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  Issue Number 15 • Tuesday, April 21, 2015  

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Campus Champion

Before he was a teen, Nick Lundberg wanted to be a funeral director, combining his interest in science with his compassion for people. Holding true to his conviction, he will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Social Philosophy on May 15, just two days after completing his funeral director licensing exam. The Cortland native connected with the analytical interpretations of humanity fulfilled by his social philosophy courses, preparing him for a lifetime of caregiving. His studies culminated with a 25-page independent study project titled “Ethics of Funeral Service,” a piece of the venture that brings Nick closer to realizing his life goal.

Nominate a Campus Champion


Wednesday, April 22

Green Days Sandwich Seminar: LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, presented by Matthew Brubaker, Facilities Operations and Services, and Rob Shutts, interim co-director of Facilities Planning Design and Construction, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Green Days Plant Fair: The Student Affairs Sustainability Committee will host a plant fair starting at 11 a.m. on the Memorial Library plaza.

Green Days Discussion: “Climate Change and Reforming the Energy Vision,” presented by NYPIRG, Sperry Center, Room 105, 7-9 p.m.

Wellness Wednesday Series: “Earth Day Gardening Event,” featuring several clubs and committees, planting bed demonstrations, plant sales and interactive information, during the afternoon at the campus garden across from Memorial Library, behind Neubig Hall.

Thursday, April 23

It’s On Us Awareness Event: Sexual Assault Prevention Campaign, Corey Union steps, noon-4 p.m.

Local Sustainability Lunch: hosted by the Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC), Neubig Hall

Lecture: “The New Social Darwinism,” by David Sloan Wilson, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Biology and Anthropology, Binghamton University and author of CICC common read Evolution for Everyone), as part of the Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee’s r/evolution series , Old Main Brown Auditorium, 4:30 p.m.

Reception: Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards and Scholarships, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 25

Spring Fling Carnival: Sponsored by Campus Activities and Corey Union, Moffett Center, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Spring Fling Concert: Big Sean, tickets for the event are sold out, Park Center Alumni Arena, 8-11 p.m.

Sunday, April 26

Gospel Choir Spring Concert: Old Main Brown Auditorium, 4 p.m.

Monday, April 27

Recognition Ceremony: Student Employment Services (SES), recognizing student workers for their outstanding service, LOCATION, 4 p.m. Recognition forms due Thursday, April 23, to Student Employment Services, B-4 Van Hoesen Hall.

Local Food Panel Discussion: “What’s In It for You?” panelists including local food store owner and committee members will explain why one should buy local foods, where to find local foods, how to support local food production and how to start a local food business, Corey Union Fireplace Lounge, 7- 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 28

International Awareness Lecture: “Peace and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Mali, Central African Republic and Nigeria,” by Martin Welz, University of Konstanz, Germany, Dowd Gallery, Room 236, noon.

Panel Discussion: “Capitalism:  Does it Work for You?” by Steve Lambert, artist, and Howard Botwinick, Lisi Krall and Ben Wilson from the Economics Department, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 5-6 p.m. 

Viewers may vote at the exhibition from April 21-May 8

Foreign Films Night: “Half of a Yellow Sun,” (2013), presented by SUNY Cortland’s International Awareness Club, Sperry Center, Room 104, 6 p.m.

College-Community Orchestra Concert: Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 29

Green Days Sandwich Seminar: “STARS: Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System on SUNY Cortland’s Campus,” presented by Matthew Brubaker, Facilities Operations and Services, and Beth Klein, Sustainability Coordinator, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Wednesday at Four Concert: Dowd Center, Room 110, 4 p.m.

Panel Discussion: “Students of the World,” featuring two international students and two students who have studied abroad, Moffett Center, Room 2125, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 30

Sandwich Seminar: “A New Approach to Community-based Learning: The Community Innovation Lab,” by Richard Kendrick, Sociology/Anthropology Department and Institute for Civic Engagement, and students in the Community Innovation Lab course, Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Louie Larson Lecture: Local speaker and performer David Latta will share his life journey and coming out story. Sperry Center, Room 104, 2:50-4:05 p.m. and at the Interfaith Center, 7 Calvert St. at 7 p.m.

Green Days Film Screening: “A Place at the Table,” sponsored by NYPIRG, Sperry Center, Room 104, 6-10 p.m.

March for Suicide Awareness: “We Got Your Back,” meet at Corey Union lobby, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 2

The BIG Event: A one-day volunteer project that aims to round up the efforts of SUNY Cortland students, employees and alumni. The mission is to say thanks to our neighbors in the Cortland Community and to show how students care about the environment in which they live, Park Center Alumni Arena, begins at 9 a.m.

National Bone Marrow Registry Drive: Sponsored by Cortland Football, Corey Union, noon-3 p.m.

Sunday, May 3

SGA Children’s Festival Celebration: Moffett Center lawn or gymnasium, weather permitting, noon-3 p.m.



Honorary Degrees Recognize Two Former Campus Scholars

04/15/2015

Two internationally respected scholars with deep connections to SUNY Cortland will receive honorary doctoral degrees from the State University of New York during SUNY Cortland’s Undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 16.

Helen F. Giles-Gee, a former academic dean at SUNY Cortland who went on to serve as president of both Keene State College in New Hampshire and the University of the Sciences near Philadelphia, will be awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

John P. Allegrante ’74, a world-renowned health researcher, educator and administrator whose work has improved the well-being of people around the globe, also will be awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

“Both John and Helen are leaders in their respected fields whose work reflects SUNY Cortland’s core values and the power of education to change lives and make a positive difference in the world,” President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “We, as an institution, are incredibly proud of the role we played in both of their remarkable careers.”

Giles-Gee will speak at 9:30 a.m. during SUNY Cortland’s morning undergraduate commencement ceremony in the Park Center Alumni Arena. Allegrante will address graduates during the afternoon ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in the same location.

John P. Allegrante ’74

The expertise of Allegrante, senior professor of health education at Columbia University Teachers College, is sought by health ministries and organizations around the world. His devotion to improving global health has helped set new international standards for health education. His research has shed light on behavioral health problems such as obesity and smoking and supported the importance of community-based prevention. 

John Allegrante

Allegrante graduated with honors from SUNY Cortland in 1974, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1979 and began a 36-year career at Columbia. There he has authored hundreds of research articles and served in a variety of leadership posts, including associate vice president for international affairs and deputy provost of the college. He also is an adjunct professor of socio-medical sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, one of the nation’s premier institutions for sponsored research related to that field.

