Campus Champion

When the Performing Arts Department gets a standing ovation, you can be sure that senior musical theatre major Olivia Goodman played a role. She’s been a volunteer choreography assistant and dance captain for five mainstage shows, including the current production, “Anything Goes,” as well as additional student performances. As a dance captain, she works closely with the creative team, acts as a liaison to her fellow actors and manages outside choreography rehearsals. She loves the creativity and collaboration needed to create dance and theater, and is heading up a student-directed dance concert called Dance Demonstration on May 10.

It’s not often that your pre-med studies take you halfway around the globe, or let you stand face-to-tusk with elephants.  

Yet seven SUNY Cortland students got to make memories of a lifetime while getting in-depth medical experience during the university’s new  Healthcare in Thailand program. 

The three-week, three-credit winter session course was led by professors Christa Chatfield and Theresa Curtis of the Biological Sciences Department. The group stayed in Chiang Mai, a city of 1.2 million people.  

“The food was amazing,” Curtis said. “The people were so incredibly friendly.”  

Students got a sense of the breadth of medical care in the region at seven public and private medical facilities, completing clinical hours in fields including dental care, chiropractic care, medical services, physical therapy and traditional Thai medicine. 

“In the morning you're watching ultrasounds with the OBGYN, and in the afternoon you're in a PT (physical therapy) clinic and then you're in the OR (operating room),” Curtis said. “It’s really diverse, you're seeing everything.” 

Chatfield added that the chance to see the different-sized facilities — from rural to university-attached hospitals — is a unique educational experience.  

“The Thai people are really open, so they would take you right to the patient’s bedside and take the covers off the patient to show you what's going on.” 

What they experienced there ranged from mundane tasks like fulfilling pharmacy orders to witnessing the profound end of life of a young man who donated his organs. 

SUNY Cortland’s healthcare in Thailand course evolved from an earlier Healthcare in Mexico program that began in 2016.  Assisted by Cortland’s International Programs office and the educational organizations Loop Abroad and the Center for Engaged Learning Abroad, Curtis and Chatfield created the trip to Thailand to widen the focus of available medical experiences. They said that Chiang Mai offers easy access to a number of rural and urban facilities, something more difficult near campus. 

The students’ clinical hours and debrief meetings are supplemented by a journal and final reflective paper. 

Apart from their fieldwork, students devoted two days to  local service projects. First, they painted a fence at a shelter for pregnant women and single mothers. Later they helped teach English to children at a public school. There, the Cortland students split up to lead groups of 25 children and invented games that used terms related to food, nutrition, exercise and the body. 

“We were able to complete that project over the course of the day and it felt really nice to be able to give something back because they have been so generous with their time in the hospital settings,” Chatfield said. “It was good to do some volunteering near the end of our trip.” 

When not working, the group was able to explore Chiang Mai, a locale given the title of Creative City by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

They chatted with a Buddhist monk, visited a rice farm, took a Thai cooking class and enjoyed the shops, night markets and food of the Chaing Mai. They even fit in medical lessons on nonhuman subjects with a veterinarian at the Elephant Nature Park, a shelter with 120 elephants and other animals like water buffalo, sheep, goats, dogs and cats. 

“I thought the timing was perfect,” Curtis said. “Every day that we did medical rotations, it was 9 to 11 in the morning, and then from 11 to 1 we would break and go to these beautiful places for lunch that were always outside, so students got some fresh air. Then from 1 to 3 we’d do more medical rotations and then often we would have a lecture from a health provider.” 

Based on this successful first visit, there will be another Healthcare in Thailand program in 2026. Chatfield and Curtis said they hope to add a talk with a Thai public health professional to the schedule to show the impacts different policies can have on a population. 

“This study abroad experience will take you out of your comfort zone, expose you to diverse medical cases, and transform your view of global health,” Curtis said. 

All students interested in next year’s journey back to Chiang Mai are encouraged to learn more about the program. Registration ends on May 1. 

