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  Issue Number 13 • Tuesday, March 19, 2013  

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Campus Champion

Growing up hearing her dad say, “Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something because you’re a girl” inspired Lorraine Berry to take on the world. The NeoVox project director helps to bring world issues into focus at SUNY Cortland. Earlier this year, she brought us teach-ins on the Congo and on gun control. On March 26, she will present a feminist analysis of the TV series “The Walking Dead.” Lorraine champions raising awareness of racial and gender inequalities and is the force behind two such April presentations: the April 2 talk on Rosa Parks and an April 19 student presentation on Henrietta Lacks, at Transformations.

Nominate a Campus Champion


Tuesday, March 19

Information Session: Disney College Program, sponsored by Career Services, Van Hoesen Hall, Room B-7, 6 p.m.


Tuesday, March 19

Women's History Month Talk: “Social Justice and Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities,” by Sandy Lane of Syracuse University, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 7 p.m. 


Tuesday, March 19

Open Mic Night: Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, 7 p.m.


Wednesday, March 20

Wellness Wednesday Event: “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day,” Corey Union, first floor, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.


Wednesday, March 20

Sandwich Seminar: “Army ROTC – More Than Just Marching Around,” retired Maj. Kevin Swab, Army ROTC, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 12:30-1:30 p.m.


Wednesday, March 20

Brooks Museum Lecture Series: “Anthropological Contributions to Preventing Blinding Eye Disease in Egypt,” Robert Rubinstein and Sandra Lane, Syracuse University Culture and Health, Moffett Center, Room 2125, 4:30 pm. A reception to welcome the speakers begins at 4 p.m. in the Brooks Museum, Moffett Center, Room 2126.


Wednesday, March 20

Faculty Book Chat: “Outliers: The Story of Success,” by Malcolm Gladwell, sponsored by the Faculty Development Center and led by Herbert Haines, Sociology/Anthropology Department, Corey Union, Room 209, 4-5 p.m. 


Wednesday, March 20

Women's History Month Talk: “The Good Ole Boy Extraction Club: Patriarchy, Patriotism and Pandering in the Era of Hydraulic Fracturing,” Wendy Lynn Lee, Bloomsburg State University, Sperry Center, Room 205, 4:30 p.m.


Thursday, March 21

Grad Finale: Corey Union, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.


Thursday, March 21

Career and Internship Fair: Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.


Thursday, March 21

Women's History Month Panel Discussion: Women’s Path to Success, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 3 p.m. 


Thursday, March 21

Opening Reception: “Threads: Contemporary Embroidery,” Dowd Gallery, 9 Main St, 3rd floor, 4:30-6:30 p.m., exhibit runs through April 25


Saturday, March 23

Campus-wide Event: “The State of Poverty Simulation,” Park Center Corey Gymnasium, 9-11 a.m.  


Saturday, March 23

Children’s Museum Series Event: Activities featured in the book Active Play, and from the “Healthy Highways Program,” Child Care Center, Education Building, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.


Saturday, March 23

Women of Color Celebration: Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 2:30-6 p.m.


Sunday, March 24

Performance: Traditional Japanese artist, choreographer and arts educator Sachiyo Ito, and her dance company, Corey Union Function Room, 2 p.m. 


Monday, March 25

Etiquette Dining Program: Career Services event featuring panel discussion and meal with school district administrators, Corey Union Function Room, 5:30 p.m., registration required.


Tuesday, March 26

Advising Workshop: “Back to Basics,” Advisement and Transition, Old Main Colloquium, 11:30 a.m. R.S.VP. to 607-753-4726.


Tuesday, March 26

Women's History Month Talk: “The Walking Dead: A Feminist Critique,” by Lorraine Berry, Sperry Center, Room 105, 4:30 p.m.


Tuesday, March 26

In/Common Series Presentation: By Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights group, on the topic of medical ethics and end-of-life decisions, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 5 p.m. 


Tuesday, March 26

2013 Charles N. Poskanzer Lecture: “Tobacco and Food: Connecting the Dots,” by Gary Giovino, professor and chair, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo, Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, 7 p.m.


