Campus Champion

One year ago, Gia Greenidge started SUNY Cortland’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Numerous events are planned this month in celebration of the anniversary and of Black History Month, including a living museum of historical figures on Feb. 12 and a Divine 9 national Panhellenic Council Workshop on Feb. 22. Gia, a junior psychology major/Africana studies minor, has been a member of NAACP’s Youth and College Division since she was 13 years old. NAACP taught her to advocate for social justice issues and aligns with her goal to support children as a social worker.

Mitch Reynolds ’10 of the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t score a touchdown this past season. He didn’t record a tackle. In fact, he didn’t play a single snap.

But Reynolds, the Chiefs’ director of team operations, was a key factor in the team’s Feb. 2 victory in Super Bowl LIV.

Orchestrating the team’s travel requirements is a giant part of Reynolds’ responsibilities. For a regular season road game, that means coordinating flights for 175 people — players, coaches, trainers and other gameday staff —  plus all of the helmets and gear necessary for an NFL game. It means coordinating with airlines, bus companies, hotels and police escorts to ensure everything gets where it needs to be.

It’s a high-pressure, detail-oriented role, down to thermostats and the contents of head coach Andy Reid’s refrigerator. 

“You need to be very, very thorough in communication,” Reynolds said. “You can’t leave any gray area. You have to count on other people to do their jobs so you can do yours. I have specs on what we need, everything from the temperature of our meeting room space to how many Coke Zeroes we keep in coach Reid’s office.”

Win, lose or draw, Reynolds makes sure the Kansas City players and coaches get where they need to go. It was mostly wins for the Chiefs this year, as the team went 12-4 in the regular season to win the AFC West and then beat the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in the AFC playoffs to reach the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl made a regular season road game with a traveling party of 175 look quaint. Reynolds had to coordinate arrangements for 2,000 people, including four charter flights to Miami for friends and family members of the Kansas City players, coaches and staff.

Reynolds estimates he got about three hours of sleep each night in the two weeks leading up to the game, working around the clock to make sure everyone in the organization was accommodated.

“The biggest compliment was that our players and coaches thought it was the smoothest week ever,” he said. “They couldn’t imagine a smoother week. They thought it was like a regular week, if not better. And that’s the goal. That’s amazing.”

The 2019 season wasn’t without its moments of chaos for Reynolds. On the morning of a crucial Week 14 game at the New England Patriots on Dec. 8, Reynolds got a call from a coworker that the Chiefs’ helmets hadn’t arrived at Gillette Stadium.

A mistake caused the gear to remain on the team plane when it landed at the Providence, R.I. airport. Massachusetts high school football games at the stadium on Saturday didn’t allow Chiefs staffers to set up the locker room the night before like they usually do. Because of that, no one realized the helmets were missing until gameday.

The problem? The helmets, accidentally left on the plane, had been flown to Newark, N.J.

Some quick thinking and teamwork between Reynolds, airline employees, NFL staffers and the Massachusetts State Police had the helmets flown into Boston and delivered by police escort to the stadium by 2:30 p.m., two hours before kickoff.

By the time the public got wind of the situation, with some reporters speculating the Chiefs may have to forfeit the game, Reynolds had already solved the problem.

Despite the challenges, this remains Reynolds’ dream job. After all, pro football is a way of life for Reynolds’ family. His grandfather, Henry Kunttu, was the Buffalo Bills’ video coordinator from 1970 to 2010 and Reynolds’ uncle, Erik Kunttu, currently serves as the Detroit Lions’ director of video operations.

Reynolds, who grew up in the Buffalo area, helped out on the Bills’ sidelines as a ballboy when he was a youngster, doing laundry and later in video operations. He continued to work for the team during his time as a sport management major at Cortland and was hired as an intern the day after Commencement in 2010.

The 2011 NFL lockout, in which team owners imposed a work stoppage for more than five months, led to Reynolds being laid off. He sent a resume to the 31 other NFL teams and quickly found a home in Kansas City, where he’s thrived ever since.

That history with the organization made the Chiefs’ 31-20 come-from-behind victory in the Super Bowl that much sweeter for Reynolds. Standing on the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, holding the Lombardi Trophy as the confetti fell was a moment he had been striving for his whole life.

