We're delighted that the Plattsburgh State College Council will be headed by Arnold Amell. He has proved his commitment to the college with decades of selfless volunteer service.

Earlier this year, we complained editorially that Amell's immediate predecessor, Donald Garrant, was falling victim to politics. A lifelong Republican, his term on the council was expiring, and Democratic Gov. David Paterson obviously was not inclined to reappoint a member of the opposing party. We'd hoped he'd overlook politics in the selection. (When we suggested that, several readers pointed out to us that Garrant, a former county legislator and chairman, had been the beneficiary many times of the political system and it was hypocritical to expect it to be waived in this instance.)

We'd supported Garrant because of his four decades of employment and voluntary service to the college. No one, we opined, cared more about the college than he.

We may have been wrong. Amell, himself, has shown himself to be at least as dedicated to the school as Garrant or anyone else.

The College Council has had the great fortune over the years to be headed by alumni who indeed cared about the institution. Robert Garrow, a retired local educator and member of the college's Sports Hall of Fame, spent several seven-year terms on the council and as its head. Garrant is also an alumnus, as is Amell.

Amell is a local native and the brother of former Clinton County Democratic Chairman Bernard Amell. He is a 1953 graduate of the school and a 2006 recipient of the college's Distinguished Service Award and has been active with the Alumni Association, as well as the council.

He's a retired educator, and, while he has spent much of his professional career out of the area, he has stayed in close touch with Plattsburgh State. In fact, according to a news release announcing his appointment as chairman, he has already called for better meeting attendance by council members.

The council in practice is an even more important body than it is according to statute. Officially, it is an advisory board. According to the news release, members of the council "serve a seven-year term and are charged with providing governance, offering their expertise and judgment as a resource to the college and representing their campus and the State University of New York in their communities. As members of the SUNY Plattsburgh College Council, they are valuable participants in the nation's largest state university system."

Under Garrow, however, and later Garrant, the council assumed more of a leadership role. Its approval is now deemed more of a necessary ingredient to policy than simply a nice thing to have.

Amell's appointment is thus more than a little important to the college. The council couldn't be in better hands.