Wednesday, March 27

Sandwich Seminar: “Why Pussy Riot Didn’t Empower My Russian Mother,” professional writing student Allison Best, Old Main Colloquium, 12:30-1:30 p.m.


Wednesday, March 27

Film: “The Dream Share Project,” explores how successful people have pursued their dreams and found careers they love, co-sponsored with Career Services, Corey Union Function Room, 7 p.m.


Thursday, March 28

Sandwich Seminar: “Room Reservation System Demo and Q&A,” presented by staff from Information Resources, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, noon-1 p.m.


Thursday, March 28

Film: “Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary,” a film on the legendary journalist and author Mumia Abu Jamal, with discussion led by Mecke Nagel, Philosophy Department and Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies, Sperry Center, Room 204, 7-9:30 p.m.


Friday, March 29

Grant Seminar: “NSF: Getting Your Foot in the Door Strategies,” by Jeff Stanton from the I-School, Syracuse University, Old Main Colloquium, noon-2:30 p.m. Lunch provided at 11:30 a.m. R.S.V.P. Research and Sponsored Programs


Tuesday, April 2

Lecture: “The Rebellious Life of Activist Rosa Parks: Remembering Her 100th Birthday,” by author Jeanne Theoharis, Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, 2:50-4:30 p.m., with book signing to follow



College Plans Women’s History Month Events

03/19/2013

The celebration of Women’s History Month at SUNY Cortland continues through April 3 with a series of speakers, workshops and art exhibitions.

Presented by the Women’s Studies Committee, the events are free and open to the public. Highlights include:

On Tuesday, March 19, Sandy Lane, a professor of public health at Syracuse University will address “Social Justice and Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities” at 7 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge. The talk will address racial and ethnic health disparities as they affect maternal health and the status of women.

Lane, an expert in maternal health and social justice, has a Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of California, San Francisco and Berkley, and a M.P.H. in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her presentation is sponsored by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee in conjunction with the common read book for Spring 2013, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.

Wendy Lee, a philosophy professor at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, will offer “The Good Ole Boy Extraction Club: Patriarchy, Patriotism and Pandering in the Era of Hydraulic Fracturing” at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20. The talk takes place in Sperry Center, Room 205.

On Thursday, March 21, a Women’s Path to Success Panel, composed of faculty and staff members and students, will hold a discussion at 3 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge.

The panel will be moderated by Jena Curtis, an associate professor in the College’s Health Department. Panelists include Donna Videto, a professor of health; senior communication studies major Khalia Brown, a Student Government Association representative; Johanna Hartnett, who directs the SUNY Cortland Child Care Center; Ellen Howard Burton, wife of SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum; and Connie Biviano, a head nurse with the Student Health Service.

A “Women of Color Celebration” will take place on Saturday, March 23, from 2:30 to 6 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge.

Lorraine Berry, who directs the College’s Web magazine NeoVox, will address “The Walking Dead: A Feminist Critique” at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, in Sperry Center, Room 105.

Based upon graphic novels with which TV writers have taken vast liberties, “The Walking Dead” is the most popular show on cable in the 18-49 demographic, Berry said.

“Millions of people watch each week, caught up in a story about how people survive in a post-apocalyptic world in which a virus has turned most of the world’s population into zombies,” she said. “Trouble is, when the writers of the TV show envisioned this new world, they came up with the re-creation of a 1950s America, where women are confined to the domestic sphere and people of color are virtually invisible.

“As someone who loves the show, and considers it appointment television, it presents a conundrum for me,” Berry said. “How can a feminist love a show blind to its own gender and racial stereotypes?

“In this talk, I will present evidence of the world the writers want to create, and the moments of active resistance to that narrative that certain moments have presented.”

Allison Best, a senior professional writing major from Fairport, N.Y., will explore “Why Pussy Riot Didn’t Empower my Russian Mother” on Wednesday, March 27. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Old Main Colloquium.

“I spent two months in Russia this (past) summer staying with a host family,” Best said. “There were several protests during this time, but it wasn’t well known what they were for or why. Talking to my host family, they described protestors as ‘hooligans,’ ‘hoodlums,’ and my host father said they reminded him of the Bolsheviks.

