Campus Champion

Some 1,000 folks congregated in Lusk Field House from late Saturday night into the early hours of Sunday morning to participate in the Relay for Life. Organized for a second year by SUNY Cortland junior Marie Bieber, a psychology major from Conklin, N.Y., along with a dozen of her Colleges Against Cancer Club members, the event included bands, dance performances and food sales. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised for the American Cancer Society by a campus and a community that came together not only to remember loved ones lost to the disease, like Marie's late aunt, Siegrid Borner, but to demonstrate their conviction to finding a cure.

On Sunday, Nov. 22, SUNY Cortland student-athletes and staff once again boxed up and hand delivered turkeys and all of the fixings for 17 Thanksgiving meals for needy families in Cortland County.

The 25 men’s and women’s varsity teams each donated one dollar, a total of approximately $800, to purchase the Thanksgiving dinners.

The athletes boxed the meals in the College’s Park Center lobby and delivered the gift baskets to each family’s front door.

“Our student athletes know how fortunate they are to have enough to meet all their needs this holiday season and are grateful to have an opportunity to contribute to the Cortland community,” said Tim Lloyd, a men’s ice hockey team member and senior sport management major from Oswego, N.Y.

Kim Hill, director of the Cortland County chapter of the food pantry, Loaves and Fishes, assisted with identifying the local families who need Thanksgiving dinners.

The State University of New York Athletic Conference has designated November as its Community Service Month and requests that each school member pick its own project. The SUNY Cortland Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring the event.

For more information, contact Michael Discenza, SUNY Cortland athletics coordinator for student services and women’s head golf coach, at (607) 753-4923.

In an effort to reduce smoking among college students, SUNY Cortland will partner with the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD) through the Colleges for Change (C4C) program aimed at limiting where and how tobacco products are used, promoted, advertised and sold. The program also advances local action to prevent and reduce tobacco use.

Administered by the OCHD and funded by New York State, C4C was developed in response to national data showing that 18-25 year olds have the highest rates of tobacco use. Since the 1998 passage of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement between the largest tobacco companies and the attorneys general of 46 states, the 18-25 year-olds also have formed the youngest legal market for the tobacco industry to target.

"The program will work to establish relationships with members of the Cortland community," said Cathy Smith, a health educator at SUNY Cortland. "First we will establish a Tobacco Advisory Committee and a Student Advocacy Group. Our first efforts will be to evaluate the campus community to better understand student, employee, administrator and community member attitudes regarding the adoption of tobacco-free policies," said Smith. "We will talk to student organizations, off-campus housing, community businesses, and the College campus."

"Moving toward a smoke-free campus will allow SUNY Cortland to be compliant with the American College Health Association's most recent guideline regarding tobacco use which recommends that college campuses be 'diligent in their efforts to achieve a 100 percent indoor and outdoor campus-wide tobacco-free environment,'" added Devin Coppola, M.D., the SUNY Cortland campus physician.

Commissioner of Health for Onondaga County Cynthia Morrow, M.D., views the SUNY Cortland and OCHD cooperative effort as an exciting opportunity for strengthening tobacco control on the campus and in the community.

"The partnership is an excellent way to actively engage college-age adults to address young adult tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke," she noted.

C4C directs numerous evidenced-based initiatives focusing on changing social norms around tobacco use in the college campus environment. These include:

• "No Thanks, Big Tobacco": Tobacco companies have a long history of sponsoring events, both on and off campuses, and contributing to the arts and not-for-profit organizations. C4C will work to end tobacco company sponsorship both on and around the SUNY Cortland campus.

• Smoke-Free Housing: While New York law protects indoor workers from secondhand smoke, individuals' rights to breathe clean air in their residences have been vastly overlooked. C4C will work to encourage off-campus apartment complexes and other multi-unit housing properties where students reside to adopt written smoke free policies.

• Tobacco-Free/Smoke-Free Outdoors: Communities across the country and New York State are implementing ordinances and laws prohibiting smoking in outdoor venues in the interest of limiting exposure to secondhand smoke and lessening the appeal of smoking. C4C will focus on changing policies or passing ordinances related to the use of tobacco products on the college campus and outdoor areas in the Cortland community.

• Point of Sale: C4C will encourage the college campus to adopt a written policy banning the sale of tobacco products on campus.

For more information, contact Cathy Smith at (607) 753-2066 or Katelyn M. Upcraft, public health educator, Tobacco Control Program, at (315) 435-3280.

A panel of recreation educators and advocates for persons with disabilities will present information and answer questions about the newly created New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Center (NYSIRRC) on Thursday, Dec. 3, at SUNY Cortland.

