Campus Champion

“This Student Diversity Conference is a phenomenal opportunity for our campus community,” said Katrina Hodge, assistant director of Multicultural Life and Diversity and conference advisor. The in-person event on Saturday, Nov. 5, will bring together student leaders from across the region to celebrate diversity and promote awareness of divergent views on our campuses and within our communities. Katrina connects with students as an ally development workshop facilitator and mentor, empowering by promoting the importance of inclusive and equitable educational experiences. She works passionately to see that all students succeed. Katrina shares this valuable advice: “Step out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself, ask questions, build connections and see people for who they are.” Start by attending the 12th Annual Student Conference on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice

As a high school senior, Anthony McNaughton was crushed when his doctor advised him not to play football at SUNY Cortland because of a history of head injuries. But he is happy with the way things have worked out.  

McNaughton is now the world’s second-best powerlifter in his weight class.  

He achieved this last month at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Powerlifting World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, competing against young men from all over the world in the junior 105 kg. (231 lbs.) weight class. 

“Obviously plans change between high school senior year and college,” said McNaughton, a physical education major from Miller Place, N.Y. “And I came to Cortland kind of looking around to find something, and what do you know, I found this sport. And I’m forever thankful for that.” 

SUNY Cortland doesn’t offer powerlifting as a varsity sport, but some students compete on their own. McNaughton adopted the sport three years ago as a sophomore, training under a master lifter and Doctor of Physical Therapy, Johnathan Song. 

“He’s my online coach. He’s in Long Island. When I’m home, I meet up with him and go though some game time tactics.”  

McNaughton works out with barbells, plates, weights and various cable machines to achieve what powerlifters call extensor movements. 

“I’m basically using everything a normal gymgoer would use, except to a higher degree to get my compound lifts, my squat lifts, my bench and deadlifts stronger,” he said.

But don’t expect to see the SUNY Cortland senior physical education major wowing onlookers by deadlifting more than 700 pounds in the Student Life Center’s weight training area anytime soon. 

That’s because McNaughton is probably practicing his Herculean squats, bench-presses and deadlifts with quiet concentration at Iron Mind Performance and Fitness in downtown Cortland, owned by Cortland alum Aaron Newman ’02. 

“I love the Student Life Center, I’m a huge enthusiast, it’s just that sometimes it gets a little too packed,” McNaughton said. “Because I have to load a lot of weight sometimes, and the plates run out pretty quick.” 

Powerlifting, McNaughton’s chosen sport, shouldn’t be confused with Olympic-style weightlifting, which tests the snatch, the overhead clean, and the clean and jerk. Powerlifting involves the squat, bench-press and deadlift. 

McNaughton chose SUNY Cortland as a place where he could play football, his high school passion, while studying to teach physical education. A doctor advised him against continuing the sport, however. 

Matthew Milano, his hometown buddy and a SUNY Cortland senior adaptive physical education major, is proud of his friend since middle school. 

“He competed against lifters from all over the world and, astoundingly, placed second in the world in his weight class,” Milano said. 

“Matt has been there since day one of my powerlifting career and definitely has seen the ups and downs through it all,” McNaughton said. “Without support from him I wouldn’t have been able to reach it this far.” 

Earlier this year, McNaughton won first place in his weight class at the a state meet in Buffalo by squat lifting 673 pounds, bench-pressing 463 pounds, and deadlifting 689 pounds. 

In June, he became the national champion in Orlando, Florida, with a 705-pound squat lift, a 485-pound bench-press and a 705-pound deadlift. 

Then it was on to Istanbul, Turkey, for the IPF Powerlifting World Championships. 

“That was a big hike across the world,” McNaughton said. “It was a little nerve- wracking at first, but it was an incredible experience.” 

Powerlifters get three tries for each type of lift.  

“So, for the first attempt, it’s what you could do in your sleep,” he said. “If you start too heavy and let’s say you don’t hit that lift for the three attempts, you get disqualified essentially. 

“Especially at the worldworld level, you have so many people that are just as strong if not stronger,” McNaughton said. “It really comes down to each attempt.”  

McNaughton’s performance in squat lift didn’t meet his expectations. 

“I was planning on lifting 750 in squat,” McNaughton said. “I was strong enough for that. But I had little technical breakdowns that just weren’t on my side that day, which hurt a lot. 

“If there was a moment in my powerlifting when I felt that I was in a really, really bad situation, it was at worlds,” he said. 

McNaughton’s safe, 673-pound squat lift kept him in the competition and a top contender, but he needed to make up the weight on the deadlift. 

“I was strong enough for a 780 deadlift that day,” McNaughton said. “What we had to do that day to get the winning total — because I didn’t do so well on squats — was we loaded up with 804 pounds so I could hit it. And it was so, so close.” 

In the end, McNaughton bench-pressed 501 pounds and deadlifted 727 pounds at the world competition, surpassing his national records. That meet’s international champion, Corentin Clement of France, lifted 1,973 pounds to McNaughton’s 1,900 pounds.  

