Trailblazers Then and Now: Celebrating SUNY Poly’s First Graduates 

SUNY Poly’s origins date back to 1966, when it was founded as the Upper Division College at Herkimer/Rome/Utica and held its first classes in an elementary school. It wasn’t until 1975, however, that they celebrated their first graduates. As SUNY Polytechnic Institute prepares to welcome back alumni for the 2025 Wildcat Weekend, two members of the college’s very first graduating class—Nick Mazza ’75 and Jerry Donovan ’75—are reflecting on the path that brought them to a brand-new school in Utica, and how far the institution has come since those early days. 

By 1971, the college had moved into a former textile mill in West Utica, which was slowly transformed into usable classrooms, faculty offices, and a modest library. That’s where Mazza and Donovan began their SUNY Poly journey, part of a bold experiment in public higher education, with no dorms, no student union, and little certainty about the future. 

Many members of the Class of 1975, like Mazza and Donovan, worked part-time jobs while taking classes, lived in small apartments around the city, and gathered at local haunts like the Rainbow Bar and Grill—just across from the campus. “We didn’t have a student center, so that bar became our unofficial hangout,” recalls Donovan. “It’s where we ate lunch, shared stories, and built friendships that still last today.” 

“We were a bit of an experiment,” says Mazza. “There were only a handful of us, and the school didn’t even have a permanent campus yet. But we believed in the potential, and we made it work.” 

That sense of camaraderie and the two’s longstanding friendship extended beyond graduation. Donovan even served as the first president of the Alumni Association, lobbying alongside others to secure funding for what would become the permanent campus in Marcy. Leading the charge for the new campus was Jerry’s father, late State Senator James Donovan, who is celebrated as the driving force behind the Marcy campus coming to fruition. Donovan Hall, where the university’s four colleges are housed, bears his name.

“We were lobbying the governor, the trustees—whoever would listen,” Donovan says. “There was a moment it could’ve all been lost. My father didn’t let that happen.  

“To see what’s up there now—tech companies, advanced labs, a growing student body—it’s amazing,” Donovan notes. “It’s everything we hoped it could become.” 

Since graduating in 1975, Nick Mazza has built a distinguished career in public service, most notably serving for two decades as County Manager of Livingston County, where he oversaw key administrative and fiscal operations. After retiring from that role, he continued to stay active in civic leadership and now serves as chairman of the Albany County Pine Hills Redevelopment Corporation, where he leads efforts to revitalize the former St. Rose College campus.  

Jerry Donovan also pursued a career deeply rooted in community impact, working as a development director for nonprofit organizations as well as dabbling in government affairs, where he advocated for regional economic and educational priorities. He also spent a few years working for the NYS Department of Labor. Now retired, Donovan remains closely connected to SUNY Poly and the legacy he and fellow alumni helped shape. 

As they look ahead to their 50th class reunion, both men are eager to reconnect with former classmates and celebrate the legacy they helped start. “We were just trying to get our degrees, find our way,” says Mazza. “Now we get to come back, not just to reminisce, but to see what we were part of building. It’s a full-circle moment.” 

A special breakfast will be held on Saturday, September 20, during Wildcat Homecoming Weekend. In addition to honoring outstanding alumni, the event will include a Wildcat Induction Ceremony for the Class of 1975—formally welcoming them into the Wildcat family, as the mascot didn’t exist when they first graduated. The meaningful gesture will officially connect these earliest graduates with the Wildcat spirit that has become such a proud part of SUNY Poly’s identity.

To register for the breakfast, please visit sunypoly.edu/wildcat-homecoming-weekend or contact the Alumni Association at alumni@sunypoly.edu.