Campus Champion

Joseph Mogavero ’18, an adolescence education: English major, believes the greatest tools we can give our students are those that help them discover the power of language. The aspiring teacher plans to help children and teens find their voices through writing, because all students, including those with mental and physical challenges, need to be heard. He’s on track for success – Joe graduated with the highest grade point average at Commencement 2018 on Saturday. Quite an accomplishment for this two-time transfer who discovered success with SUNY Cortland’s education program as a junior. “Teachers are education activists and I plan to defend students’ rights,” Joe said.

SUNY Cortland’s online master’s degree in sport management — one of two fully online degree-granting programs at the College — has earned national recognition in just its fourth year.

The program was ranked among the “Best Online Master’s in Sport Management Programs 2018” by BestColleges.com. SUNY Cortland was lauded for its flexibility, as the program is intended for both industry professionals and those looking to enter the field. 

“The ranking is rather impressive, considering the evaluation by BestColleges.com was conducted after only our third full year of existence,” said Jordan Kobritz, chair and professor of the Sport Management Department.

Most students enroll part-time and complete the program in about two years. With course offerings during the fall and spring semesters as well as the summer, students have the option to complete the degree at their convenience.

“This applies particularly to coaches who want to get involved in administration,” said Kobritz. “A master’s degree in sport management fits for a variety of students, especially a P.E. undergrad who is coaching and wants to be an athletic director at some point.”

The program has an 18-credit core with six credits of electives and a six-credit culminating experience, which is either an internship, a master’s project or a thesis. Internships require a minimum of 480 hours of supervised work with a sports organization, applying course learning to a professional environment.

Being fully online, the master’s program gives students the flexibility to complete the coursework and their internship anywhere in the world.

“We’ve had students do their internship in Europe, in Australia and all of the typical domestic internships sites where our undergrads do their internships,” Kobritz said. “You don’t have to come on campus to do it.”

One way in which SUNY Cortland has distinguished its online sport management master’s program is by having all of its courses taught by full-time faculty. Many other programs around the country use less-experienced teaching assistants or outside adjuncts.

“All of our faculty who teach in this master’s program have a terminal degree, either a Ph.D. or a J.D.,” Kobritz said. “In addition, all faculty that teach in the online program also teach in the master’s program on campus.”

The expertise of the SUNY Cortland sport management faculty helps students stay up-to-date on the ever-changing fields of sport finance, law and marketing.

BestColleges.com ranked universities based on academic quality, which included admissions rate, enrollment rate, retention rate, six-year graduation rate and number of master’s graduates in sport management. Affordability also factored into the results. Out of all similar programs in the United States, SUNY Cortland’s online sports management program came in at No. 38.

For more information, contact Kobritz or Graduate Coordinator Genevieve Birren.

When they set off for a semester-long study abroad experience in Mangalore, India, three aspiring teachers from SUNY Cortland expected to be introduced to a new culture and customs. Sure enough, they dressed in traditional clothing, enjoyed authentic food dishes and learned about national politics.

They also discovered their artistic talents, producing an official art exhibition in the center of their host campus that was captured in a feature story by a news website in Mangalore.

“Paramparik,” the Hindi translation for “traditional,” featured 12 paintings created for an art course at St. Aloysius College by three SUNY Cortland sophomores — Claire Bogart, an English as a second language major from Lima, N.Y.; Asha Goldberg, a childhood/early childhood education major from Tampa, Fla.; and Brooke Weinstein, an English as a second language major from Irondequoit, N.Y. The class was developed specifically so that the students could gain insight into various styles of Indian art. 

In many ways, the art experience symbolized the entire four-month trip to the port city on India’s southwest coast. Expectations were surpassed and lessons were learned in ways that only study abroad travel can achieve. SUNY Cortland’s International Programs Office offers more than 50 programs similar to the one in India. Hundreds more are available through other SUNY institutions. 

“I thought it was going to be this typical art class where you create artwork and earn a grade,” Weinstein said. “It was something much more than that.”

The trio traveled to India for different reasons — Bogart and Weinstein for hands-on practice in an international classroom and Goldberg because of her mother’s Indian heritage. 

The exhibition wasn’t planned when the trip started. Bogart already was a talented artist, according to Goldberg, while the others were looking to fulfill a general education course requirement and learn more about their host country in the process. They worked prior to the trip with Professors Girish Bhat and Sharon Steadman, who help facilitate SUNY Cortland’s relationship with St. Aloysius College.

“Everyone in India was amazing, especially the people at the college” Goldberg said. “Anything that we wanted to learn about, they would bring in a teacher for us.” 

In Mangalore, they learned from John Chandran, a celebrated artist and local high school art teacher. He taught them about various styles of Indian art. The SUNY Cortland trio then looked to create personal paintings based on those traditions. For Goldberg, whose family is from Rajasthan in northern India, the exercise was particularly meaningful. 

“We have traditional Indian art on the walls at my grandmother’s house,” she said. “So it was special to learn how to make it and see how dynamic and diverse India is through its artwork.”

Their creative efforts were commemorated at a ceremony in late March attended by top several administrators and faculty members at the college. According to The Mangalorean, the SUNY Cortland trio was praised for taking advantage of their exposure to Indian culture and heritage in such a short period of time.

“India has one of the world’s largest collection of art forms — paintings and writings that are known as the intangible cultural heritage of humanity,” said Rev. Praveen Martis, the principal at St. Aloysius College. “We need to compliment these three talented students who within a couple of months have learned a few Indian art forms and have now created history with Indian art of their own.”

