Campus Champion

Adolescence education: English major Calvin “Clay” Barnett led activities for Abraham Lincoln DeMond 1889 Day honoring SUNY Cortland’s first Black graduate on Feb. 1, launching the annual Black History Month celebrations. Clay was honored to be formally acknowledged as a leader. As someone who was quiet and kept his head down, he has grown immensely since committing to a SUNY Cortland many years after completing high school. “A little support and kindness go a long way” said the Alger Hall resident assistant and SGA director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Respectful words from a future urban high school teacher.

SUNY Cortland was selected for a $98,630 New York state grant that will fund research into invasive worm species that are altering soil ecosystems. The funds will not only provide new educational opportunities at the university but give faculty and students updated equipment that will benefit the Biological Sciences Department for years to come. 

Laura Eierman and Andrea Dávalos, both associate professors in the Biological Sciences Department, and Annise Dobson a postdoctoral researcher at Yale University led the initiative. They expect the award will enhance students’ education at Cortland by making new undergraduate research opportunities available and improve their prospects after graduation by giving them experience in both field ecology and with molecular genetic techniques. 

"They're going to be getting a really nice full holistic set of these tools that could be used to assess conservation questions,” Eierman said. 

The award, made through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Invasive Species Grant Program, is part of a wider 43-project effort by the state to reduce the impact of invasive species on natural resources, economy, and communities and one of only four research-based grants funded. 

SUNY Cortland did similar grand-funded research from 2019 to 2023, which allowed 10 undergraduate students to help in the study of three species of Asian jumping worm that have spread across the globe — including much of North America. 

Students involved in this project completed their honors thesis and presented their work at student research conference Transformations and in national and international conferences. In addition, four students supported by the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant completed work on the project during their summer internship. 

The problem with the worms, according to Dávalos, is that worms deplete the leaf litter and change the soil structure and chemical composition. This results in negative impacts on soil fauna, including salamanders and ground-nesting birds. Jumping worms change the soil to a composition similar to coffee grounds that makes plants’ roots become more exposed to cold and more vulnerable to water deficits, while also reducing plants’ access to required nutrients.  

“Originally from Asia, they have spread all through the world. There are some that have been found on islands and tropical locations. You can find them in the Galapagos Islands, Brazil and throughout North America” Dávalos said. “So, they are a really successful group.” 

Although the worms are found throughout North America, it’s unknown how evenly they’re spread across different areas and ecosystems. The research to be done by SUNY Cortland will add to the understanding of where the worm species are most common and how best to control or reduce the population. 

“It's a project that's really accessible to students and, I'll speak from the genetic side of things, the skills that they're building are a really fundamental skillset for molecular biology,” Eierman said. “It's really student friendly.” 

New to the school’s work in this field will be genetic analysis equipment that makes the needed research faster and more efficient. The team plans to purchase a portable high-throughput sequencing device that allows for quick and efficient sequencing of DNA at a genomic scale rather than older technology that sequences one gene per specimen at a time. Currently, the college does not have any sequencing technology on campus. 

“You can sequence a whole genome or, in this case, take a soil sample and do some preparation with that soil sample, tagging every single different piece of DNA in it and separate the pieces out and read each one,” Eierman said, explaining how the data could be used to identify different animals. “Then you can match sequences against existing databases ... and you can do this metagenomic analysis and ask, ‘Who's in my soil?’” 

This process has been streamlined in the past decade to the point where the technology is more readily available, giving Cortland access to a tool and that will not only aid in future research projects, but give students aspiring to a career in science a taste of technology found in professional labs. 

“The students do get to unique resources and they interact with researchers across partner organizations,” Dávalos said. “They get support as they think about the new steps in their career.” 

Most people wouldn’t want their futures up in the air. But nearly 30 SUNY Cortland students will choose to do just that this week while building their resume as volunteers at the men’s FIS Olympic Ski Jumping World Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y. 

The group of sport management majors are heading to the snowy Adirondack town famed for hosting the 1980 Winter Olympics to be a part of a competition that welcomes elite athletes from around the world. The event promises experience in managing a high-level global event and a chance to network and learn from industry professionals. 