“When we won, it was a state of euphoria,” he said. “It was amazing. It was a total dream come true. My grandfather was in it for 42 years and my uncle is video director for the Detroit Lions. No one has ever had a ring. As a kid, it was my dream to win a Super Bowl and I finally did it and it was amazing.”

That was just the beginning of the party. The team and their family members returned to the team hotel for an all-night concert for 2,500 featuring Pitbull and Flo Rida in a ballroom that had been used for a team meeting just hours before.

You guessed it — Reynolds worked with hotel staff to swap out tables and chairs for a stage, lighting and bars.

After a grueling two weeks of logistics and planning, watching the players and coaches celebrate with their families and friends into the wee hours made Reynolds reflect on the value of his work.

“Some of these people had never been on a charter before and had never had a police escort,” he said. “To see the joy on their faces was awesome. I love serving this team, I love serving others and all of that hard work had paid off when you saw how happy everyone was.”

The SUNY Cortland campus had a banner year for safety in 2019.

Cortland’s University Police Department reported 230 crimes on campus in 2019 — the lowest figure in 43 years.

Other highlights from UPD’s 2019 reporting include:

• A 28% decrease in on-campus crimes from 2018.
• UPD cut its arrests nearly in half from the prior year. The 79 arrests were a 48% decrease.
• The department held 113 community policing programs and activities, an increase of 113% from 2018.

“Nationally, crimes rates have been at an all-time low and the same is true on college campuses,” said UPD Chief Mark DePaull. “I believe our campus crime rates are low due to our community members buying into the ‘whole community’ approach to making the campus a safer place. It is a team effort spread across the entire community.”

These statistics confirm what a number of national organizations have reported in recent years.

YourLocalSecurity.com looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security analysis and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program and ranked SUNY Cortland as the safest college environment in New York state in 2019.

Safewise.com used data from the FBI to rank the City of Cortland as the only municipality in New York state on its list of the safest college towns in America last year. Cortland also made Safewise’s rankings in 2017 and 2018.

The university provides a number of services that provide for a secure atmosphere on campus. The University Police Department, which moved into a state-of-the-art facility in Whitaker Hall in 2017, has uniformed officers who monitor the campus 24 hours a day. UPD sponsors educational programs on crime prevention, personal safety, self-defense, sexual assault prevention and other topics.

Cortland’s Title IX Office works to raise awareness about sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence as well as offer training to students, faculty and staff on how to identify and prevent domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

For imaginary animals, dragons have a pretty diverse community.

Some breathe fire, terrorize villages and snack on hobbits. Others are cuddly and cute and star in children’s shows. Some look like plodding, medieval dinosaurs while others are elegant, snake-like serpents twisting across cartons of takeout food. Dragons can be mute or verbose. They range from the size of jet airliners to the dimensions of St. Bernard puppies and come in all the colors of the rainbow.

But there is only one SUNY Cortland Red Dragon.

Until last fall, the official version of that dragon only existed in the university’s athletics logos, which are strictly limited to athletics and some alumni and admissions uses.

Now, Red Dragons are available to all members of the university community.

A variety of new illustrations and a secondary mark, both featuring the Red Dragon, have been released for promotional materials, social events, informational campaigns, apparel and other uses.

“We knew there was great demand for the Red Dragon image, but we lacked an alternative to the athletics marks,” said Tracy Rammacher, director of SUNY Cortland’s Marketing Office. “That’s why we created the new secondary mark, as well as illustrations of our Red Dragon in various poses. We also have a youth dragon and individualized details, such as dragon eyes and footprints.”

The whole range of options, all of which are consistent with SUNY Cortland’s graphic identity, are available online through the university’s Marketing/Communications Toolkit or through its image database.

Rules for how these images may be used are outlined in the campus Communication Guide. These rules help strengthen the university’s brand and ensure that its unique Red Dragon design is consistently symbolic of SUNY Cortland and only SUNY Cortland. To that end, it is recommended that the university’s primary logo, which does not include a dragon, and official fonts be used in conjunction with the illustrations and details whenever possible.

The guidelines also help maintain a clear distinction between SUNY Cortland’s academic offerings and official business communications, as well as social, recreational and educational activities that occur outside the classroom. That’s why the illustrations and details may never serve as a primary identifier for schools, departments, offices, centers or institutes.