“I will discuss why Pussy Riot’s song offended the Russian people as deeply as it did and talk about how revolution in Russia can only come from the people and not from anywhere outside the country.”

At 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, tune into WSUC-FM Radio, where Caroline Kaltefleiter, a professor in the Communication Studies Department, will examine “Let’s Roll Girls and Roller Derby.”

 Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, will speak and discuss her research Tuesday, April 2, in a talk titled, “The Rebellious Life of Activist Rosa Parks: Remembering Her 100th Birthday.” Theoharis’ definitive political biography of Rosa Parks examines her six decades of activism, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement. The talk will correct the popular notion of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress who, with a single act, birthed the modern civil rights movement. The presentation takes place from 2:50 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge. A book signing of her 2013 work, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, will follow.

A gallery talk on the “Contemporary Embroidery” exhibition will take place on Wednesday, April 3, in Dowd Gallery, located temporarily on the third floor of Main Street SUNY Cortland at 9 Main St. Fibers artist Joetta Maue will discuss her work at 5 p.m. in the gallery. The exhibition runs from Tuesday, March 19, until Thursday, April 25. The opening reception for the exhibition will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21.

Women’s History Month events are sponsored by the Art and Art History Department, Dowd Gallery, Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, Health Department, President’s Office, Women’s Initiative Committee, Women of Color, Women’s Studies, Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County and NeoVox.

For more information, contact Caroline Kaltefleiter, chair of the Women’s Studies Committee, at 607-753-4203.

 

William Richards ’88 Joins Academic Hall of Fame

04/19/2013

William “Bill” G. Richards ’88, a leading researcher of new therapeutics for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and other illnesses, has been named the 12th inductee into the SUNY Cortland Academic Hall of Fame.

Richards, an executive director of discovery research in the metabolic disorders department at Amgen, Inc., a pioneering biotechnology firm, was recognized April 12 when he addressed the President’s List reception in the Corey Union Function Room. The event honors SUNY Cortland students who earned the College’s highest grade point averages the previous semester. SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum offered opening remarks at the ceremony.

Richards also conducted the SUNY Cortland Academic Hall of Fame Inductee Seminar, titled “From Dense Bones to the Clinic: The Power of Genetics in Drug Discovery,” that day in Sperry Center’s Johnson Lecture Hall, Room 106. The talk was free and open to the public.

Created in 2006, the Academic Hall of Fame honors SUNY Cortland alumni who graduated 10 or more years ago with magna cum laude or higher honors, and who have made significant contributions to society through their chosen professions. The Hall of Fame wall is located in the Dorothea “Dottie” Kreig Allen Fowler ’52, M ’74 Old Main Grand Entrance Hall.

Richards was promoted to his current role with Amgen this year. He had served since 2005 as a director of discovery research in the metabolic disorders department. His nephrology research at Amgen, located in Thousand Oaks, Calif., allowed him to establish a worldwide network of academic partnerships aimed at developing more effective treatments for individuals with kidney disease.

Richards joined Amgen in 1996 as a scientist in the Neurosciences Department. He established a mouse genetics and gene-mapping core and led an effort to identify therapeutic targets for Huntington’s disease.

As the company’s interest in treating renal illnesses grew, Richards was asked to lead an effort to identify ways to treat polycystic kidney disease. During this time, he also headed several academic and industry partnerships.

Richards currently oversees the Metabolic Target and Drug Discovery Group. The group has 30 members, including 10 Ph.D.-level scientists, and focuses on the discovery of new therapeutics in several areas. In the renal area, his group works primarily on diabetic nephropathy and provides pre-clinical support for Cinacalcet, a drug for advanced-stage dialysis patients. Richards has been involved in reviewing licensing opportunities and acting as the research liaison between scientists and Amgen’s clinical development and marketing nephrology groups. 

He completed coursework at Morrisville State College before coming to SUNY Cortland, where he graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. The following summer, he studied comparative invertebrate embryology at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory. Richards earned a doctorate in genetics from Stony Brook University, where he investigated the function of tissue plasminogen activator in mouse embryos.

From 1993 until he joined Amgen, Richards conducted post-doctoral research as a Eugene P. Wigner Distinguished Fellow at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. There, he worked on the characterization of a novel mouse model of polycystic kidney disease, which was generated as part of a large-scale mutagenesis effort.