The trip, from Thursday, Feb. 8 to Sunday, Feb. 11, and organized through the Sport Management Club, will span the entire three-day competition. Cortland’s students will be involved in the logistics of the contest itself, alongside entertainment, games, giveaways and even a genuine polka band. 

“Trips like this offer the students the opportunity to put what they are learning in the classroom into action in real-life events,” said Erin Morris, associate professor in the Sport Management Department. “They get to see and experience how large-scale events run and all the small details that need attention. This can include how security and ticketing gets executed, how to interface with fans and with media, and how to troubleshoot in the moment.” 

Those real-life lessons, when learned at a large event like the Ski Jumping World Cup, can be an exceptional aid to career plans, Morris said. 

“Students are able to think through how aspects of the events could be improved, using the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom,” she said. “They are able to gain job experience as well, which is important for when they graduate into a competitive job market.” 

It will be Cortland’s second trip to the Ski Jumping World Cup. Alum Jonah Trembley ’20, M '21, a former sport management major who’s now an event manager for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, initiated a first visit last year. Morris said that Trembley was once again key to this year’s return to the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex. 

The Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex has two hills with jump heights of 330 feet (100 meters) and 420 feet (128 meters). It’s served as a training center for athletes of winter sports at all levels and had a recent modernization that’s attracted new interest from event organizers. 

Watching skiers soar won’t be the last chance for students to be a part of the global sports scene this semester. In April, 40 students led by Morris will head to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championships, held in Utica, N.Y. During two weekends at the tournament, they’ll be able to volunteer in roles that include team services, media services and a fan zone hospitality area. 

“This gives them good hands-on job experience, which can be added to their resumes to help give them an extra boost in a very competitive job market,” Morris said. “It also gives them more experience that they can talk about when they get interviews for positions. ... In the past we have had students get interviews and job offers based on the work they did and connections they made on trips similar to this.” 

Since spring 2021, more than 700 SUNY Cortland community members have completed a virtual challenge to educate themselves to confront and end racism wherever it’s seen on the campus.

The multimedia 21 Day Anti-Racism Challenge is being highlighted throughout February during Black History Month. However, the program is available all year long, with some Cortland faculty members assigning it to their fall and spring semester classes.

Representatives of the current, nine-member Multimedia Subcommittee of SUNY Cortland’s Anti-Racism Task Force will analyze the success of the challenge, now in its fourth year, during a campus presentation on Thursday, Feb. 29.

Titled “Challenge Accepted: Overcoming Bias, Prejudice and Racism One Day at a Time,” the sandwich seminar will run from noon to 1 p.m. in Old Main Colloquium. The program is free and open to the public.

The Anti-Racism Task Force aims to proactively identify, and address matters related to racism on campus that bar or slow academic, social and personal success for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students.

The Multimedia Subcommittee utilizes various media channels to address racism head-on and foster sustained anti-racist practices. They created and curated multimedia and communications content for the 21 Day Anti-Racism Challenge, which disrupts participants’ own biases so they recognize injustice and inequity when they see it and have the courage to confront it. 

“Since its release in January 2021, we have had over 700 faculty, staff, students and alumni participate in the challenge with overwhelming positive feedback,” said Andrea Robinson-Kuretich, associate registrar and chair of both the Anti-Racism Task Force and its Multimedia Subcommittee.

On a typical day, a challenge participant might diversify their cultural knowledge about BIPOC people by reading an article. The next day might find them watching a video. On other occasions, they might fill out a survey or listen to a podcast.

More than 500 of the participants were students, according to data gathered by the subcommittee.

“A popular suggestion from the first round of surveys asked for opportunities to discuss the challenge,” Robinson-Kuretich said. “We thought having a discussion surrounding the challenge during Black History Month would be a perfect fit to dialogue about the knowledge gained through the challenge and to ask, ‘What’s next?’”

During the seminar, past participants will share their perspective on the challenge.

“Our hope would be to have new participants, past participants and those on the fence come together and have a rich discussion,” Robinson-Kuretich said.

