Campus Champion

The hard work and seemingly limitless energy of Kyle Cannon, assistant director of campus activities and Corey Union, makes campus a better place to learn and live. Kyle serves as an advisor for the Student Activities Board, a mentor to student leaders, a supervisor to the Corey Union Student Director team, treasurer of the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Committee and a member of both the Orientation and Civic Engagement Scholarship Review committees. It's that dedication to enhancing the student experience that led the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities to give Kyle its national 2025 Heart of APCA Award.

The 2025 Cortland Challenge was one for the record books, raising $633,714 from 4,104 generous donors in a single day.

Both of those numbers set new records for the Cortland College Foundation’s yearly 24-hour fundraiser, according to Natasha McFadden, director of annual giving.

“This level of support is unbelievable, and if you’d have asked me a few years ago I would have said it was impossible,” McFadden said of the April 9 effort. “But we did it! 

“I wish I had the capability of putting my immense gratitude into words right now because there’s no 'thank you' big enough to share how much I appreciate each and every person on our team for helping us get to this incredible accomplishment.”

The record fundraising effort was led by $230,000 in matching gifts, unlocked every time a new fundraising benchmark was hit.

Participants could specify what they wanted their gift used for. Athletics led the way with $283,652 in designated gifts, followed by the Cortland Fund with $123,463 and university academic departments with $120,273. A total of $43,859 was raised for scholarships and awards.

More details are available online.

While one of SUNY Cortland’s central buildings, Corey Union, starts getting a facelift in 2026, a new residence hall is planned to rise for the first time in 15 years. 

Chris Maroney, associate vice president for facilities management, said that the university center for conferences and student activities will receive updates slated for completion in 2028.   

Other than a first floor that was renovated approximately five years ago, the rest of Corey Union will undergo a major redesign that changes the interior layout and exterior facade to make the student union brighter and more inviting. 

“A new open stairway connects the lower floor dining to the main entrance floor, which is technically the second floor,” Maroney said. “We’re opening up the interior of the building with a little more of an open floor plan so students can move between different spaces and have their own private spaces that have different purposes but still be engaged in what’s going on in other parts of the building.” 

Construction on Corey Union is estimated to begin in Spring 2026 and finish close to 30 months later. 

Most of the Corey Union staff and offices will temporarily be moved to Cornish Hall and Van Hoesen Hall. More information will be provided closer to the renovation’s start date. 

Meanwhile, a second construction project will build a yet unnamed residence hall beginning in 2026, with hopes for a soft opening to residents in the spring of 2028 and a formal opening in fall of 2028. 

The new hall will be located at the intersection of Pashley and Folmer drives, near the Tompkins Street campus entrance, with a target of 200 beds set up in apartment-style rooms. It will be the first new housing for students since 2013, when Dragon Hall opened. 

Maroney said that the main reason for the new building is to replace apartments on West Campus with similar style housing located on the main campus, not to add more housing than the university currently offers. The eventual plan is to phase out regular use of West Campus rooms entirely, with some being updated for use as backup housing when residential renovations take place on the main campus. 

A decision on the location of the new residence hall was largely based on a student survey that requested proximity to the Student Life Center and onsite parking. 

“We’ve heard the students out there tend to feel more isolated from the campus, so we wanted to try to find a way to bring that housing on to the main campus proper.”  

New locations to offset the parking to be lost through construction are being reviewed. 

Both projects will embrace renewable energy and energy efficient design. The residence hall will be built with the infrastructure to install solar panels, and Corey Union’s new design will make it more heat efficient. For the heating Corey Union does need, Cortland decided to dig deep for a solution. 

“(It) will include a new geothermal well field, which will be located at the south end of the Bowers (Hall) parking lot” Maroney said. “It will use geothermal heating and cooling ... using heat pumps and ground source heating and cooling from the well field.”  

The $70 million Corey Union project is paid for through the SUNY Construction Fund at no added expense to the university. Costs for the residence hall are estimated at around $36 million, with Cortland using low interest state-issued bonds to cover construction costs that will be repaid over time through student room fees. 

Big ideas led to big success when Cortland students took first and second place in the opening round of the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC).

That success morphed into something bigger, when a three-person team earned a $10,000 prize for finishing first in their track at the state finals.

The intercollegiate competition is used to show off the most innovative student start-up businesses in New York for six categories: Food & Agtech; Health & Well-being; Learn, Work & Live; Safety, Power & Mobility; Products & Hardware; and Software & Services. 

Thirteen students formed the five teams from Cortland that competed In the Central New York Region against 30 other teams.  

• NIL Finder, created by Michael Echevarria, Kyle Germain and Cris Judge, placed first in Learn, Work, Live.  

• Teamup, by Morgan Wenkler and Rylee Fishkin, with help from Daniel Jackson, Luk Schirmer and Sakura Suzuki, took second in the same group. 

Other teams included: 

• Above Average: a fashion brand. 

• Capital Coach Investing: an app designed to educate young investors. 

•  Hive: a hardware/software technology to monitor and reserve gym equipment when it’s available. 