A native of Cazenovia, N.Y., Richards graduated from Cazenovia High School. He is married to Emily Rinehart Richards ’88. They have two children, Maegan, 18, a student at Princeton University, and Conor, 16, a high school student.

 


Capture the Moment

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The view from SUNY Cortland's new planetarium takes shape as renovation and expansion work continues on Bowers Hall, the College’s science facility. More than 300 construction workers are involved in a total of six capital projects currently under way on campus. The state-of-the-art planetarium will include 55 seats and is slated for completion in January 2014.


In Other News

Poverty Simulation to Model Barriers

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For several years, a partnership among SUNY Cortland and Cortland community organizations has given students and staff a much deeper understanding of what it means to live in poverty.

And for the second time this semester, the College’s Institute for Civic Engagement (ICE) and the Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) will present “The State of Poverty Simulation” from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 23. This two-hour simulation allows participants to better understand the frustrations of those at an economic disadvantage.

According to John Suarez, who coordinates the College’s Service-learning Office through the ICE, the simulation usually is held once a semester. Demand for the program is growing and there is a waiting list for participants. Suarez and anticipate that there will be two simulations per semester, during the 2013-14 academic year.

The hands-on event begins by providing participants with the government-defined terms of poverty, minimum wage and living wage.

Next, in four 15-minute intervals that imitate a four-week period, attendees adopt the roles of those living in poverty. The roles are based on real-life situations and real-life people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Some roles include individuals who are newly unemployed, recently deserted by the family’s main source of income, recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, disabled, or senior citizens receiving social security.

Following the first half of the event, participants contribute their reactions, reflect on what they experienced and get a chance to learn from each other in a group discussion.

Several years ago, Suarez was approached by CAPCO executive director Lindy Glennon to help her plan the poverty simulation. Suarez is constantly striving to give students the opportunity to be active participants in their learning and in teaching each other. He found just what he had been looking for in the Poverty Simulation.

“Students who have attended the simulation acquired a much deeper understanding about the complexity of poverty,” Suarez said. “Many had a strong desire to help those in need and also a much stronger empathy with people living in poverty.

“Some students even reversed their original opinions about poverty.”

Approximately 80 people — mostly students from a variety of academic disciplines — attended this semester’s first Poverty Simulation on March 6. In past years, the event was staged for College students and staff as well as local public school educators and administrators.

The upcoming Poverty Simulation was organized by Kerri Freese, who coordinates the College’s Noyce Project, which encourages talented science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science educators.

”Part of our goal is to help our teachers be successful in high-need environments,” said Freese. “By understanding how it is to live in poverty, hopefully our scholars will be better prepared to address the needs of these students and to help them achieve despite the barriers they may face.”

The simulation is geared toward educators, according to Freese and Suarez, as this event could potentially help them identify a student living in poverty, which may explain their behavior in the classroom.

The event is free but space is limited. To reserve a place as a participant, call Suarez in advance at 607-753-4391 or email Kerri Freese.


Scholar on Rosa Parks to Speak April 2

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The historical African American rebel Rosa Parks was much more than a “tired seamstress” on that famous bus ride, according to Jeanne Theoharis, a political science professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Theoharis will speak and discuss her research Tuesday, April 2, at SUNY Cortland, in a talk titled, “The Rebellious Life of Activist Rosa Parks: Remembering Her 100th Birthday.”

The presentation takes place from 2:50 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge. A book signing of her 2013 work, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, will follow.

Her lecture continues the College’s celebration of Women’s History Month at SUNY Cortland, which runs through April 3 with a series of speakers, workshops and art exhibitions.

Presented by the College’s Women’s Studies Committee, the events are free and open to the public.

Jeanne Theoharis
Professor Jeanne Theoharis is shown in this 2012 image by John Ricasoli.
 

Theoharis’ definitive political biography of Rosa Parks examines six decades of activism, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement. The talk will correct the popular notion of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress who, with a single act, birthed the modern civil rights movement, Theoharis said.

She will provide a revealing window into Parks’ politics and years of activism and will explain how this civil rights movement radical sought — for more than a half a century — to expose and eradicate the American racial-caste system in jobs, schools, public services and criminal justice.