The new Red Dragon images were designed to give users flexibility, and some include a thought bubble, sign or flag that can be used for customized messages. Apart from that, the drawing itself cannot be changed.

Available illustrations include a thinking dragon, a flying dragon, a dragon giving a thumbs-up, and a dragon on all fours. There are two youth dragons aimed at children 12 and younger, as well as dragon tracks, tail, eyes, claws and scales. There are three individual dragon heads — one fierce like the athletics mark, one that’s more friendly and engaging and one that faces forward.

Last fall, SUNY Cortland’s Marketing Committee unveiled a new secondary mark consisting of a revised Red Dragon head inside of a letter “C” as part of its updated marketing and communications plan.  The group also presented a new badge featuring the Red Dragon head that can be used for items such as non-academic awards. Both of those elements are accessible through the Marketing/Communications Toolkit.

For more information, contact the Marketing Office by email or at 607-753-2519.

Economist Stephanie Kelton, whose view of modern monetary theory helped lay the fiscal foundation for big policy proposals such as the Green New Deal, will bring her expertise to SUNY Cortland on Thursday, Feb. 20. 

“The American dollar is a simple public monopoly,” Kelton observes of modern monetary theory in a CNBC interview. “In other words, the United States’ currency comes from the United States’ government.” 

Which means, in her view, that governments may be able to safely practice more deficit spending than has been traditionally thought.

Kelton, who has served as chief economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and as senior economic advisor to the presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, will talk about modern monetary theory and ambitious policy proposals from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 105. 

The lecture continues the SUNY Cortland Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee’s (CICC) year-long series on “Debt,” a concept that will explore a wide range of issues spanning criminal justice, inequality, immigration and climate change. 

Events in the “Debt” series are free and open to the public. To view a list of upcoming topics, visit the CICC’s calendar. 

Kelton, a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University, is a founding fellow of the Sanders’ Institute, a progressive think tank founded by presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ wife and stepson. She is the author of a new book, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of a New Economy, which will be published this year by Public Affairs. 

Kelton’s research focus includes Federal Reserve operations, fiscal policy, social security, international finance and employment policy. 

The CICC’s “Debt” series will continue in Spring 2020 with the following events: 

TALK CANCELLED/TO BE RESCHEDULED. TUESDAY, MARCH 10. David Fruend will lecture on the history of discriminatory lending practices in the U.S. and its role in perpetuating intergenerational inequality. Fruend, an associate professor of history at University of Maryland, will present from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. A specialist in the history of the modern United States, Fruend is the author of the 2008 book, Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America. The text was awarded the 2008 Ellis W. Hawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians, the 2007 Kenneth Jackson Book Award from the Urban History Association and the 2009 Urban Affairs Association Best Book Award. Fruend also has contributed to a number of public history, policy and documentary projects and has received grants and fellowships from organizations including the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Graham Foundation for the Arts. 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11. Joelle Leclaire will discuss macro-financial stability and household debt from the perspectives of American Post-Keynesian Economics, the Cambridge approach, and the Monetary Circuit School. The Buffalo State College academic will share his ideas from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. 

TALK CANCELLED/TO BE RESCHEDULED. THURSDAY, MARCH 12. Scott Ferguson will focus on the politics of care and the aesthetics of money when he returns to visit the campus again from University of South Florida. He will speak from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Ferguson’s research explores relations between political economy and aesthetics, specializing in the history of Western visual culture from Renaissance painting to the Hollywood blockbuster. His book Declarations of Dependence: Money, Aesthetics and the Politics of Care was published by University of Nebraska Press in 2018. He serves as a research scholar for the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity, co-director of the Modern Money Network Humanities Division and co-host of the Money on the Left podcast. 

THURSDAY, APRIL 9. Historical sociologist Jakob Feinig will address the topic of money creation from the perspective of popular knowledge and democratization as a means for delivering improved social outcomes. His presentation lasts from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Research by Feinig, who is on the faculty at Binghamton University, examines the intersection of money creation, electoral democracy and human rights. His work also looks at non-elite participation in North American money politics from the colonial period to the present. Feinig currently is writing a book titled The Moral Economy of Money, the first systematic long-term study of popular involvement in the monetary institutions of any country. 