“After the meet, he told me, ‘For your first international meet, you should really be proud. ... The fact that you’re placing second on your first time around, means that you have a really good future.’ That meant a lot to hear that from somebody else.” 

This fall, his final semester at SUNY Cortland, McNaughton is training himself toward capturing — for a second time — the next national championship in powerlifting that will take place next June in Orlando, Florida, while also student teaching sixth- through eighth -grade students at Boynton Middle School in the Ithaca, N.Y., city school district. 

A second win would set him up for another shot at becoming a world gold champion. 

“I’m working day in and out until that point,” McNaughton said. “And I’m going to take that first-place gold next time I go to worlds.”  

“I’m so confident in my ability to do that. I am so close, so close.” 

Kyle Richard ’20, who was shot as a student while stopping a rape and became a powerful voice against sexual assault, recently was named associate director of men’s engagement for ItsOnUs.org, the nation’s largest college-based sexual assault prevention group.

Richard had already been standing on the forefront of sexual violence awareness and prevention among college-age American male athletes, having engaged with more than 10,000 young men across the country as an individual activist.

The former Red Dragons linebacker from Lakeview, N.Y., credits finding his clarion voice as an advocate to his now retired football head coach Dan MacNeill.

“I remember my freshmen year, it was 2015, he was adamant about getting the guys to a Take Back the Night march,” Richard said. “We showed up and there were at least 50 guys there.

“It was my first time actually hearing from any survivors of sexual violence. That definitely impacted me. It didn’t bring me into the field right away, but it made me think, ‘Whoa, what’s happening out there? These are real stories.’ As a man, especially in my community, you hear about false accusations all the time. But to hear it from survivors, it’s definitely something, there’s a whole realm out there.”

Then, during the summer after Richard’s sophomore year, he was shot twice In the legs outside a Long Island party after interrupting a sexual assault. Against the odds, Richard pushed himself through rehab and recovered enough to play that fall season.

And, he discovered he had a platform.

As a college junior, Richard received numerous awards for courage.

His original plan had been to stay on track as and fitness development major who aspired to become a strength and conditioning coach.

Yet there again was Coach Mac, encouraging him to speak up in March 2018, when Richard was presented with a Next Generation Award from Kristin’s Fund, an Oneida County charity established in memory of Kristin Palumbo Longo, who was murdered by her husband in 2009 in Deerfield, N.Y.

“MacNeill had submitted my name for the Next Generation Award, and he had told me that my story would resonate with them,” Richard said. “At this point, I hadn’t even told my story to anyone in depth at all. I did, and afterward, people came up to me and said, you’ve got to keep on doing this.”

An advocate for universal campus participation in preventing sexual violence, Richard currently delivers national talks to male athletes on ending a culture of sexual assault in collegiate sports in all three NCAA athletic divisions.

“It’sOnUs.org is one of the largest student-led organizations across the country when it comes to sexual violence and domestic violence,” Richard said. “They reached out and said, ‘We need an associate director of men’s engagement.’ Until now, a lot of the movement has been only about engaging women. Unfortunately, that’s not going to change anything. I’m a man, I’m only a normal guy, a simple guy, only a Cortland athlete. I’ve been able to have success at engaging men in this way.”

He joins a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that is building a movement to combat campus sexual assault by engaging all students — including young men — and activating the largest student organizing program of its kind in grassroots awareness and prevention education programs.

Supported by the NFL and Yves Saint Laurent, he’s spearheaded outreach initiatives aimed at college students like the ‘WTF is a Healthy Relationship?’ program.

“That’s just our organization,” said Richard about the program’s title. “College kids like it.”

Richard is now part of a five-member action team. The group promotes the idea that active bystanders can work to prevent sexual assault situations from happening in the first place by respecting one another as human beings.

It’s a very fitting career move for Richard, who in 2018 received a letter of praise from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the Biden Courage Award for Bystander Intervention, hosted in New York City by It’s On Us and the Biden Foundation. Richard accepted the award from President Joe Biden, then a former vice president.

Before all the attention, however, he was just trying to please his coach.

“Coach Mac cares about that stuff a lot,” Richard said of his gridiron mentor. “So I wanted to make sure we continue on with what we’re doing.”

First he served as the guest speaker at Utica College’s Take Back the Night March the next spring after he intervened on the woman’s behalf.

“Utica College approached me after I spoke at the Kristin’s Fund event,” Richard said. “It was the first speaking engagement, the turning point.”

Richard also took part in National Domestic Violence Month events on the SUNY Cortland campus, supercharging a movement that continues, with upcoming activities including a Take Back the Night March on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. starting on the steps of Corey Union.

He participated with members of SUNY Cortland’s It’s On Us Action Team and the student club Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER), which aims to raise awareness about interpersonal violence and offer resources to individuals seeking support. Separately, he already was working nationally with #SetTheExpectation and #itsonus.

When his story began to spread on social media, Richard received many messages from sexual and domestic violence survivors. He transitioned from athlete to advocate, working to tackle issues of violence through prevention work with organizations, joining the SUNY’s Got Your Back program the following fall after graduation as speaking engagements around the country began to claim more of his time.

