Campus Champion

Emily Quinlan has spent more than a decade caring for our students and their well-being. Initially, she served first-year and transfer students as a member of Advisement and Transition. A year ago she started in a new role as Student Affairs Case Manager, a direct point of contact with students exhibiting signs of distress, crisis or other reported struggles. Student outreach and consultation during a normal year is all-consuming. During the pandemic, as a member of the Quarantine and Isolation Support Team, Emily’s responsibility has become broader than ever imagined. She’s grateful to have built campus and community connections. SUNY Cortland is grateful for her.

Dear Cortland students,

I want to reach out today specifically to our off-campus students. 

Many of you are planning to remain in Cortland for the next two weeks. Please do not put your academic career at risk by engaging in risky behavior during the pandemic. A number of students are facing suspension or dismissal from the university because of their actions during the Halloween weekend. Make smart choices.

If you do choose to stay for the time being, please know that many campus resources remain available to you. 

• Memorial Library is open seven days a week through Nov. 20.  
• Dining facilities are still serving food. Updated hours and locations are available online. 
• Conley Counseling and Wellness Services offers free and confidential assistance. 

Despite classes remaining online for the remainder of the semester, campus is not closing. Please continue to reach out to your professors and academic advisors and ask for help if you need it.

Also know that the university’s optional departure plan applies to off-campus students. You may learn more about the details and request a COVID-19 test online. 

SUNY Cortland has developed this optional departure plan for the safety of you and your loved ones. I understand you may feel the process is inconvenient, but your participation will help prevent the virus from spreading further as you head home for Thanksgiving.  

The forecast for this weekend looks promising. Many of you will want to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Please do! But remember to wear face coverings, practice physical distancing and avoid large gatherings. We must be good stewards of place to our neighbors in the Cortland community. 

Thank you for all that you have done this semester. Let’s all work together to finish strong this fall. 

All the best, 

Erik J. Bitterbaum 

President

The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professions are among the fastest-growing and most promising career fields in the United States.

However, STEM is severely lacking diversity and inclusion. Why is that?

SUNY Cortland senior Hannah Fitzgerald of Albany, N.Y., a biomedical sciences major with a chemistry minor, has explored possible explanations that she shared on Thursday, Nov. 5 in a virtual presentation attended by about 100 faculty, staff and students.

“There’s a lot of gatekeeping in academia: who you know as an applicant, determining if you’re really qualified, not just from your research, degrees and recommendation,” said Fitzgerald, who also is an R.A. in DeGroat Hall and a programming intern this semester with the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office. “Academia isn’t all bad but there are a lot of doors.”

The aspiring physician worked with SUNY Cortland faculty on the Biological Sciences Department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (BIO-DEI) to design the presentation she gave on some of the possible reasons for inequality in STEM.

Titled “Racism and Bias in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics,” Fitzgerald’s presentation was via Zoom with questions shared through Zoom chat.

Fitzgerald focused her presentation on the implicit and explicit bias often experienced by underrepresented students in STEM disciplines. The causes of bias and inequality in STEM range from systematic racism to a history of sexism, according to Fitzgerald, who has gleaned from the collaborators on the BIO-DEI committee and MLDO.

“Honestly, being involved in higher education, I realize that it really starts from the ground up,” Fitzgerald said.

That begins with having the opportunity for an excellent primary and secondary education.

“If it’s not always there, the encouragement and the resources, some people can fall through the cracks,” she said.

As a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Ireland, and who is a recipient of the university’s John Fantauzzi Scholarship, aimed at more recent U.S. citizens, Fitzgerald said she had a great high school education but felt the student body lacked diversity.

“There is culture of racism in Ireland but my parents taught me to respect other cultures,” she said.

Fitzgerald sought that inclusive experience upon joining SUNY Cortland.

“My high school was not as diverse as Cortland, and Cortland to some people is not very diverse at all,” she said.

“I love my major but my only opportunity for these diverse experiences has come with being an R.A.,” she said.

So she worked with MLDO to create an internship where she can develop programming to enhance inclusion on her campus. Fitzgerald also experiences multiculturalism as an R.A. who engages with many diverse student organizations. A world traveler to India, she also has advanced her scholarship there as a clinical observation intern in biomedicine.

“If I wasn’t involved with a lot of things on campus, I don’t think I would be as educated. For me, this is kind of taking the first steps to becoming educated, and just enhancing my life experience in general.”