Theoharis received an A.B. in Afro-American studies from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in American culture from the University of Michigan. She is the author or coauthor of four books and articles on the black freedom struggle and the contemporary politics of race in the United States.

“The only thing she was tired of was racism and injustice,” dispelling the myth of the “tired seamstress” on the bus, wrote John Marciano, a SUNY Cortland professor emeritus of education, upon reading Theoharis’ book. “Whatever we thought we knew about Rosa Parks, there is far more we do not know and will learn from this work.”

Both Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had developed radical anti-war and anti-capitalist views that few know about, according to Marciano. He describes the work as an “outstanding work” and a “must” for teachers to share with their students and for parents and grandparents to share with their children.

Women’s History Month events are sponsored by the Art and Art History Department, Dowd Gallery, Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, Health Department, President’s Office, Women’s Initiative Committee, Women of Color, Women’s Studies, Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County and NeoVox.

For more information, contact Caroline Kaltefleiter, professor of communication studies and chair of the Women’s Studies Committee, at 607-753-4203.

 


 


College Writing Contest Winners Named

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Benjamin Bouvet-Boisclair, a senior professional writing major, has won the “Best of Show” award in SUNY Cortland’s annual writing contest.

Bouvet-Boisclair, of Ithaca, N.Y., was recognized for a work of creative non-fiction titled “Biking,” written for the Writing for NeoVox course taught by Lorraine Berry, the project director for the College’s online literary and new media design magazine. He is one of seven undergraduate students and one graduate student to submit winning entries in the 2012 College Writing Contest.

Bouvet-Boisclair will receive the 2012 All-College Excellence in Writing Award at Honors Convocation on Saturday, April 20.

All award-winning entries will be published in a booklet dedicated to the College Writing awards and students will present their work at “Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference” on Friday, April 19. The “SUNY Cortland Writing Contest Award Winners Present!” session takes place from 3 to 4 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 204.

This year marks the 14th anniversary of the contest sponsored by the College Writing Committee, the group that also judges the submissions. Written work is judged based on originality, clarity, organization, development and editing. Preference is given to student writing composed for a SUNY Cortland course.

Individual award recipients included:

· Rachelann Copland, a graduate student studying English from Cazenovia, N.Y., won the prize for academic writing at the graduate level for “A Deconstructive Contrapuntal Reading of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible’s Nathan Price,” written for the Literary Criticism course taught by Elizabeth Stone, an associate professor of English.

· Kayla Jones, a junior biology major from Rome, N.Y., won the prize for poetry for “Absent Reality,” written for the Writing Poetry course taught by Heather Bartlett, a lecturer of English.

· Carol Lee Fritz, a senior international studies major from Trumansburg, N.Y., won the prize for academic writing at the undergraduate level for “Uganda’s Fight Against HIV/AIDS,” written for the HIV Epidemic course taught by Sarah Beshers, an associate professor of health.

· Aaron Proia, a junior professional writing major from Clyde, N.Y., won the prize for fiction for “r3beL,” written for the Writing Fiction course taught by Mario Hernandez, a lecturer of English.

· Nicole Weisblum, a junior childhood/early childhood education major from Rye Brook, N.Y., won the prize for writing related to the Cortland Common Read for “The Kite Runner: How the Movie Compares to the Book,” written for the Introduction to Fiction course taught by Deborah Rogers, a lecturer of English.

· Matthew Perritano, a junior communication studies major from Utica, N.Y., won the prize for academic writing from a composition course for “The Ties that Blind: The Fog of the American Dream,” written for the Writing Studies II course taught by Timothy Emerson, a lecturer of English. Perritano also will receive the 2012 Composition Award at the College’s Honors Convocation for the work.

· Bouvet-Boisclair’s “Biking” also won the prize for creative non-fiction.

· John Amaruso, a senior political science major from Merrick, N.Y., won the prize for personal writing and media for “Next Generation News Junkies” and “JtPolitik,” two personal blogs.

The call for submissions for the 2013 College Writing Contest will be announced later in the spring semester. Eligible papers include those written for courses in 2013, whether spring or fall semesters or winter or summer sessions. The deadline for submissions is Monday, Dec. 23.