Richard also was the first Division III player nominated for the Capital One Orange Bowl-Football Writers Association of America Courage Awardin November 2018. The Orange Bowl Courage Award is presented annually to a player, coach or support person in college football who displays courage on or off the field, overcomes an injury or handicap, prevents a disaster or has lived through a lifetime of hardships. A select group of college football reporters from the Football Writers Association of America vote on the winner each year.

His character and courage were also recognized by the Institute for Sport and Social Justice and by media outlets like ESPN and CNN.

“I kind of got thrown into the field, even before my senior season,” Richard said. “It wasn’t like a normal, college kid situation. It was me and Joe Biden, huh? It was a whirlwind, but I thought, ‘I can make a difference in this field.’”

SUNY Cortland hosted the seventh annual Michael J. Bond ’75, M.D. Alumni/Undergraduate Science Symposium this past weekend.

The event connects current students and faculty in the sciences with alumni who have had success in the field and return to campus to share their experience and knowledge.

This year’s schedule included plenary sessions from students and alumni and a Bowers Hall Lab Crawl in which students mingled with returning graduates and alumni to share insight on their research.

Student plenary sessions included:

• Kaleb Frierson, a senior biology major from Moravia, N.Y., presented on “Invasive plant removal and deer exclusion are associated with higher soil invertebrate biodiversity.”
• Annabella Nilon, a junior biomedical sciences major from Horseheads, N.Y., presented on “Development of an olfactory receptor-based biosensor for odorant sensing.”

Alumni plenary sessions included:

• Chelsea Cook ’09, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences at Marquette University and co-founder and chief science officer of HiveTech Solutions, presented “Roots of curiosity and inspiration. How SUNY Cortland impacted my path to academica and entrepreneurship.”
• Brennan Gerlach ’13, Ph.D., principal scientists and the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, presented “Discovering the pieces of the cellular puzzle: how to build connections from bench to bedside and beyond.”
• Eric Larsson ’76, Ph.D., executive director of clinical services at Lovaas Institute Midwest, presented “How can science be real in the real world? Taking what we learned with us.”

Students who had poster presentations during the lab crawl are: Fab Adorno Aguila, Jake Ballagh, Levi Barnes, Bettina Bonfiglio, Christina Chueiri, Mackenzie Dickman, Elizabeth DuBois, Christine Gildea, Serenity Jean, Sofia Macedo, Abigail McCoy, Annabella Nilon, Carlie Salomon, Jacob Scibek, Piper Slocum, Jacquelyn Soriano, Trinity Tobin, Zach Turlington, Nate Turner and Kyla Young.

The symposium is funded through an endowment via a significant planned gift from Michael Bond ‘75, M.D. Medical director of Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in Orlando, Florida, Bond is an accomplished scuba diver, underwater photographer and published author in Marine Geology and National Geographic who credits his time spent on undergraduate research with Professor Emeritus David Berger as vital to his ability to apply to medical schools.

William Baerthlein ’76, M.D. has made a major gift to support the immediate needs of the symposium. A member of SUNY Cortland’s Academic Hall of Fame and the Cortland College Foundation board, Baerthlein is a physician whose scholarship and expertise on methods for delivering babies has greatly influenced reproductive medicine.

The symposium builds upon other avenues SUNY Cortland has developed to celebrate undergraduate research, including Summer Research Fellowships and Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference. Visit the Undergraduate Research Council’s website to learn more.

 SUNY Cortland, how does your garden grow? Nontoxic’s a must, and new stone dust, with a little help from PepsiCo. 

It might not match the nursery rhyme, but the result will be new model gardens on campus that are more sustainable, including some additional beds that will provide produce for Cortland Auxiliary.  

Created in 2013, the university’s original model gardens were built to educate the university and the larger Cortland community on ecologically sustainable gardening in an urban setting. 

“Over the past few seasons some of the old garden beds were starting to show some wear and were going to need to be replaced,” said Josh McLaughlin, SUNY Cortland’s manager of Fleet Services and Grounds Operations.  

“So, instead of replacing the boxes with pressure treated wood that is treated with a chemical we did some research to find a more sustainable material that was nontoxic.” 

The solution was provided by Durable GreenBed, an Oregon company that advertises itself as providing commercial nontoxic, raised garden beds for communities, schools, churches and nonprofits. Some of the funding for the renovated gardens was through PepsiCo, Inc., as part of its beverage  contract with SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services. 

The garden walls are made from a recycled wood-chip cement composite material called Faswall. Strong enough to be used in house construction, Faswall is touted as rot-free, permeable and durable enough to last decades.  

The new garden beds also will stand higher off the ground. Anyone who’s had a sore back from harvesting one too many carrots will know what a help that can be. 

That’s not the end of the upgrades, according to McLaughlin. 

“We are also changing the base layer from mulch to a stone dust aggregate,” he said. “This material compacts better than mulch and provides better footing.” 