Featured Conversations in the Disciplines guests as well as Cortland faculty, staff and students are invited to contribute original works, which the committee plans to publish the collected works as a field guide under the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity’s ongoing book series under an agreement with publisher Palgrave-MacMillan. Last year, a field guide was published on the topic of Field Guide to Zombies and Surviving the Apocalypse. The institute is an independent public policy think-tank dedicated to the promotion of interdisciplinary research. 

The “Debt” series programming is supported by a $5,000 grant from SUNY Conversations in the Disciplines, a program created to build connections between SUNY faculty and visiting faulty from non-SUNY institutions. The series is co-sponsored by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Office, the Campus Artist and Lecture Series, the Research and Sponsored Programs Office, the President’s Office and the Cortland College Foundation. 

To submit an event, a Field Guide contribution, volunteer to support this year’s activities and programming, or for more information, contact organizer and Assistant Professor of Economics Benjamin Wilson at 607-753-2436. Stay current with the series news on Twitter at @SUNYCortCICC. 

Prepared by communications office writing intern Victoria VanEvery

Rachael Forester ’12, M ’14 learned the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion at SUNY Cortland.

As a Cortland student during a time when the percentage of students from underrepresented groups rose from 14% to 23%, Forester was a program coordinator for orientation, then a residence hall director and ultimately the interim assistant director of multicultural life and diversity.

It all prepared her for her current role as the associate director of the Identity, Equity and Engagement Office at University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte.

Forester, who tries to live by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,” will deliver the keynote speech on “Critical Consciousness: Equity in the mirror” during the 11th annual Student Conference on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice on Saturday, April 18.

The conference, expected to attract approximately 300 attendees from 15 educational institutions across the state, will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Corey Union. The conference will feature 25 presentations and four sessions.

Participation in the keynote lecture as well as other conference activities is free to SUNY Cortland students, faculty and staff, but registration by Sunday, March 1, is required. For others including SUNY Cortland alumni, visit the conference 2020 website for details on the early and late registration fees. The price for all registrations includes a breakfast buffet, lunch and giveaways.

Conference organizers have issued a call for presentations through March 1. A committee will review the proposals on or after that date. Suggested presentations formats are a research session, panel discussion or creative arts/performance/poster presentation.

Forester, who joined UNC Charlotte in 2015, will speak at 12:30 p.m. in the Corey Union Function Room. Sponsored by the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office and the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association, her speech is free and open to the public. 

Forester founded Activate! Social Justice Institute and White Consciousness Conversations at UNC Charlotte.

As she currently pursues a doctorate in educational leadership in higher education, her research focuses on understanding whiteness in student affairs and the effect that white privilege and white racial socialization has on those individuals seeking to effectively promote racial equity.

“As a social justice educator, I believe social change occurs through a critical understanding of self as it relates to our dominant and minoritized identities and how those identities are connected to systems of power, privilege and oppression,” Forester said.

She is a passionate advocate for anti-bias education, social justice, student development and creating expansive environments.

“My personal philosophy includes being hard on systems and soft on people as I strive to expand participation on the journey towards collective liberation,” Forester said.

At SUNY Cortland, Forester earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and childhood education and a master’s degree in English as a second language. She also studied Spanish.

The Student Conference on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice was created to provide undergraduate and graduate students with an opportunity to share their academic research, build their resumes and network with other students across New York state around the core values of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. The student-led conference allows participants to discuss the problems and concepts of campus inclusion efforts and to research and present across a wide range of disciplines. The conference aligns itself with the strategic goals of the SUNY system as well as those of SUNY Cortland.

Roman Rodriquez, a senior psychology major from Washington Heights, N.Y., who directs diversity, equity and inclusion for the SUNY Cortland Student Government Association, also will address the gathering.

For more information, contact the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office at 607-753-2336.

SUNY Cortland students will have a chance to win $50 Auxiliary Services Corporation gift cards just for completing a 20 to 25 minute survey. What could top that?

The university will invite first-year students and seniors to participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) beginning Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The NSSE survey is a valuable source of information to shed light on the time and effort Red Dragons put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities.

Participation is voluntary, but greatly encouraged.

The survey began in 1998 with funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the Indiana University School of Education. More than 1,600 institutions and 5 million students have participated in it since 2000.