The SUNY Cortland Community Roundtable, titled “Is That Park Accessible? Ask the NYSIRRC at SUNY Cortland,” takes place from 8-9 a.m. in SUNY Cortland’s Park Center Hall of Fame Room. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. Sponsored by the President’s Office and the College’s Center for Educational Exchange (CEE), the community roundtable is free and open to the public.

Panelists will include: Frances Pizzola, program coordinator of Access to Independence of Cortland County, Inc.; and four representatives from SUNY Cortland’s Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department, which houses NYSIRRC. They are: Lynn Anderson, professor and department chair; Vicki Wilkins, professor; Laureen Penney McGee, lecturer; and Brandi Crowe, graduate assistant. Following the presentations, the panel will answer questions.

The NYSIRRC promotes and sustains participation by people with disabilities in inclusive recreation activities and resources throughout the state. Through training, information, technical assistance, inclusivity assessments and recreation referrals, the center serves as a resource and referral hub for state residents with disabilities.

The roundtable session will offer information about the positive transformation of recreational sites to date. Anderson obtained a grant for $624,000 from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to launch the center in 2007. For more information, visit www.nysirrc.org.

For more information, contact the CEE at (607) 753-4214 or visit www.cortland.edu/cee.

The Association of Council Members and College Trustees of SUNY (ACT) recently selected SUNY Cortland junior biomedical sciences major Thomas Malikowski to receive its prestigious ACT for Excellence Scholarships.

Malikowski of Fredonia, N.Y., was among only four students statewide to be honored with the $750 scholarship. Each awardee was selected competitively from his or her region by council members from the three other regions. Malikowski was presented with the scholarship during the ACT Fall Conference on Oct. 24 at the Otesaga Resort in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“The ACT Awards bring support and recognition to the incredible accomplishments of our state university students,” observed ACT President Matthew Morgan of Morrisville State College.

“I would like to express on behalf of students like me how grateful we are to have funds out there such as this scholarship,” Malikowski wrote in his application letter to trustees. “It feels great to know there are people who truly want to help us realize our dreams.”

The ACT for Excellence Scholarship recognizes the academic achievements of students at the state-operated campuses. ACT Award candidates, whose applications must be approved by the school’s College Council and signed by the council chair or college president, are required to have at least a dean’s list grade point average as of the last reporting period. The undergraduates are asked to describe their college experiences and activities beyond academics.

Malikowski, who has a 4.06 grade point average (GPA) and participates in the College’s Honors Program, will graduate in May 2011. He is preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

“I’m proud of my GPA not because it proves I’m ‘smart’ but because it shows that my interest in learning is sincere and that I’m obtaining the valuable intellectual tools a college education can provide,” he said.

“In my time at SUNY Cortland I have come to realize that good grades are not an ugly stress-monster hiding in the library,” the aspiring future physician said. “I found that quality marks are instead a natural byproduct of growing intellectual curiosity. This realization accompanied my explosive interest in biology and particularly in medicine.”

This semester, he is completing a student internship in the Pathology Laboratory at Cortland Regional Medical Center, where he assists in the gross preparation of a variety of biopsies and organ specimens.

“While much of the science is way over my head, I have begun to learn basic elements of gross preparation, pathology, histology and human disease,” Malikowski said. “I love going to work there. It is exciting to see connections start to build between what I learn in class and what happens in practical settings.”

Outside the classroom, as a volunteer licensed emergency medical technician with the SUNY Cortland Emergency Squad, he works an average of four to five overnight shifts a month responding to on-campus emergency calls.

“The things I have learned as an EMT, I never could have been exposed to in a classroom,” said Malikowski, who participates in Biology Club, Pre-Med Club, Habitat for Humanity and on the defending champion intramural flag football team.

“I always try to use athletics as a release from the hectic schedule of a biology student,” he said, noting he relishes playing in an annual softball game that pits biology and geology students against each other.

“Tom is not seeking the easiest academic path toward his chosen career in medicine,” observed Peter Ducey, professor and chair of the Biological Sciences Department. “Rather, he strives to learn what will prepare him best to help others. He is taking the most challenging courses and is absolutely excelling in all of them.”

The son of Joseph and Sandra Malikowski of Fredonia, N.Y., Tom graduated in 2007 from Fredonia High School, where as a senior he was awarded the school’s four-year college scholarship. He is studying at SUNY Cortland on a four-year Merit Scholarship and has received the Honors Program Achievement Award.

The 2009 Service Awards Luncheon will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, in the Corey Union Function Room. Punch will be served from 11:30 a.m.-noon, with lunch following at noon.