The grounds staff also is adding a walkway from the sidewalk to the garden beds with this material to help gain access to the garden without the need to walk through the grass, he noted. 

Aside from the nine current gardens near the library, four new boxes are being built near Neubig Dining and The Bistro. The added beds will be used by Cortland Auxiliary, to grow some tasty ingredients for meals. 

What’s your vision for how to make the world - or at least one part of it - a better place?

The organizers of the first TEDxSUNYCortland event want to know.

SUNY Cortland will host a TEDx event on Thursday, May 4, 2023, and all faculty, staff, students and alumni with an idea to share are encouraged to apply for chance to present in Brown Auditorium before a live audience. These talks will also be posted online.  

TEDx is the localized version of the globally focused TED conferences featuring talks that explore big ideas about science, culture, tech, education and creativity. TEDx presentations follow the same format and spirit. Whether it’s a research interest, an innovative program or a way of looking at things from a new perspective, SUNY Cortland’s faculty and staff offer a rich universe of possibilities. So does our diverse and ambitious student body.

The theme for the TEDxSUNYCortland event is “Freedom Dreaming,” envisioning a better world and exploring ideas about getting there. You can explore big themes like global equity and climate change, or more individual insights related to mental health or fitness. It could also be an educational tool for students, or a class assignment or project. If you can dream it, it might be a TEDx talk.

More information about this event is available online. Members of a Speaker Selection Committee have begun meeting.

To apply to be a presenter, please complete an online form by Dec. 15. You will be asked to describe your talk and submit a 90-second teaser video. If you have questions, please contact Keith Newvine, assistant professor of literacy and co-organizer of the event.

All who apply will be considered, but the committee is hoping this can be a showcase for the independent thinkers and problem solvers who attend or work at SUNY Cortland. This includes all alumni, emeriti faculty and staff.

In addition to Newvine, organizers of the event include Director of Communications Frederic Pierce, Chief of Staff April Thompson, Special Events for the President and Campus Technology Services.

More than 1.5 million students have pursued educational excellence as part of the national interdisciplinary collegiate honor society Phi Kappa Phi.  

This year, four of those members from SUNY Cortland received honors that set them apart, even among their peers. 

Kathryn Hofmann was awarded the university’s Irmgard Mechlenburg Taylor Award, while Cynthia Briggs, Matthew Milano and Anthony Scibelli were selected as Scholars of the Year. 

"Phi Kappa Phi started in 1897 with 10 senior students at the University of Maine,” said Chris Widdall, secretary of the SUNY Cortland Phi Kappa Phi chapter. “For over 125 years Phi Kappa Phi has supported students with its motto of ‘Let the love of learning rule humanity.’ We hope to continue this mission by beginning a regeneration of the SUNY Cortland Phi Kappa Phi society to once again be an active and service-orientated group to our community.” 

The Irmgard Mechlenburg Taylor Award is named for Irmgard Taylor, professor emerita of international communication and culture (German). Taylor was a longtime member of the Modern Languages Department and a charter member of SUNY Cortland’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. 

The endowment provides a $750 scholarship to be used for an undergraduate semester and is given to a student in the School of Arts and Sciences who earned the highest-grade point average among active members of the honor society. 

The Scholars of the Year are selected from Phi Kappa Phi members who submit a student application. The application highlights the student’s service to others, academic strength and accomplishments that have enriched the lives of others. Recipients are given a $100 reward. An induction ceremony did not take place in Spring 2022 due to COVID precautions. 

Kathryn Hofmann 

A Phi Kappa Phi Member since 2021 who will be graduating next spring, Hofmann is a senior majoring in sociology from Oxford, N.Y., with a minor in psychology and a concentration in criminology. 

Cynthia Briggs 

A senior inclusive childhood education major from Hawthorne, N.Y., who plans to graduate this December, Briggs’ plans include completing a master’s degree program and becoming an elementary educator.  

Matthew Milano 

Milano, from Miller Place, N.Y., is a senior physical education major with an adapted physical education concentration who also expects to graduate at the end of this semester. He plans to complete a master’s degree program at SUNY Cortland in preparation for teaching children with disabilities.  

Anthony Scibelli 

A senior physical education major from Plainview, N.Y., Scibelli aspires to complete a master’s degree in administration through the University of Ohio. He subsequently plans to teach physical education and in the long-term might pursue an administrative role in health and physical education, athletics or the K-12 system. 

Phi Kappa Phi, as an interdisciplinary society, invites members from all recognized branches of academic endeavor, seeking to reward excellence wherever it can be identified. The honors organization provides more than $1 million in awards and grants each year. Membership is by invitation to the top juniors, seniors and graduate students who meet specific eligibility criteria at member-campuses. 

The SUNY Cortland Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi specifies certain conditions in electing candidates to membership. Students must be of sound character and comprise a maximum of 10 percent of the senior class, not more than seven and a half percent of the junior class, and a maximum of 10 percent of the graduate students receiving degrees during the year. Faculty members are limited to four per year. The group allows no more than one honorary member per year, with prior approval of the society’s national board of directors. 