The first-place winners behind NIL Finder initially won $200 each for travel expenses for future rounds of the competition that pitted them against teams from other regions. 

After that early victory, they were again chosen by judges in an online first round of the statewide portion of the contest, moving on to an in-person presentation on April 24 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

At the state finals, the trio made it to the final round, finishing first in the Live, Work & Live track and earning a $10,000 prize. More than 370 teams initially entered the competition.

“This class has been awesome and extremely beneficial for me as someone who wants to be an entrepreneur,” said Echevarria, a sophomore business economics major minoring in entrepreneurship. 

All the Cortland teams will present their business plans on campus during the annual Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference. 

Cortland’s competitors came out of the MGT 275: Entrepreneurship 1 class taught by James Wilson, a lecturer in the Economics Department. Work on the project is factored into the final class grade. 

Wilson began at Cortland last fall, teaching MGT 175: Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship that semester. Students from that class could then go on to this spring’s Entrepreneurship 1, with the NYBPC an integrated part of the course. 

“As part of these classes, we learn about how to take an idea and put it through the wringer in terms of questioning, research and analysis, market opportunity and scrutinizing an idea to solve a problem and bring that all the way through to a viable business concept,” he said. 

NIL Finder is designed to enable student-athletes to more easily secure NIL deals while boosting the players’ profiles on social media. 

NIL, short for Name, Image, Likeness, has become a significant term in college sports, as student-athletes have recently been allowed to profit from deals that use their high profiles commercially.  

“This started out just for a good grade in class but now we all believe it will become something in the future,” Echevarria said.  

The team has been looking for investors to help fund its growth. 

“After we won the NYBPC something clicked in all of us and we are now working harder than ever to try and get NIL Finder up and running, hopefully within the next six months,” he added. 

TeamUp is an app made to connect people looking to play sports, regardless of skill level. 

“With TeamUp, they carry themselves well,” Wilson said of Cortland’s second-place entrepreneur team. “They had a lot of good storytelling and good energy, and in their presentation, and I think it translated well to the judges.” 

The NYBPC states its goals as fostering entrepreneurial skills, connecting students to the entrepreneurial landscape in New York and launching new business ventures.  

After his students’ early success, Wilson said he plans to continue taking part in NYBPC in the future. He noted that it felt great to see what was learned in the class put into action. 

“We’ve been working on it since (the students) inception into this whole notion of taking this idea and turning it into something that’s viable for a business,” Wilson said. “And it’s even further of a leap to create formal presentations around a business plan for it. So, they put in a lot of work into getting it to where it’s presentable in a competition setting with other colleges and universities. It's high stress.”

———

In top photo, from left, Michael Echevarria, Chris Judge and Kyle German

Tickets for the Spring Fling concert with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie sold out in less than a week, guaranteeing a big end to Spring Fling week 2025.

The popular rapper and singer-songwriter will perform in Park Center Alumni Arena on Saturday, May 3.

The concert doors will open at 8 p.m. Opening for A Boogie will be Boston-based DJ Frank White.

“This year’s Spring Fling is going to be nothing short of amazing — a week full of exciting events leading up to the biggest concert Cortland has seen in years,” said Abigail Loiselle, president of the Student Activities Board (SAB).

This will be the fourth and final Spring Fling concert for Loiselle, a senior therapeutic recreation major who became involved with SAB during her first year at SUNY Cortland.

“It’s been an honor to help bring joy and unforgettable experiences to our campus community through these events,” Loiselle said. “I’m so proud to be part of a group that is not only dedicated, but truly passionate about creating something special for our students.”

Other Spring Fling 2025 events include:

Monday, April 28:

• Food Truck Fair and Rec Fest

Free food trucks, free ice cream, free pizza and more! From 5 to 7 p.m. on the lawn behind the Student Life Center

Tuesday, April 29:

• Comedy Night

An evening of laughter with teacher-turned-comedian Jay Black starts at 7 p.m. in Corey Union Exhibition Lounge

Wednesday, April 30

• Stuff-A-Plush

Make a new friend — literally — at Spring Fling Stuff-A-Plush at 6 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room

Thursday, May 1

• Video Game Night

Next Level Video Game Night with giant gaming screens from 7 to 9 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room

Friday, May 2

• T-shirt Giveaway

Giveaway and Mocktail Bar from 4 to 6 p.m. on the Corey Union southwest patio (Rain location: lobby level)

Saturday, May 3

• Carnival

A variety of inflatables, games and other attractions will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Moffett Lawn. (Rain location: Corey Union Function Room)

Any changes to this schedule will be communicated accordingly.

Please keep an eye on SAB’s Instagram for more info/posters.

The 11th annual Blackbird Film Festival returns to welcome movie lovers under its wings.  

From Friday, April 25, to Sunday, April 27, an international array of independent filmmakers will arrive at SUNY Cortland to show off their projects, discuss their craft and celebrate an artform that brings big ideas to the big screen. 

With viewings held on campus in Old Main’s Brown Auditorium, the nonprofit festival created by Sam Avery, associate professor in the Communication and Media Studies Department, selected 60 films this year out of 454 entries. 