Allegrante’s research into behavioral intervention and improved self-management as tools to help people with chronic diseases has been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health for more than a quarter century. His cutting-edge work has contributed significantly to combatting health issues that include childhood obesity, tobacco use, hypertension and arthritis, as well as to the development of effective health education strategies for special populations such as military veterans.

In 2003, Allegrante received the distinguished career award in public health education and health promotion from the American Public Health Association. In 2010, he was named editor-in-chief of Health Education & Behavior, the flagship research journal of the Society for Public Health Education.

He also has played a leadership role in establishing uniform international standards for professional preparation programs in public health. As both a Fulbright public health specialist and a Fulbright U.S. scholar, Allegrante collaborated with scientists in Iceland to investigate risk factors in child and adolescent development. He was a policy advisor to Iceland’s Ministry of Health and continues to serve as Fulbright program advisor and a Fulbright ambassador for Columbia.

Allegrante also co-chaired the Galway Consensus Conference on International Collaboration on Credentialing in Health Promotion and Health Education. As an International Scholar in the Soros Open Society Foundations Academic Fellowship Program, he helped the Kazakhstan School of Public Health with curriculum, faculty development and other issues. In 2013, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius named him to the Board of Scientific Counselors, a federal advisory committee.

In 1982, SUNY Cortland’s Alumni Association named Allegrante a Distinguished Young Alumnus. In 2004, he presented remarks at the dedication of the Poskanzer Conference Room in Moffett Center on the SUNY Cortland campus.

Helen F. Giles-Gee

Giles-Gee, the former dean of SUNY Cortland’s School of Professional Studies, became the first woman and the first African-American president of the University of the Sciences. Prior to that, she presided over seven years of impressive achievement and growth as the first African-American president of Keene.

Helen Giles-Gee

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from the University of Pennsylvania, Giles-Gee earned two master of science degrees — one in science education and one in zoology — and a Ph.D. with distinction in measurement, evaluation and techniques of experimental research. Her research on higher education issues has been widely published and she is a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at national events and conferences.

Her expertise includes education partnerships, student and faculty retention, diversity, assessment and accountability, urban revitalization, entrepreneurship, strategic planning and urban education. Giles-Gee has received millions of dollars in grant support for her work.

During her career, Giles-Gee served as Biology Department chair at Cheyney University, executive assistant to the president at Towson University, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Maryland system, dean of the School of Professional Studies at SUNY Cortland and provost at Rowan University. 

At each of those institutions she made a positive, and lasting, impact. At Rowan, she reorganized the graduate school, office of sponsored research and the honors and international education programs to make them more effective. At Keene, she led a major institutional transformation, spearheading the development and implementation of a successful strategic plan. Giles-Gee increased capital improvements and investments and established initiatives in curriculum improvement, shared governance and diversity. The result was double-digit growth in admissions applications and an increase in Keene’s stature as an academic institution and regional economic engine.

As dean of professional studies at SUNY Cortland from 1998 to 2001, her insight and guidance saw the College through both the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) process and an unprecedented reworking of teacher preparation programs by the New York State Education Department.  As co-convener of the SUNY Deans and Directors of Education, Giles-Gee’s leadership placed SUNY Cortland in the center of cutting-edge discussions about the future of teacher education and strengthened the College’s reputation for high-quality teacher preparation.

Her foresight helped expand Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (CURE) program, which readies students for careers in underserved urban school districts. She institutionalized the value of assessment and data analysis in decision-making, supervised the separation of kinesiology from the Physical Education Department and laid the groundwork for the division of the then-unwieldy School of Professional Studies into two separate schools: education and professional studies.

Students to Pledge Against Sex Assault

04/21/2015

Nationwide, studies show that one out of every five women experiences sexual assault during her college years.

You’re probably thinking, “Somebody should do something about that.”

Kaitlyn Seager, a senior special education major, disagrees. She, along with dozens of people on campus and thousands throughout the United States, think the solution does not rest with some vaguely defined “somebody.” It lies with us, the SUNY Cortland community.

“It’s happening, and we need to be able to take a stand against it,” Seager said. “If you see something at a party, if you see something on the street, you need to step in and intervene. It’s so simple, but people need to feel comfortable doing it.”

In other words, it’s up to us — the friends and acquaintances of potential victims and their potential abusers — to step in and prevent sexual activity from taking place without both parties’ consent.

SUNY Cortland students will have an opportunity to make a public promise to do their part and help spread awareness of sexual assault on Thursday and Friday this week in the lobby of the Student Life Center. Seager and other members of Sexual Health and Assault Prevention Educators (SHAPE) will ask students to sign the “It’s On Us” pledge and take steps to share their commitment publicly.

“It’s On Us” is a national program aimed at encouraging bystanders to intervene before non-consensual sex can occur. It is an initiative of President Barack Obama’s White House and has the support of major Hollywood celebrities, musical performers, professional athletes and college campuses across the country. Learn more at Itsonus.org.

From noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, students can sign the four-line “It’s On Us” pledge and take a selfie of themselves with the “It’s On Us logo” to share through social media.

“Awareness is everyone’s responsibility, and it’s on all of us at SUNY Cortland to recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault,” said Cindy Lake, associate director of Residence Life and Housing and SHAPE’s co-advisor. “We need to do all we can to create a campus culture in which perpetrating this crime is difficult, if not impossible.”

The pledge that students, faculty and staff are being asked to make consists of four simple promises:

  • To recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault.
  • To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur.
  • To intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.
  • To create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.

“It takes 30 seconds to take the pledge, but it could have a huge impact on people’s lives,” Seager said. “This is a way for students to have a voice. It’s a way for us to acknowledge that it’s OK to intervene.”


Capture the Moment

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Chemistry Club member Weifeng Zhen, a junior biochemistry major, discusses the plan for an experiment called Boo Bubbles with kindergarteners from Cortland’s Barry Elementary School. About 10 club members plus four advisors, eager to increase interest in chemistry and its role in daily life, hosted 50 children on April 15 in Bowers Hall and presented hands-on demonstrations and shows. Boo Bubbles combined dry ice and dish detergent to produce extra strong bubbles that the children, wearing cotton gloves, could toss without popping. Other experiments involved frozen bananas, gummy bears and elephant toothpaste.