Elaine Galaska

Jim Withers

Larry Jebbett

Sharon McConnell

SUNY Cortland will formally honor one 40-year, one 35-year, and a combined four 30-year and 25-year employees oduring the 40th Annual Service Recognition Ceremony sponsored by the College’s Human Resources Office. The six long-time employees, who are among 42 individuals to be individually recognized for their terms of service, are Elaine Galaska, Larry Jebbett, Ella Dorman, Marty Kinner, Sharon McConnell and Jim Withers.

Galaska, a secretary II in the Memorial Library, will be honored for her 40 years of service, all in the College’s library. She joined SUNY Cortland as a stenographer in the library in 1969. In 1977 she was promoted to senior stenographer, then to secretary I in 1991 and, in the following year, to secretary II.

Jebbett, a general mechanic with 35 years of service, started as a cleaner in August 1974. He was worked as a grounds worker, maintenance assistant, highway equipment operator and senior grounds worker. In 2004, he was promoted to his current position.

Dorman, a library clerk III who works at the Memorial Library periodicals desk, and Kinner, an electrician, are being honored for their 30 years at the College. Dorman began her career with SUNY Cortland as a typist in the library in July 1979. She was promoted to a library clerk I in 1983, to a library clerk II in 1985, and to library clerk III in 1996. Kinner started as a cleaner in October 1979. He was promoted to maintenance helper in 1981, to maintenance assistant in 1984, and to his current title as electrician in 1987.

McConnell, a secretary I in the Student Health Services Office, and Withers, a supervising janitor, are being honored for 25 years of service. McConnell came to the College in a temporary position in September 1982. Three years later, she received a permanent stenographer position in the Student Health Services and the position was reclassified as a keyboard specialist I in 1987. McConnell was promoted in 1993 to a senior typist, a title that was later reclassified to a keyboard specialist II in 1995, and to a secretary I in May 2000. Withers started at the College in February 1984 as a temporary cleaner. In December 1989, he was promoted to janitor and in May 1995 to his current position as a supervising janitor.

The following employees are slated to receive awards at the 40th annual event:

10 Years

Douglas Adsit, custodial services

Gary Barrett, structural maintenance

Tanya Brayton, custodial services

Frances Bushaw, custodial services

Domenica Cimini, custodial services

Lucinda Compagni, academic affairs

Michelle Congdon, human resources

Sherry Ellis, library

Sheila Gregoire, education

Amanda Halliwell, sociology/anthropology

Janet Hegedus, Educational Opportunity Program

Kathleen Hudson, classroom media services

Naida Leet, purchasing

Nancy Mead, academic computing services

Theresa Montez, recreational sports

Frederick Morey, heating plant                 

Jane Rawson, custodial services

Teresa Ripley, professional studies

Neeca Root, judicial affairs

Scott Suhr, biological sciences

15 Years

Richard Breidinger, heating plant

Jeanne Clink, custodial services

Lawrence Coughlin, custodial services

Charlene Lindsey, field placement

Helen Low, university police

Bonnie Merchant, admissions

Darlene Phillips, campus activities

Joseph Stockton, custodial services

20 Years

Dianne Bays, custodial services

Doris Conway, custodial services

Gail Butler, enrollment management

John Evans, physical plant

Gretchen Gogan, library

Genevieve Herrling, education

Stephen Shufelt, structural maintenance

Susan Smith, academic computing services

25 Years

Sharen McConnell, student health services

Michael Toomey, university police

James Withers, custodial services

30 Years

Ella Dorman, library

Marty Kinner, structural maintenance

35 Years

 Larry Jebbett, structural maintenance

40 Years

Elaine Galaska, library

The Publications and Electronic Media Office has updated the College's Writing Style Guide, which is located in the SUNY Cortland Communication Guide.

The Writing Style Guide provides standards for general writing style and answers to College-specific style questions, such as official long and short names for rooms and buildings and the preferred spellings for computer-related terms. These guidelines are intended for use in all published materials that represent the College.

The Writing Style Guide A-Z is a searchable html file. A downloadable pdf of the document also can be printed.

The Communication Guide is a one-stop resource for promoting SUNY Cortland on all Web, print and electronic communications produced to support the College's mission. The guide includes policies and standards for e-mail, templates for PowerPoint presentations, downloadable College logos and a wealth of additional information.

A proofreading checklist also is available as part of the Communication Guide to assist employees with reviewing documents for errors and adherence to Cortland's style conventions.

Questions regarding SUNY Cortland's marketing and branding initiatives should be addressed to Marketing Director Gradin Avery. Assistance with writing style questions or concerns can be obtained from the Publications and Electronic Media Office at (607) 753-2519.