In total, seven SUNY Cortland students and two from other institutions comprised the College’s spring study abroad program at St. Aloysius. All three future teachers said they enjoyed embracing cultural differences, which involved dressing in draped saris that women traditionally wear in Mangalore. Students also learned about additional topics such as history, dance and social change in India.

“Every class made me more aware of a different culture,” Goldberg said. “I know they’ll make me a better teacher in the long run.”

Bogart said she hopes to incorporate art in her lessons as a teacher regardless of the subject.

“Besides being something that I enjoy, art is a great teaching tool that can introduce students to a new culture,” said Bogart, who gained valuable classroom management skills in India by teaching 35 second-graders.

An additional highlight for Weinstein involved teaching a fifth-grade class of 55 students and understanding their unique needs. Together, they read The Phantom Tollbooth, a children’s fantasy novel, but Weinstein’s trip ended before finishing the book with them. One student told Weinstein that she asked for the book as a birthday gift because it made her enjoy reading and she wanted to learn the ending.

“That really touched me because it made an impact on her life, even if it’s just one book,” said Weinstein, who aspires to be an ESL teacher. “It sounds silly, but I learned so much from the students themselves. The entire trip helped me gain this different perspective on the world.”

The Online Physical Education Network (OPEN), a SUNY Cortland partner, is one of five finalists for the national Partnership for a Healthier America’s Catalyst for Change Award.

The award recognizes PHA partners and community leaders that exemplify positive change by creating solutions to end the childhood obesity crisis and make the healthy choice the easy choice for busy parents and families. The winner will be announced in September.

 “This is a tremendous honor for our entire organization and all of our partners,” said OPEN Executive Director Aaron Hart M ’99, a SUNY Cortland graduate and adjunct lecturer in physical education at the College.

OPEN is a national grassroots organization of teachers helping teachers working to provide physical educators free curricula online and professional development experiences. A public service of BSN Sports and U.S. Games, OPEN uses a network of 44 national trainers to provide curriculum support and professional development experiences to teachers around the world. More than 35,000 teachers have downloaded lesson plans and resources that have reached 18.6 million students.

“Collectively, we’ve created a movement that is reshaping the way physical education teachers receive curriculum and ongoing professional development,” Hart said. “Our mission was to democratize access to outcomes-based resources for our nation’s physical education community.”

OPEN is joined by Brighter Bites, the National Fitness Foundation, SuperChefs and the Walking Classroom Institute as finalists for the PHA Impact Award. It is presented to a group or individual that has sparked change at the community level to help innovate a healthier future. Finalists must demonstrate how the organization or individual is showing measureable outcomes with populations disproportionately impacted by obesity, collaborating with other organizations in the childhood obesity effort for greater impact or using an innovative approach to address the mission to end childhood obesity.

“The third annual Catalyst for Change Awards finalists are at the forefront our nation’s culture shift towards health and wellness,” said PHA President and CEO Nancy E. Roman. “Partnership for a Healthier America is extremely pleased to acknowledge the companies and organizations bringing us closer towards our goal of ensuring that all young people grow up free from obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions associated with excess weight. Collectively, the finalists are already making a meaningful difference in thousands of lives. It’s thrilling to imagine what lies ahead as these organizations continue to innovate new ways to ensure families live healthier lives.”

Two years ago, SUNY Cortland joined a few dozen other colleges in committing to the PHA’s guidelines for creating one of the healthiest campuses in the United States. It’s an effort that takes a holistic approach to health — nutrition, recreation and, of course, physical activity.

“I’m grateful to be recognized on a national stage for the work that we’ve done,” Hart said. “What’s even more exciting is that we are really just getting started.”

Winners will be announced at the PHA Fit to Celebrate Gala at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 27, 2018.

PHA was created in conjunction with, but independent from, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Effort. It identifies, accelerates and celebrates voluntary business practices that improve or increase choice or lead to new norms and behavior around food and physical activity.

For more information, contact Hart at 607-753-5619.

New York State Assemblywoman Barbara S. Lifton, who has assisted and advocated on behalf of SUNY Cortland and also higher education in general, received the College’s Presidential Champion of Excellence Award during SUNY Cortland’s undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on May 12. 

Lifton has supported key policy initiatives important to the College and secured millions of dollars in funding for campus projects and programs. She was only the fourth person ever to receive this honor. 

The award is given at the discretion of President Erik J. Bitterbaum to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the pursuit of excellence at SUNY Cortland. The medal, which expresses the College’s admiration and appreciation for extraordinary service and leadership, was given to Brian G. Murphy ’83 in 2012, Louise M. Conley in 2016 and State Sen. James Seward in 2017. Both Murphy and Conley are former chairs of the Cortland College Foundation. 

Since being elected in 2002 to represent the 125th Assembly District, which includes SUNY Cortland, Lifton has played an important role in obtaining more than $100 million in funding for construction and renovation projects across campus. This commitment to improving SUNY Cortland’s academic spaces resulted in state funding for the College’s three-story education building and Child Care Center, the development of the Professional Studies Building and the renovation and expansion of the Bowers Hall science complex.

Lifton’s support for SUNY Cortland’s Student Life Center helped revolutionize campus life. Since its opening in 2015, the one-of-a-kind facility has become a symbol for the high quality, active student lifestyle available at SUNY Cortland, enhancing its recruitment and retention efforts. An average of 2,000 students — just under a third of the student body — make use of the facility each day.

Lifton, a Democrat, was also instrumental in securing a $300,000 grant that created the downtown innovation center of the Cortland Downtown Partnership, a project central to the revitalization of the city’s center and an important part of SUNY Cortland’s efforts to help students turn academic theory into practice. This dedication to both SUNY Cortland and the city was recognized when she received the College-Community Appreciation Award in 2008.