Teagan Bradway, a SUNY Cortland associate professor of English, has been awarded the 2025 Dr. Peter A. DiNardo ’68 and Judith Waring Outstanding Achievement in Research Award.  

“Amidst many strong nominations, Teagan’s internationally recognized scholarship stood out for its productivity, domestic and international impact, and its influence on undergraduate and graduate students at SUNY Cortland and worldwide,” said Ann McClellan, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

As part of the endowed award, Bradway will present a lecture on her scholarly work Thursday, May 1, as part of Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference, SUNY Cortland’s annual celebration of student research and creativity.

The talk, at 4 p.m. in the Sperry Center Hobson Lecture Hall, is free and open to the public.

The award is given to an outstanding SUNY Cortland faculty or professional staff member for their record of research achievements. In addition to scholarly productivity and publication in journals, evidence for research achievements may include accomplishments in the creative and performing arts. The awardee is recommended by the Faculty Research Committee and selected by the provost based upon at least five years of research-related activities at Cortland.

Bradway previously was honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities and the SUNY Cortland Excellence in Teaching Award for Tenure-Track Faculty. 

A graduate of West Chester University, she earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in literatures in English from Rutgers University.

Since joining the Cortland’s English Department in 2014, Bradway has released three published textbooks on the ways LGBTQIA+ people write and read literature in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Her work includes her own book on Queer Experimental Literature (2017). She is co-editor of two collections including, with Elizabeth Freeman, of Queer Kinship: Race, Sex, Belonging, Form (Duke, 2022) and, with E.L. McCallum, of After Queer Studies: Literature, Theory, and Sexuality in the 21st Century (Cambridge, 2019), which won a CHOICE award.

In addition, Bradway is the author of dozens of articles in national and international journals, including PMLA, the journal of the Modern Language Association of America.

Her important work has also had a global impact, as reflected by invited talks at University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, University College Dublin in Ireland, University of Sydney in Australia, University of Konstanz in Germany, University of Passau in Germany, and Durham University in United Kingdom.

An outstanding mentor — a key aspect of the DiNardo Waring Award — while at Cortland, she has directed 15 undergraduate and graduate thesis projects in English, the Honors Program and in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also has served on external thesis and dissertation committees in the U.S. and abroad. As graduate coordinator for SUNY Cortland’s M.A. in English, Bradway has mentored at least six cohorts through the process of proposing and presenting their original research at regional and national conferences. She has served as an important mentor and speaker for SUNY Cortland’s Pride Club as well.  

Bradway was the Hunt-Simes Visiting Junior Chair of Sexuality Studies at the Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre at the University of Sydney in 2024. She will be one of six Society for the Humanities Fellows next year at Cornell University, where she will provide lectures, teach and complete her latest book.

The Dr. Peter A. DiNardo ’68 and Judith Waring Outstanding Achievement in Research Award is named in honor of the late Peter A. DiNardo ’68, a widely respected clinical psychologist and SUNY distinguished teaching professor, and Judith Waring. The endowed award’s creation in 2015 replaced the university’s Outstanding Achievement in Research Award, which had been presented since 2004. DiNardo-Waring Award honorees committed to a campus named lecture, first tied to Transformations in 2022.

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Gabrielle Nadler dedicated her life to gymnastics and it’s led her to the highest ranks of Division III athletics. But even she was surprised to learn her success had launched her to a new, international level of competition. 

The senior will leave her hometown of Potomac, Maryland, and travel to Israel this July to compete in the Maccabiah Games, an event featuring more athletes than all but two other international competitions — the Olympics and the World Cup. She’ll be one of only five female gymnasts representing the United States. 

“To be able to do something like this is a dream come true,” Gabrielle said. 

Held every four years, the Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and Israeli athletes of any religion. Gabrielle will visit Israel for three weeks while competing in the games. 

It will be her second visit Israel, after a previous family trip. Close to graduating from Cortland, it will also mark the end of the sport studies major's gymnastics career. 