In Other News

‘New Social Darwinism’ is Topic April 23

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David Sloan Wilson, the author of Evolution for Everyone, will share how evolution can function as a general theoretical framework for public policy formulation in the same way that it works in the biological sciences, Thursday, April 23, at SUNY Cortland.

Sloan Wilson, a SUNY distinguished professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University whose lecture wraps up the College’s yearlong “R/Evolution” series, will present “The New Social Darwinism” at 4:30 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium.

The “R/Evolution” series questions the notion that evolution represents positive change with a number of book and staged readings, film screenings and discussions. Offered by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC), the events are free and open to the public.

David Sloan Wilson
David Sloan Wilson

Sloan Wilson, who studies evolution in the same way that Darwin did — as a theory that applies to all aspects of humanity in addition to the biological world — asserts that evolutionary theory has transformed the biological sciences but became stigmatized in relation to human affairs early in the 20th century. 

“As a result, efforts to understand and improve the human condition are largely pre-Darwinian, as strange as that might sound,” he observed.

Although a great deal of social history must be overcome, Sloan Wilson believes that a closer relationship between biology and social policy is within reach.

His text Evolution for Everyone is a collection of essays that shows how evolution provides a basis for investigation in many disciplines.

Sloan Wilson has made foundational contributions to evolutionary theory on topics such as multilevel selection and the nature of individual differences. His research on nonhuman species examines topics as diverse as personality differences in fish and the artificial selection of whole ecosystems. His research on humans examines topics as diverse as altruism, physical attractiveness, decision-making, religion, economics and business.

Take, for example, people’s tendency to help out one another.

“Many established ideas about human altruism, including ideas that underpin social and economic policies, are either wrong or not very relevant,” Sloan Wilson noted. “When we view human nature through an evolutionary lens, we come to a new understanding of altruism and its central place in human society. This movement is already in progress and can result in new solutions to life’s problems at all scales, from individuals and small groups to the global village.” 

In January, Sloan Wilson released his most recent book, Does Altruism Exist? Culture, Genes and the Welfare of Others, in which he provides new answers to these critical questions about altruism, based on the latest developments in evolutionary science.

Sloan Wilson directs a number of programs in addition to his personal research:

  • EvoS expands evolutionary training beyond the biological sciences in higher education;
  • The Binghamton Neighborhood Project uses the city of Binghamton, N.Y., as a field site for basic and applied research from an evolutionary perspective;
  • This View of Life is an online magazine that reports “anything and everything” from an evolutionary perspective to the general public; and,
  • The Evolution Institute is the first think tank to formulate public policy from a modern evolutionary perspective.

His book Evolution for Everyone also is included in the series’ “common read” literature, publications that the campus and community members are invited to read on their own to prepare them for classroom and group discussions. Titles also include “Inherit the Wind,” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, a dramatic rendering of the 1925 Scopes Trial, commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial; and a collection of 27 essays geared for a general audience, The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2013, edited by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Sloan Wilson’s talk is co-sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services Corporation and through an anonymous donation.

For more information on the lecture, contact Lisi Krall, professor of economics, or Angela Pagano, associate professor of biological sciences. For more information on the “R/Evolution” series or the common reads, contact committee co-chair Scott Moranda, associate professor of history, at 607-753-2052.


Students Step Up as ‘Big Event’ Nears

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When Ashlee Prewitt ’14 started planning a student-led community service event more than a year ago, the initial goal was to round up 100 volunteers. When eight more eager SUNY Cortland students joined her cause in the fall, she thought a goal of 300 volunteers was attainable.

With two weeks to go until SUNY Cortland’s Big Event, a one-day volunteer project slated for Saturday, May 2, more than 400 volunteers — most of them students — have pre-registered.

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Prewitt, who completed her bachelor’s degree in political science in December and will pursue a master’s in public administration at Binghamton University in the fall. “This just shows how committed to the community SUNY Cortland students can be.”

The potentially far-reaching project is relatively simple: a day of service built on the concept of strength in numbers, to be held on the same day as the Cortland Downtown Partnership’s annual community clean-up.

“The idea behind the Big Event is that we can fold in any service project that students do,” Prewitt said. “It’s not necessarily about giving goods to the community, it’s about providing services.

“Instead of donating money or food, we’re saying: ‘What can we do for you?’”

Those jobs will include outdoor painting, trash and brush haul, mulching and gardening, hedge trimming or shoveling and raking. The Big Event is supported by $10,000 in funding from SUNY Cortland’s Student Government Association, funds that will be used to purchase supplies and equipment.

Prewitt said the maximum 50 pre-registered job sites already have been filled. Volunteers still can sign up, although all of the event’s allotted free t-shirts have been accounted for. All volunteers still will receive free continental breakfast and bus transportation to job sites in exchange for four hours of their time. They will meet at Park Center Alumni Arena at 9 a.m. for service assignments and a short kick-off ceremony featuring remarks from College President Erik J. Bitterbaum and Cortland Prevention Resources Executive Director Kimberly McRae Friedman ’97.

“So many different student clubs and organizations stepped up,” said Prewitt, noting that SUNY Cortland’s Greek organizations alone are expected to produce more than 150 volunteers.

She attributed the success to the grassroots, word-of-mouth type efforts that the event’s student recruitment executives began during the fall semester. The idea for the Big Event itself was born more than a year ago, when Prewitt interned in SUNY Cortland’s Research and Sponsored Programs Office. Her goal was to find a project within the community to which she could contribute.

“I thought there could be more direct overlap between students and residents,” she said.

When she arrived in Cortland three years ago from the Midwest, Prewitt quickly learned about SUNY Cortland’s annual Cortaca Jug football game, the College’s biggest sports rivalry, and its Spring Fling concert, a marquee social event. She thought the area needed a community service event capable of rising to the same level.

“Looking at the College’s Institute for Civic Engagement and service learning program, there’s a lot of evidence that students have the initiative to give back,” said Prewitt, who transferred to Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) then to SUNY Cortland from the University of Oklahoma, where a similar event took place in Norman, Okla. “The question became: how can we give high visibility to that initiative?”

Texas A&M University came up with the concept of the Big Event more than 30 years ago. There’s no national organization or governing structure for the Big Event, although dozens of colleges and universities across the nation have followed through with similar days of service.