As a SUNY Geneseo graduate, former teacher and member of the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee, Lifton has been an effective fighter for the interests of college students and academic institutions. In 2012, she was given the annual “Friend of SUNY” award by United University Professions, the union representing SUNY faculty and staff members.

Robin Wheeler Baroni embodies the spirit of the Red Dragon family.

As the Alumni Engagement team coordinator, she has been the friendly and warm person who has greeted attendees from the registration table at the last 18 alumni reunions.

She has been the helpful individual working with members of the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association and taking notes at their quarterly board meetings.

And this summer, she will become an honorary alumna of SUNY Cortland.

Wheeler Baroni will be honored during Alumni Reunion 2018 as an honorary Red Dragon, after being nominated by current association board member and former Student Government Association President Ronnie Genee ’03, a former intern in the Alumni Engagement office.

“There’s a very unique feeling that our alumni have for Cortland,” Wheeler Baroni said. “It’s home. It’s comfortable. It’s community. It’s friendship. And it’s love. And you have to always keep that close to you as well because if you don’t, then you can’t convey that to our alumni when you see them one-on-one, in groups.”

Wheeler Baroni ended a 12-year career with Smith Corona when Cortland’s typewriter factory closed down in 1995. She joined Alumni Engagement as a secretary in 1998 and immediately began taking on increasingly greater responsibilities. She was promoted to her current role several years later.

Wheeler Baroni, who will retire in May, credits two role models for the institutional advancement professional she became.

Douglas DeRancy ’75, M.S.Ed. ’86 was the executive director of the alumni operation for 26 years until his retirement in 2012. Nancy Sandstrom preceded Wheeler Baroni as office manager.

DeRancy hired her, and Sandstrom encouraged her to seek and accept the promotion to office manager several years later. Her growing role led to her job title change to team coordinator in 2015.

“Doug had enough confidence in me to allow me to bring so many different tasks into this position,” Wheeler Baroni said. “He’d say to me ‘If you can handle it, go ahead.’ I decided I’d prove it or I’d try to.”

Gradually more and more financial management duties came her way. Wheeler Baroni took on increasing responsibility for serving as association liaison with SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame organizers. She worked closely with the Alumni Association Board of Directors to plan each Alumni Reunion and joined them for annual retreats at the William H. Parks Family Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at Raquette Lake.

It felt natural to Wheeler Baroni. SUNY Cortland had, after all, always been a part of her life. Her father was Robert Wheeler, the late computing center director emeritus, and her childhood memories are steeped in College tradition. Her husband is Timothy Baroni, SUNY Cortland SUNY Distinguished Professor emeritus, biology, and a strong Alumni Association supporter.

Wheeler Baroni learned about her honorary designation at her last Alumni Association board meeting.

“At the last meeting, when they presented the award to me, I was overwhelmed,” Wheeler Baroni said. “I’ve been very fortunate.”

So have the thousands of SUNY Cortland alumni who have engaged with Wheeler Baroni in an effort to deepen their connection with their alma mater. A genuinely compassionate person, she felt it was part of her job to do all she could to support alumni who were unhappy or disappointed.

“It’s about keeping that old relationship alive,” she said. “It’s finding an old article or old photo and making a copy of it and sending it to them. Their whole life started here. It’s how you’d want to feel coming back to a place you grew up in.”

Faculty and staff from SUNY campuses across the state will soon gather at SUNY Cortland for the 27th annual Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT), SUNY’s largest and most anticipated event related to the use of instructional technology in education.

This year’s conference, “Elevate Learning: Taking Education Higher,” takes place May 22 to 25 at various locations on campus. Registration is required for attendees.

A limited number of scholarships are available for interested SUNY Cortland faculty and staff. To apply for a scholarship, please complete the CIT 2018 scholarship application, but do not register yet. Applicants will be contacted regarding scholarships once their applications are reviewed.

CIT was established in 1992 to provide a forum for faculty, instructional support professionals and policymakers to present, discuss and explore innovative avenues for integrating technology into the teaching and learning environment. Participants are encouraged to share their expertise and experience, discuss common problems, brainstorm solutions and explore innovative avenues for improving the learning environment with technology.

“It’s not only to elevate learning by technology, although technology is wrapped in many of the sessions,” said Amy Berg, associate provost for information resources. “There will be sessions on teaching techniques as well. It’s about instruction and technology, so it doesn’t have to be one or the other.”

Barbara Oakley, a New York Times bestselling author and professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., will deliver a keynote address at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 24, in Old Main Brown Auditorium. Oakley’s work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. She was presented with the American Society of Engineering Education’s Chester F. Carlson Award for technical innovation in engineering education. With Terrence Sejnowski, the Francis Crick professor at the Salk Institute, she co-teaches “Learning How to Learn” through Coursera, the University of California, San Diego’s massive open online course.

Oakley served as a captain in the U.S. Army and was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She has worked as a communications expert at the South Pole Station in Antarctica and as a Russian translator on trawlers in the Bering Sea.

Robin DeRosa, professor of interdisciplinary studies at Plymouth (N.H.) State University, and Patricia Thompson, assistant vice chancellor for SUNY’s Student Financial Aid Services, also will be featured speakers.   

A number of SUNY Cortland faculty and staff with expertise spanning a wide variety of fields will present during the four-day conference. They include: Kathleen Burke, Christopher Cubells, Lisa Czirr, Katherine Graham, Jennifer Kronenbitter, Christopher Manaseri, Julia Morog, Janet Ochs, Joshua Peck, Jeremy Pekarek, Linda Pezzolesi, Lori Schlicht, John Scognamiglio, Lauren Stern, Mary Wilhelm-Chapin and Jeremy Zhe-Heimerman. Others will present at poster sessions on Wednesday, May 23 and Thursday, May 24.

