Campus Champion

Florencia Loda has a passion for teaching and for languages. The Argentinian native transferred to SUNY Cortland while raising three young children. Now in her final year as a childhood/early childhood education major, Flor has a bright future in bilingual elementary education. Fluent in Spanish, English and Italian, she juggles college with family and some community translating. Flor is a role model for her three daughters, ages 3, 5 and 7, and a mentor for her classmates. Faculty praise her talent for processing tasks with ease and communicating her understanding to support classmates when content is complex and challenging.

It’s National Transfer and Non-Traditional Student Week. SUNY Cortland celebrates Florencia and recognizes all our adult students who balance college with family, jobs, community and more.   

SUNY Cortland students, faculty, staff and Cortland Auxiliary Services employees can get their free Cortaca Jug 2024 ticket starting Sunday, Oct. 27, and on selected days next week.

Cortland’s national champion football team will play historic rival Ithaca College at noon at Grady Field. The series has been played each year since 1959 and has been one of the biggest draws in NCAA Division III football for decades, setting the top Division III national attendance records in 2019 and 2022 at MetLife Stadium and Yankee Stadium, respectively.

Current Cortland students who have paid their athletics fee are entitled to one free ticket while supplies last. So are faculty members and other SUNY Cortland employees who present a valid university ID.

Tickets may be picked up during the following dates and times in Corey Union, Room 406.

• Sunday, Oct. 27, noon until 4 p.m.
• Monday, Oct. 28, 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Please be aware that no additional tickets will be sold at this time, and that a valid SUNY Cortland ID must be presented to get a ticket.

If any tickets remain, they will be sold online on Sunday, Nov. 3, starting at noon, through the SUNY Cortland Athletics Website: www.cortlandreddragons.com.

SUNY Cortland students must present both their ticket and their university ID at the gate to be admitted to the game.

School administrators remind all fans that lost or stolen Cortaca Jug tickets cannot be re-issued and urge them to keep their tickets in a safe, secure place.

To learn more about the legendary Cortaca Jug and related events, visit the university's Cortaca Jug webpage at: https://www2.cortland.edu/events/cortaca-jug/

SUNY Cortland’s estimated 550 to 600 transfer students might feel a bit lonely and left out when first arriving on campus, especially when leaping the campus chasm midway through the academic year.

But they’re in good company.

That’s because, during SUNY Cortland’s Transfer and Non-Traditional Student Week from Oct. 21 to 25, when many activities are offered to engage the campus community, quite a few employees are willing to share that nerve-wracking experience of changing their mind about where they plan to finish their baccalaureate degree. All of them found their passion at the second college they tried and have wisdom to share.

• Patrick Donnelly ’01, Ed.D., ATC, former head athletic trainer for SUNY Cortland’s football team when it captured its first-ever Division III national championship title last fall, was once a worried new student at a tiny private college in Vermont, where he immediately found both his chosen major and the campus itself to be a bad fit.
• Kharmen Wingard, an assistant director of SUNY Cortland’s Educational Opportunity Program, was two years into life as a rising star varsity basketball player at a small private university in Erie, Pennsylvania, when his mother’s terminal illness made him decide to move closer to home.
• Kristen Dushko, an assistant registrar at SUNY Cortland for just over one year, enjoyed her year at the Rutgers University — New Brunswick campus in New Jersey, until its rising price led her to switch horses mid-rodeo to suit her academic, extracurricular and bottom-line affordability needs.

Donnelly was a second semester first-year student transferring to SUNY Cortland.

“I look back on it, and I was scared and nervous, starting here in January, placed in a dorm with a roommate whom I knew nothing about, and feeling that I’m late to the game.

“I just opened myself up to the experiences and I ended up, I would argue, having a great first semester. I found great mentors,” said Donnelly, a Plattsburgh, N.Y., native who is currently the coordinator of clinical education and an instructor for the Master of Science program in athletic training within the Kinesiology Department.

At Cortland, Donnelly also met his future wife, Trisha Pike Donnelly ’02, another Cortland athletic trainer.

“The thing I would say to folks is if it doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts,” said Donnelly, who recently earned his doctorate in educational theory research and practice from Binghamton University. “You can’t be afraid to make that leap.”

Wingard, upon transferring after his second year from Gannon University in Erie, Pa., experienced a very supportive academic environment at Daemen University in Amherst, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb.

“In the moment, I didn’t see it, but it really was the best decision for me,” Wingard said.

Daemen University was a bit smaller but had a good program in his chosen major of social work and a berth on the basketball team.

“I really didn’t know how I was going to fit in at Daemon even though it was my hometown, but I really ended up being very successful, athletically and in academics,” Wingard said.