“It’s a very special place and it means a lot to me as a Jewish athlete,” Gabrielle said of the country and her selection. “Being surrounded by people who share the same faith and athletes just like me, I think it’s going to be very memorable.” 

All applications to the games for gymnasts are through video submission of routines. And while Gabrielle said she was shocked to be chosen, her career at Cortland made it clear she had the ability to perform on a big stage. In 2024 she was named SUNY Scholar Athlete of the Year, earning All- National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) East Region honors while being part of a team that qualified for the NCGA Championships twice. 

“It’s been incredible,” Gabrielle said about her time at Cortland. “I’ve made some of my best friends that will be forever friends. My team is a sisterhood in addition to the family I already have. And I’ve just made so many memories that I’ll never forget.” 

Gabrielle trains in balance beam, floor routine and uneven bars, but says she has a special love for floor. 

“I love tumbling and the skills that we’re doing,” she said. “I’m not a huge dancer, but I do like dancing to my floor music and showing off what I can do for 90 seconds in front of everyone.” 

Thanks to the Maccabiah Games, Gabrielle will get one last spotlight, with her family traveling to watch the end of her competitive career almost 6,000 miles from home. It’s a long way from her first memories of gymnastics as an 8-year-old at summer camp. 

Shortly after, at age 9, Gabrielle began practicing in earnest and hasn’t looked back. 

“It is so challenging. It’s become a very important part of my identity, and I think it’s built my character,” Gabrielle said. “I’ve learned so many skills like time management and how to help others when they’re down — and how to pick myself back up when I’m down. I think it makes people more driven.” 

Gabrielle hadn’t known she would do college athletics — let alone anything beyond — until middle school when her father took her to a meet at the University of Maryland. 

“I looked at him and I said that I wanted to do that,” she said. “I started really getting serious about looking (at schools) my junior year and as soon as I walked into Cortland, I just knew it was the right choice.” 

Now on the cusp of ending her career in style, she’s learned what’s needed to take a place in one of the world’s largest athletic showcases. 

“Through the hard days, and even the successes, just to keep going," she explained. “You never know what’s going to happen in the future. And there’s really an endless amount of roads you can go down.” 

The clock starts ticking for SUNY Cortland’s annual, 24-hour giving day on Wednesday, April 9, and there’s more at stake than ever.

This year the Cortland Challenge donors could unlock more than $200,000 in matching gifts — $70,000 more than last year — thanks to pledges made by numerous generous alumni, faculty and staff, and friends!

Until midnight on Challenge Day, students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can give to the Cortland Challenge cause of their choice at give.cortland.edu/2025-Cortland-Challenge. These causes include The Cortland Fund, athletic teams, campus programming and more.

That same website allows supporters to learn more about the challenge and follow its progress throughout the day.

“Last year’s Cortland Challenge brought an extraordinary and record-breaking day,” said President Erik J. Bitterbaum. “But if there’s one thing I know to be true about our Cortland alums and friends, it’s that their competitive spirit always rises to the moment. Our challenge day reminds us that special things can happen when Red Dragons come together in support of our current and future students. I am excited to reach for new heights in 2025.”

More than $50,000 in matching gifts for SUNY Cortland will be unlocked throughout the day as certain donor milestones are met:

• $10,000 unlocked at 607 donors to celebrate the community where SUNY Cortland is located.
• $10,000 unlocked at 1,000 donors
• $15,000 unlocked at 2,000 donors
• $15,000 unlocked at 3,000 donors
• A surprise contribution will be made if we set a new Cortland Challenge record by reaching 3,827 donors, just one more than in 2024!

Every unique donor will count toward unlocking matching gifts, said Natasha McFadden, director of The Cortland Fund.

“These gifts will be awarded at multiple levels,” McFadden said, “with our ultimate goal being a record-breaking 3,827 donors to unlock all awards.”