A full schedule of events is available at cit.suny.edu.

The SUNY Center for Professional Development has announced the Sharon Gallagher Memorial Scholarship, which provides financial assistance for first-time attendees. It aims to encourage new faculty and staff involved in teaching, learning and instructional technology initiatives to pursue opportunities for professional development and networking with colleagues across the SUNY system. Information on qualifications and how to apply is available on the CIT scholarship page.

SUNY Cortland last hosted CIT in 1998. The theme then was “Building a SUNY Learning Community.” While one workshop was called “Introduction to Windows 95,” many of the topics from two decades ago still resonate today, including “Classroom Magic: Incorporating Technology into Instruction” and “Using Technology to Strengthen Traditional Courses: Instructional Goals and Practices.”

Technology has come a long way since the last CIT in Cortland. So has the SUNY Cortland campus. Being able to show off the College’s faculty and staff to the rest of the SUNY system will be just as important as displaying the improvements made to instructional technology, Berg said.

“It’s a time to highlight what we do in our facilities,” Berg said. “We’re highlighting our faculty through their presentations, but we’ve worked hard to ensure that our classrooms are modern and up-to-date.”

Contact Berg at 607-753-5942 for more information.

High school students with a passion for art and creativity will get an opportunity to explore their interests at SUNY Cortland’s Pre-College Art Program in July.

The College will host a hands-on, immersive studio art program for students entering grades nine through 12 from July 16 to 20 at Dowd Fine Arts Center. The program runs daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Interested students may register online.

“Constructing Character” is the program’s theme and students will investigate the creation of characters through contemporary art concepts and a variety of media. Participants will develop a short narrative or story that will use the art pieces for a recorded performance.

They will also be introduced to visual layering through dyeing and printing techniques and drawing, digitizing and editing animated shorts centered on the “Constructing Character” theme.

An art show will be held on the final day of the program for family and friends.

Three SUNY Cortland Art and Art History Department faculty members will serve as instructors. Martine Barnaby, associate professor, has experience teaching courses in design, animation, multimedia, digital illustration and graphic design. Jenn McNamara, associate professor, teaches courses in weaving and surface design, embroidery, piecework, dyeing and photo-silkscreen. Bryan Thomas, lecturer and interim director of Dowd Gallery, is a mixed media sculptor and teaches courses in drawing and design.

The cost per student is $175 if registered by Thursday, May 31. The registration fee rises to $225 for those who register between Friday, June 1, and the deadline of Friday, June 29. Space is limited. Students should bring their own lunch and snacks.

Additional information will be sent to registrants approximately two weeks before the start of the program.

Contact the Extended Learning Office at 607-753-5643 for more information.

Try to get a classroom of 37 SUNY Cortland students to agree on any given day. It’s nearly impossible.

Unless they take a philosophical approach.

At the end of a recent class aimed at making students better at philanthropy, those 37 students managed to agree about how to divide $10,000 in real money among the 11 competing local charities that submitted applications.

They chose to split the money between three non-profit organizations: the Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO), the Cortland Free Library and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). The three grant winners were formally announced on May 7 during an award ceremony in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.

The unique SUNY Cortland course that handed out the checks, Philanthropy and Civic Engagement: Learning by Giving, focuses on the practical side of philanthropy.

Every year, for the last eight years, the national Learning by Giving Foundation has helped provide $10,000 for the class to help students gain skills in using limited resources to make a significant change in their community. The Boston-based foundation seeks to advance the next generation’s understanding of philanthropy by providing the financial, technological and intellectual tools to maximize community impact.

Previously taught at SUNY Cortland from the perspective of political science or community health, this year for the first time, philosophical theories on ethics and logic guided the students in picking the fund beneficiaries. In all, $80,000 has flowed back into Cortland and to charities and agencies through the program.

This year’s winning projects were:

• CAPCO will receive $5,000 to support its SnackPack Program. The funds will pay for food to feed at-risk children and their households. The food purchased will be healthy and locally sourced when possible.
• The Cortland Free Library was awarded $2,000 for its two summer reading programs, “The Second Saturday” and “Libraries Rock!” The money will be used to acquire books for students in these programs as well as to pay performers at program events.
• The YWCA was presented with $3,000 for its “Bridges for Kids” Program. The award will be used to finish an existing building space where student and mentor can meet as well as cover the costs of two planned student-mentor field trips.

The philosophy course was intended to introduce as many students as possible to the power and potential of philanthropy and to encourage those who may not have explored this area in their undergraduate career. It required students to visit the applicants’ work sites, analyze the requests, write about them and discuss them logically.

“Is it still worth giving money to an organization even if it doesn’t have the most immediate impact on the community, for example, donating to one’s alma mater rather than donating to the poor?” said the course instructor, Sebastian Purcell, an associate professor of philosophy at SUNY Cortland. “Does it make sense to save up your money for 50 years and then donate, or just to give a little bit along the way? It’s the philosophical aspect of philanthropy.”

According to Purcell, philosophical ideas about giving as well as logic can be applied to achieve the seemingly impossible task of persuading individuals to agree on which organizations will use the money most effectively and how much each should receive.

“I was hired as an ethicist,” Purcell said. “I organized the first third of the course roughly to be discussion about the various ways to think about philanthropy from an ethical point of view.”

For the 37 students assigned to spend money that was not their own, philosophy built on the more traditional, financial management or political science perspectives about distributing such assets led to consensus.