“These subjects were never taught honestly in schools and there’s a political movement to obfuscate our history even further,” said another subcommittee member, Michelle LoGerfo, assistant director of web and digital marketing. “It’s more important now than ever.”

Jesse Bloom Bateman, assistant professor of biological sciences, co-chairs the taskforce with Robinson-Kuretich. In addition to LoGerfo, the Multimedia Subcommittee members also include: Joseph Anthony, assistant professor of political science; Kathleen Lawrence, professor, communication and media studies; Ricardo Nelson, media production specialist, communication and media studies; Christina Paske, instructor, health; Lauren Scagnelli ’12, M ’14, health educator, Conley Counseling and Wellness Services; Amanda Sharpsteen, application support analyst, information systems and security; and Paul van der Veur, professor, communication and media studies.

For more information on the 21 Day Anti-Racism Challenge, contact Robinson-Kuretich. For more information on Black History Month, contact Charlotte Wade, assistant diversity officer, at 607-753-2975 or in Miller Building, Room 404A.

Co-sponsorships and funding for Black History Month were made possible by the President’s Office, Institutional Equity and Inclusion Office, SUNY Cortland Alumni Association, Multicultural Life and Diversity Office, Student Government Association, Black Student Union, Men of Value and Excellence, , the Health Promotion Office, the Provost’s Office, Memorial Library, School of Education, New York State United Teachers, and the departments of physical education, English, health, communication disorders and sciences, literacy, philosophy, communication and media studies, sociology/anthropology, economics, sport management, chemistry and kinesiology.

Last spring, three faculty members helped establish a new university tradition by sharing their thoughts on the Old Main Brown Auditorium stage during the inaugural, 10-speaker TEDxSUNY Cortland conference. 

This spring, organizers hope to have even better representation from the Cortland community when the second annual TEDxSUNY Cortland takes place on Tuesday, April 9, from 6 to 8 p.m.  

Faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members are encouraged to apply. The deadline to submit a presentation idea has been extended to Thursday, Feb. 15. This year’s TEDxSUNY Cortland application is available online.  

The theme for this official TEDx event is “Reclamation.” The review committee is looking for creative presentations about how we can all reclaim hope, health and humanity. Details are available on the new TEDxSUNY Cortland website.  

“I am always amazed at the stories and the big ideas that our community has to share,” said SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum.

The insights, vision and experiences of all members of the SUNY Cortland community are important, so please consider whether you have something to say about reclaiming something that’s been lost. Applicants outside the campus community who live in the Central New York/Upstate region will also be considered.  

This is an opportunity to share your big ideas with folks from throughout Central New York — and beyond. The presentations of all selected speakers will be featured on the official TEDx YouTube channel.  

Last year’s inaugural campus TEDx event was a huge success. You can view the 2023 TEDx presentations on SUNY Cortland’s website. 

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, the Red Dragon community offers a rich universe of possibilities.

Physical activity can empower children with disabilities, making them stronger and more confident to navigate the world independently, according to Amanda Tepfer, an assistant professor in SUNY Cortland’s Physical Education Department.

“Physical activity can engage participants to not only respond to physical challenges but also engage in problem-solving behaviors that contribute to success in everyday life situations,” Tepfer said.

“With the right resources, their opportunities arise so they can engage in after-school sports, recreational activities, activities with their family, friends and their typical developing peers. It opens more doors for them.”

Tepfer will discuss physical activity through the lens of inclusive physical education and sport, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, as part of the 2023-24 Rozanne M. Brooks Lecture Series.

Her talk, “Empowerment Through Sport and Fitness,” will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 115.

The lecture continues the series’ theme of “The Culture of Power,” which explores humanity’s age-old struggle for power through different lenses.

The interdisciplinary talks are free and open to the public. Seating will be limited, so attendees are advised to arrive early to secure a seat. A reception to welcome Tepfer precedes the talk at 4 p.m. in the adjacent Brooks Museum.

Since joining SUNY Cortland in 2018, Tepfer has used the university’s adapted physical education community programs, which serve local children with special needs, to help SUNY Cortland physical education majors earn their required hours of fieldwork observing motor development.

