Campus Champion

Carter Galle ’24, physical education, will earn his master’s in health education next May. Carter hopes to share with young people the skills to make healthy decisions and to communicate and advocate for themselves. A natural leader, the DeGroat Hall resident assistant presented to the Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in 2023 and will present at November’s 2024 conference. A topic close to his heart moved to the forefront in September — Suicide Prevention Month. With friend Katie Cosenza ’24, M ’25, their suicide prevention campaign incorporates positive messages on paper hearts and a presentation on suicide warning signs and statistics to more than 100 Alliance of Physical Education Majors (APEM) members.

Learn more about confidential resources at campus and community resources or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988lifeline.org).

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. celebrated Constitution Day at SUNY Cortland Tuesday, hosting a panel discussion on the importance of voting and announcing initiatives aimed at encouraging voter registration and civic engagement among students.

And he made it clear that SUNY Cortland was the perfect place to have this conversation.

“I don’t know where democracy and civics are taken more seriously than on this campus,” King said, praising the efforts of President Erik J. Bitterbaum, the longest serving president among SUNY’s comprehensive universities.

“Part of his extraordinary reputation is built around devotion to the principles Constitution Day celebrates and the civic engagement that a great campus consecrates.”

SUNY Cortland student voter registration and voting rates have increased more than ten-fold over the last decade. The university’s voting rate for eligible students was 6.3% in 2014; in 2020, voter registration was 85% and the voting rate was 69%.

Much of that success is due to the efforts of Cortland’s Barbara A. Galpin ’68, M ’ 74 Institute for Civic Engagement, New York Public Interest Research Group and other campus organizations.

Those efforts will receive a boost from a $3,000 mini-grant announced by King at Cortland, one of 23 SUNY campuses awarded grants by the Ibis Foundation to support non-partisan voter outreach efforts on campuses across the state.

SUNY Cortland will use the funds to develop, promote and evaluate voter-education events and activities that encourage civic discourse skills and the complexities of important local issues, said John Suarez, director of Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement.

“Our faculty, staff, students and partners in the greater Cortland community have been sharpening their skills in constructive disagreement,” said Suarez, named this year as one of 10 SUNY Civic Education and Engagement and Civil Discourse Fellows. 

“We strive to maintain a culture of mutual respect and an openness to a variety of viewpoints because we realize that solving complex issues requires a rich range of ideas.”

In addition to facilitating dialogue with a panel of three election and voting experts and announcing the mini-grants, King promoted the SUNY Votes campaign to educate and empower student voters.

He noted that Cortland was among 39 campuses participating in the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, which provides free resources for SUNY institutions to increase student civic engagement, and one of 16 that have polling sites on campus.

“Core to the mission of higher education is preparing well-rounded, civically engaged citizens who will contribute to and strengthen our democracy for future generations of Americans,” said King, a former high school social studies and civics teacher. “At SUNY, our commitment to civics is woven throughout everything we do.”

Tuesday’s three panelists echoed the importance of that commitment.

Bekeh Ukelina, a SUNY Cortland history professor, grew up under a military dictatorship in Nigeria and knows first-hand how precious democracy can be. He said American students don’t always understand the value of their vote.

“A student once told me he didn’t think it would be that bad to live in a dictatorship,” Ukelina shared. “I explained what it was like and asked, ‘Do you still think it wouldn’t be so bad?’”

Joseph Anthony, an assistant professor of political science at SUNY Cortland, said the stakes couldn’t be higher for civic education.

 “Elections are the difference between democracy and dictatorship,” he said. “But election only work if we use them.”

Trigger warnings and safe spaces have been a point of educational and cultural arguments across the country. This week, that debate will come to SUNY Cortland.  

But don’t expect the shouted meltdowns seen so often in cable news and social media. 

“Who needs safe spaces and trigger warnings?” will feature speakers on both sides of the issue who will then have a conversation demonstrating how people can disagree constructively.  