“I was kind of pushed to be involved as much as I was by some advisors and mentors, becoming an orientation leader and taking an R.A. position,” he said. “I think a lot of those things helped me have a well-rounded college experience. I think students should look at it as a 50-50 split. Academics are important, but also what you do outside of the classroom.”

While graduating on time in 2005, he reached All-League and All-American honors, and scored in the all-time top 10 for Daemon athletes in the game, placing him in the institution’s sports hall of fame.

“If I had gone to a bigger school, I don’t know if I’d be as successful, knowing the nature of student that I was and all I had going on,” he said. “It might have been overwhelming. At Daemon, I got a lot more hands-on attention, even with scheduling and transferring my credits and understanding the process to graduate. I was working one-on-one with my professors and advisors on that.”

Wingard’s decision gave him time to be closer to his mother before she passed away.

Today, in addition to reaching his 20-year mark as a SUNY Cortland employee, Wingard is a father, officiates in basketball and is finishing a Doctorate in Education at Binghamton University.

“For the transfer student coming to Cortland, my advice would be to be all-in and really buy into everything that’s offered here, whether that’s an academic resource, a social program or just getting out and meeting friends,” he said.

Dushko of Endicott, N.Y., arrived at Rutgers University with its 40,000 students in Fall 2012, attracted to its marching band and an immersive French language program.

“With 40,000 students, I didn’t just have one advisor,” said Dushko, then an undeclared major who was leaning toward French. “They had an advising department, but I felt like a number.”

The deciding factor, however, was dwindling finances in the face of rising expenses.

“It didn’t make the best sense to go for a second year,” Dushko said.

“My first semester at Rutgers, I had gotten involved in a national, co-educational, honorary music service fraternity, a very small Greek organization that had a chapter at SUNY Oswego,” she said. “I knew Oswego was a lot more affordable than private schools and I was able to start with a group of people who I already knew.

“I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t transferred,” Dushko said. “I think it was a big leap for me but there were more resources available to me, resources like those at SUNY Cortland, to help me succeed. It was such a wonderful, enriching eye-opening, educational experience.”

She declared a major in communications with minors in French and sociology, and studied abroad for three weeks in Tours, France, graduating within four years in 2016.

Dushko has since earned an online master’s degree in higher education administration through SUNY Stony Brook, and recently started an online doctorate in higher education leadership and change at SUNY Empire State College.

Image at top of page: Patrick Donnelly ’01, who was athletic trainer for SUNY Cortland’s national champion varsity football team last fall, is shown standing on the right with his team, Molly Potvin, staff athletic trainer, holding the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl trophy now displayed at Park Center; and student athletic trainers, since graduated, Katherine Burgess ’22, M ’24, standing left; and Brielle Bagozzi M ’24, kneeling on the right.

Many allies stand ready to help two very special groups of students who have taken a different path to arriving at SUNY Cortland to earn their bachelor’s degrees.

Greg Diller, coordinator of transition programs, said the university ran a campaign for students to recognize transfer and non-traditional student advocates who have made an impact on the transition to Cortland.

In total, 20 employees have assisted in some way or another the estimated 550 to 600 transfer student who this academic year will take the plunge of changing their school to Cortland.

Another eight personnel have focused positive attention on those arriving on campus as one among the roughly 200 non-traditional students, defined by the university as undergraduates who are 24 years of age or older or, regardless of age, may have dependent children, be working full-time, have military experience or have made a break in education at some point after high school.

Two extraordinary, helpful faculty members impacted both transfers and non-trads, Helene Schmid and Isa Jubran.

The recognized transfer advocates also include Abigail Droge, Amber Pakkala, Axel Norbo, Tracy Trachsler, Elizabeth McCarthy, Floradell Clarke, Giovanni Dettori, Diller, Jose Ortiz, Judy Stoddard, Kacy Vaughan, Karen Defoe, Karen Downey, Katie Ducett, Maranda Souva, Naomi Catello and Renee Potter.

Also honored for their support of non-traditional students are Anne Burns Thomas, Charlene Cornwell, Cali Young, Jason Page, Scott Stull and Kate McCormick.

SUNY Cortland is recognizing these two unique undergraduate student groups this week during Transfer and Non-Traditional Student Week from Oct. 21 to 25, when many activities are offered to engage the campus community.

Applications are now being accepted for TEDx SUNY Cortland 2025. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are all encouraged to make a pitch to be one of next spring’s speakers with a presentation about … nothing.

Well, at least nothing that’s easy to see.

The third annual TEDx SUNY Cortland event has adopted the current theme of the university’s academic year-long series organized by the Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee: “Air.”

They are inviting members of the university community to explore the invisible forces affecting our lives and share their thoughts with a global audience. The deadline is Friday, Nov. 15.

What topics might be covered by this theme?