These matching gifts are made possible by generous supporters who have pledged to provide them, including J. Michael Reagan ’78, Victor Rumore ’84, Diane Gill ’70, Anthony Moon ’86, Michael Cappeto ’71, Marcia Anderson ’73, Peter Kachris ’56 and Susan Paul ’64.

Meanwhile, a dollar-for-dollar match for gifts made to The Cortland Fund will be available all day, up to a total match of $25,000, thanks to a pledge by the Cortland College Foundation Board of Directors.

Additionally, several timed challenges will be made throughout the day, presented as opportunities to unlock awards of $1,000 if 100 donors give within the hour. These are made possible by the following generous donors: Cheryl Barredo M ’81, Robert Cohen ’74, Herbert Haines, Patti Vassia ’65, Michael Wallace ’82 and Mark Zeller ’82.

Athletics Challenge returns

The Athletics Challenge is back this year, with $10,000 on the line. The 20 teams have been broken into four categories: small, medium, large and extra-large. Individual teams will compete in their category to win up to $2,500 in awards by unlocking various fundraising achievements, including most donors and most dollars raised.

In addition to those available matching funds, through donor generosity select athletic teams will have extra match money available. The teams are baseball, men’s soccer, men’s ice hockey, women’s ice hockey, wrestling, men’s lacrosse, women’s basketball, cross country and swimming and diving. Donors for specific teams include Chris ’79 and Terry ’80 Grady, Andi Seger ’71, Joan Sitterly and Sue Zawacki ’74, Michael Green ’81, Robert Hildreth ’67, Stephen Langendorfer ’72, Thomas Christiano ’85, John Tillotson ’91, Dennis Fries ’67, John ’64, M ’67 and Barbara ’62 Brugel, Paul Fardy ’63, John Fiorini and Anderson Young.

Academic/Campus Departments compete

This year, 34 participating academic and campus departments will be competing for the most donors, hoping to win awards of $500 to $2,000 for their programs. Additionally, each participating academic and campus area that reaches 15 donors is eligible to win $100.

Dedicated donors also have offered to match contributions to particular academic or campus departments, including Career Services, The Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House, the William H. Parks Family Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at Raquette Lake, Study Abroad and International Programs, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Childhood and Early Childhood Education, Foundations and Social Advocacy, Geology, History, Performing Arts and Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies.

Supporting this friendly competition is the President’s Cabinet, including President Erik J. Bitterbaum, Provost Ann McClellan, Vice President for Institutional Adancement Richard Coyne ’07, Vice President for Student Affairs C. Gregory Sharer and Vice President for Finance and Management Mark Yacavone ’94. Additional match donors include Marcia Anderson ’73, Ed Zambraski ’71, Kim Stack-Myers ’79, Ernie Logan ’73, David Kronman ’80, Frank Rossi, William Baerthlein ’76, Michael Bond ’75, Robert Bookman ’76, Heather Brown ’13, Cary Carbonaro ’90, Marjorie Cohan ’68, Joel Tiss ’85 and Ghirish Bhat and Sharon Steadman.

Additional supporters of this year’s Cortland Challenge include the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Metcalf Board of Directors.

Leading up to the big day, the entire campus community is encouraged to:

• Take part in the challenge by making their own gift, in addition to any they already made this year.
• Encourage others in the campus and alumni community to also give to the Cortland Challenge.
• Spread the word on social media accounts. A good way to do this is by sending your own transformational Cortland story via the #CortlandChallenge hashtag.
• And don’t forget, on Challenge Day, use the hashtag #CortlandChallenge to follow along with other Red Dragons through Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

SUNY Cortland’s many “green” initiatives have once again been recognized by the nation’s leading association for the advancement of sustainability in higher education.

The university recently earned a silver rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), which noted Cortland’s stellar success in areas such as reducing food waste, educating about sustainability and sharing resources.

The ranking is the result of a stricter and more robust version of AASHE’s Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). Cortland is the first participating institution in the SUNY system to be ranked under this new system. Only 37 other colleges and universities have been evaluated under these more stringent guidelines.