For more information, contact multicultural.life@cortland.edu or visit the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office website.

Peter Perkins, a U.S. Air Force medical technician from 1976 to 1982 and current vice president of Institutional Advancement at SUNY Cortland, will deliver the university’s virtual keynote address during the annual Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Perkins, who rose to the rank of staff sergeant with the U.S.A.F., will begin at 3 p.m. Those who wish to attend the online gathering can access the ceremony through a link on the Cortland Veterans Day website.

Perkins will speak after a welcome by SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum and several other presenters, including Neve Polius ’17, who will share her recorded singing of the National Anthem; and Andrew Jensen, a Westpoint Military Academy graduate and captain in the U.S. Army from 2004 to 2009, who is the son-in-law of event co-organizer Sue Vleck. Jensen will read “What is a Veteran.”

Perkins encourages students to at least acknowledge and recognize the sacrifices made by those who have served, or who currently serve, the country.

“I think a lot of folks — particularly the younger generations — see this as just a national holiday and a day off,” Perkins said. “Whereas I see it as one to really celebrate the sacrifice that our veterans and their family members have made over the decades of service to their country.”

Since joining the university in 2015, Perkins has brought with him more than 30 years of progressive and broad experience working within SUNY, having previously worked with SUNY Empire State College and SUNY Polytechnic. In his current role, he has oversight responsibility for Alumni Engagement, Marketing, Communications, Development, and Foundation Operations. Perkins also serves as the executive director for the Cortland College Foundation, which currently is engaged in a $25 million capital campaign.

The Air Force veteran’s patriotism is deep-rooted in his family background. Perkins’ father served during World War II, and four of his brothers have been involved with the military.

During the ceremony, Perkins will discuss his experience in the military and assist in the remembrance of our veterans.

“I hope students take a few minutes to reflect on what Veterans Day really means,” Perkins said. “And the fact that men and women have served their country proudly, and have sacrificed a lot to serve and have the honor of serving our country.”

For more information, contact Special Events for the President.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Nicholas Boyer

Student-athletes at SUNY Cortland are finding ways to remain active in the community despite the postponement of fall athletics and the cancelation of winter competition.

The university’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a group comprised of 31 student-athlete leaders who best represent the interests of student-athletes at SUNY Cortland, have come together to promote mask wearing in the community to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Erin Hallenbeck, a senior healthcare management major and field hockey forward from Hudson, N.Y., is president of SAAC. The committee, dedicated to promoting excellence in academics and athletics, sportsmanship, community service and a positive student-athlete image, ran the campaign over social media through September and October.

“The mask-up campaign is something fun we did on Instagram,” Hallenbeck said. “It allowed not just members of SAAC to participate, but other student-athletes as well as faculty and staff, to show that athletes are doing their best to do their part in stopping the spread of COVID-19.”

Over the summer, SAAC members voted on topics that were most important to the members of the Red Dragon community, to discuss for the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Topics included mental health, stress, anxiety and having tough conversations.

To that end, SAAC reached out to members of the Cortland community in the Counseling Center, Multicultural Life and Diversity Office and various academic departments to create the Athletic Leadership Speaker Series. With the help of contributions from Betsy Alden ’77 and Bonnie May ’77, student-athletes have been granted the opportunity to learn how to become better leaders and contributors.

Student-athletes will hold eight virtual meetings with faculty, staff and alumni to talk about ideas including social justice, nutrition, sleep and more.

“A lot of the topics that are talked about in the speaker series aren’t specific to athletics or academics,” Hallenbeck said. “It’s specific to life experiences.”

Mental health has been a prominent discussion among Cortland athletes for the past few years. This has allowed the men’s ice hockey team to form a partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in the hopes to raise awareness for suicide and mental health.

“Our partnership with the foundation started last year when we were introduced to a woman named Jeanette Dippo, who is on the board for the Central New York chapter and had lost her daughter to suicide,” said Stephen Castriota, an assistant coach for men’s ice hockey. “We felt like this was a great opportunity for us as a program and school to get involved and raise awareness for a subject that most people don't feel comfortable enough to speak about.”

Unable to hold their charity game this year, men’s ice hockey planned to continue fundraising and participate in a virtual walk on Oct. 17. Unfortunately, the virtual walk was postponed due to the study-in-place order, but their fundraising campaign continues online.