“Having a lot of background knowledge in philosophy made him really compassionate,” said Jade Taulis, a sophomore inclusive childhood education major from Wantagh, N.Y., of Purcell. “He had a lot of different angles to look at a problem. He had a lot of added expertise.”

“I think I learned a little bit more about how to make decisions about philanthropy rather than about charities themselves,” said Julianne Robinson, a senior social philosophy major from Pawling, N.Y. “I learned how to put your money in the right place, where it will be most useful. Especially when there are 30-plus people in the class all wanting something different to happen.”

For the sake of comparison, one prior year a Philanthropy and Civic Engagement class as small as 15 students divvied up the $10,000 among seven charities. This year, the 37 students considered 11 applicants and shrunk the pool to seven. Then they set out to pick only three recipients.

Two of the ultimate award recipients had requested large amounts, Purcell said.

“If you don’t give a certain nonprofit X amount of money, there’s not really a point as they can’t fund the project anyway,” Purcell said. “But the students were very good at breaking a proposal down into components and saying, ‘Yeah, they can still do this.’”

“The main argument was we wanted the money to go to a project with a direct impact,” Robinson said. “Advertising, promotions, as good as they can be, were not enough. We wanted the grants to go to programs that would be able to affect people immediately. That made it easy.”

But with different 37 points of view, even carrying on a class discussion was difficult, Purcell said. So he served as moderator, taking the group from one new idea to another. Students also compared data about the non-profits’ proposals on their laptops.

Purcell had class members take a Myers-Briggs personality test to determine how they would work in a group setting and then assembled groups of four that purposely contained people of different character traits.

“Looking back at it, I realize that every single group worked really, really well together,” Robinson said. “Everyone brought something completely different to the group.”

“Some people in the class were democrats about it,” Purcell said. “They wanted to take an egalitarian approach. Other people said, ‘If we’re going to do the best thing, we should fund it with the most money that we can.’”

Students were assigned a term paper stating their position on the best philanthropic approach and their reason why.

Purcell shared some more practical solutions that philosophy gives people to build consensus.

“With philosophy, there are better ways to make decisions than simply voting,” Purcell said. “In this class, they got to have their favorite choices without making strategic compromises as we do in our own political system.”

For example, the group tried a kind of applied logic called the alternative voting method, which enabled class members to pick their top three choices from among, say, five applicants.

“Each voter has three picks,” Purcell said. “If they pick something that is out of favor the first time around, we’ll eliminate that choice and move all their remaining votes into their second choice. We run the system three times to give them their preferences for their three top voting choices.”

“We tried a style of voting that gave everyone a group decision,” Robinson said. “And I think with that vote the money went to the best places possible where it will be most beneficial. I’m proud of that decision, especially when there’s $10,000 on the line.”

As the class narrowed the pool of applicants, Purcell organized the applicants’ proposals for funding online so students could pull up the details on their laptops.

Robinson said she found the required site visits to agencies applying for grants helpful.

“After we went to these places, we had a chance to go around the class and discuss why we felt this site visit helped or hurt them and if this organization should get funding,” Robinson said. “And then we voted. We were pretty happy about what we decided in the end.”

“We felt it was better to divvy among fewer groups, for whom we were able to do more, rather than give to many, and for them to just be able to start a project,” Taulis said. “We really wanted to create a long-lasting impact on the community.”

During the Learning by Giving Foundation Grant Awards Celebration, students who took the course met representatives from the organizations that will benefit from their many hours of analysis, discussion, consensus-building and decision-making.

Half of this year’s grant money was donated by the Cortland Community Foundation, in keeping with the Learning by Giving Foundation’s requirement for communities to raise part of their own support.

To date, $80,000 has been distributed to community organizations through the program. All of the funding is given to the local agencies and none can be spent on grant administration.

The course is sponsored by the Philosophy Department, the College’s Institute for Civic Engagement, the Dean of Arts and Sciences Office and the Cortland Community Foundation.

For more information, contact Purcell at 607-753-2192.

The SUNY Cortland chapter of a national honor society for all academic disciplines has named its “Scholars of the Year,” and they represent a diverse range of majors, from archaeology to community health to adolescence education: mathematics.

Six outstanding members of the College’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi were recognized April 21 for the high standards they set for future scholars through excellence in discipline, dedication and time management. The accolades were based on academic accomplishments as well as leadership and volunteer involvement at the College and in the community.

Founded in 1897, 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 this year’s Phi Kappa Phi scholars, all seniors:

Anna Gorall

Dual majors: archaeology and international studies

Hometown: Honeoye, N.Y.

In Their Own Words: “My majors have taught me so much about the world, how to relate to it, and how to deal with it. It has taught me the diversity there is around me and about the problems facing all of us, as well as many of the magnificent things human beings are capable of.”

After Gorall studied abroad in India and Turkey, she was grateful for the life experiences and knowledge she had gained. She knew she had to seek a career helping people all around the world.

Gorall currently is pursuing funding to carry out anthropological research in India.

She has served as an Educational Opportunity Program tutor for anthropology as well as completing teaching assistantships for anthropology classes. She completed five semesters of Arabic and continues to study the language on her own time.

A Green Representative for Residence Life and Housing who headed the Green Rep publishing committee, Gorall also served as vice president of Colleges Against Cancer and president of the International Awareness Club.

Her leadership responsibilities earned Gorall many SUNY Cortland scholarships and accolades, including induction into the Phi Kappa Phi interdisciplinary honor society, an undergraduate research grant, an Excellence in Understanding Multiculturalism and Gender Issues Award, a Civil Engagement Leadership Award, the Judson H. Taylor Community Service Scholarship and the Anthropology Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She has made the President’s and Dean’s lists.