The event will take place Thursday, Sept. 26 at 4:30pm in Old Main’s Brown Auditorium. Students, staff, faculty and the larger community are all invited. A meet and greet with refreshments from 4 to 4:25 p.m. will take place ahead of the main talk. 

Co-hosted by Heterodox Dragons, Bridge Cortland, and the Barbara A. Galpin '68, M '74 Institute for Civic Engagement, the event is funded by the Heterodox Academy through a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Heterodox Dragons is the campus arm of the academy, a national organization that describes itself as a nonpartisan group dedicated to open inquiry, viewpoint diversity and constructive disagreement. 

The local chapter at SUNY Cortland was founded last semester by Jill Murphy, associate professor and department chair of SUNY Cortland’s Health Department, and John Suarez, director of the Galpin Institute for Civic Engagement. 

“Sometimes people might make fun of safe spaces, like you have to go pet puppies somewhere,” Murphy said. “But that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about how can you feel as though you can engage with another human.” 

Guest speakers Nafees Alam, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Boise State University, and Dylan Selterman, associate teaching professor at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, will explain what safe spaces and trigger warnings are and discuss how these can impact free speech, mental health and learning in the classroom.  

Alam and Selterman will model how two experts can engage in discussion, make their case with facts and data, listen to one another, and constructively disagree, Murphy said. 

“It's set up in this very cool way where each one does a 15-minute presentation and then they sit down together to talk so they then identify what they have in common, even where their beliefs and views are different” she explained. 

Beyond the content of the talk, another goal of the event is to show that having different ideas can be handled in a way that leads to greater understanding. 

"(The speakers) have positive constructive dialogue and then they'll take questions from the audience,” Murphy said. “So, we thought it would be great way to bring people from outside of campus together and then model this positive behavior.” 

Murphy noted that with the heightened level of polarization she’s seen, it's more important than ever to promote dialogue, not division. 

“In this election year, that’s one of the reasons why John and I find this work is really important. We want to find ways we can bring people together.” 

While a brief look at political polls may make it seem an imposing task, Murphy believes that an effort to truly listen and be intellectually humble can create the comfort needed to discuss opposing ideas and gain a better sense of one another. 

Heterodox Dragons will continue to support its goal of open dialogue when it co-sponsors an event on Oct. 2 on the Cornell University campus with guest speaker Daryl Davis, the first Black author to write a book on the Ku Klux Klan based upon in-person interviews and personal encounters. 

“Higher education especially is about being exposed to different ideas,” Murphy said. “And we need to be able to get into the same room and actively listen, seek understanding from the other person. You don't have to agree, but just try to better understand that perspective.”

For more information on the event, email Jill Murphy or John Suarez.

The SUNY Cortland Performing Arts Department’s 2024-25 season will launch with an original Shakespearean debut, “By Any Other Name,” that promises to rock harder than normal Broadway shows. 

Or as the legend himself might say: by any other name, this new show would sound as sweet. 

The production was described by director Kevin Halpin, professor in the Performing Arts Department, as a fun, fast-paced journey with some of William Shakespeare’s best loved heroines and the three witches from “MacBeth.” 

Through the power of its performances and catchy pop-rock score, Halpin expects audiences to leave with smiles on their faces and a new outlook on the power of women in society. 

“It asks the question, ‘What if these young women had the chance to question their destiny and choose their own paths?’” he said. “What ensues is a funny, touching and inspiring romp through the woods, touching on themes of self-worth, sacrifice, gender inequity and identity and the power of friendship.”  

There will be 7:30 p.m. performances in the Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 3, Friday, Oct. 4 and Saturday, Oct. 5, with an earlier matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6. Tickets are available at SUNY Cortland’s online Ticket Office. Discounted prices are offered to students, faculty, staff and senior citizens. 