“Without the ability to host a charity game this year, we thought it was important to continue the momentum of support that we gained last year and find a different way to raise awareness and money this year,” said Castriota. “We feel mental health and suicide are subjects that we must break the stigma and have real conversations about, so there is no fear or shame in reaching out when one needs to. Consistently bringing awareness to these subjects are important for the process of educating as many people as we can on the resources and support that is readily available for them at any given time.”

Men’s ice hockey plans to continue building the relationship with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by participating in Out of the Darkness Walks and hosting an annual charity game for years to come.

Individual athletes like Emma Schulz, a senior biology major from Poughquag, N.Y. and member of the gymnastics team, have also taken time to give back to the community. Schulz, the 2019 National Collegiate Gymnastics Association national champion in floor exercise, has volunteered to help work campus COVID testing.

“It’s important to remember your identity outside of being an athlete,” Schulz said. “With gymnastics not being a part of my everyday routine, I am finding other ways to stay involved with the campus community.”

When faced with adversity, Cortland student-athletes have stepped up and contributed to the community in different ways not possible in years past.

“We just want to help. We want to use our voices and our platform for good,” Hallenbeck said. “We want to do community service and we want to do more in the community, but COVID-19 has made that tough. We just want to use our platform for good and help people.”

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Shannon Imbornoni

Sadly, this year’s Cortaca Jug football game between SUNY Cortland and Ithaca College has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Red Dragons will have an opportunity to get together and celebrate the spirit of the game virtually at noon on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Former players, coaches and friends are gathering online for interviews, commentary and to watch highlights from some of the most memorable moments from the Cortaca Jug’s 60-year history.

To register and learn more, visit RedDragonNetwork.org.

Alumni and friends are encouraged to also join in the fun through social media. Cortland stickers and a photo contest will be held, with prizes including a future overnight stay at the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House. Contest details are available online.

Follow SUNY Cortland’s alumni accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Former Red Dragons head coach Dan MacNeill has sat down and talked with former players, coaches and others involved with Cortland football about each win in the series since 1988. Some of the speakers listed below will come from file footage and past interviews.

• Matt Ambrose
• George Ampagoomian
• John Anselmo
• Justin Autera
• John Babin
• Robert Bateson Jr.
• Kaitlyn Boyes Mrozinski
• Jake Ceresna
• Rich Coyne
• Kory David
• Devonte Davis
• The late Tom Decker
• Robert DeThomasis
• Adam DiPietro
• Anthony Falco
• Steven Ferreira
• Curt Fitzpatrick
• Peter Furey
• Pete Graham Sr.
• Ulysses Grant
• Dennis Kayser
• Jon Mannix
• Dave Murray
• Jamie Piperato
• Dan Pitcher
• Jason Rebrovich
• Matt Rickert
• Stef Sair
• Brett Segala
• Bill Shear Jr.
• William Smith
• Barry Thornton II
• J.J. Tutwiler
• Rodney Verkey
• Steve Woodard and Sarah Linko Woodard

See you on Nov. 14. Cortaca is ON(line)!

For questions, please contact Alumni Engagement at 607-753-2516.

International Education week will focus on the impact that international students have on the SUNY Cortland community and how international students are changed by their time spent at Cortland.

"International students are an integral part of our community," said Kayla DeCoste, senior International Programs coordinator. "But I don't think we discuss their impact enough."

Several panels, contests and projects are offered throughout the week of acknowledgment to the university’s international students and those who take part in a study abroad program.

The week’s activities include:

Monday, Nov. 16

At 4 p.m., the Going Abroad After College: Graduate Study, Work, and Teaching Abroad Webex event will assemble Cortland alumni with current students interested in scholarship in another country after graduation. Lyndsey Dolan King ’15, Kelsilyn Norman ’20, and Pedro Zayas ’17 will reflect on their own experiences abroad to advise present undergraduates.

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Voting for this year’s Study Abroad Photo Contest will end that day by 11:59 p.m. Until then, students may vote for the popular choice award in three categories. The winner and runner-up in each category will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Study Abroad 101 is a weekly virtual presentation for those interested in studying abroad in the future. This seminar, offered at 3 p.m., guides students through the entire study abroad process. From program selection to costs and scholarship opportunities, students are informed on how to study overseas.