“All the things I am involved in truly allow me to gain unique insights to different experiences all in their own way,” Gorall said. “These experiences have helped me grow, both personally and academically. There is no doubt that my activities at SUNY Cortland and study abroad will give me an advantage in the future, throughout my life.”

Logan Kravitz

Major: early childhood/childhood education

Hometown: Syosset, N.Y.

In Their Own Words: “I’ve had many great influences throughout my life who have pushed me to strive to be my best, so receiving this honor is the greatest way I can thank them for believing in me.”

Kravitz found the time to maintain a 3.95 GPA and also volunteer around the Cortland community and organize several educational and sustainability conferences on campus. The vice president of the education honor society, Kappa Delta Pi, she also was a member of the Education Club and the Special Education Club.

“At a very young age, I set my first goal to become a teacher and to this day, that has not changed,” Kravitz said. “Throughout my life I have had many positive influences both inside and outside of the classroom. I always knew I wanted to be someone who makes a difference and tries to make an impact on children’s lives the way other educators have impacted and influenced my life.”

At Cortland, she taught English to children in Costa Rica and volunteered as a Core 101 teaching assistant.

Currently, Kravitz student teaches, in addition to babysitting for a family of four children. She also loves to cook and considers herself a “foodie.”

Kravitz has made the President’s List five times and the Dean’s List on seven occasions. She was invited to Honors Convocation in all four of her years at SUNY Cortland and she received the Philips Scholarship seven times.

“To be recognized for the effort I put into my academics and extracurricular activities is extremely humbling, as I take pride in simply applying myself the best I can,” said Kravitz.

Hannah Laper

Major: adolescence education: mathematics

Hometown: Ellicott City, M.D.

In Their Own Words: “I consider myself a lifelong learner and yearn to learn different talents and new interests.”

As a member of the Math Club at SUNY Cortland as well as a peer tutor and member of the Association of Women in Mathematics, Laper hopes to teach high school mathematics.

 “My goal is to teach calculus as well as to start a Math Honors Society at my school for the students,” she said.

Laper studied abroad in Australia.

“I also want to use my experiences teaching abroad to create a global community within my school and to help plan trips for students to travel abroad.”

Laper received the Noyce Scholarship, the Esther K. Hawthorne Scholarship, the Future New Yorker Award and a teaching grant. She maintained an overall 4.02 grade point average and was ranked in the top 5 percent of her class.

Laper was a member of the club rock climbing and gymnastics teams.

“I am going to miss the opportunities I had at Cortland that allowed me to try new things, but I hope to take my curiosity with me throughout my life in order to continue to grow and learn,” she said.

Gabrielle Marcello

Major: community health

Hometown: Webster, N.Y.

In Their Own Words: “I am honored to receive this award, especially from the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi, because this society is the oldest and most selective honors program I am involved in.”

As an active member in the Eta Sigma Gamma health honor society, Marcello found her passion for helping people stay healthy.

She plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health at the University of Rochester.

“My goal is to become a field or applied epidemiologist, with a focus on communicable diseases,” she said.

Marcello currently interns full-time at the Tompkins County Health Department in Ithaca, N.Y., where she volunteers her time to help two communicable disease nurses who focus on infectious disease control.

She has loaned her talents to several different events on campus including the Walk for Houston, the Take Back the Night march and the CROP Walk for hunger.

Marcello studied abroad in Rome, Italy, and completed a three-week internship in Belize this past winter.

She was presented with scholarships, including the Ross L. Allen award, the Overseas Academic Program Scholarship, the McDermott Professional Studies Scholarship and the Gerald P. Theisen ’53 and Ethel Mahan Theisen ’55 Scholarship. Marcello made the President’s List five times and the Dean’s List once.

“I am appreciative that PKP offers opportunities like this and gives SUNY Cortland students the opportunity to come together and celebrate their successes, Marcello said. “Receiving this award is a nice reminder that hard work really does pay off.”

Matthew Norris

Major: exercise science

Hometown: Homer, N.Y.

In Their Own Words: “I believe if you give back to others you will be rewarded many times over and not with monetary means. With this mentality, I will strive to continue to excel in all facets life.”

At a young age, Norris felt that he should help people and always give back to the community, because his mother was, and still is, employed by Cortland County Community Action Program Head Start.

For example, since 2001, he has participated in the CAPCO Head Start holiday gift giveaway program.

“My mom was diagnosed with cancer in November 2014,” Norris said. “This affected our family in a profound way. I myself found that I wanted to excel even more as I wanted to make my mom very proud of me both academically as well as athletically.”

In high school, Norris became a member of National Honor Society and was awarded Athlete of the Year.

While a member of the SUNY Cortland varsity wrestling team, Norris made the Dean’s List his freshman and sophomore years and the President’s List three semesters in a row.

At Cortland, he joined the Fit Club and was a member of Relay for Life and an avid volunteer in the Cortland community. Norris serves as vice president of SUNY Cortland’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the vice president of communications on Student Leadership Cabinet for the State University of New York Athletic Conference’s (SUNYAC) SAAC.

He was inducted into academic honor societies and received the Cortland Area Chapter of the Alumni Association’s Community Service Award, the Catherine McDermott Lavelle Scholarship for Student Leaders, the Homer Gutchess Outstanding Citizen Award, the James H. and Dorothy A. Sarvay Scholarship for Community Service, thee Civic Engagement Scholarship and the Student Government Association Leadership Scholarship.