The president of the College’s Non-Traditional Student Organization (NTSO), Prewitt enlisted the resources of the group that exists for undergraduates who are at least 24 years old or have had an interruption or delay in their education since high school. Big Event organizers have received endorsements and support from the NTSO, the College’s Institute for Civic Engagement and government officials in the City of Cortland.

“Obviously, we still have to do the work,” she said. “But right now, a lot of it is logistics, and that’s a pretty good feeling.”

For more information, contact Prewitt at ashlee.prewitt@cortland.edu or thebigeventcortland@gmail.com. Stay current with The Big Event on Facebook and on Twitter @TBE_Cortland.


Town-gown Project to Cut Ribbon on ‘Cemetrail’

CR_Cemetery_Eaton_marker_WEB.jpg 04/21/2015

A trail ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour celebrating the completion of Operation Greenspace! will take place in the Cortland Rural Cemetery from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7.

Open to the public, the event will include brief remarks from the cemetery and College team, a question-and-answer session, a ribbon-cutting and tour of the “cemetrail.”

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum will be among the College’s representatives.

For the occasion, ample parking is available inside the cemetery entrance.

The town-gown event marks the opening of the cemetery to public, educational visits with a centrally located, first-ever cemetery ‘map kiosk,’ 20 educational interpretive signs and numerous tree-species identification plates.

The project teamed the Cortland Rural Cemetery board of trustees and employees with SUNY Cortland’s art and art history, biological sciences, geography, geology and recreation, parks and leisure studies department faculty and their student interns.

The volunteers have worked to transform the cemetery from a “single-use” institution — for burials — to a "multi-use" institution, including as a historic site, cultural asset and natural resource.

Although the cemetery was designed around 150 years ago in the “garden” or “rural” cemetery style that encouraged picnics, social visits and natural enjoyment by the entire community, in more recent times the general public was discouraged from strolling there. Not anymore.

Students and community members now are encouraged to make recreational and educational visits to Cortland Rural Cemetery during daylight hours. Future teachers, historians, geographers, geologists, artists and art historians can explore the hillside living laboratory.

Volunteers within the College community gathered facts and data to place on trees, and created interpretive signs and an informational kiosk.

The more prominent trees now boast detailed species information, and about 20 pedestal signs share the history, science and cultural information gathered about the cemetery. A key to finding specific areas of interest will be offered on a giant map posted at a central kiosk.

Over time, the goal is to create several different trails throughout the cemetery, each with a different theme, from history to geology and beyond.

To support the venture, John Hoeschele, president of the cemetery’s board of trustees and a volunteer with the Cortland Rural Cemetery Foundation, last spring worked jointly with the Cortland Rural Cemetery Foundation — the cemetery’s dedicated and separate fund-raising board — to apply for and receive a $30,000 Operation Greenspace! grant from the JM McDonald Foundation, a 62-year-old trust for charitable efforts, primarily in upstate New York. With financing secured, the foundation created signs, tree identification plates and other needed hardware.

For more information, read the College’s prior announcement about the project.


Cortland Football to Host Bone Marrow Testing Drive May 2

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The SUNY Cortland football team is calling on the local community to get in the game and join the fight against diseases affecting bone marrow, such as leukemia. The program will host its seventh annual "Get in the Game, Save a Life" National Marrow Donor Program Drive from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, in Corey Union on campus.

Joining the bone marrow registry is easy and pain-free; volunteers simply need to swab the inside of a person's cheek for 30 seconds. But while there are millions of registered marrow donors worldwide, only about 250 matches are found each year. In many cases, there's a 1-in-80,000 chance that a registered donor will be a match.

The Cortland Football registry has already factored into saving four lives, most notably for linebacker John Stephens. He registered in the program in 2010, was identified as a match for Clara Boyle, an infant in California battling leukemia, and his subsequent marrow donation helped save her life. Clara and her family came to Cortland in 2012 to meet Stephens and watch a Red Dragon football game. More recently, wide receivers coach Nate Pagan and former defensive back (and current track and field jumper) Andre Green have been identified as matches and have gone through the donation process.

For more information on the bone marrow drive, contact the Cortland football office at (607) 753-4912.

National Marrow Donor Program Web Site


Outdoor Art Display Questions Capitalism

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It’s a straightforward question about a taboo topic. And it’s being asked by a unique outdoor art installation at SUNY Cortland’s Dowd Gallery.

Does capitalism work in your life?

People walking near the College’s Dowd Fine Arts Center will be able to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ simply by pressing a button, although the exhibition attempts to dig deeper for insight.

“Capitalism Works for Me! True or False,” an interactive piece created by contemporary artist Steve Lambert, will be on display outdoors Tuesday, April 21, through Friday, May 8, under the Dowd Gallery window overhang. People will be able to vote from the sidewalk near Moffett Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We’re excited about the potential the piece has to engage our students in a fun way to think more deeply about capitalism — a system many of them may not be accustomed to questioning — and the complex impact it and other systems have on humanity and the planet,” said Erika Fowler-Decatur, director of the Dowd Gallery.

A four-person panel discussion featuring Lambert takes place Tuesday, April 28, at 5 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Three members of the College’s Economics Department also will weigh in: Howard Botwinick, Brian Ward and Ben Wilson. Lisi Krall, a professor of economics, will moderate the discussion.

“We had a discussion in our department about how to engage a more critical conversation about capitalism,” Krall said. “(The exhibition) seems like such a simple idea, but it has the potential to get some interesting conversation going about a subject that’s usually off limits to talk about.”

Lambert’s aluminum and electrical display, which measures nine feet tall and 20 feet wide, began its international exhibition tour in 2011. It has appeared in museums and galleries from Boston to Los Angeles and it recently showed up in Times Square.

“Start a conversation about capitalism and friends edge away slowly, and strangers even faster,” Lambert writes in a project description on his website. “This is what art is for.

“This is what art does well. It creates a space where new ideas and perspectives can be explored. A space unlike any other.”

At SUNY Cortland, the outdoor installation will bring together students from multiple fields of study. For example, the College’s Economics Club and Art Exhibition Association will encourage interaction with the piece and thoughtful discussion throughout its three-week display.

“It’s an inter-disciplinary project that has the potential to engage students and faculty across disciplines,” Krall said.

Lambert’s description of his work suggests people have a right to question the U.S. economic model, specifically whether or not the system works for them.