Individuals to be contacted — first-year students and seniors — will receive email invitations and periodic reminders from an NSSE address with instructions on how to participate in the online survey.

The survey administrators have optimized it for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Cupid isn’t the only myth that SUNY Cortland sexual health educators want members of the campus community to think about on Valentine’s Day.

The other is virginity.

Starting today, representatives of SUNY Cortland’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the campus “It’s On Us” Action Team are distributing wallet-sized V-cards with the phrase “Virginity is a myth. Values are real,” and a message about affirmative consent in sexual decision-making.

“Virginity is not rooted in biology— it's something that we made up and use to shame people for sexual behaviors. Virginity can mean different things to different people – depending on the circumstance,” said Professor of Health Jena Nicols Curtis, coordinator of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality studies and one of the leaders of the V-card initiative. “We tend to talk about virginity in ways that disproportionately shame women, ignore the validity of same-sex relationships, and revictimize survivors of sexual violence.

Curtis hopes to ignite campus conversations about sexual values, especially the value of affirmative consent, which requires that all sexual behavior should be based on a knowing, mutual and voluntary decision made by all parties involved. A sex educator since 1987, Curtis sees virginity as a harmful social construct and believes that community standards and individual values are the guiding factor in healthy sexual decision-making. The conversation is important because student values about sex range across a continuum from abstinence to sexual intimacy.  Understanding and communicating these differences is a key part of affirmative consent and healthy sexuality.

Students will distribute the cards in dining areas, residence halls and academic buildings throughout the week. They will also table with additional information about the issues in Corey Union and other locations throughout the week. In addition to the cards, they will be distributing sexual health information, including a frequently asked questions sheet about virginity myths and resources for students who want more information about healthy, values-based sexual behavior.

Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) will also be advocating consent and encouraging people to voice their feelings about sex this week. They also want to raise awareness about sexual assault, domestic violence and other forms of assaults on campus.

Carolanne Clark, a senior majoring in psychology is SAFER’s representative for the ‘It’s on Us Action Team as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board, was involved in the creation of the V-day cards and supporting material.   She thinks that the V-Card project is important because the idea of virginity is toxic.

“Women are put down if they lose their virginity ‘too soon’ and men are put down if they don’t lose their virginity ‘soon enough,” Clark said. She also challenged the idea that perpetrators of sexual assault can “take the virginity” of those they hurt as something that further traumatizes survivors. V-cards, Clark said, allow student to replace the social construct of virginity with the values individuals have about themselves and their relationships.

On Valentine’s Day, SAFER will be tabling on campus with the theme of “What is love? What isn’t love?” with the aim of raising awareness of potentially abusive relationships.

Ever since she was 5 years old, Alexis Blavos has known her purpose was to help others.

“I was born with a loud voice,” said Blavos, an associate professor of health at SUNY Cortland who recently used that voice to help students successfully advocate to make crossing a busy city street near campus safer.

Blavos, who strives to use her knowledge and voice to better the community surrounding her, will discuss “Advocating for our Lives” on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at SUNY Cortland.

The talk will focus on advocacy relating to public health and wellness, as well as what advocacy looks like in today’s society. It will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 2125. Prior to that, a reception to welcome her will begin at 4 p.m. in the Brooks Museum, Moffett Center, Room 2126.

The lecture, which continues this year’s 2019-20 Rozanne M. Brooks Lecture Series on the theme of “The Culture of Action,” is free and open to the public.

Blavos will begin by defining what advocacy is and explain what it means to her. Her presentation will examine the need for individuals to take initiative in the face of contemporary public health issues.

“We take part in advocacy every day without even knowing it,” she said.

Blavos earned a Ph.D. from the University of Toledo and now teaches a course that analyzes advocacy and change at the local, state and federal levels of government and helps students understand healthy decision-making pertaining to college health issues.

Blavos and student members of Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG), the university's chapter of a national professional health education honor society, successfully worked with the city and state departments of transportation to install a crosswalk on Tompkins Street in the fall of 2018. Her Kappa chapter of ESG was awarded with a Chapter Recognition Award in 2019.

Blavos also believes that advocacy today can take the form of relating health problems with issues that plague the environment. 