Tibisay Hernandez, a diversity and inclusion team leader for the New York state Department of Civil Service’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion Management, will deliver the keynote address at the 12th annual Student Diversity conference on Saturday, Nov. 5, at SUNY Cortland. 

Hernandez, with more than 15 years of curriculum development experience, will present “Afro-Latinx: Exploring Cultural Complexities in the Latinx Community” at 12:30 p.m. in the Corey Union Function Room. 

The student-led conference, which brings together different voices from the local community and beyond, begins at 8 a.m., with all educational sessions and talks taking place in the Corey Union Function Room. 

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

It’s a conference that promotes open-mindedness, celebrates diversity and promotes awareness of divergent views on campus and within the local community. 

“The importance of this conference being student-led is that it provides an outlet for the next generation to be informative about social issues surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Sophia Zheng, who chairs the event committee, which also includes classmates Khyla Diggs and Sonya Concepcion.  

“Due to recent events over the years, it has taken a toll on young adults with everything happening so fast in terms of social issues and nothing being done,” Zheng said. “The ones who are standing up for change now more than ever are the next generation of this country.”  

This conference allows participants to conceive of problems and concepts, to share research and present to present their findings across a wide range of disciplines. Among the diversity-related topics discussed are race and ethnicity, class, gender, culture, sexuality or orientation, disabilities/abilities, religion and age. 

“We want students to be challenged academically, learn, network, and have the ability to step outside of their comfort zones,” said Katrina Hodge, assistant director of the Multicultural Life and Diversity Office and conference advisor. “SUNY Cortland is a multicultural campus and we want to make sure that it is embraced by all. It is beneficial to the students that are leading this conference to take the initiative because they are expanding on their leadership skills, professional development, and having the ability to step out of their own comfort zone.” 

Hernandez, who specializes in topics like implicit bias, anti-racism organizational development, critical conversations, social justice in social media, and intercultural communication skills. Following breakfast, welcoming remarks will be made by the student committee, Vice President for Student Affairs Greg Sharer and President Erik J. Bitterbaum, followed by the opening student speaker, senior Lawrence Bruce. Closing remarks will be given by Chief Diversity Officer Lorraine Lopez-Janove at 2:30 p.m. 

Through their individual perceptions of nature, four sisters scattered around the U.S. and in New Zealand explore the historical, environmental and philosophical significance of trees in an exhibition titled “Family Tree,” now open at SUNY Cortland’s Dowd Gallery.

The multimedia display includes supporting programs in both in-person and virtual format through Friday, Dec. 2. An opening reception and exhibition tour will be held in the gallery from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The gallery is in the Dowd Fine Arts Center on the corner of Prospect Terrace and Graham Avenue in Cortland. 

The exhibition is free and open to the public, as are the opening reception and all exhibition-related events. These  include a quartet of artist’s talks, documentary screenings and presentations that contribute additional perspectives on the exhibit.

The unique group exhibition — combining art, painting and poetry — brings together the works of four sisters, elin o’Hara slavick of Irvine, California; Madeleine Slavick of Wairarapa, New Zealand; Sarah Slavick of Boston, Massachusetts, and Susanne Slavick of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The sisters explain their exhibit in an artist’s statement: “In its beauty and bounty, nature is often regarded as benign and apolitical. “We do not expect a tree to assume an editorial stance or embody ideology. The conceptual, analytical and sensual intersect in ‘Family Tree’ with works that probe the multitude of relations within and between trees and humans. Branching out to, and from, the world, the artists address a variety of concerns.”

Based on her experiences in Japan, elin o’Hara slavick, artist-in-residence at the University of California, Irvine, presents photographic works that bear witness to the ongoing aftermath of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the nuclear power disaster in Fukushima.

Madeleine Slavick describes  her photographs as revealing “dichotomies and their collapses in our experience of nature in environments both rural and urban — they decry the marginalization of trees.”

Sarah Slavick’s paintings explore the underground life of trees in an elegiac series that conveys both grief and hope for what is threatened and for what might survive through possible strategies that trees offer for all species on the planet. She serves on the College of Art and Design faculty at Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Susanne Slavick, a university professor of art emerita at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, hand paints trees derived from the “tree of life” carpet designs overprinted on scenes of environmental destruction and depredation.

The sisters began sharing their interwoven careers as artists and writers with a 2021 gallery exhibition at the Aratoi Museum of Art & History in Masterton, New Zealand, titled “Family Tree Whakapapa.” After a stop in Auckland’s Wallace Arts Centre, the multimedia display arrived on Monday, Oct. 24, at SUNY Cortland’s Dowd Gallery.

The exhibition offers perspectives both unsettling and soothing as nature increasingly reflects salient issues of these times.

“As curators, painters, photographers and writers, all have incorporated images of trees in social, political and environmental conditions,” said Jaroslava Prihodova, Dowd Gallery director. “Trees that stand as refuge and livelihood, consumed and consuming, under assault and triumphant, as historical record and as the harbinger of things to come.”