“We have a cultural disposition that directly correlates capitalism and freedom, so we sometimes feel that if we question the system in any way, we’re on the road to ruin,” Krall said. “There are ideological reasons why capitalism is a subject that seems off limits, and this exhibit, in its simplicity, has the potential to engage a taboo conversation.”

Funding to bring the installation exhibition was provided by the Dowd Gallery, a Campus Artist and Lecture Series grant, the Art Exhibition Association, the Economics Club and an anonymous donor.

For more information on the exhibition, contact Fowler-Decatur at 607-753-2285 or erika.fowler-decatur@cortland.edu.



 


Local Arts Council to House Spring Edition of Speak

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The May release of SUNY Cortland’s student opinion magazine will coincide with an appearance at the Tioga Arts Council in Owego, N.Y.

Speak magazine, which has featured anonymous and unfiltered student and faculty writing submissions each semester since 2008, is expected to be available on campus during the week of May 4. The 15th edition of the magazine is themed this semester on “Serendipity.”

The Tioga Arts Council features the three most recent editions of Speak — titled “’Merica,” “Wanderlust,” and “Freak Show” — in its new “zine” library. An abbreviation for magazines, zines are self-published, small circulation original works that can be too controversial for mainstream media. After its release, “Serendipity” will accompany the three other SUNY Cortland student publications on display at the council.

Approximately 200 zines from artists around the world are featured at the library. Blank books also are available for artists to create their own zines for display.

The gallery is open Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To submit a zine to the Tioga Arts Council, contact Abbey Hendrickson, its director, at tiogaartscouncil@gmail.com. For more information, visit tiogaartscouncil.org.


Phi Kappa Phi Names 2015 Academic Standouts

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Six exceptional members of SUNY Cortland’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, the honor society for all academic disciplines, have set high standards for future student scholars through excellence in discipline, dedication and time management.

The students, named “Scholars of the Year” by the Cortland chapter, were recognized April 18 in the Corey Union Function Room.

The scholars also each received $50 and were acknowledged later that same day during SUNY Cortland’s annual Honors Convocation ceremony in the Park Center Alumni Arena.

The accolades were based on academic accomplishments as well as leadership and volunteer involvement at the College and in the community.

Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi annually initiates about 30,000 new members from nearly 300 campuses in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Philippines.

Here’s a closer look at the Phi Kappa Phi scholars:

Joseph Barbella
Joseph Barbella

Joseph Barbella

A senior adolescence education: history major, Barbella of Larchmont, N.Y., is committed to bettering not only SUNY Cortland but the communities he lives in.

The son of Angela and John Barbella, he has been an active member of the SUNY Cortland Emergency Medical Services (SCEMS) working as an emergency medical technician assistant.

Barbella has volunteered at the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Hunger Task Force and David Potts Jr. VFW Post 1156.

He also has participated in various Student Government Association (SGA) clubs and roles, including service as the president of the History Club, the SGA representative for Spanish Club, and as an SGA Election Committee member.

He was an admissions ambassador and tour guide for the Admissions Office.

“I put extremely high value on my academics,” said Barbella, who has maintained a 3.98 GPA. In addition to Phi Kappa Phi, he was inducted into the Kappa Delta Pi international education honor society and the Phi Alpha Theta history honor society.

“I feel a great responsibility in being able to represent my family, hometown and SUNY Cortland,” he said. “I constantly strive to place myself in a position where I can make those who support me proud.”

Jared Brittman
Jared Brittman

Jared Brittman

A senior business economics major from Smithtown, N.Y., Brittman has managed to use his college experience as a blueprint for a career that culminates with him as a chief financial officer for a major company.

The son of Elizabeth and Joseph Brittman, he has volunteered as a tax preparer and assistant site supervisor for the Cortland County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). The program provides taxpayers earning $53,000 or less in taxable income with free tax preparation services.

Brittman also has interned with various companies such as Bestway Enterprises, Inc.

“My driving motivator has been the commitment I have made to myself to achieve these goals,” Brittman said about his career path.

“I plan to interview with the audit departments of the “Big Four” CPA firms with the hopes of receiving an offer to begin my career as an associate auditor,” he said. “My ultimate pursuit is leading the finance department of a multi-national manufacturing corporation.”

He will pursue a master’s degree in accounting in the fall.

Brittman maintained a 4.02 GPA and consistently made the Dean’s and President’s lists. He earned the Economics Department’s Chair’s Award for Academic Excellence.

Sarah Kelly
Sarah Kelly

Sarah Kelly

A senior Spanish and communication studies major, Kelly of Watervilet, N.Y., is dedicated to helping her peers attain and maintain success.

The daughter of Janice and Peter Kelly, she has been a teaching assistant to College President Erik J. Bitterbaum for COR 101: The First-year Experience course which helps freshman with the transition to university life. She is a certified peer tutor for SUNY Cortland’s Academic Support and Achievement (ASAP) program.

Kelly has maintained a 4.09 GPA and has not only consistently appeared on the President’s List. She was awarded the Irmgard Taylor Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship reserved for the student with the highest GPA in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The recipient of a 2015 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, Kelly dreams of a career in student affairs.

“I have realized a passion for working with others, particularly college students,” she said. “I want to work with others to help them achieve their own personal and professional goals.”

She has taken steps towards achieving that ambition by working within the campus community. Kelly has worked in the Campus Activities Office, International Programs Office, Advisement and Transition office and the Public Relations Office.

Christina Lopilato
Christina Lopilato

Christina Lopilato

A senior childhood education and mathematics major from Farmingdale, N.Y., Lopilato has been a champion of volunteerism on campus and charity work within the Cortland community.

The daughter of Laura and Anthony Lopilato, for her high level of civic engagement Lopilato was awarded the Merit Scholarship as well as the Student Government Association (SGA) Leadership Scholarship.

She has maintained a 3.85 GPA and participated in the Kappa Delta Pi international education honor society and Phi Beta Delta international honor society.

While maintaining her spot on the Dean’s list and President’s lists, Lopilato also is a member FIT Club, the treasurer of Math Club, the captain of multiple intramural sport teams and a tour guide. She also helps youngsters with their homework as a volunteer tutor.

“My goal is and has been to be the best elementary school teacher I can be,” Lopilato said about her future.

“I plan to pursue my graduate degree in special education,” she said. “With this education I will be able to better accommodate each student and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and grow in my class.”