Nominations are now being sought for the following State University of New York awards: Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Distinguished Teaching Professorship.

In order to be eligible for the Chancellor's Excellence in Teaching Award, candidates must meet the criteria set forth in statewide guidelines for Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching Awards. They must perform superbly in the classroom, maintain a flexible instructional policy that adapts readily to students' needs, interests and problems and demonstrate mastery of a variety of teaching techniques. 

Consideration is given to numbers of different courses taught, number of students per course and variety of teaching techniques employed. Candidates must be teachers/scholars who keep abreast of their field and use relevant information from that field and related disciplines in their teaching. They must demonstrate a continual concern for the intellectual growth of individual students, set high standards for students and help them achieve academic excellence, be generous with personal time and be easily accessible.

Complete criteria for eligibility may be found in the President's Office, Miller Building, Room 408, or on the SUNY Faculty Awards Web site.

Persons wishing to nominate someone for any of these awards should submit the nominee's name and a detailed justification not to exceed two typed pages to Virginia Levine in the President's Office no later than Friday, Dec. 4. Nominations submitted without detailed justification will not be reviewed by the committee. Individuals may not nominate themselves for these awards.

Eligibility for the Distinguished Teaching Professorship is limited to individuals who have been full professors for at least five years and who have completed at least 10 years of full-time service in SUNY. Candidates must perform superbly in the classroom, maintain flexible instructional policy that adapts readily to students' needs, interests and problems and demonstrate mastery of a variety of teaching techniques.

Consideration is given to numbers of different courses taught, number of students per course and variety of teaching techniques employed. Candidates must be teachers/scholars who keep abreast of their field and use relevant information from that field and related disciplines in their teaching. They must demonstrate a continual concern for the intellectual growth of individual students, set high standards for students and help them achieve academic excellence, be generous with personal time and be easily accessible. 

Distinguished Teaching Professor is a "super" academic rank and scholarship and service are also taken into consideration. Faculty holding any distinguished faculty rank may not be nominated for another distinguished faculty rank designation. Beginning this year, nominations for all three distinguished ranks will be reviewed at the SUNY level by full committees composed of distinguished professors from across the 64-campus system.

For information regarding the awards, Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching or Distinguished Teaching Professor,  contact Committee Chair Cynthia Benton, childhood/early childhood education, at (607) 753-4631.

Advisement and Transition will host its ninth annual COR 101 Teaching Assistant Poster Symposium from noon-5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

The Poster Symposium, an end-of-semester event, showcases the work of COR 101 teaching assistants.

For more information, contact Advisement and Transition (607) 753-4726.

The New York State/United University Professions Joint Labor/Management Committees Office in Albany offers the Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Affirmative Action/Diversity Leave Program for leaves commencing during the Fall 2010 semester.

Full-time, non-tenured, tenure-track employees who meet the five bulleted conditions below are eligible to apply. Employees who are nearer their tenure review date will be given particular consideration.

Applicants are being sought from full-time, non-tenured, tenure-track employees who:

• are minority group members, women, employees with a disability or Vietnam-era veterans and
• do not have permanent or continuing appointment and
• have at least a one-term renewal or prior service credit in a position eligible for permanent or continuing appointment and
• serve in positions in the State University Professional Services Negotiating Unit and
• who will be reviewed for permanent or continuing appointment beginning in the spring 2011 semester or later.

The types of support available to a Drescher Leave awardee includes: payment of the employee's regular salary by the campus; salary for a replacement; tuition and fees for course work; registration fees for conferences and workshops; course-related supplies; and travel and related expenses for research or study. 

Full details of the program are available in the Research and Sponsored Programs Office (RSPO), Miller Building, Room 402, or at the NYS/UUP Web site.

The deadline for submitting a Fall 2010 application is Jan. 15, 2010. The application process on the SUNY Cortland campus is as follows:

Submit a complete application to RSPO. A complete application consists of a completed application form, signed by the applicant. Signatures of the president or designee and UUP chapter president are not needed. Copies of all of the applicant's appointment letters — initial, renewal(s), and current — a list of other grant support and the value of that other grant support, an eligible project or activity as listed below, a detailed timeline with dates for completing various phases of the project or activity, a completed budget summary, a signed statement affirmatively stating that the applicant will return to SUNY Cortland for the Spring 2011 semester if awarded a Drescher Leave and a signed statement affirmatively stating that the applicant does or does not elect to stop her or his tenure clock during an awarded Drescher Leave.