The exhibition focuses on the related but distinct ways these scattered siblings engage with the arboreal imagination, wrote Kimberly Lamm, associate professor in the Program of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies at Duke University.

“Tangled into their photographs, paintings, life histories and political commitments, the trees in their artwork are intricate lines, bold shapes, diffuse traces and stylized patterns,” Lamm wrote. “Defying the ease with which the genealogical and botanical connect in the figure of the family tree, the Slavick sisters make it a thing of wonder: rooted in the ground and multiplying in our imaginations, family trees are botany and biology written with longing, hope, history and loss.”

During a planned poetry reading on Thursday, Dec. 1, SUNY Cortland faculty members Heather Bartlett, Howard Lindh and a collective will recite poetry by John Ashbery, Margaret Atwood, Ross Gay, Joy Harjo, Terence Hayes, Pablo Neruda, Ross Gay or Valencia Robin and others as well as two poems created and selected by the Slavick sisters.

Visit the Dowd Gallery website and social media for detailed information about the programs and link invitations to “Family Tree” virtual events, which will include:

• Guided tour: Three of the four Slavick artists — elin o’Hara slavick, Sarah Slavick and Susanne Slavick — will give a guided tour during the opening reception from 5:30 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26. They will share insights on the exhibition’s conceptual premise, their individual pieces and their relationship to each other.
• Virtual artists’ talk: Audiences also may ask questions about the artists’ creative practice and inspiration during a virtual event at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2.
• First Friday: Friday, Nov. 4. The guided tour of the exhibition has been organized by Cortland Arts Connect to take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4. The event will be both live and virtual on Facebook, Instagram and the Dowd Gallery
• Documentary film: Patagonia Films’ 2019 film, “Treeline/ The Secret Life of Trees,” will be screened at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10. 
• Interdisciplinary lecture, education: Jeremy Jimenez, Ph.D., an associate professor in SUNY Cortland’s Foundation and Social Advocacy Department, will discuss: “Trees Can’t Sequester Mercury; Why Climate Is the Wrong Focus” at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17.
• Documentary Film: A compilation of shorts, called “Ingrain in Art II,” will be shown at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21.
• Interdisciplinary lecture, environment/culture: Tucker Marder and Isla Hansen, the respective director and co-programmers of the Folly Tree Arboretum in East Hampton, N.Y., will speak about their project as a cultural archive of trees dedicated to environmental storytelling at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29. Hansen is an assistant professor of art at the School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh; and Marder is an interdisciplinary artist and founder of the Folly Tree Arboretum.
• Poetry reading: SUNY Cortland faculty members will discuss the arbor-related poetry of literary figures including Bertolt Brecht and Adrienne Rich at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1.
• First Friday: A guided tour of the exhibition has been organized by Cortland Arts Connect to take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. The event will be both live and virtual on Facebook, Instagram and the Dowd Gallery

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and by appointment. Visit the Dowd Gallery website for details about exhibiting artists, other programs, safety protocols and online booking. For more information, or to arrange group tours, contact gallery Interim Director Jaroslava Prihodova at 607-753-4216.

“Family Tree” is supported by the Art and Art History Department, Art Exhibition Association and a Cortland Auxiliary Services grant.

Jasmine Goodnow, who studies the sacred, inclusive and sustainable nature of travel, will deliver the prestigious Metcalf Endowment Lecture at the 72nd annual SUNY Cortland Recreation Conference.

The conference, set for Thursday, Nov. 3, and Friday, Nov. 4, at the university, is the nation’s oldest continuous collegiate-sponsored recreation education conference.

The two-day event will be live for the first time in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will offer a series of virtual presentations that will remain available to conference attendees until Sunday, Dec. 18.

Goodnow, an associate professor and program coordinator in the Recreation Management and Leadership Department at Western Washington University, will discuss “Adventures and Explorations in Research” from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, in Corey Union Function Room. The keynote lecture is free and open to the public.

Conference registration is now open through Wednesday, Nov. 2. This year’s virtual conference costs $45 for students, $95 for professionals, $70 for a single day ticket and $45 for an online ticket.

For additional information and to register online for the conference, visit cortland.edu/recconf or call 607-753-4972 or email recconf@cortland.edu.

“Exploration” is the theme of the two-day event, the nation’s oldest continuous collegiate-sponsored recreation education conference.

This theme is intended to capture the excitement of being able to travel again with the relaxing of COVID restrictions, said conference committee chair Ashley Klein. Attendees also will examine the various challenges the field faces with regard to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and how practitioners plan on coming to terms with these challenges in the coming years.

“This course has helped us apply what we have been learning into a real-life situation,” Klein said. “The conference provides opportunities for both students, alums and other professionals to share their knowledge and create connections for future endeavors.”  

The conference will feature numerous presentations in the field of recreation, parks and leisure studies. Check the conference website for updates on the sessions and schedule.