With a script and lyrics by Deborah Zoe Laufer, accompanied by a score from Daniel Green, “By Any Other Name” is the third Cortland musical brought to life in partnership with New York City-based CreateTheater after “The Bone Harp” and “In Emily’s Words.”  

Readings without costumes or props were given on campus the past two years, letting the show’s writing team get feedback from a live audience and then adjust the show accordingly. 

 “In Emily’s Words” went on to be an award winner at the New Works Festival in New York City, including best leading musical and best actress in a musical for current junior Olivia Celis. 

With “By Any Other Name,” the staged reading is just a first step toward the fully realized show opening next month. 

“Our reading on Sept. 14 was very successful,” Halpin said. “We had a full audience, and the response was overwhelmingly positive, including a standing ovation at the conclusion. Book writer and lyricist Deborah Laufer was in attendance and was very impressed with our students’ performances, and the astute observations and helpful questions from the audience at the talkback following the performance.” 

Ideas and suggestions from that talkback have already been added into the version to debut in October, he added. 

To the best of Halpin’s knowledge, Cortland has the only university musical theater program with an ongoing, yearly connection to a New York City producer, as well as a chance to perform each year in the global hub of the theater industry. 

“I do believe this is a unique opportunity for our students that other programs do not offer,” Halpin said. “Working with Deb has been a great experience. To have a successful playwright who has been produced in so many professional theaters in New York City and regionally is a valuable opportunity for our students and the program. This is her first full musical, so we are excited to be part of that for her.” 

Each year partner organization CreateTheater lists possible shows for Cortland, with Halpin choosing several for the rest of the department’s full-time faculty and production staff to read through.  

This time, “By Any Other Name” was chosen by the department as a full stage production, with cast, crew and faculty hard at work to bring a complete vision of the show to life. 

Halpin said that rehearsals began Aug. 30 and last from 6:30 to 10 p.m. each weekday, and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition, the cast works either alone, with a vocal instructor or with musical director Ben Kapilow outside of normal rehearsals. 

The partnership gives Cortland students a chance to learn from professional playwrights, Halpin explained. And a new show that updates on the fly in the lead up to its debut is an excellent challenge for the students. 

“Getting perspective from professionals who are working in the contemporary theater is always invaluable for a student,” he said. “Having an established playwright learn from your performances and listen to your ideas about the life of the character teaches our students how important their place is in the collaboration on a new piece of theater. The confidence and sense of self-worth that provides is an invaluable foundation for the start of their careers in the theater.” 

OK, so you’re not into amigurumi, the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and dolls.

Perhaps you’re not in the mood to print your very own 3D red dragon complete with moving part, or glue pipe cleaners, sequins and flashy strips of cloth to a discarded children’s toy to create a truly unique tabletop ice breaker.

No, you need to make a really good poster. Right now, for tomorrow’s class. Or you must come up with a set of mugs sporting your organization’s logo to serve as giveaways during an upcoming open house.

SUNY Cortland’s Makerspace has you covered for all of the above and more. Located on Memorial Library’s second floor in Room B-20, between the Instructional Resources Area and the Computer Applications Lab, it offers an array of resources that are there when you need them or when you just feel creative.

Tucked away in this spacious room, the stations range from 3D printers, robotics kits and virtual reality equipment to fiber art and craft materials. All are all free to members of the campus community. Just bring your inquiring mind, a little elbow grease and a spirit of fun and adventure.

“There’s a lot of soft skills our students learn by making things that are valuable to them,” said Karen Dafoe, emerging technologies librarian, who joined the university in summer 2023, just before the Makerspace’s consolidation to its current upstairs location. Dafoe now manages the service with the help of two work study students.

Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person’s ability to interact effectively with others, according to Investopedia. Psychologists may use the term “soft skills” to describe someone’s emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) as opposed to intelligence quotient (IQ).

“Plus, it’s really good for developing mental health and wellbeing,” said Dafoe, who is the first professional staff member hired for her role at Memorial Library.