Roundtable to Discuss Hoxie Gorge April 4

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The outdoor classroom used by countless students and faculty for research, leisure and learning will be the centerpiece of discussion at a SUNY Cortland Community Roundtable on Thursday, April 4.

Two SUNY Cortland faculty members, geologist David Barclay and biologist Larry Klotz, will share their knowledge about this rich academic treasure during the talk from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room.

The Roundtable, titled “Discover Hoxie Gorge — A Natural Laboratory for Teaching and Research in Cortland County,” is sponsored by the College President’s Office. Roundtables are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served at 7:45 a.m. Parking is available in the open lots next to Park Center.

Nearly every year, 1,000 SUNY Cortland students visit Hoxie Gorge Nature Preserve for academic field work. Scholarly work conducted in this open air wilderness setting, located on 169 acres just seven miles from campus, has resulted in 39 theses and publications. Additionally, faculty members and students have conducted research at Hoxie Gorge supported by more than $1 million in grant funding.

Barclay, an associate professor in the College’s Geology Department, will share his thoughts about the geological riches at Hoxie Gorge. He counts the site among his extensive list of research locations.

Barclay has focused his Hoxie Gorge studies on the landscape history, impacts of flood events on the pristine stream channel and tree ring analysis dating back to the early 1700s.

He received his doctorate in geology at University of Buffalo.

Klotz, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the College’s Biological Sciences Department, currently is the chair of the Hoxie Gorge Committee. He incorporates a hands-on teaching approach in his courses by using the outdoor facility as a classroom for his students. Klotz has studied nutrient cycling, aquatic production and the importance of beavers.

He earned master of science and doctoral degrees from the University of Connecticut.

By their senior year, 73 percent of SUNY Cortland students had participated in a form of real-life learning, whether it was through a field experience such as at Hoxie Gorge or through an internship or clinical assignment.

For more information about the presentation, contact Barclay at 607-753-2921 or Klotz at 607-753-2709. For information about the roundtables, contact Karen Seibert at 607-753-2377.


Lecture Considers Fruits, Veggies and Tobacco Use

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Gary A. Giovino, a nationally respected researcher on tobacco use in the U.S., will discuss the connection between tobacco use and fruit and vegetable intake during the sixth annual Charles N. Poskanzer Lecture on Tuesday, March 26, at SUNY Cortland.

Giovino, a professor and chair of the Department of Community Health and Health Behavior at the University of Buffalo, will present “Tobacco and Food: Connecting the Dots,” at 7 p.m. in Corey Union Exhibition Lounge.

Giovino’s study, “A Longitudinal Evaluation of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Cigarette Smoking,” published in May 2012, considers the relationship between healthy food intake and smoking. Although it does not go as far as to say fruits and vegetables alone can stop people from smoking, the report suggests that a healthy diet can help eliminate addiction, especially as it relates to mood and behavior.

Sponsored by the College’s Health Department, the lecture is free and open to the public. The event is supported by the Charles N. Poskanzer Fund, an endowment named in honor of the late SUNY Distinguished Service Professor emeritus who taught in the College’s Health Department for 40 years.

The fund was established through the Cortland College Foundation in 2006 as an endowment to support an annual, public lecture offered by the College’s Health Department in honor of its former colleague. Since Poskanzer’s death in 2010, the fund has continued to grow through donations made in his memory as part of “Educating Champions, the Campaign for Cortland,” SUNY Cortland’s ambitious effort to raise $25 million by June.

“The Health Department uses the Poskanzer Lecture to highlight current public health issues,” said Bonni Hodges, the department’s chair, noting that the College’s implementation of a tobacco-free policy spurred organizers to identify an international leader in tobacco use research to deliver the lecture.

Charles Poskanzer
Charles Poskanzer

Hodges said that Jill Murphy, an associate professor of health, considers Giovino a mentor and brought him to the department’s attention.

“We strive to have speakers with interdisciplinary appeal,” Hodges said. “Dr. Giovino’s work in epidemiology, health psychology, international health and nutrition behaviors cuts across several disciplines.

