent on the CBS Morning Show describing the first time he saw snowflakes coming down in October of his freshman year as he wondered if they would hurt him. Then five months later, he was earning medals on snowshoes in the North American Snowshoe Classic with the CBS crew filming his success. There have been challenging weather conditions that presented incredible challenges, such as driving cold winds, steady temperatures well below zero, powder snow well over 3' deep well north of Ottawa at Canadian Nationals with over 3,000' of ascent over the 10K distance in sub-zero temperatures, or running 10 kilometers over 10,000' in Leadville, CO ~ who does these things while in college? To the best of my knowledge they all survived and grew from their snowshoe racing experiences."
The PSC Striders compete to this day and have won a whopping 14 International Snowshoe Championships over the years. In addition, he has achieved a number of accolades in the sport:
1999 – 2014: President of the Empire State Snowshoe Racing Association
2003: Empire State Snowshoe Racing Association – Snowshoer of the Year
2009 and 2013: Chief Field Judge (Head Referee) for Special Olympic World Winter Games Snowshoeing; McCall, Idaho, and PyeongChang, South Korea.
2014: Cindy Brochman Person of the Year, Snowshoe Magazine & the US Snowshoe Association.
2015: Area 27 Special Olympics New York State Volunteer of the Year.
In addition to developing the snowshoe team, he started the marathon canoe team at Paul Smith's College in 1995 at the behest of President Peter Linkins. The team enjoys continued success to this day, based on the foundations built by Jim in the early years. He has contributed even more to the various curricular and extra-curricular programs here at PSC, including but not limited to aquatics classes, lifeguarding sessions, CPR and First Aid, FYS, Canoe Safety, The Humble Spud, and a plethora of intramurals and other recreation. Jim has truly been a jack-of-all-trades here at the college.
Jim has been the cross-country running coach at Paul Smith's College since 2009, and in that time has seen both the men's and women's teams blossom into national competitors. Cross-country team accolades include the NAIA Men's XC Sunrise Conference Coach of the Year in 2009, YSCC Cross-Country Champions: Men's - 2011, 2014, 2015, 2019, Women's – 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, a pair of Cross-Country Nationals podiums (Men's team 3rd place in 2010, Women's team 3rd place in 2021), and 8 All-Americans (5 women, 3 men). He has also been named YSCC Men's Cross- Country Coach of the Year three times (2011, 2014, 2015) and YSCC Women's Cross-Country Coach of Year three times (2013, 2014, 2015).
In 2010 he was hired as the Athletics Director at the college. During the dozen years as AD, he oversaw an annual budget that grew to $1.4 million with a staff of 22 full-time and part-time staff who coach the 27 athletic teams at PSC. As Athletic Director, Jim helped the athletics department become what it is today. With generous financial help from E. Philip Saunders, the Saunders Gymnasium, ski/wax room, soccer field, and climbing wall were all updated and refurbished for modernization. So, too, did the college increase its sports offerings, starting with the reintroduction of Men's/Women's Basketball, then including Golf, Bowling, Women's Rugby, Trapshooting, Esports, Men's/Women's Hockey, and various other varsity sports. During his tenure, full time coaches were hired to coach men's and women's soccer, the Nordic ski team, both men's and women's ice hockey as well as men's and women's basketball.
The recent success of the Bobcats athletically is because of the groundwork laid forth by Jim and his continual effective administration and leadership over the years. With the focus on accentuating and developing FIS caliber ski trails at the Paul Smith's College VIC and the purchase of a Pisten Bully for trail grooming, the Nordic Ski Team claimed the men's USCSA National Collegiate title, while the women's team placed second in 2022. The Women's Soccer team made it the USCAA Division II Finals in 2021. Even with the onset of Covid, Jim oversaw an uptick in athletic enrollment at PSC, and the recent success is due in large part to the overall vision set forth by Jim, his staff, and the many supporters of the department.
His dedication to Paul Smith's College earned him numerous achievements through the years. In 2002, he was recognized by the Paul Smith's College Alumni Association as the Faculty Member of the Year. And a decade later in 2012, he was named the David H. Chamberlain Staff Member of the Year. He was also recently inducted into the Paul Smith's College Hall of Fame (picture below of him accepting the announement from Jim Voorhies '72).
He has held a variety of different positions both inside and outside the college, has served on various committees, coached numerous other teams (including Nordic Skiing, Marathon Canoe, and Track/Field), consulted for snowshoe marketing and design companies, authored and wrote on a variety of subjects (including potatoes, snowshoeing, and biking), worked as a consultant for magazines like Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, counseled several youth and student groups, and acted as a Director for many other local programs. He has developed his own personal garden/farmstead, the Ponderosa Poultry Pharm, recently specializing in beautiful lupins, dahlia bulbs, and some of the best produce that is carefully tended to March-October. Jim is on the Board of Directors for Tucker Farms Inc, own/operated by his brothers. The farm specializes in seed potatoes that also sells vegetables in season and is home to the "Great Adirondack Corn Maze."
Jim has served in other duties while juggling life at Paul Smith's College. He served as the Paul Smiths - Gabriels Fire Department Secretary for 15 years from 1986-2001, instructed coursework for the NYS Outdoor Guide's Exam, coordinated Wilderness SOLO safety courses, worked as an American Red Cross Instructor for over 20 years, and has been a member of countless local, regional, and national organizations (including the Adirondack Mountain Club and New York State Farms Bureau). Jim has also been active in many sports and recreational program and associations over the years. He serves as the President of the Empire State Snowshoe Racing Association, is a delegate for the World Snowshoe Federation (where he was the Race Director for the World Snowshoe Championships held in Saranac Lake, NY in 2017), and acted as a delegate for the New York State Trails Council.
Jim is an Eagle Scout and is a longtime member of the Boy Scouts of America. He is a former Scoutmaster, Assistant Scoutmaster, and Committee Chairman. He is a Merit Badge Counselor for five required Merit Badges: Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Cycling, and Lifesaving and Swimming for BSA Troop 12 in Gabiels, NY. Jim is a lifelong member of the Catholic Church, attending Mass every Sunday regardless of where he is geographically, having a knack for finding a church wherever he may be. Jim has done everything listed above and more, while being happily married to his wife, Michele, raising two sons, Larry and Mike, and spending time with his grandchildren.
Jim has been an amazing role model, mentor, and friend to his coaching staff, and they will miss his lengthy stories, calm/cool/collected demeanor in any situation, deliberate way of doing things, and wonderfully quirky mannerisms and sense of humor. He has helped them develop into better versions of themselves, and they thank him from the bottom of their hearts for everything he has done for Paul Smith's College.