“Dealing with issues such as gun violence and the opioid crisis, in many ways we are literally advocating for our lives,” she said, referencing the title of her talk.

Blavos serves nationally as the Director of Advocacy to Eta Sigma Gamma, which acknowledges student achievement and supports health education programs. At SUNY Cortland, Blavos serves as a co-advisor to Eta Sigma Gamma’s Kappa chapter.

The Brooks series will continue with “The Power of Action,” a group of student presentations on Wednesday, March 25. For more information, contact Kent Johnson, assistant professor of sociology/ anthropology, at 607-753-4557.

Caption: In the image above, Alexis Blavos, on the right, confers with her Health Department colleague, Jena Curtis.

Prepared by communications office writing intern Dean Zulkofske

Hemp farming is a growing industry in Cortland County and is soon to be a billion-dollar business nationally.

Cannabidiol, more commonly known as CBD, has recently become a popular supplement that can help those with anxiety, pain and other ailments.

Eleven U.S. states have legalized recreational use of cannabis and New York may soon join those ranks. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently included legislation to legalize recreational use of the plant — which he estimates could add $300 million in revenue to state coffers annually — in his 2020-21 budget proposal.

SUNY Cortland’s Chemistry Department has created a one-credit course — Chemistry, Cannabis and Society — that will tackle these issues and more.

Professor Greg Phelan will teach the course. It will introduce students to the science of the various chemicals produced by the Cannabis plant and how those chemicals are extracted and used. The class will also delve into the current state of Cannabis research, legal topics surrounding recreational and medical legalization and the historical impact of the plant on certain groups of people in U.S. history.

“This course is not an advocacy for the legalization of recreational marijuana, it’s a much more academic approach to this plant and some of the things this plant can do,” Phelan said. “We’re going to go into the various advocacy groups and the benefits it has, or its supposed benefits.”

Colleges around the nation are starting to offer similar courses. SUNY Morrisville created a Cannabis Industry minor in 2019. Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a SUNY Global Cannabis Center for Science, Research and Education during his State of the State address in January.

Phelan hopes that local partners, including Cortland County farmers growing hemp, may take the course themselves and add to the insights gained by other students.

The course will be offered during the fourth quarter of the Spring 2020 semester and during the Summer 2020 session. It is intended for students of any academic background seeking an additional credit or for those who are simply interested in the subject matter.

For more information about this and other one credit course opportunities, contact the Extended Learning Office.

Musical and dance performances by members of the SUNY Cortland community will highlight the 2020 Gospel Choir Multicultural Celebration, which takes place Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The event begins at 7:15 p.m. in the Old Main Brown Auditorium.

Tickets cost $2 for students and $5 general admission and may be purchased at the door.

Various groups, organizations and individuals will perform at the event to celebrate Black History Month. 

The celebration is sponsored by the Gospel Choir and the Africana Studies Department. The event also is supported by the student activity fee.

The event continues the College’s Black History Month, which is co-sponsored by the President’s Office; Institutional Equity and Inclusion Office; the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs’ Office; the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies; the Vice President for Student Affairs’ Office; the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office; the Dean of Arts and Sciences’ Office and the Political Science Department

Individuals are welcome to make a donation to the College’s Gospel Choir if they cannot attend the event.

For more information, contact Seth Asumah or Lima Stafford ’12.

Kensuke Nakata ’10 is one of the leaders behind a movement to Americanize the athletic culture at Japanese universities.

A large part of his inspiration came from his time as an undergraduate at SUNY Cortland.

Nakata, who was featured in the Los Angeles Times, was amazed when he arrived on campus. The Osaka, Japan native saw so many students wearing Red Dragons gear and attending athletic events.

“It was a weird feeling,” Nakata says. “In Japan, it’s like people feel it’s embarrassing to wear a school’s name on your T-shirt.”

Nakata currently works for Dome Corporation, Japan’s official licensee of Under Armor. He hopes to create a similar school spirit among students and athletes in Japan.

Read more at latimes.com.