“Historically, the Poskanzer lecturer’s visits to classes combined with the formal talk itself stimulate discussions within and outside of the classroom among faculty, staff and students. Our colleagues working in public health agencies throughout Central New York look forward to the lecture and have been inspired by what they have learned over the years.”

Giovino’s work has focused on monitoring tobacco use and dependence among youth and adults in the U.S. He recently has worked on developing the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS), a tool utilized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that collects data through four surveys. With that information, the GTSS aims to design, implement and evaluate tobacco intervention programs.

In addition to his research, Giovino has developed community-based projects related to using lifestyle factors such as exercise and nutrition to facilitate smoking cessation. He has received multiple national awards for his work and serves as a member of several professional organizations tied to tobacco control and drug use. He also reviews articles for many health-related journals.

Giovino earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and master’s and doctoral degrees in epidemiology from the University at Buffalo.

For more information on the Poskanzer Lecture, contact Alan Sofalvi, associate professor of health, at 607-753-2980.


Embroidery Inspires Dowd Gallery Exhibition

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SUNY Cortland’s upcoming Dowd Gallery exhibition digs into contemporary embroidery as an expressive art form and the different approaches to the ancient needlework technique.

“Threads: Contemporary Embroidery,” a show curated by Dowd Gallery Director Erika Fowler-Decatur and Associate Professor of Art and Art History Jenn McNamara, runs from Tuesday, March 19, to Thursday, April 25. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, features work from nine artists at the Dowd Gallery’s temporary off-campus location at Main Street SUNY Cortland, 9 Main St.

The College’s gallery is based on the third floor of Main Street SUNY Cortland for approximately two years while the Dowd Fine Arts Center undergoes renovations.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Dowd embroidery exhib
"Chance of Flurries," by Nava
Lubelski, 
is a 46 x 36-inch acrylic
paint and
hand-stitching on canvas.

An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, and a talk by featured artist Joetta Maue takes place at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 3. Additionally, two hands-on embroidery workshops take place Wednesday, April 17, and Wednesday, April 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at SUNY Cortland’s fibers studio, located at 22 W. Court St.

The workshops, led by McNamara and featured artist Karin Birch, are free and open to the public but registration is required. Email Fowler-Decatur or call her at 607-753-4216 to register or to schedule a group tour of the Dowd Gallery.

The upcoming exhibition features the work of five women and four men who take unique approaches to embroidery. Besides Birch and Maue, the contemporary artists include Orly Cogan, Andrea Dezsö, Angelo Filomeno, Kent Henricksen, Nava Lubelsk, Tom Lundberg and Clay McLaurin.

Short descriptions of their work follow:

  • The expertise of Birch and Filomeno earn both a place in the virtuoso category. Filomeno, apprentice to a tailor in Italy at age 7, creates embroidered paintings that feature ominous, dream world imagery. Birch uses specialized stitches and beading to achieve texture in her finely detailed pieces.
  • The central subject of Maue’s work is the bed, a place where a range of human emotion can be experienced, from pleasant retreat to unwelcome confinement. She uses linens created by women of a previous era as the foundation for her own work.
  • Cogan also employs found embroideries in her pieces. Her representations of contemporary feminine archetypes sharply contrast with the original, vintage depictions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Dezsö’s work is inspired by the folk science of her mother and prior generations of women in Transylvania, where she was born.
  • Henricksen’s embroideries combine history, fantasy and reality as a reflection of the ways in which people view and deal with atrocities.
  • Lubelski’s artwork emphasizes the push and pull between impulses to destroy and repair while McLaurin’s embroidered drawings instead map an evolving path that suggests the organic process of growth cycles in the natural world.
  • Lundberg’s “microcosms” provide a glimpse into his musings on the intersection of nature and the human race. 

“Threads: Contemporary Embroidery” is supported by The Cortland Fund, Cortland College Foundation, an Auxiliary Services Corporation grant and the College’s Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies.

For more information, contact Fowler-Decatur.


Sachiyo Ito to Capture Japanese Dance

SachiyoIto2_WEB.jpg 03/05/2013

Artist, international choreographer and arts educator Sachiyo Ito and her dance company will present a traditional Japanese performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 24.

