News Detail
Twenty-five SUNY Cortland students, five community members, five faculty members and 21 AmeriCorps members were recognized on April 29 with the College’s Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards.
The awards recognize exemplary service in support of community agencies, social change and civic engagement by SUNY Cortland students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.
Award winners were selected by the Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards Committee, whose members are from campus departments and offices involved in opportunities for service activities with local, regional and national organizations, including the Institute for Civic Engagement and the Career Services Office. Also seated on the committee are a student, a community agency supervisor, and an AmeriCorps member.
Student recipients were involved with a wide variety of activities, including leadership roles in the SUNY Cortland Relay for Life, tutoring and mentoring programs, reduction of bullying, economic development, literacy, health/wellness programming, hunger awareness, environmental protection and disaster relief. The vast majority of activity supports Cortland County residents, the public school system and numerous human service organizations.
Student recipients were:
Aaron Batchelder, Rouses Point, N.Y.
Dawn Batista, Homer, N.Y.
Jeremiah Best, Inlet, N.Y.
Laura Brienza, Farmingdale, N.Y.
Lindsey Brown, Marietta, N.Y.
Briana Bonn, East Aurora, N.Y.
Nicole Chodkowski, Westbury, N.Y.
Brandie Crowell, Wolcott, N.Y.
Jennifer Doeing, Syracuse, N.Y.
Roger Ennis, Gardiner, N.Y.
Alyson Finch, Johnson City, N.Y.
Sarah Gleisle, Webster, N.Y.
Amber Golden, Maine, N.Y.
Caitlin Goodwin, Cortland, N.Y.
Rachel Gorman, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Patricia Kelly, West Islip, N.Y.
Juliann Lykos, Dix Hills, N.Y.
Lori Jean Magnelli, Washingtonville, N.Y.
Cindy Nelson, Oxford, N.Y.
Danielle Singer, Binghamton, N.Y.
Natalie Tarnow, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
Greta Tomaschke, Elma, N.Y.
Bart White, Jamesville, N.Y.
Jenna Wright, Lockwood, N.Y.
Vitaliy Yanchuk, Cortland, N.Y.
The following community members were honored with Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards:
Marcia Mucaria Baier and John Sikora were recognized for their promotion of music and of local musicians. Mucaria formed a number of local flute-based ensembles; Sikora founded CortlandMusic.org, a nonprofit organization that offers the public a chance to enjoy classical, international and other styles of music performed by local talent.
Jillian LaDouceur, the American Cancer Society’s Director of College Events and a SUNY Cortland graduate, was recognized for her tireless and upbeat efforts as she collaborated with SUNY Cortland students who participated in Relay for Life activities.
Leslie Wilkins, Family Counseling Service’s Youth Assist Coordinator, received an award for her community successes, especially her expansion and strengthening of the “Homework Help” tutoring/mentoring program, and for her development and delivery of a high-school and college student-focused workshop at SUNY Cortland’s November 2009 Leadership Conference.
The following SUNY Cortland faculty members were honored:
Jamie Dangler, Sociology/Anthropology Department, for her advocacy and publicity work with Cortland Aquifer Protection and Employment, as well as for her promotion of student interests in Albany through her role as president of the Cortland United University Professions.
Billie Jean Goff, Counseling Center, for her leadership in Catholic Charities, the Cortland County Alcohol and Substance Abuse Sub-Committee, the Jacobus Center for Reproductive Health and Body Appreciation Week.
Nanette Pasquarello, Judicial Affairs, for leadership in Justice for a Cure, the Take Back the Night march, Relay for Life and for volunteering at Barry School.
Richard Peagler, Counseling and Student Development, for his 37 years of dedication to the SUNY Cortland Counseling Center, chairmanship of 37 programs, active participation in the Cortland City School Board of Education, and for his leadership as vice president of the Seven Valleys Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.
Special Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards were presented to three groups: the SUNY Cortland Softball Team and SUNY Cortland’s Justice for a Cure, for their successful Relay for Life efforts; and Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County for its members’ environmental awareness and protection activities.
Robert Rhodes, professor of English emeritus, presented the Cortland Area Chapter of the Alumni Association’s Community Service Award to Jenna Wright for her work with the Migrant Education Outreach Program, and for her fund- and resource-raising activities.
Lindy Glennon, executive director of the Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO), accepted the Don Wilcox Civic Engagement Award on behalf of her staff. The Wilcox Award recognizes the anti-hunger work of a group or an individual. CAPCO received the award for its 36 years of exemplary service to Cortland County, and in particular for its poverty awareness-raising efforts through its State of Poverty Simulation, which it has conducted over the past two years for college students and teachers in local public schools.
Five students also won scholarships that acknowledge outstanding commitment to community and exceptional academic achievement:
Roger Ennis, the BorgWarner Morse TEC Scholarship
Danielle Singer, the Institute for Civic Engagement Scholarship
Jeremiah Best, the Judson Taylor Presidential Scholarship
Lori Jean Magnelli, the Community Scholarship for Interns and Volunteers
Aaron Batchelder, the Lambda Phi Delta Scholarship.
The reception was sponsored by the Institute for Civic Engagement, the Division of Student Affairs and the Institutional Advancement Office, with help from the Cortland Fund and from the Cortland College Foundation.