Matthew Penque
Matthew Penque

Matthew Penque

A senior exercise science major from Clarence, N.Y., Penque maintains a perfect balance between academics and extracurricular activities.

The son of Julie Kruszynski and Patrick Penque, he has an active role in promoting well-being not only on campus but in the community as a member of the HealthyNOW Teen Program.

“Ever since I went to a physical therapist during my sophomore year of high school, I have been interested in how a physical therapist works and manipulates the human body,” he said about his interest in the field.

To achieve his dream of working as a physical therapist and one day working as a professor, he will enter the physical therapy graduate program at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Penque has maintained a 3.89 GPA. He has helped his fellow students on their path to academic excellence as a supplemental instruction leader in three subjects for five semesters. Penque served as a teaching assistant for the College’s Motor Behavior course.

 

Ashley Vogler
Ashley Vogler

Ashley Vogler

A senior exercise science major, Vogler of Jamesville, N.Y., has integrated her passion for athletics and travel in her college career.

The daughter of Lisa Vogler, she has participated in club basketball and tennis as well as intramural teams such as ultimate frisbee, indoor soccer, volleyball and dodgeball. Vogler has run in various 5 kilometer races.

A teaching assistant, supplemental instruction leader and certified peer tutor for SUNY Cortland’s Academic Support and Achievement (ASAP) program, she has helped fellow students on their path to academic success in courses such as Anatomy & Physiology, Biology and Biomechanics.

Vogler has maintained a 3.97 GPA. She was awarded the Overseas Academic Scholarship and the Willi Ushald Scholarship for her academic pursuits abroad. Having traveled through Europe during the summer of 2014, she recently made the journey to South America.

Toward her goal of being a physical therapist, she has volunteered more than 150 hours in various physical therapy clinics.

Upon graduation, Vogler plans to begin Boston University’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy program.

“I know it will be challenging, but that is what I’m partly excited for,” Vogler said.

Written by Public Relations Office intern Kate Monno


Grad Shares TV Spotlight with Student

Kellas_luciani_thumbnail.jpg 04/16/2015

For SUNY Cortland senior Katie Kellas, the final semester of college hasn’t meant hitting ‘snooze’ on the alarm clock and coasting toward graduation. Instead, the ambitious communication studies major recently has enjoyed time shadowing a successful graduate in the television spotlight.

As she prepares to pursue a career in broadcasting and video production after graduation, the Webster, N.Y., native has seized several opportunities over the past month to assist fashion expert Jené Lupoli Luciani ’99.

Luciani has become a sought-after style consultant in the 16 years since her graduation from the College. She appears regularly on network television programs that include NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Meredith Vieira Show,” and “Dr. Oz.” She also wrote The Bra Book: The Fashion Formula to Finding the Perfect Bra.

When Kellas received an invitation to shadow Luciani for her “Today Show” appearance on April 1, she accepted without hesitation. Since early February, Kellas had reached out to SUNY Cortland alumni at recommendations of her mentor Peter Johanns. The communication studies department lecturer advises the broadcasting club Cortland State Television (CSTV) that Kellas leads as president.

Kellas said she hopes to make herself known among individuals in the production field while learning about their own paths to success. Her morning with Luciani in Studio 1A Rockefeller Plaza, home of the “Today Show,” gave Kellas a peek at what the future could hold.

She said she loved every second of it.

“I just loved the fast-paced atmosphere that surrounded the live broadcast,” Kellas said.

She glimpsed behind-the-scenes action while assisting Luciani’s clothing models and snapping photos for Instagram and Facebook. Kellas said she felt “right at home” on the set after spending the last four years handling similar tasks for CSTV.

“You never know what to expect when you’re behind the scenes,” she said. “Every recording or broadcast you do won’t be the same so I knew it would be different from what I’ve experienced, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

Luciani said her SUNY Cortland education laid the foundation for her career success.

“I feel like I learned everything I needed to know to go out in the field from presentation skills to creative thinking,” she said.

Kellas, who boasts a 4.0 grade point average and equally impressive résumé, said her own experiences at the College leave her feeling the same way. She found an outlet for her passion in CSTV as a first-year student and immediately became involved.

“I couldn’t imagine not being involved,” Kellas said.

After receiving an Outstanding Student Leader award during her sophomore year, Kellas continued building on her experiences.

“I couldn’t take a semester off from taking chances,” she said.

She worked at the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House during her junior year, creating promotional videos for their social media campaigns and event packages. She also completed an internship with Time Warner Cable News this past summer, an experience that taught Kellas about broadcasting outside the news station studio.

“I followed a lot of reporters with their stories and you could never really plan how it was going to go,” she said. “You had to be on your toes and ready to problem solve, which is something I’ve become really good at.”

After their first successful shadowing experience together, Luciani invited Kellas to return to New York City with her on April 7 for a bathing suit segment on “The Meredith Vieira Show.” Kellas saw it as chance to build a stronger connection with the successful alumna and broadcasting professionals at NBC, so she jumped at the chance.

As she prepares for her graduation in a month, Kellas said she plans to move to New York City and jumpstart her career. She then hopes to relocate to Los Angeles for a shot at the big leagues and to work towards her life’s goal of winning an Oscar.

“It’s the highest honor you can receive for what I want to do,” said Kellas, admitting that the goal is a long way off. “It will be something to keep me motivated in this field for a long time.”

Until then, she’ll follow Luciani’s career advice for students.

“Make yourself different from other graduates, take risks, work hard and never give up,” Luciani said. “The key is doing anything you can to set yourself apart and believing that any dream is possible.”

Written by Public Relations Office intern Sarah Kelly

New York Actor to Discuss Gay Culture

David Lata, actor and producer, will lecture on gay culture in the media as well as perform a work about one boy’s struggle of growing up in the church and spending a summer in conversion therapy on Thursday, April 30.

The lecture, “A Brief History of Gay Culture,” will begin at 2:50 p.m. in SUNY Cortland’s Sperry Center, Room 104.   

The performance, “MY LIFE IN THE GREY: Memoirs of a Journey over the Rainbow,” begins at 7 p.m. at the Interfaith Center, 7 Calvert St., Cortland.

Both programs are a part of the College’s Louis Larson Lecture and Performance Series and are free and open to the public. The ongoing series is intended to educate and support individuals in the campus and local LGBT communities and their allies.

Lata, a past Cortland resident, has appeared on stage at SUNY Cortland, Cortland Repertory Theatre and throughout Manhattan.