Ongoing events

Throughout the week, members of the Cortland community are encouraged to fill out a form sharing how the university’s international students impacted the community. Likewise, International Programs asks its international students to fill out a form reflection on how their time at SUNY Cortland has impacted their lives. Submissions will be shared during International Education Week on International Programs’ social media.

Additionally, SUNY Cortland study abroad alumni have been asked to submit photos and reflect on their experiences abroad. Submissions towards this ongoing project also will be posted on International Programs’ social media.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Nick Boyer

Dear Cortland students,

As Thanksgiving break approaches and the fall semester starts to wind down, I want to remind you about the importance of academic advising and course registration for the Spring 2021 semester. Remember that help is available if you need it, especially now during the pandemic. 

Many people can answer questions about academic planning and course selection. Your academic advisor is an excellent resource. Advisement and Transition can answer questions about advising and Student Registration and Record Services can assist with registration.

And as you prepare for next semester, I encourage you to follow these reminders: 

• Meet with your academic advisor: You must consult with your academic advisor before registering for classes. Your advising appointment may take place on Webex, or over the phone or through a different format. After meeting with your advisor, you will receive a PIN to use during registration. 

• Review the course schedule: The online course schedule is available for anyone to search for classes. 

• Register at your time ticket: You will be able to see your registration time in myRedDragon under the Student tab and Registrar channel. Select “Registration Status” to view your time ticket and other important information. Time tickets are based on earned credit hours and “holds” on your record must be resolved before registering. 

• Ask for help if you need it: This is especially important for our first-year students. If you need help, contact your academic advisor or staff members in Advisement and Transition or Student Registration and Record Services as soon as possible.

Thank you again for your patience and commitment as we learn and work together. 

All the best,

Erik J. Bitterbaum 

President

SUNY Cortland students are some of Tyler Oakley’s biggest fans.

And he has many.

Oakley, who regularly posts on YouTube on topics including queer politics, pop culture and humor, has 7.1 million subscribers on the video sharing platform.

He took to a different app on Oct. 28, using Webex to share stories with Cortland students and to give advice on ways to cope with study-in-place as well as the upcoming election.

In the Halloween spirit, students painted pumpkins with Oakley while he answered their questions in real time.

Oakley, who is openly gay, is very aware of how large his platform is and his impact on the LGBTQ+ youth community. Young people around the world have grown up watching Oakley and learned from his videos.

“It is something I don’t take lightly because I look at some of the creators nowadays and I hope they understand the impact they have on the youth,” Oakley said. “I’m just really grateful because I feel like I take that very seriously. Especially queer people who come up to me. To hear that I helped a young person come out, there is nothing I could want more from my YouTube than to make someone feel OK being queer.”

Oakley, 31, first began making his YouTube videos 13 years ago. It’s opened many doors and introduced him to a world of new people he never would have imagined meeting beforehand.

Oakley appeared twice on the television show “The Amazing Race,” an adventure reality game show that asks contestants to perform physical and mental challenges as they travel around the world. He is also known for having dropped everything to fly out to do the once-in-a-lifetime interview with the famous pop band, One Direction.

When asked about the hardest part of “The Amazing Race,” Oakley said, “It was probably pulling my own weight for my team. It is a scary moment when you don’t know how to play badminton and a million dollars is on the line.”

With everything going on in the world right now, Oakley talked about his empathy for Cortland students. He said he couldn’t imagine having to be responsible for schoolwork on top of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress for many in following the presidential election.

Oakley did offer some ideas for SUNY Cortland students looking to stay fit and relax during the university’s study-in-place order.

“Oddly enough, I’m really into jump rope right now,” Oakley said. “It is the perfect blend of cardio and I don’t have to run around town. I’m obsessed with live music, so I blast a DJ set and I’m just in the zone. It’s very therapeutic.”

Oakley began his YouTube channel because he was in college at Michigan State University and he just wanted to talk about his experiences. Everything that came from his channel has been a pleasant surprise and now he says he’s just enjoying the ride.

His advice for anyone who wants to start their own YouTube channel is to start now.

“A year from now, you’ll regret not starting a year ago,” he said.

Oakley urges students to, “Stay safe and wear a mask! Please vote for kindness, love and inclusion and the world you want the world to be.”