“I’ve had many students making stuff who are saying, ‘Ah, this is so nice,’” Dafoe said. “But it’s not just stress relief. They enjoy coming in here and creating things. You learn organically while working on projects.”

Recreation aside, the 3D printers are also used by faculty members and one student to design customized tools for their artwork, teaching or research in the arts and sciences.

The Makerspace also features video recording equipment and a separate room available for small group collaborations called Inspiration Station, located downstairs in the Phylis Duke Fralick ’58 and Fredric Fralick ’59 Teaching Materials Center.

For five years prior to coming to Cortland, Dafoe served as a school librarian in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, she started integrating robotics and 3D printing and project-based learning into her elementary library classes, which she supported by writing about $25,000 for grants.

Before COVID-19 shut everything down, Makerspace was operated on the first floor with the help of a collaboration of Makerspace committee members with an academic focus.

“I came in and advocated for recreational use,” Dafoe said.

Since opening last fall, Dafoe has encouraged faculty, staff and students to offer workshops to bring new visitors into the space. Walk-ins are also very welcome.

“I’ve read a lot about what it takes for someone to walk through a door on an unfamiliar space, especially if there’s a lot of high-tech machines and you don’t know if you belong,” Dafoe said.

In Fall 2023, Casey Pennington, a Literacy Department faculty member, offered her class a “Hack Their Toys” workshop, using the Makerspace’s seemingly endless supply of classic crafter trimmings like colorful felt and pipe cleaners. Students brought in their old toys with their old stories and would then take them apart and reassemble them in unique ways while creating a new story.

Using ‘Sid,’ the sadistic antagonist from the movie ‘Toy Story’ who ripped toys apart and put them together in grotesque ways, as inspiration, Pennington created a ‘Frankentoy,’” said Dafoe.  Makerspace now has an area dedicated to random toy tinkering.

More creativity followed. The crochet club’s workshop last spring used the fiber arts wall packed with yarn skeins donated by the Art and Art History Department. School of Education students now produce customized t-shirts in preparation for their teaching semester. The button-making machines give students a quick way to produce a free giveaway with a catchy message. One especially “crafty” student used the space’s sewing machine to turn a hooded sweatshirt into an off-the-shoulder affair complete with a matching tube top, converted from the hood.

One of the first things that draws a student into the room is the chance to use the Makerspace to produce a poster, which can give a student a real classroom edge.

“It makes them a little more professional looking than them handwriting it,” Dafoe said.

Students can use Cricut, a machine that can be programmed to cut paper, vinyl, wood and other materials into exquisite custom shapes or patterns, which then can become decals to be attached to a mug or another gift or prize object. The machine can also be programmed to write on the piece.

Dafoe’s staff helped with Red Dragon Fest last spring by using Cricut to create an elaborate poster to advertise the starting point of one event activity, the paper airplane challenge.

The room’s several 3D printers are visibly and audibly popular, rumbling away on the latest creations. Students’ clever riffs on Red Dragon themes decorate the room, customized from designs shared on the internet, along with variations of Dafoe’s own internet-hacked creation, the colorful, scaly and jagged “Dragon Egg” planters, some of which custom-fit into small mason jelly jars.

Makerspace hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and other hours by appointment at makerspace@cortland.edu. Visit the Makerspace LibGuide for more information.

Libraries transformed the lives of Phylis Duke Fralick ’58 and Fredric Fralick ’59. Now they are paying it forward.

The longtime supporters of SUNY Cortland’s Memorial Library were recognized Sept. 19 when the library named one of its larger collections as the Phylis D. ’58 and Fredric R. Fralick ’59 Teaching Materials Center at SUNY Cortland.

A bronze plaque was unveiled near the center’s entrance in the first-floor north wing of Memorial Library. Attending the ceremony with the Fralicks of Forest, Virginia, and their family members, were SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum, Rich Coyne ’07, vice president for institutional advancement, Tina Aversano, director of development and gift planning, library Director Jennifer Kronenbitter and center Librarian Lisa Czirr.