Local parents have told her frequently that their child with a disability, placed in an adaptive activity setting, has become much more independent overall in life. She’s even seen a few graduates of the adaptive physical education programs progress to engage in Paralympic sports.

Since fall of 2022, she has co-directed HealthyNOW, a community program SUNY Cortland has operated since 2010 aimed at fighting childhood and teenage obesity.

“Oftentimes, unfortunately, children with disabilities are not given the same access to sports and physical activities as other school-age individuals, youth and adults,” said Tepfer, the course coordinator for SUNY Cortland’s courses in Adapted Physical Education and Sport and  Gymnastics in the School Setting.

“So, they are often left with the feeling they cannot do these things or that they should not do things,” she said.

“As an educator, advocating for them, and teaching them how they can participate and how activities can be modified so they will be able to compete successfully, informs them of what they can do.”

Tepfer engaged in working with children with a disability at SUNY Brockport while she earned an M.S. in exercise science, adapted physical education, while also becoming certified to teach adapted physical education.

She received her Ph.D. in exercise and sport science with a focus on movement studies in disability from Oregon State University. She worked for private secondary schools in Ohio and New York state, including as a teacher of preschool adapted physical education for 10 years.

While earning her doctorate, Tepfer was honored in 2013 as the Doctoral Student of the Year by the Adapted Physical Activity Council of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. That same year, she was selected to attend the Emerging Scholar Symposium of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities and took part in the International Volunteer Program’s International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.

She is an author and reviewer for Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and a reviewer for Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Her articles and abstracts have also been published in academic journals including Animals, Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Research Quarterly in Exercise and Sport, Palaestra and Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology. She has presented her research at professional gatherings across the U.S. and in Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Turkey.

The remaining Brooks presentations in “The Culture of Power” series are:

Tibetan Buddhism, China and the Politics of Tension — Allen Carlson, an associate professor in Cornell University’s Government Department and director of Cornell’s China and Asia Pacific Studies program and advisor of its East Asia Program. March 20.

Framing Truth: Exploring Power Dynamics in Documentary Filmmaking — Samuel Avery, an associate professor in SUNY Cortland’s Communication and Media Studies Department and coordinator of Cortland’s annual Blackbird Film Festival. April 10.

The Brooks Series honors the late Distinguished Teaching Professor of sociology and anthropology emerita at SUNY Cortland, Rozanne M. Brooks, whose donated special collection of ethnographic objects to the Sociology/Anthropology Department established the Brooks Museum in 2001.

The 2023-24 Brooks Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Cortland College Foundation and Cortland Auxiliary. For more information, contact SUNY Distinguished Professor Sharon Steadman, series organizer and Brooks Museum director, at 607-753-2308.

More than a caretaker.

That’s how alumni, faculty, staff and friends recall the late Michael F. Stoll, Jr., whose dedicated work on the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House helped place the spectacular mansion at the center of alumni and university life.

“For those of us lucky enough to have met and worked with Mike, we know his love for the house was only surpassed by his love for the alumni, colleagues, guests and students he interacted with,” said Erin Boylan, executive director of the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association.

Stoll passed away Aug. 17, 2021, at age 56 following a long illness. He had retired in 2016 as the Parks Alumni House caretaker, having served the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association for almost 12 years and the previous owner, Charles Gibson, for more than seven years. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Stoll had also volunteered with the Cortland Fire Department.

Recently, Boylan spearheaded a fund drive among the board’s Parks Alumni House Committee, the alumni association’s Cortland chapter and other admirers of the late caretaker to place an engraved granite bench in the garden as a tribute to Stoll.

Today the bench sits beside the Roberta Drake Rist ’46, M ’47 Fountain to honor Stoll’s working friendship with the late Arnold Rist ’47, another long-time alumni board member and volunteer.

Additionally, a plaque, titled “More Than a Caretaker” and detailing Stoll’s contributions, will be placed in the Board of Director’s Solarium.

A formal unveiling ceremony for the bench and plaque will be held during Alumni Reunion 2024, which will run July 11 to 14.

That’s fitting, as the longtime alumni association employee never once missed working Reunion, although his birthday, July 16, usually fell during this four-day, nearly non-stop event.