You can explore air as a carrier of human emotions. Is love in the air? Tension? Foreboding? Does it serve as the conduit for cultural or societal shifts, giving us a sense that change is in the air? You can look through the lens of spiritual or metaphysical interpretations. Or science. From microplastics and greenhouse gases to radio signals from deep space, unseen forces pose new mysteries that need to be solved. What comes out of thin air? Money, perhaps? Great works of art? Artificial intelligence?

You can apply to be a speaker using this link. It will take you to an official TEDx online application.

SUNY Cortland’s annual TEDx conference seeks to bring together a handful of inspiring and visionary thinkers made up of faculty, staff, students, alumni and the surrounding upstate New York regions for an evening of shared ideas. The inaugural TEDx SUNY Cortland debuted in the spring of 2023.

To learn more, or to view presentations by previous TEDx SUNY Cortland speakers, visit SUNY Cortland’s TEDx pages.

SUNY Cortland wants the world to know all the great things the university’s students are accomplishing. To do that, we need your help. 

This year, we are once again offering students an opportunity to share and promote their SUNY Cortland achievements through our Merit Pages service while helping them build a professional online profile. 

Here’s how it works: unless students ask to be excluded, personalized news items for achievements such as making Dean’s List will be created and sent to involved students, their hometown media outlets, their high schools and their local elected representatives. 

Last year, 5,126 individual students — more than half of SUNY Cortland’s student population — were recognized for 20 achievements ranging from the SUNYAC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll to participation in a campus art show or play.  

It led to 64,750 page views during this period across social media, including sites like LinkedIn. Just as important, there are 928 media outlets in 34 states as far as Alaska that received updates from us leading to at least 4,640 press releases highlighting Cortland’s students. 

With a little assistance, we now hope to recognize even more. All faculty members are strongly encouraged to share student achievements with the Communications Office for consideration as Merit posts. 

Every participating student has a profile on Cortland’s Merit website that is updated to include achievements publicized through Merit. We encourage students to personalize their profiles in order to build a solid foundation for creating professional profiles on Handshake or LinkedIn 

This little bit of extra work can mean a big boost for their careers after graduation. 

We are relatively new to Merit, so some of our student profiles are sparse. To see what it could look like if more students took an active role in their profile, check out similar pages for St. Lawrence University or Colgate University. 

All students are automatically enrolled unless they request otherwise. To be excluded, please send an email message to SUNY Cortland Communications Director Frederic Pierce. Learn more about Merit here. 

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.

National author and speaker Marissa Cohen will seek to lighten the atmosphere while addressing the serious topic of collegiate domestic abuse when she emcees a “Healthy Relationship Trivia” contest on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at SUNY Cortland.

Cohen, who works to create an open and supportive community among those she often describes as warriors — not survivors — of sexual assault and domestic violence, will offer the ice-breaking informational activity at 6 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room.

The time has been moved back one hour to let campus community members attend another event at 7 p.m., the Take Back the Night Ceremony and March. That event, starting at 7 p.m. on the Corey Union steps, is organized by Students Active For Ending Rape (SAFER).  

“Healthy Relationship Trivia,” which continues the semester’s ongoing Conley Wellness Wednesday series at the university, is part of campus events related to Domestic Violence Awareness Month during October. Events are free and open to the campus community. "Healthy Relationship Trivia" will feature prizes and refreshments.

“Sometimes the best way to retain information is to make it fun,” Cohen said.

The activity will promote safe relationships, identify red flags, field commonly asked questions, present statistics and offer safety tips, according to her. The game answers the most-asked questions, delves into myths and facts and contains surprising information about healthy vs. toxic relationships, abuse, sexual assault, boundaries and other related topics.

Cohen is founder and executive director of the nonprofit Within Your Reach, Inc., which trains advocates around the country in appropriate ways to respond to individuals she describes as “warriors in crisis.”

Her mission is to enable individuals to make informed and educated decisions and recognize red flags immediately. She wants to see all survivors of sexual abuse, narcissism, emotional abuse and domestic violence release their trauma, build resilience and rebuild their lives, so they can feel complete, happy and confident.

“I don’t view my work as a job, but rather a mission and calling to empower those who have been victims of emotional abuse,” said Cohen, who personally surmounted the heavy toll of an abusive college relationship.

Her published, best-selling nonfiction includes Breaking Through the Silence: The Journey to Surviving Sexual Assault (also a 2018 Readers Favorite International Book Award Winner, and No. 1 Amazon International Best Seller); and Breaking Through the Silence: #Me(n)Too (an Amazon No. 1 Best Seller).