Upon graduation, Norris aspires to become the SUNYAC Student Athlete Advisory Committee president. He ultimately hopes to be accepted into a doctoral program in physical therapy.

Jennifer Westwater

Dual Majors: mathematics and political science

Hometown: Holbrook, N.Y.

In Their Own Words: “I would not have been able to achieve such an honor if it was not for my professors, family, and friends always pushing me to strive and achieve.”

After the unexpected loss of her father, Westwater found that her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Rosenthal, was there for her through every step of the grieving process.

“After being exposed to her genuine kindness and compassion towards me, I knew my life goal was to help others,” she said.

Westwater was the treasurer of the club gymnastics team on campus, a member of the Math Club, and an ASAP peer tutor and supervisor. Last summer, she served as a research assistant at the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy in Washington, D.C.

She was inducted into the Honor Society and the National Political Science Honorary Society and has received the Past Presidents’ and Eisenhardt Math Scholarships, respectively. Westwater earned the Political Science Department’s Pi Sigma Alpha Senior Award for Best Portfolio.

Before college, Westwater competitively danced for eight years and cheered for six.

“I loved being able to express myself through a performance, but I also love learning new things,” said Westwater.

Westwater will attend Stony Brook University in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in teaching mathematics. She ultimately has an eye on a doctorate in mathematics.

“I yearn for the day when I can walk into a high school calculus class and share my love of math with the next generation.”

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Hannah Bistocchi

Eight new members will be inducted into the SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame during its 50th annual ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 6.
 
The 2018 honorees are:
 
• Robert Brown '49 (posthumous), men's soccer, baseball
 
• Murray Banks '70 ^M '75, men's cross country, men's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's swimming and diving
 
• Peter Graham '74, men's lacrosse, football
 
• Jud Smith '76, men's lacrosse
 
• Dan Revai '79, baseball, men's ice hockey
 
• Sue Behme '93, women's soccer, women's lacrosse
 
• Cynthia Wetmore (honorary), field hockey head coach (1998-2015), women's lacrosse head coach (1998-2007)

• and Chuck Winters (honorary), men's lacrosse head coach (1973-83)
 
In addition to Saturday night's official ceremony, the inductees will be introduced at halftime of the Cortland-Morrisville St. football game earlier that afternoon.
 
Those interested in attending Saturday's induction dinner can register online or may contact SUNY Cortland Alumni Engagement at 607-753-2516 or alumni@cortland.edu. Deadline for registration is September 21.
 
Established in 1969, the C-Club Hall of Fame recognizes Cortland alumni who competed as athletes at the College and who have since distinguished themselves in their professions and within their communities. Honorary members are recognized for their long and significant contributions to SUNY Cortland athletics. New C-Club members have been added annually and this year's ceremony will bring the Hall of Fame roster to 263 alumni and 30 honorary members.
 
Nominations for next year's C-Club Hall of Fame voting will be accepted until January 15, 2019. The nomination form is available online at: http://www.cortlandreddragons.com/nominations. A person must be nominated in order to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.
 
A detailed look at this year's inductees will follow later this summer.

After two years of tireless, collaborative efforts, the Cortland State Television (CSTV) club has acquired access to broadcast the station’s programs via Channel 20 on SUNY Cortland’s closed network.

The televised broadcasts will begin in the fall of 2018.

The campaign to reach a broader student audience by returning to a broadcast network after a long hiatus was led by CSTV president Alyssa Marley and supported by the campus community. CSTV programming was only accessible through the club’s YouTube channel in in recent years.

Marley, a senior communication studies major from Newburgh, N.Y., began work on this project during her junior year at SUNY Cortland. The idea to expand the club’s broadcasting reach on campus had been brought up in 2014 but never came to fruition.

In 2016, with help from the club’s advisor Sam Avery, assistant professor of communication studies, members of the CSTV club first approached Communication Studies Department Chair Paul van der Veur. However, at the time, van der Veur was not sure the club would be able to handle the rigorous demands of running a television station.

“It was discouraging at first, but I knew this was something that would make SUNY Cortland more appealing to prospective communications students,” Marley said.

The club needed to gather estimates on a controller, the electronic device that would be able to manage the channel programs and commercials, and also had to figure out the technical aspects of expanding to television broadcast. Members of CSTV consulted Brad Snyder, associate director of campus technology services, Ricardo Nelson, technical services associate for classroom technology services and James Forshee, professor of sport management.

The controller serves as a hub housing all of the club’s videos, allowing CSTV to upload and schedule content to a server, which connects directly to channel 20 on the campus’ closed network. Last summer, CSTV purchased the UltraNexusHD controller in order to upload a playlist of content produced by club members.

Marley and CSTV members worked hard during the spring semester to create content and upload it to the server to be broadcast this fall. Content will consist of news, sports and CSTV shows as well as archival SUNY Cortland athletic events and films previously screened at the Blackbird Film Festival. More content will be developed in upcoming semesters to create a ‘twenty-four, seven’ broadcasting cycle.

“I’m very pleased with how CSTV has come together, and I am optimistic for the future of the club,” Marley said.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Hannah Bistocchi

Eta Sigma Gamma, the national health education and promotion honor society inducted 23 new members to its Kappa chapter. In addition, the Kappa chapter received SUNY Cortland’s “Civic Engagement Leadership Award” and the “mmmm Hungry Show Award” at the Crop Walk for Hunger.

Kappa chapter members have led the advocacy initiative for safer crossing at Tompkins and Prospect streets, raised $500 for medical equipment for a clinic in Belize, attended a national conference, and collaborated with other departments, offices and student organizations on campus to provide service to the institution.