“With sustainability constantly changing and advancing, there are new initiatives and projects to implement,” said Matt Brubaker, the university’s energy manager and a part of the team that developed its STARS application.

Cortland has been a SUNY pioneer in STARS before. In 2015, it was the first campus in the 64-campus SUNY system to receive a gold rating under the original STARS program.  

“Although we have dropped down a ranking, this is still a tremendous accomplishment,” Brubaker said. “Completing the newest version of STARS provides us with a clear idea of what initiatives to focus on while continuing to meet goals outlined in our strategic plans.”

Part of this work has been preparing a survey to measure sustainability literacy and commuting habits among members of the SUNY Cortland community. The survey is live now, and the Sustainability Office encourages all students, faculty and staff to complete it. Any student who finishes the survey before April 18 will be eligible for a raffle to win 2 free Spring Fling tickets or a $50 CAS gift card. You can find the online survey here.

SUNY Cortland’s many sustainability achievements were highlighted in the recent STARS 3.0 report.   They include a redeployment of Cortland’s Green Rep program, which was paused since the pandemic, expanded curricular offerings and the hiring of Megan Swing as Cortland’s first full-time energy and sustainability engagement coordinator.

Four notable areas in which Cortland received full points were:   

Continuing Education: focusing on both sustainability-focused course offerings and continuing education courses that incorporate sustainability content.

Shared Facilities: noting the university’s willingness to use campus resources to help strengthen and sustain the wellbeing of the community.  

Inter-Campus Collaboration: emphasizing Cortland’s engagement and partnerships with other educational institutions and New York State entities. 

Food Recovery: highlighting Cortland Auxiliary Services’ growing donations of unused perishables to local food banks, composting and various food-waste-reduction programs.

Brubaker, Swing and Beth Klein, SUNY distinguished service professor of science education and the university’s sustainability coordinator, are already working to prepare for the next report.  

Across the planet, Earth Day will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 22.

But not at SUNY Cortland. Here. We are celebrating sustainability and the protection of the environment for the entire month of April.

From tree planting to trail cleanup, and from film screenings to the annual Big Event, this month is a big Red Dragon celebration of sustainability.

SUNY Cortland's approach to sustainability has always involved the entire campus, so it makes sense that our Earth Day celebration is no different,” said Megan Swing, the university’s energy and sustainability engagement coordinator.

“With all of our over-achievers on campus we need a full month to fit all of our celebrations in!

You can see a full calendar of SUNY Cortland environmental events on the Sustainability Office website.

New York State Senator Lea Webb recently honored D. Jo Schaffer, a retired SUNY Cortland professional staff member, with the New York State Senate Commendation Award.

Schaffer, who joined SUNY Cortland’s Art and Art History Department in 1967 and became slide curator emerita in 1996, was honored by Webb for her tireless dedication to social justice and exceptional service to the Cortland community.

“Jo’s commitment has spanned decades, and her work is truly a testament to the power of grassroots activism and community engagement,” said Webb, who serves the 52nd District, which includes Cortland.

Whether through her leadership with the League of Women Voters, her volunteer work registering voters, or her role as a founding member of the Cortland Arts Council, Schaffer’s impact has been felt by many, Webb said.

“She has consistently gone above and beyond, from moderating candidate forums to educating voters and serving on countless boards and committees.”

In 2023, Schaffer was presented with the Alice Walker Award by the League of Women Voters of Cortland County, recognizing her community service and volunteer leadership.

Schaffer was credited for her work with United University Professions (UUP), with local organizations like the YWCA and with the City of Cortland’s Historic District Review Board.

A former SUNY Cortland chapter president of the UUP and a longtime active statewide labor union leader, Schaffer upon retirement was recognized by the statewide union with its prestigious Nina Mitchell Award for Distinguished Service. She was honored as the 2008 UUP Outstanding Retiree for having continued to serve the union diligently long after retirement.