Cohen was awarded the prestigious 2024 National Campus Speaker of the Year award, voted by hundreds of colleges and universities around the country. She also received the Purple Ribbon Award for Survivor of the Year from DomesticShelters.org for her work with empowering survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Cohen grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and New Jersey, and was heavily influenced by plays like “Spring Awakening,” and young adult novels like Speak and Perks of Being a Wallflower. As far back as high school, she considered herself a social activist. She has a bachelor’s degree in cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics from Rowan University.

Now living in Chicago, Cohen founded Healing From Emotional Abuse Philosophy, a company in which she created a “3 Key Action-Based Coaching” program to help survivors overcome abuse and narcissistic trauma. More than 2,000 people have used her method to start living a free, confident and peaceful life. She is also a co-founder of the program #IMASTATISTIC, which endeavors to humanize sexual assault survivors.

Cohen also works as a government contractor for the Army Reserve, helping service members with adult life issues.

She trains individuals — from practicing nurses and nursing students to first responders, to students across the country and military leadership — about how to effectively respond to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.

Her award-winning podcast, Healing From Emotional Abuse, has charted in the top 10% in more than 27 countries around the world.

For more information, contact Health Educator Lauren Scagnelli ’12 M ’14, CHES at 607-753-2066.

As a small child Michelle King’s speech was very limited. Doctors diagnosed her with autism and an intellectual disability and told her mother she would probably never be able to have a normal conversation.  

But King could sing. From that foundation, a speech therapist worked with her to develop her language skills. And then some. 

King became the founder, lead vocalist and guitar player for Flame, a classic rock and pop cover band that has performed in Europe and Asia, and at legendary U.S. venues like the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. 

The U.S.- based group, which describes itself as a band with “talented members who happen to have disabilities,” brought their music to SUNY Cortland for a concert on Saturday, Oct. 19, in the Corey Union Function Room.

"Flame gave an entertaining two-hour performance that was well-received and kept audience members tapping their feet throughout," said Sandra Wohlleber, associated director of campus activities and Greek affairs.

Wohlleber added that King and the rest of Flame worked through a varied set list of 30 songs, ranging from Lady Gaga’s "Born This Way" and Darius Rucker’s version of "Wagon Wheel," to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Born on the Bayou." Other hits from bands like The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Sister Sledge, Fleetwood Mac and The Lumineers kept Corey Union hopping the whole evening.

“Part of their goal is to address how the public perceives people with disabilities, to increase public awareness and acceptance,” said Suzanne Sprague, director of the Disability Resources Office. “And also, they’re just a really fun band.” 

This free public performance was a collaboration between the Campus Artist and Lecture series and the Disability Resources Office. Door prizes provided by the Disability Resources Office were periodically raffled off throughout the evening for attendees.

Flame formed 20 years ago at the Arc Lexington in Gloversville, N.Y., an agency that supports people with developmental disabilities. Since then, the musicians of Flame have released six albums and two singles. Their live setlist includes original tracks and more than 100 cover songs that span the last 50 years.  

The group’s musicians have disabilities including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, blindness and paralysis. 

The band has been honored by the National Historic Recognition Project, a collaboration of national and regional organizations that recognized key groups and individuals who contributed to the transformation of the field of intellectual and developmental disability within the United States.  

Most recently, they were invited to tour Cambodia by the United States Embassy as part of the United States Arts Envoy program. 

Sprague, who has heard great reviews about Flame from other SUNY schools, credited Katie McCulloch, the former assistant director of the Disability Resources Office, for doing a lot of the work in getting Flame to Cortland. 

“We were interested in promoting an opportunity like this,” Sprague said. “Both because of the reputation of the band and because it's aligned to office goals of increasing the amount of disability related programming around campus, reaching new audiences within our own Cortland community and giving folks a chance to learn about and engage with the topic of disability.” 

SUNY Cortland was recently named to a list of the best “disability-friendly schools” in the country. Sprague has said that her department’s goal is to make improvements in accessibility that are felt in day-to-day life at the university, including everything from campus housing and service animals to online learning and note-taking technology.  

Sprague noted the Flame concert was supported, in part, by new funding for Cortland in the state budget that’s focused on supporting the needs of students with disabilities. Cortland received $414,100 as part of a SUNY-wide initiative announced by Governor Kathy Hochul and Chancellor John B. King Jr. 

The money will help the Disability Resource Office hire a new assistant director and has already led to the hiring a new learning strategist. It will also be used to increase accessibility on campus through programs and initiatives. 

“Our recent focus groups with our campus community’s participation provided specific feedback and we are taking steps to respond to the requests for changes that were shared with us,” Sprague said.  

Her examples included the addition of new automatic door openers in certain locations on campus; assessment of the need for additional accessible parking on campus; and a concerted effort to improve the student experience for using accommodations on campus by understanding what hasn’t gone well.  

“We want to make changes that will be impactful as we think about all our students with disabilities and having an inclusive campus.