The Fralick’s gift positions the center, which already takes up much of the first floor’s north wing, to annually acquire generous supplies of new children’s books, other educational materials and furnishings, and educational equipment such as additional whiteboards for class projects. To browse its offerings, visit SUNY Cortland’s online TMC Guide.

“It brings us beyond what we are able to do with our annual collections fund through the university,” said Czirr. “We can also think about different kinds of needs, like furniture.”

Started several decades ago as a modest collection of children’s books, the Fralick Teaching Materials Center is one of only 187 such curriculum materials centers around the country.

The center holds the highest circulating collection within the library, noted Memorial Library Director Jennifer Kronenbitter.

The current collection — just under 22,000 picture, chapter and board books, kits, games, puppets and “real-world” type objects  — is used primarily by students enrolled in the School of Education and as a public resource to the region’s educators.

The couple  first met inside the former Cortland State Teacher’s College library in Old Main, giggling and playing footsie under a table until a testy librarian threw Fred out, never to return. They got married during Fred’s senior year.

Phylis found more than love in the stacks. She retired in 1998 after 35 years as an elementary school teacher, reading specialist, and finally a specialist to children needing remedial experiences, with the balance of her career spent in Campbell County, Virginia, where the couple lives. She used her library’s bounty of books and learning materials to turn on the lights in her pupil’s brains.

“What was very rewarding for me through all my teaching experience was to have a student smile at me and say, ‘I think I’ve got it now,’” Phylis said. “It is just a treasure.”

“We want to see the library enhance the lives of lots of folks,” said Fred Fralick, a former physical education major at Cortland. A high school teacher who earned a doctorate in education from Syracuse University, he capped a long career running his own successful human resources consulting agency. “We are just glad we are in a situation where we can donate enough to make a difference.”

The couple also endowed the Phylis Duke Fralick ’58 and Fred Fralick ’59 Scholarship for a SUNY Cortland student in any discipline with satisfactory academic achievement and demonstrated financial need.

After Cortland, while earning her master’s degree in reading on a fellowship, Phylis worked in a teaching materials center at the then Glassboro State College in New Jersey (now Rowan University). There, she burnished her already impressive teacher credentials: a Teacher of the Year Award from the East Syracuse Minoa (N.Y.) District.

“I learned so much about teaching because I was focused on what kind of hands on  materials were available for teachers to use to enhance their students,” Phylis said. “It’s one thing a lot of teachers miss out on. It opened so many windows for me.”

“After she retired, for the next 10 years easily, we would be in the grocery store and some male or female would come up and say, ‘Mrs. Fralick, Mrs. Fralick, you taught me reading,’” Fred said. “When they got the hang of reading, their whole life changed.”

Barbara Galpin ’68, M ’74 taught physical education on Long Island for 35 years, always with one goal in mind.

“I taught with the idea that my students were going to pay it forward,” Galpin said during a SUNY Cortland event honoring her Friday. “I hope, to this day, that some of what I did made a difference in their lives.”

Galpin will continue making a difference for many years into the future, thanks to a naming gift to fund SUNY Cortland learning experiences intended to educate students through projects with positive real-life impact.

On Sept. 19, SUNY Cortland officials formally re-named the Barbara A. Galpin ’68, M ’74 Institute for Civic Engagement in recognition of an alum with a long history in education, volunteerism and philanthropy.

“Your spirit and your compassion serve as an inspiration to all of us, especially our students,” Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum told Galpin during the naming ceremony. “It has been said there is no greater purpose than service to others, and your example is proof of that.”

In addition to her long history of going the extra mile for students, Galpin has traveled to developing countries around the world and assisted with vital initiatives, according to SUNY Cortland Vice President for Institutional Advancement Rich Coyne ’07. She has funded a dental van serving desperately impoverished communities within Ocala National Forest near her home in The Villages in Florida.