If you participated in the pumpkin painting session, tweet your photos to Oakley or send them to the Student Activities Board and they will repost your pumpkin pictures via Instagram.

Stay tuned for more virtual events going on this semester through the Cortland Connect calendar.

This event was sponsored by the Student Activities Board. SAB Director AnnaMaria Jacobson and Comedy and Lecture Chair Sophia Hall, along with Mary Kate Morris, associate director of Campus Activities for Leadership and Community, put this event together for SUNY Cortland students.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Christina Cargulia

Gary Sczerbaniewicz wants you to be uncomfortable.

The Buffalo artist creates disturbing dioramas of doll-house-like rooms designed to make viewers uneasy. Sometimes it’s as obvious as broken floorboards hiding a portal to Hell. Other times, it’s more subtle, like images of space aliens displayed in a church.

Sczerbaniewicz shares these unnerving creations by forcing viewers to assume uncomfortable positions, like sliding through a tunnel or bending at an odd angle in order to see the artwork..

He is currently showing  two bodies of his interactive sculpture  in an exhibition titled “The Tower and the Shard,” on display in the Dowd Gallery at SUNY Cortland.

Located in the university’s Dowd Fine Arts Center, the exhibition, which opened Nov. 3 and runs through mid-February 2021, will be available both virtually and in-person.

All lectures will be held virtually via Webex. Detailed information on this and other exhibitions, safety protocols, on-line booking and link invitations will be posted on the Dowd Gallery website and social media.

The program will feature presentations by  diverse list of guests on topics ranging from sculpture and architecture to  conspiracy theories in the context of art. The exhibition includes virtual gallery tours, an artist’s talk, a panel discussion, gallery conversations, film screenings and the opportunity for in-person gallery visits. Sponsored by the Art and Art History Department and the Art Exhibition Association, the exhibition and related events are free and open to the public.

Related events include:

Artist’s talk/First Friday: Gary Sczerbaniewicz will discuss “Hybrid Practice” during a First Friday event co-hosted by the Cultural Council of Cortland County and Dowd Gallery. The event takes place Friday, Nov. 6, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. The gallery will stream images and a  3D tour before and after the talk. Campus community members can attend in person.

Official Exhibition Opening: “The Tower and the Shard” will open from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Documentary screening: A series of shorts titled “Sculpture and Space” will be shown , from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.

Documentary Screening: A series of shorts titled “Sculpture as Stage” will be shown from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. 

Gallery conversation: Reinhard Reitzenstein, associate professor and director of the sculpture program at SUNY Buffalo, will join the artist in a discussion titled “Sculpture in the Expanded Field” from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3. The talk will focus on the formal aspects of creative processes and inspiration in the context of personal and general practices in the field of sculpture and object-making.

First Friday: A guided tour, both in person and virtual, will be offered from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4.The event was organized by the Cultural Council of Cortland County and co-hosted with the gallery.

Gallery conversation: Beth Saunders, curator and head of Special Collections and Gallery at Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, will present “Enigma Loop: Unraveling the Aesthetics of Conspiracy.” The talk will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Her lecture will focus on her curatorial involvement with an exhibition “Everything Is Connected: Art and Conspiracy,” put on by the Met Breuer in New York in 2019; her other project, “Apollo’s Muse: The Moon in the Age of Photography,” an exhibition of photographs also presented by the Met Breuer in late 2019; and other related topics.

Panel discussion: The presentation “The City as Built is an Emotional Sculpture” will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10. Panelists include the artist Sczerbaniewicz; Jennifer Minner, associate professor at Cornell University’s City and Regional Planning College of Architecture Art, and Planning; and Jaroslava Prihodova, Dowd Gallery director.  

Sczerbaniewicz’s hybrid constructions inhabit an ambiguous space between architecture, man-made environments, installation, sculpture and theatrical stagecraft, said gallery Director Jaroslava Prihodova.

“His elaborate sculptural environments and dioramas, often enhanced by sound, create an immersive sensory experience designed to disorient the viewer to break the staid, often detached and familiar approach to consuming artwork,” she said.

“My recent work investigates the concept of cognitive dissonance as articulated through an architectural lexicon to construct unfamiliar or fantastic scenarios,” Sczerbaniewicz said.

He often fuses imagery adopted from his recollection of the Cold War and Catholicism to amplify the unsettling, the weird, the eerie and even the world of conspiracy theory.