Faculty co-sponsors are assistant professors of health Alexis Blavos and Alan Sofalvi. They are members of the national board of Eta Sigma Gamma.

The History Department recently inducted 21 undergraduate history majors and minors, and graduate students, into Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society. Associate Professor of History Gigi Peterson is the advisor to the Phi Alpha Theta Nu Omicron Chapter.

Following are the students who were recognized on April 20 at the annual History Department awards ceremony:

David Boodram         

Lucas Brazier            

Cristina Brea             

Christopher Carey     

Dennis Costa             

Henry Drew               

Gillian Farnan            

Bryan Finn, Jr.          

Jessica Goon             

Jonathan Honour       

Sarah Kitzen

Kyle Lancto   

Richard Martino

Matthew McNally

Liam Moloney

Matthew Morgante

Charlotte Rosvold

Hayley Truax

Askia VanOmmeren-Briggs

Brenna Venth

James Warner

Each year, the Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) Board of Directors allocates funds to support grants for a wide range of purposes and projects that enhance the life of the SUNY Cortland community.

In April, the ASC Board of Directors approved the Fiscal Year 2018-19 Program Grant allocations.

Following is a list of grants funded by ASC that includes the project name, organization or person, and amount received:

10th Annual Student Conference on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice, Multicultural Life and Diversity Office /AnnaMaria Cirrincione, $2,500

Alcohol-Free “Open Mic Nights,” Lauren Herman, $10,000

Annual Literacy Conference, SUNY Cortland Literacy Department, $2,500

Awards Banquet, Lewis Rosengarten, $3,000

Blackbird Film Festival 2019, Sam Avery, $1,200

Body Appreciation Week 2019, Body Appreciation Committee / Lauren Herman, $3,000

Brooks Museum Lecture Series, Sharon Steadman, $4,000

CALS Broadway Trips, Sandra Wohlleber, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, $1,500

CALS Lecture Grant Program, Sandra Wohlleber, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, $15,500

CALS Performing Arts Series, Sandra Wohlleber, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, $10,000

CGIS Initiative for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, CGIS / Sebastian Purcell, $600

Chi Alpha Epsilon Induction, Lewis Rosengarten, $1,000

COR 101 Teaching Assistant Appreciation Day and Poster Symposium, Lori Schlicht, $400

Cortland Bike Project, Outdoor Pursuits / Recreational Sports / Reanna Zappavigna, $4,000

Cortland Excels in Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Research Council, $2,325

Cortland Nites, Mary Kate Boland, $18,750

Distinguished Voices in Literature, English / Heather Bartlett, Lecturer II Co-Director, Distinguished Voices in Literature, $2,000

Encountering Ancient Literacy Artifacts, David Franke, $1,496

Family Weekend 2018, Mary Kate Boland, $4,305

Greek Life, Sandra Wohlleber, Campus Activities and Greek Affairs, $500

Kente Celebration, Multicultural Life and Diversity Office /AnnaMaria Cirrincione, $2,500

Leadership Programs, Mary Kate Boland, $5,200

Louis Larson Lecture and Performance Series, SOGIE (Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Expression, $800

Making History: Orienting History Majors to the Discipline and Department at Camp Huntington, History Department / Scott Moranda, $2,620

Midnight Breakfast, Christopher Kuretich, $4,000

MLDO Peer-to-Peer Mentor Diversity Retreat, AnnaMaria Cirrincione, $2,000

Native American Events, Native American Studies, $600

New Student Orientation, Marinda Souva, $7,000

Non-Traditional Student Support and Awareness, Advisement and Transition, $1,400

Opening Weekend Sexual Assault Prevention Speaker, It’s On Us Action Team / Lauren Herman, $2,000

PAWS for Stress Relief, PAWS planning committee / Lauren Herman, $2,600

Promoting Personal Growth and Global Awareness for SUNY Cortland Students, SUNY Cortland International Programs Office, $10,500

Second Language Educators’ Conference: A Conference for Teachers and Teachers in Training, Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla, $1,700

Speaker Series, Dowd Gallery, $1,000

Summer Institute, Lewis Rosengarten, $10,000

Tai Chi, Qigong and Wellness, Philosophy Department, $500

Take a Transfer to Lunch, Emily Quinlan - Transfer Student Services, $960

The Project for East and Central Europe, 2018-2019 Series: “The 1968 Revolutions – Fifty Years Later,” Project for Eastern and Central Europe, $800

Three Programs of Public Forum, A Taste of Asia, and Asian Reception Staged by the Asian/Middle Eastern Studies Committee (AMES), Tiantian Zheng, $2,100

World First Learning Community: Exploration of International Culture, Girish Bhat, $760

Fourteen students were inducted into Alpha Phi Sigma, the national honor society for students of criminal justice and six students were inducted into Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society, at a ceremony on May 3.

Alphi Phi Sigma inductees included Olivia Agostinello, Marguerite Ammerman, Justin Breslow, Amanda Clemens, Jenna DeSilva, Princess Hanson, Madison Herbert, Andrew James, William Kaastra, Steven Marini, Savannah Miller, Kiana Rose, Mariel Schickling and Taylor Thomas.

Alpha Kappa Delta inductees included Georgia Dain, Michelle Fincken, Steven Marini, Angelica Porto, Kayla Quigley and Leah Tidd.  

The Delmar C. Palm Award for Exemplary Volunteer Service was awarded to Anna Gorall, archaeology and international studies major.

The following awards were presented to criminology and sociology/anthropology students at the 2018 Honors Convocation, held on April 21: 

Anthropology Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement presented to Anna Gorall

Rozanne Brooks Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement presented to Leah Tidd

Criminology Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement presented to Stuart Sous