“An advocate, a volunteer and a philanthropist: that is Barb Galpin,” said Coyne, who hosted the event in the Galpin Institute’s meeting room and office in Moffett Center.

In addition to Coyne and Bitterbaum, Galpin Institute Director John Suarez and Jenna Kratz ’22, M ’23, a former civic engagement action intern for the institute, spoke at the ceremony, in which a bronze plaque with the new name was unveiled in the hallway next to the door of the office.

Kratz, in addition to being an intern, was also the very first recipient of the Barbara A. Galpin '68 Greater Good Scholarship, one of two scholarships Galpin is funding at SUNY Cortland.

“I had no idea what a pivotal point in my life that occasion was,” Katz said of receiving notice of her scholarship award while a high school senior. “I was able to do a lot in the four years that I was here. … The greater good scholarship allowed me to concentrate more on my education instead of having to work constantly.”

Kratz left a noticeable mark at Cortland. She was one of two Cortland students — and just eight in New York state — named a Major of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE).

As a civic engagement action intern, Kratz led several projects during the COVID-19 pandemic focused on student mental health concerns, from talks to awareness campaigns to a virtual 5K run. She created a mental health page for the SUNY Cortland website and organized “Save a Life Day” that provided training for students in naloxone training, stroke sign awareness, CPR and other lifesaving measures.

“The Institute really shaped how I face challenges,” Kratz said. “I had so many opportunities, and it would not have happened if Ms. Galpin hadn’t believed in the 17-year-old that wrote that scholarship essay and said, ‘Here, I’m going to help you.’”

For Galpin, giving back is simply a way of life.

“You have an opportunity to make a difference, and it’s in all of us. It’s not just me, it’s not just Jenna, but all of us,” Galpin said. “Cortland always did great things for me, and I wanted to give back to Cortland. As things progressed, I realized this is the best way to do it. I think this is going to make a difference.”

Suarez thanked Galpin for believing in the mission of the civic engagement institute and creating an endowment that would support programming for students, faculty and professional staff at the university.

Over the years, the institute played a key role in establishing the Cortland Cupboard food pantry to address student hunger. It promotes the development of mutually beneficial learning-by-doing-opportunities that address community and campus issues and improve the quality of life.

Recently, programming has focused on constructive disagreement, respectful engagement, critical thinking and encouraging student voters.

“Each year, our students contribute literally tens of thousands of hours of community service,” Bitterbaum said. “But the institute’s most important work is not about doing good deeds. The institute lives the motto ‘learning by doing.’

“The value of thinking critically about the challenges our communities face, and issues like food insecurity, homelessness and now civil discourse. I’m so proud of the many grants, awards and honorable distinctions the institute has earned. I’m even more impressed by the number of lives it has improved both on campus and in our community.

The impact of the Galpin Institute is that the most meaningful work that takes place here is not confined to this room in Moffett,” Bitterbaum said. “The institute has become a bridge and a staple in our Cortland community.”

A former senior U.S. Marine Corps officer who once planned battles during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 will discuss why military matters are kept such a deep, dark secret, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at SUNY Cortland.

Raymond C. Damm Jr., a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, and also an emeritus professor in the Corps’ School of Advanced Warfighting, will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 115.

His lecture, titled “‘Where’ and ‘Why’ are State Secrets Born?,” launches this year’s five planned lectures during the university’s 2023-24 Rozanne M. Brooks Lecture Series themed on “Secrets and Mysteries.” 

The discussions all take place on Wednesdays and begin at 4:30 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 115. Seating will be limited, so attendees are advised to arrive early to secure a seat. A reception to welcome speakers precedes each talk at 4 p.m. in the adjacent Brooks Museum. The events are free and open to the public.