The Recreation Conference annually hosts 300 to 400 students and professionals in the fields of recreation, parks, and leisure studies from all over New York state, the greater New England area and beyond.

Presented by the university’s Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department and students in the Special Events Planning class led by Jason Page ’08, M ’12, assistant professor of recreation, parks and leisure studies, the conference receives additional support for the Metcalf Keynote Address from the Metcalf Endowment Fund.

Besides Klein of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., a senior studying recreation management, the conference committee includes Hanna Corwin, special programs, a junior therapeutic recreation major; Samantha Arone of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., director of funding and sponsored programs, a junior recreation major; Alijah Moses of Geneva, N.Y., program coordinator and registration chair, a senior recreation major; and McKenna Knott of Kings Park, N.Y., hospitality and budgeting, a junior therapeutic recreation major.

This year’s alumni presenters will include John Silsby ’69, M.S.Ed. ’70, Alumni Volunteer Award recipient, Jack Fass ’77, Andrea Velazques ’93, Erin Norris ’98, Esq., Jessica Dailey ’01, Patrick Mercer M ’03, Jacqueline Dyke M ’08, Jason Page ’08, M ’12, assistant professor of recreation, parks and leisure studies, Lauren Herman Scagnelli ’12, M ’14, Jessica Andrianos ’13, Caralie Fennessey ’15, Sarah Salamone ’15 and Esther VanGorder M ’15.

Jasmine Goodnow

Goodnow earned master’s and doctoral degrees in her field from University of Utah. She has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University.

A scholar of traveling for self-discovery and insight through the construction of transitions and rites of passage, she also is interested in sustainable tourism as a tool for cultural empowerment, local economic catalyst and environmental conservation.

Goodnow teaches courses including Inclusive Recreation Leadership, Introduction to Sustainable Tourism, Recreation Programming, Tourism Planning and Development, Community Recreation, Costa Rica Eco-Adventure, Leisure and Society, and Mindful and Ethical Tourism

Her scholarly articles have appeared in Leisure Sciences, Tourism Review International, International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, and Journal of Travel and Tourism Research (online).

“As we navigate the planning process, we are working hard to make sure this year’s event continues the proud legacy of past conferences,” Klein said. “In this vein, we hope you will join as we come together once again to explore the many parts of our profession.”

The campus’ entry lights shine purple as SUNY Cortland highlights National Domestic Violence Month, drawing attention to an issue that claims victims across all age, gender, race, sexuality, religion, education  and economic levels. An average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute, equating 10 million abuse victims annually. 

Throughout October, members of SUNY Cortland’s It’s On Us Action Team will  join the student club Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) to raise awareness about interpersonal violence and offer resources to individuals seeking support.  

The effort includes a variety of campus activities and events: 

• The annual Take Back the Night March is set for Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. at the steps of Corey Union. The campus march is part of an international event aimed at encouraging people  to  actively fight to end sexual and domestic violence in all forms. The keynote speakers at Take back the Night will include Emma Secor, the Student Government Association’s representative to SAFER.  Students tired of walking  around campus should keep an eye out for  Consent Carts. These are golf carts that offer to drive  students  to on-campus destinations in exchange for a discussion  about consent and sexual violence prevention. One Consent Cart program occurred early this month and  at least one more planned.
  

• Tables in the Student Life Center and Old Main will offer a symbolic reminder of the cost of abuse.  “An Empty Seat at the Table” display features  an empty seat and place setting as a reminder of  the lives lost  to domestic violence. On the plates and silverware are  facts about domestic violence and resources for those who need it.
  

• There is also an ongoing social media “Red Flag Campaign” that illustrates how to recognize the different warning signs in relationships. 

The It’s On Us Action Team is comprised of students, faculty and staff. Its co-chairs are Deputy Title IX Coordinator Sam Halligan and Prevention Educator Marissa Whitaker.

"Domestic Violence Awareness month has been in existence nationwide for over 30 years, to connect individuals and bring awareness to this issue," Whitaker said. "Through raising awareness, celebrating survivors, and advocating for change, we can honor those who have lost their lives to domestic violence. All people deserve to have healthy relationships without violence. "

The team is collaborating with various offices on campus including Title IX, Residence Life and Housing, University Police Department and Health Promotion. The team also works closely with advocates from the YWCA’s Aids to Victims of Violence program, a community resource available to anyone impacted by domestic violence. 

SAFER is a student club whose main mission is to educate and raise awareness about sexual assault, domestic violence, and other forms of assault on campus and in the community. 

If you need help or simply want more information, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit its website at www.thehotline.org. The New York state Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline can also be reached in most languages by calling (800) 942-6906, texting (844) 997-2121 or by chat at opdv.ny.gov. 

For local resources, there are university Instagram accounts for SAFER at sunycortlandsafer and It’s On Us at sunycortland_itsonus. For additional help, visit www.thehotline.org/get-help/domestic-violence-local-resources. 

SUNY Cortland will host a Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 8, and organizers invite all campus community members to recognize important service members in their lives.