In 2008, he moved to New York City, where he attended a conservatory for musical theatre.

Recently, Lata became a restaurateur with his father, opening up a diner in Jamestown, N.Y., while working for MINI Cooper in Manhattan.

He currently lives with his fiancé in Queens, N.Y., and is in production on an independent feature documenting his life story and gay culture.

Future lectures — geared to help foster and promote diversity and mutual respect — will include guest speakers, panel talks and performances from professionals in the LGBT community.

The series is sponsored by the LGBTQIA Faculty Staff Committee, campus Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies, Cortland LGBT Resource Center, Interfaith Center, Alumni Engagement, Spectrum, PFLAG, Auxiliary Services Corporation, Health Promotion/Student Development and the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office.

The series honors Larson, who served SUNY Cortland’s Career Services for 23 years and retired in 2010. In June of that year, he was honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service, recognizing his extensive record of professional service to the institution and beyond.

For more information, contact Vicki Wilkins, SUNY Cortland professor of recreation, parks and leisure studies, at 607-753-4972; or Catherine Smith at 607-753-2066.

Prepared by public relations intern Kate Monno


College Names Leadership in Civic Engagement Honorees

Thirty SUNY Cortland students, 12 community members, nine faculty and staff members and one community group will be recognized on Thursday, April 23, with the College’s Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards.

The reception will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge and is free and open to the public.

Also receiving recognition will be the participants in the 2014-15 Judson H. Taylor Leadership House program, the Service-Learning Corps, the Civic Engagement Scholarship program and the student winners of Peter F. Eisenhardt First Year Learning Community Scholarships for Excellence in the Learning (In) Deed learning community.

The awards recognize exemplary service in support of community agencies, social change and civic engagement by SUNY Cortland students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.

Student recipients are involved with a wide variety of activities, including leadership roles in raising funds for the Adopt-a-Family program, Loaves and Fishes and Special Olympics. Others volunteer in local afterschool programs, at Randall School and at the YWCA’s Bridges for Kids program. Other students tutor and mentor children in physical activities that improve health and help build self-esteem. The vast majority of activity supports Cortland County residents, the public school system and numerous human service organizations.

Student recipients are:

Adeymi Aderohunmu

Tyler Ballantyne

Hannah Bush

Stefania Buta

Crissana Christie

Katelin Cornetta

Elvis de la Rosa

Nikki Donlick

Miguel Espaillat

Brian Hartrick

Candice Jaimungal

Elise Konikoff

Carlos Lemus

Maranda Maher

Caley Maida

Kristie Mauro

Kathleen Mezzacappa

Brittney Murphy

Lucila Mutino

Matthew Norris

Everett Phillips

Ashlee Prewitt

Kimberlee Roe

Piffany Rosa

Karyn Scott

Melanie Sjoblom

Garrett Smith

Jackie Soranno

Brianna Sullivan

Patrick Viscome

The following SUNY Cortland faculty and staff recipients are:

Helena Baert, assistant professor, Physical Education Department

Barbara Barton, assistant professor, Health Department

Valerie Behr, lecturer, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department

Kathleen Burke, associate professor and chair, Economics Department

Beth Klein, professor, Childhood/Early Childhood Department

Janet Ochs, lecturer, Library

Greg Phelan, associate professor and chair, Chemistry Department

Tim Phillips, associate professor, Economics Department

Gabe Recchio, SUNY Cortland’s NYPIRG Coordinator

Community member recipients are:

Chris Driscoll, coordinator, Cortland County Children Services Initiative (CCSI

Linnay Harmer, prevention specialist, Cortland Prevention Resources

Emma Ignaszewski, media specialist, Seven Valleys Health Coalition

Adam Megivern, executive director, Cortland Downtown Partnership

Susan Osborn, principal, Lafayette CSD’s Big Picture School

Mary Podsiedlik, teacher, Tully Central Schools

Peter Reyes, principal, Barry Elementary School

Kelly Skinner, executive director, Cortland YWCA

Norm Stitzel, founder/director, Warriors of the Cross

Amoreena Tellaeche, 5th grade teacher, Virgil Elementary School

Matt Whitman, project coordinator, Cortland Area Communities that Care

Jane Witty, events coordinator, Cortland Downtown Partnership

The Community Group recipient is:

Access to Independence

Seven students won scholarships that acknowledge outstanding commitment to community and exceptional academic achievement:

Piffany Rosa, the BorgWarner Morse TEC Scholarship

Brittney Murphy, the Catherine McDermott Lavelle Scholarship for Student Leaders

Crissana Christie, the Judson H. Taylor Community Service Scholarship

Katelin Cornetta, the Judson H. Taylor Community Service Scholarship

Patrick Viscome, the Judson Taylor Community Service Scholarship

Elise Konikoff, the Lambda Phi Delta Scholarship

Matthew Norris, the James H. and Dorothy A. Sarvay Scholarship

Patrick Viscome will also be awarded the Cortland Area Chapter of the Alumni Association’s Community Service Award

Two students will be awarded Peter F. Eisenhardt First-Year Learning Community Scholarships for excellence in the Learning (In) Deed learning community:

Sara Billings

Lia Mistretta

Four students will be awarded the Excellence in Service-Learning Award for their participation in the Service-Learning Corps:

Sydney Carlucci

Crissana Christie

Madeline Eagan

Regina Gianfreda

Four students will receive the Civic Engagement Scholarship Award:

Madison Kandoth

Tiffany Leone

Nicholas Menedes

Christopher O’Neill

Seven students will be recognized with the Vanguard Leader Award in recognition of their participation in the Judson H. Taylor Leadership House:

Meryem Akman

Karlene Anderson

Magdalena Gippert

Hein Hofvind

Lisa Ann Quinn

Tyler Rodabaugh

Andrea Tirrell

The Leadership in Civic Engagement Awards and Scholarships event is sponsored by the College’s Institute for Civic Engagement, the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Institutional Advancement, as well as the Cortland Foundation and the Cortland Fund.

                                                     


Non-Traditional Students Inducted into Honor Society

Eighteen SUNY Cortland students have been elected to membership in Alpha Sigma Lambda, an international honor society recognizing the academic achievements of non-traditional students.