In other news:

• Robert Spitzer, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Political Science Department, spoke with WAER-FM about the Iowa caucuses and the impeachment trial of President Trump. He was also quoted in the Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune in a story about the future of gun legislation in Wyoming. Spitzer penned an editorial, “5 reasons to be concerned about ‘Second Amendment sanctuaries’ for the Syracuse Post Standard.
• Thomas Lickona, director of the Center for the 4th and 5th Rs, spoke with Forbes.com for a story on how to teach gratitude and kindness to children.
• SUNY Cortland served as one of the site hosts for the Firefighters Association of New York Winter Games. Other events were held at Greek Peak Mountain Resort.
• The Cortland Standard covered Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul’s visit to campus and her 2021 state budget presentation on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
• The Cortland Voice covered SUNY Cortland’s panel discussion with local educators about Black Lives Matter in Schools on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
• Members of the Alpha Phi Delta fraternity joined the United Way for Cortland County’s Live ShoeNited sneaker drive in January. More than 400 pairs of sneakers were collected for multiple organizations and schools in the county.
• Kyle Richard ’19 will speak about bystander intervention, leadership and healthy masculinity at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on Thursday, Feb. 27. Richard, a former SUNY Cortland football team captain, was shot twice while interrupting a sexual assault at a party in 2017. He has won numerous awards and has traveled around the country to tell his story.
• Kateri Rubenstahl ’18 was profiled in the (Middletown, N.Y.) Times Herald-Record for being named an art teacher at her alma mater, Washingtonville High School. She teaches computer illustration and animation and introduction to digital media arts. A new media design major, Rubenstahl also owns a freelance graphic design business.
• Dan Pitcher ’10, M ’11, a Cortland native and former quarterback for SUNY Cortland’s football team, was promoted to quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. Pitcher had previously been the team’s assistant quarterbacks coach.
• Nicholas Czerow ’17 will start a new job as general manager of the Watertown (N.Y.) Rapids of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Czerow previously worked for the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits of the East Coast Hockey league (ECHL).
• Tommy Sheehan '14, who won CBS' "Survivor" last year, spoke to Newsday about appearing on the show and his job as a fourth grade teacher on Long Island.

Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) is now accepting Program Grant applications online for the 2020-21 academic year.

Applications are submitted online and must be sent by midnight on Friday, Feb. 21. Applicants are asked to read the grant guidelines carefully before submitting an application.

Each year the 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.

Although ASC is willing to consider a wide range of ideas, it seeks to avoid duplicating other funding sources or funding projects more properly supported by state funds. Therefore, applicants should first seek funding from primary funding sources.

ASC grant funds may not be used for salaries, honoraria, travel normally funded by the College's budget, or scholarships for SUNY Cortland faculty, staff or students. Funds may not be used to purchase computers, related hardware or software. All purchases will be processed in accordance to ASC’s financial and related GAAP policies.  In general, Program Grant funds may not be used exclusively for food for SUNY Cortland students, faculty or staff. Funding for food may be considered if the food is deemed integral to the success of the program or event. All food shall be provided by ASC. Other grant guidelines are described in the application package and online.

For more information or assistance, contact Judy Standish by email or at 607-753-4325.

Margaret “Maggie” Wetter joined SUNY Cortland on Jan. 23 as coordinator of Title IX related compliance endeavors on campus.

The Title IX coordinator oversees efforts to comply with and carry out the federal law intended to fight sex discrimination, which in its most extreme form includes sexual assault.

Wetter previously served since 2018 as Title IX deputy coordinator in the Division of Legal Affairs at Ithaca College. From October 2017, she had fulfilled the role part-time while still working in Ithaca College’s Office of Residential Life and Judicial Affairs.

At Ithaca College, Wetter served on the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee and the Bringing in the Bystander action group. She also created an affirmative consent workshop. Wetter was serving as deputy coordinator when the Ithaca College Title IX Office received the 2019 Jay Van Volkinburg Award from the college’s Office of Public Safety for its efforts with Title IX reports and investigations.

A member of the Association of Title IX Administrators, she has received certifications in Title IX compliance, due process, investigations and case management. She also is trained in trauma-informed sexual assault investigations.

Wetter has a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University. 

In her spare time, she enjoys downtown Ithaca and spending the summers on the water. Wetter also keeps herself busy as a new mother with a 7-month-old baby.

Wetter joins Jonah Reardon, Cortland’s Title IX deputy coordinator for investigations and training. 

The Title IX Office is located in Miller Building, Room 404. Wetter can be reached at 607-753-2263.