“Her legacy of service and advocacy is both broad and deeply personal,” Webb said. “She does the hard work, the behind-the-scenes work, with humility and grace.”

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Schaffer always valued her public education and revered her father who had taught at Brooklyn College of CUNY. She attended Midwood High School before earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art from Brooklyn College. She also received a certificate in art history from the University of Paris and did doctoral work in art history at SUNY Binghamton. She taught art in the New York City public schools prior to coming to SUNY Cortland.

In 1997, Schaffer established two SUNY Cortland scholarships with a charitable remainder trust though the Cortland College Foundation. The Jo Schaffer Scholarship in Art History is awarded to an outstanding SUNY Cortland junior in art history. The Jo Schaffer Award in Social Justice is presented for their outstanding community service and activism on behalf of the disenfranchised and disadvantaged.

“She has been an extraordinary force for good in our community,” said SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum upon learning of the honor.

Webb announced Schaffer’s award shortly after the conclusion of Women’s History Month.

From songs belted out by some of SUNY Cortland’s best, to some of the toughest dance routines on Broadway, it will truly be “Anything Goes” when the classic show comes to the Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre. 

The musical about hijinks on an ocean liner bound for London will have six performances on:  

• Friday, April 4 — 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 5 — 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 6 — 2 p.m.
• Friday, April 11 —7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 12 — 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 13 — 2 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at Cortland’s online Box Office. Discounts are available for students, faculty, staff, children and senior citizens. 

Described by the Performing Arts Department as a “masterful mashup of musical comedy, gangster movie, screwball antics and social satire,” this musical has found success on Broadway since its debut in1934, and in film versions released in 1936, 1956 and 2021.  

The play centers on nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and stockbroker and stowaway Billy Crocker. A core of classic songs by Porter has kept toes tapping to “Anything Goes” for 90 years, including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” which has been embraced as a standard by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Lady Gaga. Porter himself is a member of the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame. 

“Cole Porter, along with other early Tin Pan Alley composers such as (Jerome) Kern, (Irving) Berlin, and (George) Gershwin, helped pave the way for later musical theater, both musically and culturally,” said Ben Kapilow, music director for the show and assistant director in the Performing Arts Department. 

“Classic musicals like ‘Anything Goes’ tend to emphasize acoustic instruments, making the focus all about the notes and rhythms, with no technology or effects to hide behind.” 

That timeless quality has proven true in Cortland’s own revival, as “Anything Goes” returns after a first run in 2003. Longtime fans will notice a few updates to the script and differences in the sets and choreography, but SUNY Cortland professor Kevin Halpin, director and choreographer, said to not expect a change in fun. 

“First and foremost, it’s an amazing score,” Halpin said. “Every song in it is a great song and Cole Porter was of course a genius — there’s power and energy in all of them. It’s light and it’s funny. It’s about the silliness of what we do in terms of finding our romantic partner.” 

Halpin described it as an exceptionally demanding show with dance-heavy numbers that demand the best from its cast and crew, while also bringing out the best in the audience. It’s a formula that has led “Anything Goes” to win Best Revival of a Musical twice at the Tony Awards, in 1987 and 2011. 

“It’s a fun way to get away for a couple of hours in the evening and just laugh and feel good about life,” Halpin said. 

Heather Hayes, a junior from Glens Falls, N.Y., takes on the challenging lead role of Reno Sweeney, played on Broadway by the likes of stage icons Sutton Foster and Patti LuPone. 

While Hayes said that she’s dreamed of doing this show half her life — and that Foster was her first idol and her inspiration to begin tap lessons — she most of all wants to make the character her own. 

“This show is so funny and lighthearted, but at its core, it still has to be genuine, and I can’t do that if I’m trying to copy other people,” Hayes said. 

Above all, she’s ready for the curtain to rise. 

“I’m most excited to show everyone what the cast and crew have put together,” she said. “Everyone has put in so much work, and I can’t wait to see it all celebrated, with our friends, family and strangers. “