“There are so many directions to go with this theme but the lecture series expresses some of the best,” said Brooks lecture series organizer and Brooks Museum director Sharon Steadman, a SUNY distinguished professor in Cortland's Sociology/Anthropology Department. “How the state keeps its secrets, how the incredible Sherlock Holmes solves his crimes, ancient mysteries in Egyptian religion, and the mysteries of unorthodox, even criminal, behavior, will be revealed by our excellent speakers.

“A visit to the Brooks Museum will find cabinets with ‘mysterious things’ for visitors to puzzle over,” Steadman said. “This year’s theme is meant to be enticing, interesting and, most of all, fun.”

First Brooks lecture on warfare

The School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) develops lead planners and future commanders with the will and intellect to design and execute joint campaigns and naval expeditionary operations.

During his talk, Damm will briefly address the rather dry classification process used by the United States Government and the hierarchy of terminology used in its classification system.

Damm will then explain how the system is, and was, implemented in actual war situations, especially in the Department of Defense (DoD).

He’ll discuss a couple declassified scenarios, including the Mayaguez incident that occurred in 1975 in what is now Cambodia.

“A friend wrote his doctorate on the Mayaguez incident, employed as a case study on how something strategically small got to be so tactically big and the mistakes that lead to those decisions,” Damm said.

The Mayaguez incident cost the lives of three Marines.

His longer discussion will be about 1988’s Operation Desert Fox, in which he served on the planning/execution team in Saudi Arabia.

Additional series presentations:

(Not So) Elementary, My Dear Watson: The Popularity of Sherlock Holmes — Ann McClellan, SUNY Cortland provost and chief academic officer, asserts that the Great Detective is alive and well in the 21st century, as evidenced by the recent spate of Sherlock Holmes movies, television shows and literary adaptations. “Holmes is the most portrayed literary character of all time, with over 230 film versions alone in several different languages,” McClellan said. The biggest mystery, according to her, is why is Sherlock Holmes now a multi-million dollar industry, and into that she will delve. Nov. 13.

The Secret Dangers of Empathy — Empathy usually has such positive associations. Karen Davis, a SUNY Cortland associate professor of psychology, will explore how extreme forms of empathy contribute to violent behavior. “Although research has shown that a lack of empathy increases risk for criminal behavior, there is a growing recognition that possessing empathy does not necessarily prevent violence and may be central to why some individuals engage in criminal behavior,” Davis said. Her talk will highlight the potential secret dangers of this trait. March 5, 2025.

The Power of (Revealing) Secrets in Ancient Egypt — Religious knowledge was a closely guarded secret in ancient Egypt, where only the initiated knew how to perform the rituals that would appease the gods and keep the sun rising every day. Danielle Candelora, an assistant professor of classics at College of the Holy Cross, will discuss religion, propaganda, and immigrant identity among the ancient Egyptians. April 2, 2025.

 The Brooks Series honors the late Distinguished Teaching Professor of sociology and anthropology emerita at SUNY Cortland, Rozanne M. Brooks, whose donated special collection of ethnographic objects to the Sociology/Anthropology Department established the Brooks Museum in 2001.

The 2024-25 Brooks Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Cortland College Foundation and Cortland Auxiliary. For more information, contact Sharon Steadman at 607-753-2308.

Image courtesy of DangrafArt for Pixabay.

SUNY Cortland’s Student Book Club for a second time will focus on the impact of what’s invisible and ethereal but essential on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in the Corey Union third-floor Caleion Room.

That's when they meet for a second time to discuss the university’s year-long “common read” titles, Bewilderment: A Novel by Richard Powers, and The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture, by Gabor Maté. The first book discussion was on Monday, Sept. 30.

This time, the group of students from the SUNY Cortland chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international honor society for students of English, will delve into Bewilderment, pages 37 through 79, and chapters one and three of The Myth of Normal.

Through the year, each future session will focus on a different subset of chapters in the books, chosen in collaboration with the Student Government Association. Participation is open to SUNY Cortland students, faculty and staff.