The induction ceremony and dinner was held April 14 in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

The SUNY Cortland chapter, Lambda Omicron, has elected members to the honor society for 14 years. Alpha Sigma Lambda national standards indicate that students elected to membership are in the top 20 percent of all students at SUNY Cortland, age 24 or older, who have completed 24 credits of work at SUNY Cortland with a grade point average of 3.2 or better. For the inductees to be in the top 20 percent of students at SUNY Cortland this year, they needed to have a grade point average of 3.6 or higher. The GPA range for this group of students inducted was 3.6 to 4.12.

Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum offered welcoming remarks to the new members. Chris Widdall ’00 and ’03, assistant professor from the Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, was the faculty guest speaker. She reflected on her non-traditional student experiences and reminded the audience to pursue things not because they have to but they get to.

Sheila Shea, a senior childhood education major and member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, presented the ideals of the honor society. Christopher Caughey, a senior selected studies with a focus on science of physical activity major and secretary of the Non-Traditional Student Organization, assisted in administering the pledge of membership to the inductees.

“I look forward to this induction ceremony every year,” said Cheryl Smith Hines ‘05, coordinator for Non-Traditional Student Support and the national councilor for the Alpha Sigma Lambda Omicron chapter. “I get to induct our new members into this honor society and celebrate their hard work and successes. It amazes me how these students are able to balance their high GPAs with their other responsibilities such as family, jobs and long commutes to campus to attend classes. For some adult students, it can be overwhelming and intimidating to attend a typically traditional-aged college. These students are great role models for our campus.”

Students who have been elected to membership are:

Lee Berrien, Devon Dattmore, Darlene Endy,  Jessica Garrow, Paw Hutko, Jisang Kim, Jessica Maney, Ashley Miller, Robert Nelli, Krista Podolny, Lisa Ruquet, Heather Scheck, Amanda Shaw, Shawn Smith, Jenna Sterling, Lacy Sweeney, Tammy Walrath and Kimberly Zarzynski.         

Widdall was inducted as an honorary member.

For more information about Alpha Sigma Lambda, visit www.alphasigmlambda.org.

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Faculty/Staff Activities

Tim Delaune

Tim Delaune, Political Science Department and pre-law advisor, presented a paper on Taoist elements in the political thought of philosopher Martin Heidegger at the annual conference of the Western Political Science Association held April 2-4 in Las Vegas.


Terrence Fitzgerald and Frank Rossi and alumni Mike Kelly ’14 and Tyler Potter ’14

Terrence Fitzgerald, Biological Sciences Department, Frank Rossi, Chemistry Department, and alumni Mike Kelly ’14, and Tyler Potter ’14, are coauthors of an article titled “Trail Following Response of Larval Cactoblastis cactorum to 2-Acyl-1,3 Cyclohexane Dionesappearing in the current issue of the Journal of Chemical Ecology. The paper reports the isolation and identification of a pheromone that might serve as a bio-rational substitute for a chemical pesticide in the management of the caterpillar.  The caterpillar is an invasive species originally from Argentina that attacks prickly pear cactuses in the Gulf Coast states.  Kelly is currently a graduate student at SUNY Cortland and Potter is in the Chemistry Ph.D. program at Yale University.  Both students worked on the study as Cortland undergraduates. The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service supported the study.


Christopher Gascón

Christopher Gascón, Modern Languages Department, has been re-elected secretary of the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater (AHCT). Annually, the AHCT hosts a conference, publishes a journal and supports the oldest and longest-running Hispanic Golden Age theater festival in the world at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater in El Paso, Texas. In addition, the organization provides a library of digitized editions of plays, a video archive of performances of plays available for streaming and a biannual newsletter. Gascón has served as secretary since 2011 and has produced the last eight issues of the AHCT Newsletter, reporting on performances and scholarly activities related to Hispanic Golden Age drama. 


Richard Hunter

Richard Hunter, Geography Department, is the lead author of an article titled “Sixteenth-century Soil Carbon Sequestration Rates Based on Mexican Land-grant Documents,” published in the May issue of The Holocene.


Kathryn Kramer

Kathryn Kramer, Art and Art History Department, will have her most recent biennial exhibition report published in the May/June issue of Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism . Kramer has written exhibition reports for Afterimage since 2012. Her latest report examines Prospect.3 New Orleans, the third citywide exhibition of international contemporary art to be held in New Orleans since 2009.


Gregory D. Phelan

Gregory D. Phelan, Chemistry Department, had a new patent issued on April 14. Titled “Systems, materials and methods for recovering material from bedrock using supercritical argon compositions,” the patent deals with environmentally friendly ways to extract resources from the ground instead of using traditional hydraulic fracturing fluids. Details on the patent can be found at the following link: http://1.usa.gov/1yyFs6s


Gregory D. Phelan and Kerri Freese

Gregory D. Phelan, Chemistry Department, and Kerri Freese, SUNY Cortland Noyce Project, organized and led the 4th Annual National Science Foundation (NSF) Noyce NE Conference held March 26-28 in Cambridge, Mass. More than 250 math and science faculty and teachers/pre-service teachers attended the conference with the theme, “Successful Teaching in High-Need Schools.” This initiative was funded by a two-year, $715,398 NSF grant to three universities: SUNY Cortland, the University of Massachusetts Boston and Drexel University. It aims to advocate for strong content knowledge and teaching practices in mathematics and science and to include researchers, science teacher educators, K-12 educators, school administrators and policy makers who can support teachers and work to positively transform practices and policies to better support science and mathematics learning for students in high-need schools.


Robert Spitzer

Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, is the author of a new book, just published by Oxford University Press, titled, Guns Across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights. The book argues that, contrary to the current national debate, gun laws and rights were perfectly compatible throughout most of American history, and that guns were actually regulated more strictly in the past than in the current era. In addition to gun law history, the book also examines the so-called right of rebellion, the Second Amendment and the assault weapons ban controversy, modern “stand-your-ground” laws, and New York state’s tough new gun laws and their impact on gun habits.


Henry Steck

Henry Steck, Political Science Department, delivered the keynote address at the 69th annual conference of the New York State Political Science Association held April 10-11 at State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. The title of his presentation was “Teaching Students About Democracy.” He also presented on a panel: “Diverse Perspectives on Democracy: Suggestions for a Syllabus.”


Tiantian Zheng

Tiantian Zheng, Sociology/Anthropology Department, spoke at the international conference organized by University of Vienna in Vienna on April 17. Her presentation was titled “Criminal Intimacies: Sexual Geographies and the State.”


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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