Do not include the following elements of the application as described in the program guidelines or on the application when submitting an application to RSPO. These elements will only be needed for any application submitted by SUNY Cortland to Albany on or before the statewide deadline of Feb. 1, 2010:

• a signed certification from the campus president or designee attesting that the employee qualifies for eligibility as a minority group member, a woman, an employee with a disability or a Vietnam-era veteran;
• a letter of endorsement for full-time leave by the campus president or designee;
• a signed statement from the campus president or designee indicating the campus's financial contribution of at least 40 percent of replacement and other leave costs;
• a financial statement from the campus fiscal officer indicating the cost of salary for a replacement for the duration of the leave;
• a campus president/designee signature on the application and budget summary; and
• a UUP chapter president signature on the application and budget summary.

The provost and vice president for academic affairs and/or designee(s) will review all applications received in RSPO by Jan. 15, 2010, and may select one application for endorsement for a full-time, one-semester leave. The application so selected, if any, will be forwarded, with all other required application elements, to Albany with a postmark dated Feb. 1, 2010, or sooner.

Eligible projects or activities are those: that assist the applicant in meeting one or more criteria established in Article XII, evaluation and promotion of academic and professional employees, of the policies of the Board of Trustees; that require full-time leave from professional obligations for at least one semester; and, that can be completed prior to the applicant being reviewed for permanent or continuing appointment. Consideration will be given to areas of scholarship and mastery of specialization including, but not limited to, the following projects or activities:

• pure, applied and historical research;
• preparation of manuscripts or other materials for publication;
• invention or innovation in professional, scientific or technical areas;
• residencies to complete credentialing appropriate to the requirements for continuing or permanent appointment;
• course work not covered by Article 49 Program for Tuition Assistance, of the New York State/United University Professions Agreement, or a SUNY tuition waiver;
• curriculum development;
• grant proposal development; and
• internships, workshops, and conferences specifically related to the applicant's approved activity.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to make their supervisor and departmental/unit colleagues aware of their intention to apply for a Drescher Leave so that the department/unit has ample time to consider how best to maintain optimal operations during the leave if granted.

Note that the statewide (Albany) deadline for Drescher Leaves commencing in Spring 2011 is Aug. 2, 2010. The local deadline and procedures for applicants interested in consideration for such a Drescher Leave will be announced at a later time.

For more information, contact Glen Clarke in RSPO.

Stacey A. Goldyn-Moller, the director of alumni affairs at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., will join SUNY Cortland as executive director of alumni affairs on Monday, Dec. 14.

She replaces Douglas DeRancy ’75, M.S.Ed. ’82, who has served the College in alumni affairs and fundraising executive positions since 1986 and accepted the newly created position of assistant to the vice president for institutional advancement.

As executive director of alumni affairs, Goldyn-Moller will provide leadership and direction for the College’s Alumni Affairs Office and the Cortland College Alumni Association, Inc. As the principal liaison for the College in matters affecting alumni, she will serve as the alumni association’s executive secretary. The director also assists with major gift development on behalf of the Cortland College Foundation, Inc.

At Hofstra since March 2007, Goldyn-Moller has annually initiated and started more than 20 programs to foster effective alumni communications, fundraising and engagement in the life of the university. She works closely with eight alumni volunteer boards and committees to develop and launch new alumni initiatives as well as to obtain the financial resources to carry them to fruition for the university’s more than 118,000 alumni. She cultivates more than 300 Hofstra alumni who show a special interest in supporting their alma mater. In 2009, she helped raise more than $300,000 in gifts from graduates anticipating their 35th reunion. Goldyn-Moller manages two professionals serving as assistant and associate director, as well as support staff, graduate assistants and student volunteers.

Previously, she served more than five years as the volunteer program manager for the Long Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Goldyn-Moller created and maintained the chapter’s first organized volunteer program, which grew from 20 to 400 active volunteers. She managed the volunteers, 10 staff liaisons and assisted the community outreach efforts of six preservation programs.

Goldyn-Moller has also served as director of marketing for The United Way of Long Island, development associate for WQED in Pittsburgh, Pa., membership manager for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts and assistant manager of visitor services for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.

A native of Strykersville, N.Y., south of Buffalo, Goldyn-Moller earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts/Art History from SUNY Geneseo and a Master of Science in Non-Profit (Arts) Administration from the University of Oregon. She has completed extensive post-graduate course work in her field through the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Dale Carnegie Training Institute and other institutions. She is a member of CASE, the Association of Fund Raising Professionals and the Association of Professional Volunteer Administrators.

She and her husband, Greg Moller, have a 3-year-old son, Calvan. They plan to reside in Cortland.