The book club discussions continue the university’s annual, yearlong academic series of lectures, discussions, film screenings and art exhibitions framed this year on the theme of “Air.” Organized by the university’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC), an all-campus group of faculty and staff appointed by the provost, events in the series are free and open to the public.

Students who commit to attending the book club may request a free copy of Bewilderment, generously provided by the Haines Fund. To claim a copy on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last, email Abigail Droge. Copies also will be on reserve at Memorial Library. The Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC) provides a free PDF of The Myth of Normal.

“The goal of the annual SUNY Cortland Common Read program is to bring together the campus community around shared texts, in order to build interdisciplinary connections and spark discussion on a chosen theme,” said Droge, a CICC organizer and assistant professor of British literature and culture in the English Department.

About the books:

In Bewilderment, a heartrending novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning and No. 1 New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory, the astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual 9-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife.

A warm, kind boy, Robin spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals and is about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face. As his son grows more troubled, Theo hopes to keep him off psychoactive drugs. He learns of an experimental neurofeedback treatment to bolster Robin’s emotional control, one that involves training the boy on the recorded patterns of his mother’s brain.

With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing vision of life beyond and its account of a father and son’s ferocious love, Bewilderment marks Powers' most intimate and moving novel. At its heart lies the question: How can we tell our children the truth about this beautiful, imperiled planet?

The Myth of Normal, by the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, is a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease and a pathway to health and healing. Renowned physician Maté eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise.

According to him, for all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance.

Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society — and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. Cowritten with his son, Daniel, The Myth of Normal is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.

To submit an event, volunteer to support this year’s activities and programming, or for more information, visit the “Air” website at cortland.edu/cicc or contact organizer Benjamin Wilson, associate professor and chair of the Economics Department, at 607-753-2436.

Red Dragons are known for strong support at the annual CROP Hunger Walks.  

With the 30th annual Cortland CROP Hunger Walk set for a month from now — Sunday, Oct. 20 —organizers are hoping for an early and strong registration among students, staff, sports teams and organizations. 

The community-based walkathon across the U.S. raises millions each year for both global and domestic disaster relief, agricultural development, refugee resettlement and emergency food aid. Each year 25 percent of the money raised locally stays in Cortland to support food pantries and feeding programs including the SUNY Cortland Cupboard.   

In 2023, 84 percent of the walkers in the Cortland CROP Hunger Walk were from SUNY Cortland and they raised a record $7,050 of the $12,401 total. For the SUNY Cortland participants, a plaque is awarded annually to the team that raises the most money in each of the following categories: COR 101 classes, athletic teams, Greek sororities and fraternities, residential hall communities and Cortland clubs and organizations. 

In April, Church World Service recognized SUNY Cortland as a national “Cream of the CROP” fundraiser, ranking 85th in the nation among groups in 1,300 CROP Hunger Walks in 2023. In 2021, 15 teams of SUNY Cortland students raised more than $10,000 to combat world hunger. It was the strongest student effort among more than 2,000 CROP Hunger Walks held across the U.S. 

Teams and individuals can register at https://crophungerwalk.org/cortlandny. 

The start and finish location is Grace and Holy Spirit Church at 13 Court St. 

• Maps showing the 1-and 3-mile route will be available at sign up. 

• Registration will take place outside the church from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. After you sign up, you may walk/run individually or with friends or teams. 

• SUNY Cortland/Club/Team/Greek affiliation attire is encouraged! 

• Those with collected funds/donations may turn them in at the registration table. 

Faculty are reminded to encourage students to participate by signing up online.  

“If we can challenge each SUNY Cortland walker to raise $100 – that’s $10 from each of 10 friends and/or family members, then our total funds raised could reach up to $30,000-$40,000,” said SUNY Cortland History Department lecturer and local CROP walk coordinator Jim Miller. “We encourage early sign up as we don’t want people to run out of time to get involved.” 

Materials may be picked up outside the History Department Office, Old Main, Room 212.