This cultural event is part of SUNY Cortland’s 2012-13 Campus Artist and Lecture Series, and will take place at 2 p.m. in the Corey Union Function Room.

Admission is $3 for SUNY Cortland students, $5 for faculty, staff, and the general public, and is free for children 10 and under. Tickets can be purchased in Corey Union, Room 406, or beginning one hour prior to the performance at the Function Room.

Sachiyo Ito and Company, based out of New York City, performs and teaches classical dance all over the world. Dance forms such as Kabuki, Noh, Okinawan Court and Jiuta-mai are choreographed by Ito and preserve the aesthetics of traditional Japanese dance.

The performers display delicate and powerful presentations of classical, contemporary and traditional 17thand 18th century dance.

According to Tokyo native Ito, art is a form of communication, especially when it comes to dance.

Performances from Sachiyo Ito and Company bring East and West together, and have been dedicated to creating a cultural bridge between the United States and Japan for more than 30 years.

A not-for-profit arts organization, Sachiyo Ito has as its purpose to create a better understanding about the feelings and cultures of others.

Ito has choreographed numerous productions, including off-Broadway shows, in the United States and Ireland, and has performed all over the world.

Ito earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in dance from New York University. Since 1972, she has taught at major colleges such as the Juilliard School and New York University.

She received the prestigious Foreign Minister’s Award from the Japanese Foreign Ministry and was awarded the name Sachiyo Fujima from the Fujima School of Japanese classical dance in Tokyo. Her performances have received glowing reviews in The New York Times and The Village Voice.   

For more information, contact the Campus Activities and Corey Union Office at 607-753-5574 or visit the official Web page for Sachiyo Ito and Company, www.dancejapan.com.

Students Plan for Commencement at Grad Finale

One-stop shopping for graduating students will be offered at the College Store’s 11th annual Grad Finale set for Thursday, March 21, at SUNY Cortland.

Students attending the event between 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Corey Union’s Function Room can take advantage of a variety of services related to graduation. Gift and other items will be on sale, including caps and gowns, commencement announcements and class rings. Several College departments will participate with information booths, including financial aid, alumni affairs, The Cortland College Foundation and the Commencement committee.

The 2013 Undergraduate Commencement ceremonies will take place at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, in the Park Center Alumni Arena. Undergraduate students can select a ceremony time and pick up Commencement tickets at Grad Finale.

The 2013 Graduate Commencement ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 17, in the Park Center Alumni Arena. Tickets are not required for students or guests participating in the Graduate Commencement ceremony.

For those who do not attend Grad Finale, caps and gowns as well as other Commencement-related items will be available in the College Store beginning the afternoon of Friday, March 22.

For more information, visit the Commencement website at cortland.edu/events/commencement.

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Faculty/Staff Activities

Robert Spitzer

Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, presented a paper titled, “The Constitution Between Opponents: Comparing the Use of Presidential Powers by Bush and Obama,” at a conference on “The State of the Presidency,” hosted by the Cecil Andrus Center for Public Policy on Feb. 28 at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.


Richard Kendrick

Richard Kendrick, Institute for Civic Engagement and Sociology/Anthropology Department, presented “Where Are Our ‘Habits of the Heart’?” at a conference titled “Making the Middle East and North Africa Region a Burgeoning Democracy,” held Feb. 25 to 29 in Marrakech, Morocco. Also, he co-led a two-day training session, with Julia Ganson of Syracuse University, on civic education and civic engagement for Moroccan higher education faculty and students. The conference and training were organized by the North-South Center for Social Sciences and sponsored by the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund.


Genevieve Birren and Mark Dodds

Genevieve Birren and Mark Dodds, Sport Management Department, attended the Sport and Recreation Law Association’s 26th annual conference from March 13 to 16 in Denver, Colo. Birren’s presentation was titled “Do Student Codes of Conduct Hold Water?” Dodds’ presentation was titled “Ordinary Negligence or Suboptimal Playing Conditions:  Are Schools Being Let off Easy?”


Submit your faculty/staff activity

The Bulletin is produced by the Communications Office at SUNY Cortland and is published every other Tuesday during the academic year. Read more about The Bulletin. To submit items, email your information to bulletin@cortland.edu

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