The event starts at 3 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium. A reception will follow in the Old Main Fowler ’52 Grand Entrance Hall.

President Erik J. Bitterbaum will offer remarks along with guest speaker Peter Perkins, the university’s vice president for institutional advancement and a former medical technician in the U.S. Air Force. 

Anyone can complete an online form to submit the name and a photo of a veteran to be recognized in a slideshow displayed prior to the ceremony. Submissions are due Tuesday, Nov. 1.

Attendees are encouraged to note that the ceremony takes place Tuesday and not Friday. The Human Resources Office supports release time without charge of accruals for employees to attend the program. Parking will be available in the Miller Building lower-level parking lots.

Campus community members also are encouraged to participate in the “Take a Soldier Project” organized by the Division of Student Affairs as a way to express gratitude for military veterans.

Faculty and staff can complete an online form to reserve a pre-assembled kit with small figurines and signage ready to be placed in campus offices, homes or other locations.

For any questions related to the Veterans Day Ceremony, contact Special Events for the President by email or call 607-753-5453.

For more information about the “Take a Soldier Project,” call 607-753-2053 or email the Division of Student Affairs.

SUNY Cortland is recognizing National Transfer Student Week with campus events, a door-decorating contest and highlights on campus community members who experienced the transfer process.

The week’s campus events include:

• Transfer Fall Festival: Taking place Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Corey Union Exhibition Lounge, transfer students can de-stress during midterms with pumpkin painting and other activities. The first 15 transfer students to attend also receive a free stuff-a-buddy bear. The event is sponsored by the Tau Sigma Honor Society, a national honor society specifically for transfer students.

• Take a Transfer Student for Donuts: Donuts and cider will be provided Thursday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. near Newmark Pavilion for transfer students and faculty and staff members who have chosen to recognize them.

Throughout the week, the university’s Transfer Network Team will share advice and other highlights on the transfer experience from the @cortlandadvise Advisement and Transition Instagram.

Faculty and staff spotlights also are shared below, recognizing campus community members who previously transferred along with their advice for current students.

Each year, nearly 800 students choose SUNY Cortland as their transfer destination. 2022 marked the fifth consecutive year that the university earned recognition on the Transfer Honor Roll published by Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society for high-achieving students from two-year colleges. Cortland is the only campus in the SUNY system to hold that distinction.

The university’s National Transfer Student Week activities, along with many helpful transfer student support services, are led by Advisement and Transition, which recently relocated temporarily to Brockway Hall, Jacobus Lounge for an office renovation.

Faculty and Staff Transfer Highlights

Hugh Anderson

Senior Study Abroad Advisor, International Programs Office

Transfer path: From Gloucester County College, now Rowan College of South Jersey, to Hofstra University

Advice for transfer students: “Explore every inch of campus and get involved. You can get up to speed quickly by going to events, talking with students, faculty and staff, and pushing to learn as much as possible about your new home.”

Jena Nicols Curtis

Professor, Health Department

Transfer path: From American University in Washington, D.C., to the University at Albany

Advice for transfer students: “Reach out to your advisor early and often. We can help you find your way in your new program. And lots of us have been the new kid on campus, so we can relate.”

Nancy Kane

Lecturer, Kinesiology Department 

Transfer path: From Elmira College to Purdue University to the University of Colorado, Boulder

Advice for transfer students: “Don’t be afraid to change your life. Surprises are in store.”

Doug Langhans

Senior Admissions Advisor, Admissions Office

Transfer path: From Alfred State College to Alfred University

Advice for transfer students: “Think about the transfer process as early as you can so that you are well-prepared for the transition. Most colleges, including Cortland, have various online tools to help make your transition smooth. Plus, they have admissions advisors willing to help you with that process.”

Kim Wieczorek

Associate Professor, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department

Pictured at left with Renee Potter, lecturer in the Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department

Transfer path: From the College of St. Catherine, a small private school in St. Paul, Minn., to the University of Minnesota, a very large university

Advice for transfer students: “The fastest way to make friends and feel belonging is to join teams, clubs and groups. Follow your passions and you’ll find so much that helps you move forward in a positive way.”

SUNY’s Board of Trustees requires each campus submit an annual report to the board and the SUNY chancellor on the affairs of the college.

SUNY Cortland’s 2022 annual report is now available online.

The document includes news and information on a variety of subjects relevant to the campus community, with topics including reaccreditation, alumni news, fundraising successes and more.

SUNY Cortland’s Communication Disorders and Sciences Department is undergoing a review and site visit for reaccreditation of its Master of Science degree program by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA). In accordance with the CAA’s Public Comment policy and procedures, the CAA is seeking public comment as part of its review of the master’s program in speech-language pathology. Individuals who wish to provide input are invited to attend a public meeting from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3, in the Professional Studies Building, Room 1166.

A copy of the Standards for Accreditation and/or the CAA’s Policy on Public Comment may be obtained by contacting the Accreditation Office at ASHA, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, calling ASHA’s Action Center at 1-800-498-2071, or accessing the documents online at https://caa.asha.org/.