“His practice becomes even more relevant in the light of a new reality effected by the global pandemic and the tenuous political climate embroidered with many threads of misinformation and untruths,” Prihodova said.  

The artist has drawn some of his subject matter from  the occult and conspiracy theory, specifically relating to NASA’s Apollo lunar missions.

“During the course of this research, I experienced a disorienting sense of intellectual uncertainty about the nature of truth, which began to creep into my daily thinking about official histories and the lingering sub-narratives that often co-exist with these, growing in their own dark corners of our fertile, imaginative cultural landscape,” Sczerbaniewicz said.

Wall-mounted objects from the “Untitled” series work with scaled-down models of real or fictitious architectural scenarios marked by evidence of a past existence, external trauma, neglect and inevitable vestiges of time.

For more information, to schedule an appointment, a tour, or obtain additional images, contact Prihodova at 607-753-4216. Gallery hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Please support the Dowd Gallery here.

Anyone who’s clicked their way through numerous online interactive maps plotting the many outcome scenarios of the recent U.S. presidential election has come face-to-face with geographic information systems (GIS) technology.

GIS is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes.

“I have two versions to explain GIS,” said Melinda Shimizu, assistant professor geography at SUNY Cortland, about the 18-year-old baccalaureate degree program.

“One is it’s like Google Maps on steroids,” said Shimizu, who is co-director of the university’s Regional GIS Laboratory, and program manager for the Institute for Geospatial and Drone Technology. “And I had a student who said you could just explain it as ‘Google Maps on Excel (spreadsheet-making software).”

GIS Day is an international day that was originally organized by Esri, a company that makes GIS software, to promote appreciation and understanding of GIS.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the Geography Department’s annual open house style event, GIS Day 2020, this year moves from the Old Main Fowler ’52 Grand Entrance Hall to online due to safety precautions due to COVID-19.

Shimizu has created a website to host an array of virtual activities starting on that day, including interactive maps, treasure hunts, videos and articles about what GIS is and how it can be used as a tool to address racial inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shimizu said the site can be visited anytime starting on that day and no registration or logon password is required.

She provided an overview on the national GIS Day organizers’ planned major theme at its next conference in an era of concerns about COVID-19 and social justice.

This year, sponsors of the national day have focused on how the technology can be used to support social justice.

Shimizu said her own doctoral dissertation advisor provided her with the perfect example of a social justice application for GIS. She had looked at urban heat islands in Phoenix, Ariz., to find that some neighborhoods are actually cooler than others because there is more vegetation in them.

“That’s because they have more water in them, which is because they are more affluent,” Shimizu said. “By comparison, in a poor neighborhood, there was less vegetation, and these areas were demonstrably hotter. It’s the result of the longstanding problems of redlining and segregating of neighborhoods, and our mapping serves to identify the problem, and then to address it. Also, GIS software can be used to create simulations to test different policy options to address the problem.”

Shimizu cites Doug Richardson, a Harvard University scholar, on the subject of social equity: “GIS now plays a key role in helping to understand the interactions of race, ethnicity, and place in our society, and there are many ways in which the GIS community can constructively engage these issues, from community and participatory GIS projects to research programs that examine the role of race and ethnicity in geographic patterns of difference and opportunity around the world.”

Geography students weren’t involved in setting up GIS Day as the have been in past years, due to physical distancing involved in public safety measures taken during the pandemic.

“Students in my GRY 324/Intro to GIS course are practicing learning how to collect data points on their phone and entering them into the system from wherever they happen to be,” Shimizu said. “Some are still in Cortland, some are on Long Island, or Clinton, or Syracuse. These are just points of interest. One student has mapped all the lampposts on a beach and another all the pumpkins in their neighborhood.”

For more information, contact Shimizu at 607-753-2992.

Dear Cortland students,

Your efforts to pursue your studies during a pandemic have been nothing short of heroic. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made.

I have a new and significant favor to ask of you. SUNY Cortland’s optional departure plan was developed with safety in mind. Given some of the questions that offices have received in the past two days, I want you to know that safety must come first.

Please remember that you need to be tested for COVID-19 before departing Cortland. The university’s official checkout process requires a negative COVID-19 test result — a requirement that exists to keep you, your loved ones and your hometowns safe. SUNY Cortland has testing resources available, and the university needs to do its part to help ensure that you are not bringing COVID-19 home with you.

