Butch Dener first came to SUNY New Paltz in 1968 fresh out of military high school. With a world of opportunity and freedom lying ahead of him at college, Butch found his world exploding with change. As an 18-year-old kid in the late 60s, New Paltz’s psychedelic era was in full swing. Students were rebelling against rules that their 50s counterparts had always followed. They were introducing new ideas among the student body as it became more diverse. They were bringing hit artists to perform on campus with extra money from their Student Activities Fee. And most importantly, Butch says, students from this era were dedicated in activism – working together for change.
Butch found himself immersed in new ideas, people, music and ways of thinking at SUNY New Paltz – and he credits those experiences as ones that have stayed with him forever. After leaving New Paltz in the early 70s and eventually graduating in 1981 with a political science degree, Butch later worked as a road manager for Hall of Fame band The Band. He says his entry to the rock industry stemmed from musicians he met in New Paltz as a student.

“ You met students that you wouldn’t have met normally – New Paltz campus from ‘68 on out was a melting pot. It let you know there was an infinite universe that awaited you, as long as you were willing to go out there and expand yourself a little bit. It showed me the different paths I had in front of me … and I took a lot of them.”

- BUTCH DENER ON ATTENDING NEW PALTZ

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