As the focal point for SUNY Cortland’s alumni program, the Parks Alumni House at 29 Tompkins Street has hosted countless alumni and university gatherings, served as a venue for student programs, housed dignitaries from around the world and provided an elegant setting for weddings, special family recognitions, retirement parties and anniversary celebrations. The mansion currently houses the Alumni Engagement office.

“He took such pride in all that he did,” Boylan said. “He always found a way to weave alumni stories into his work, whether it was selecting sorority-colored flowers for their respective garden sections or placing out memorabilia of a visiting group. You would often find him gardening at sunrise or breaking down tables at 9 p.m., with faithful dog, Midnight, always at his side.”

“He devoted his life to the preservation of the Parks Alumni House,” recalled Rich Coyne ’07, M.S., vice president for institutional advancement and executive director of the Cortland College Foundation, Inc., who served as the Parks Alumni House general manager from early 2010 to mid-2014. “In addition, Mike cared for people, and what brought him the most joy was seeing guests bask in the beauty of the historic home.”

Like an artist, Mike took great pride in how the mansion was presented, Coyne said.

“From his delicate care of the alumni gardens and its manicured lawns to his oversight of the restoration that occurred inside the century-old facility, Mike was a ‘doer,’” Coyne said. “You knew that when Mike was involved in a project, it would get done with a high standard.”

“He loved his work, and he loved the many alumni and friends served by this beautiful facility,” said Douglas DeRancy ’75, M.S.Ed. ’86, director of alumni affairs and assistant to the vice president for institutional advancement emeritus.

DeRancy acquired the stately mansion for the association in 2004, hiring Stoll soon after learning that the previous owner would vacate the property far sooner than planned.

“We did panic a little but soon the panic subsided. And Mike was key to that,” DeRancy said of the time when the association was forced to quickly occupy the space as an alumni event center and lodging service. “His years of working there, part time, for the previous owner and residing in the carriage house served him and our staff and volunteers well.”

Stoll, who had studied at Tompkins Cortland Community College, ably managed the many volunteers.

“He had the institutional memory but, more important, he deeply cared about the house, gardens and folks using the Parks Alumni House,” DeRancy said.

Stoll formed a valuable partnership with the late Harry Bellardini ’56, M ’64, a former account executive for the Great New York State Fair and association board member. They helped convert the private home into a fully furnished and operational events center within three years, which in early days involved many trips to Larchmont, N.Y., to accept gifts of furniture from Julia Wright Levine ’64 and Max Levine.

“In retrospect Mike and Harry were the team that made it all work,” DeRancy said.

A $1 million naming gift from Lynne Parks Hoffman ’68 was the icing on the cake for this duo.

“Lynne’s visit to the house in 2007 was instrumental in her decision to be the first donor at this level in the history of the college,” DeRancy said. The day she visited, the house and grounds looked spectacular.

“This was a major source of pride for Mike. He knew he was part of something special ... .”

During the fall, Boylan showed the new bench to Stoll’s parents, Michael and Jane Landis Stoll, Sr. of Cortland.

“We shared memories, and I told them it was important to (the memorial donors) that Mike be forever remembered at the house he so meticulously cared for,” Boylan said.

Every night, Jane Stoll had brought her son dinner at the property’s Carriage House, where he lived.

“He just didn’t stop working,” Stoll said. “And if he was working with other people, sometimes I’d make enough food for them, too.”

Mike was one of four sons and one sister, all living in Cortland and remaining a tightknit family.

“Mike since boyhood had always been kind and helpful to other people,” she said. “He was so happy to do things like that to make other people happy.”

SUNY Cortland’s Division of Finance and Management will host two open campus meetings about the university’s financial state and the university’s budget, while also providing updates on campus reserves and resource allocation.

Meeting dates and times are included below, and all campus community members are encouraged to attend.

Tuesday, Feb. 20

10 to 11 a.m.
C-Club Hall of Fame Room
Park Center, Room 1118

Wednesday, Feb. 21

2 to 3 p.m.
Vittor Lecture Hall
Sperry Center, Room 105

Contact the Division of Finance and Management at vpfm@cortland.edu with any questions.