Edythe Lane of Roslyn Heights has been named as a Member of the Council for the State University of New York College of Technology at Farmingdale. Ms. Lane will serve a five-year term ending in June, 2004.

For Ms. Lane, the appointment, made by Gov. George Pataki, represents a homecoming of sorts. In 1974, then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed Ms. Lane to the council at SUNY-Farmingdale. She served in that capacity until 1979 when the administration of Hugh Carey removed all Republican party members from the council. "I am delighted to have been put back on it [the council]," Ms. Lane said.

In 1993, SUNY-Farmingdale expanded from a two-year to a four-year college offering bachelor of science degrees. The college has or is in the process of developing a Business School, a School of Nursing, an Aviation and Horticulture School, among others.

According to Ms. Lane, SUNY-Farmingdale's mission is to train young Long Islanders for professions that will keep them in New York, in the process, building future tax bases for both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

A longtime GOP activist in the Roslyn area, Ms. Lane ran for U.S. Congress in 1974. In 1994, she nearly helped to carry the Roslyn area for Mr. Pataki during the latter's upset victory over incumbent Gov. Mario Cuomo. Now, a good five years into his governorship, Mr. Pataki has helped to return the favor by appointing Ms. Lane to a position she never wanted to relinquish in the first place.

¬by Joe Scotchie