Remember: 

• You can schedule testing on campus or submit off-campus results through the departure planning page. 
• You must receive a negative COVID-19 test result before you will be allowed to schedule a checkout date from your residence hall. 
• You should plan accordingly. Your test must be taken no more than five days before your intended departure date and you must leave within 48 hours of being cleared. 
• If you test positive for COVID-19, you will be required to follow the established protocol for quarantine and isolation, which may affect your intended departure.

The importance of testing cannot be overstated, both for safety purposes and the need to help facilitate your checkout process. I want you to travel home at your convenience, but more importantly, I want you to be healthy for the holiday season. 

All the best, 

Erik J. Bitterbaum 

President

The Human Resources Office has announced that amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the university will still be recognizing our classified staff and Research Foundation employees who have met milestone years of service with SUNY Cortland. The 2020 Annual Service Awards Ceremony will not be held this year but recognition will still be given in the following ways:

• The milestone award
• A certificate for “years of service”
• Recognition in the Bulletin publication

As plans for the 2021 ceremony are being made, they will look to recognize these recipients in person at that time as well. Please take the time to congratulate our awardees, and thank them for their dedication and commitment to SUNY Cortland.

2020 Service Awards Awardees

40 YEARS

*Julie LaPlant, Kinesiology Department

35 YEARS

Betsy Kulis, Migrant Education Tutorial Services (Research Foundation)

30 YEARS

*Judah Currie, Maintenance

Mary Murphy, University Police Department

Michael Zhe, Motor Pool

25 YEARS

Dawn Bulmer, Payroll Office

20 YEARS

Connal Carr, Maintenance

*Bradley Holl, Mail Services/Central Warehouse

Nancy Kuklis, Admissions Office

Kathy McCracken, Custodial Services

Richard Metcalf, Maintenance

Phillip Miller, Service Group

Kerry Mincher, Student Affairs

Anthony Petrella, Custodial Services

Russell Scott, Duplicating Center

Nadia Snell, Student Accounts Office

Joanna Tobias, Administrative Computing

*Debra Whitney, Library  

15 YEARS

Karen Diescher, Child Care Center (Research Foundation)

Nancy Hartford, Custodial Services

Greg McCartney, Maintenance

Jeremiah Rawson, Maintenance

Michelle Ryan, Custodial Services

Julie Simser, Geography and Philosophy

Marthajane Warren, Student Health Services

Anna Wilcox, Foundations and Social Advocacy

10 YEARS

Marilyn Jones, Advisement and Transition

Stacy Alexander, University Police Department

Christopher Austen, University Police Department

Elizabeth Mokos, Custodial Services

Lisa Walker, Campus Technology Services

Ann Lang, Library

Heidi Johnson, Admissions Office

*Retired in 2020

Lorraine Lopez-Janove has always sought to foster inclusive excellence in education.

During her long career, she has worked with the New York State Education Department for more than five years to investigate why a disproportionate number of students of color had been placed in special education in schools across the state.

Presently, as chief diversity and inclusion officer at Cortland since Aug. 10, Lopez-Janove leads and supports SUNY Cortland’s effort to promote diversity and inclusive excellence throughout all aspects of the institution.

She was chosen to offer standout SUNY Cortland students guidance for their journey during the university’s Spring 2020 President’s List virtual ceremony, held on the evening of Nov. 9.

She addressed honorees who took part in the virtual event. The ceremony traditionally was held with their families in the Corey Union Function Room, but this year was conducted remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In other changes, honorees received a PDF copy of the program prior to the ceremony, and a mailed letter and certificate after the event.

The President’s List is the university's highest honor for students who excel academically. It acknowledges students enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours who achieve grades of A- or better in each of their courses. During Spring 2020, 18.3 % of the full-time student body reached this level of achievement.

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum opened the reception, which recognized 1,037 students this year.

In early November, the President’s Cabinet was expanded to include Lopez-Janove’s role as the university’s chief diversity and inclusion officer as a permanent member. The expansion reflected the institution’s recognition that issues of equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice are critical to SUNY Cortland and that they should be at the center of deliberations and decision-making at the highest levels.

Before joining the university, Lopez-Janove worked since 2017 to raise the bar for diversity and inclusion jointly for the SUNY Orange, SUNY Sullivan and SUNY Ulster community college campuses. She was a member of the president’s cabinet at the SUNY community colleges, participating in all aspects of institutional planning and assisting each college in its efforts to meet the needs of diverse student, faculty and staff populations.

Before that, Lopez-Janove served as executive director of the Human Rights Commission of Sullivan County. The role gave her a unique perspective on the value of working with local agencies and organizations to foster mutual understanding and collaboration among diverse groups in a larger community.

She also has experience as an educator and administrator through Orange-Ulster BOCES.

As a senior project associate with the Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality at New York University from 2010 to 2016, her responsibilities included working with a portfolio of over 60 New York state schools cited by the New York State Education Department for disproportionality of Black and Brown students in special education or suspension. Among other initiatives, she oversaw the process in leadership development whereby New York school administrators and teachers arrived at the root cause of disproportionality by working with school data and reviewing policies, practices and beliefs.

Lopez-Janove holds certifications in Affirmative Action, Title IX and Conflict Resolution and brings a broad array of rich experiences related to equity, diversity and inclusion. Lopez-Janove attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where she earned both a B.A. in social work and a master’s in public administration.

A final video was placed on the President’s List website.

Next spring, a second President’s List Reception ceremony will be held to recognize Fall 2020 honorees.

The 2020 SUNY Cortland President’s Circle Celebration was broadcast online on Thursday, Oct. 29.

A recording of the event is available on Cortland.edu.

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum spoke about how the university is moving forward through the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted Cortland’s new academic majors, recent construction and renovation projects and the progress of The Campaign for Cortland, “All In: Building on Success.”

Kiara Reyes, a junior biology major from Port Chester, N.Y., spoke about receiving a Student Emergency Fund grant earlier this year. A member of the Biology Club, the Pre-Med Club and SUNY Cortland Emergency Medical Services, Reyes plans to become a physician assistant in dermatology. The grant allowed her access to technology during remote learning.

Kate Jensen, a sophomore physical education major from Prattsburgh, N.Y., talked about the impact of donor-funded scholarships. A recipient of the Janice L. Atwood ’73 and Judith A. Rasmussen U.S. Armed Services Scholarship, the Iris Stedner Scholarship and the Robert E. Vogel ’54 Physical Education Scholarship, among others, Jensen noted the impact of scholarships on her college experience. She is a member of the Honors Program and has participated in College Singers and varsity track and field. Jensen hopes to become a certified physical education teacher and a strength and conditioning coach.

Johanna Ames, chair of the Cortland College Foundation, spoke on the foundation’s fundraising accomplishments of the past year. More than $1.4 million was raised in 2019-20 to support scholarships and $336,844 has been donated in support of the Student Emergency Fund. A new fund, the Cortland Fund for Equity and Inclusion, has raised more than $17,000 in 2020 to support diversity initiatives on campus. Ames also highlighted a record-setting 2020 Cortland Challenge, which raised $252,272 and The Campaign for Cortland, which is nearing its $25 million goal.

The SUNY Cortland President’s Circle honors those who have made an annual gift of $1,000 or more. Members of the President’s Circle enjoy invitations to exclusive events and a special listing on the Cortland College Foundation’s annual Honor Roll of Donors.

The latest edition of SUNY Cortland’s alumni magazine, Columns, is now available online.

This issue features stories on many Red Dragons who are meeting challenges on many fronts, including COVID-19 and issues of race and equity.

Highlights from the Fall 2020 Columns include:

• Ernie Logan ’73, president and CEO of the American Federation of School Administrators, wrote a column, “Are we now ready to have a serious conversation about race?”
• Three SUNY Cortland alumni, Tim Bennett ’07, Brian Tobin ’94 and Crystal Lyon ’09, played instrumental roles in the creation of a Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Cortland.
• Amy Howard Williams ’02 was honored for her volunteer work for military families during the 2020 State of the Union.
• Many Cortland alumni are leading the way on the fight against COVID-19, including American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack ’77, registered nurse Kristie Houlihan ’18 and Liza Kotar M ’19, who is using her Fulbright Research Award to study the virus in Russia.
• Read more about the latest winners of the Distinguished Alumni Award.
• As always, keep up with your former classmates through Class Notes.

Thank you for reading and thank you for being Red Dragon Strong during a challenging 2020.

Contact Alumni Engagement at 607-753-2516 with questions.