Blackbird is free and open to the public, sponsored by SUNY Cortland, SUNY Cortland Auxiliary Services, CNY Arts and the Experience Cortland County Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

“My passion for filmmaking came from the creation and building process,” Avery said. “The idea that you would gather shots and then assemble them, like a puzzle, into a cohesive story.” 

That level of devotion has led an array of filmmakers and film fans to gather in upstate New York for a weekend of appreciation on movies made. 

“Outlets for noncommercial film appreciation are getting fewer and further apart,” Avery said. “Blackbird stands as a free space to engage in this type of storytelling within our community.” 

The review process begins when SUNY Cortland student interns work in teams to review assigned films. Top entries then going on to “pro judge” alumni filmmakers from earlier festival seasons. 

Finalists go on to a last review led by Avery and select other judges. During the festival, attendees can weigh in by voting on their pick for an audience choice award. 

Production quality, story and characters all play an important factor in selection, according to Avery. But he said the “make or break” moment comes during the final review, when the festival judges look for common themes among films. 

“Inevitably, there are always pockets of films that are about a similar topic — like “Discovering Oneself” or “Escaping Entrapment” or “Finding Your Voice” — and we group them together to form a cohesive screening block,” he said. “For instance, this year we have a block called “Tech Support” in which characters grapple with issues of AI. We have another block called “Inherited Scars” in which characters manage generational trauma.” 

Blackbird also saw a rise in submitted films that focus on women’s rights, abortion and body autonomy this year, leading to one of the main screening blocks being “Body, Choice, Voice.” A moderated panel will follow. 

Campus creators will have a chance to shine as well, with a Rising Star block scheduled for films made by SUNY Cortland students in the Media Production program. The young filmmakers include Jake Baglio, Taylor DeCastro, Brian Dorn, David Garcia, William Keane and Andrew Oliva. 

Established events like the kickoff party, meetup with mentors and trivia test all return this year for a sequel, while a new event called “Tacos & Tablereads” will let local actors perform short scripts by filmmakers and SUNY Cortland students. 

“Students who traveled with me to the Phoenixville Film Festival last fall to screen our short film JAAQ participated, as actors, in a table read event and loved it,” Avery said. “So, we thought it was a good idea to bring that to Blackbird.” 

One of the most popular parts of the festival, “Blackbird Paint + Sip,” has moved this year to AKE Gallery in the city of Cortland to allow for more people, and to highlight the local art scene. 

With decreased federal funding for the arts, Avery noted, community support is needed now more than ever before.  

“Already, more the 50% of the regional festivals I typically travel to each year have closed their doors,” Avery said. “All this is to say, Blackbird has curated the program and opened the doors, now we need people to show up and make the event come to life.” 

Four SUNY Cortland seniors will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award — the highest student honor presented by New York’s public university system — at a ceremony to be held Tuesday, April 29, in Albany, N.Y.

The university’s recipients of the 2025 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence are:

• Vinny Aquino, a psychology major from Uniondale, N.Y.
• Khyla Diggs, an adolescence education: social studies and history dual major, minoring in Africana studies, from Middletown, N.Y.
• Hunter Martorella, a childhood/early childhood education major from La Fayette, N.Y.
• Riley Meckley, a history and adolescence education: social studies dual major from Port Jefferson, N.Y.

The Chancellor’s Awards are given each year to students from SUNY’s 64 campuses who have demonstrated academic excellence while balancing leadership roles, campus involvement, community service and achievements in the arts, athletics or career-related pursuits.

Each year, SUNY campus presidents establish a committee to review and select outstanding graduating seniors. Nominees are reviewed by the Chancellor’s Office and winners are selected. Each honoree receives a framed certificate and medallion to wear at Commencement in May. Last year, nearly 200 students were honored.

Including this year’s honorees, 113 SUNY Cortland students have earned the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence since the program began in 1997.

More information about each 2025 SUNY Cortland recipient is included below:

Vinny Aquino

psychology major

Uniondale, N.Y.

Vinny Aquino shines as a student leader who embodies advocacy for the LGBTQIA+ community and other individuals treated as being part of a minority.

Aquino’s lived experiences as a non-white trans man and a person with cerebral palsy who sometimes uses a wheelchair have brought an intersectional perspective to his work on behalf of the university’s Pride Club for more than three years.

As the Pride Club president for two years, he helped organize Pride Homecoming events, a New York City trip to the Stonewall Inn and campus dialogues considering the challenges that LGBTQIA+ students face. Aquino established Pride Club’s annual fall trip to the university’s outdoor campus at Raquette Lake.

He consistently advocates for accessibility as a trusted student voice in the Disability Resources Office.

Aquino excels in the classroom, keeping a 3.92 cumulative grade point average as a psychology major while working in Memorial Library to fund his education.

His current fieldwork with geriatric adults in residential and rehabilitation care centers demonstrates his service to others.

After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s in social work and public health, with a long-term goal to advocate for individuals from multiple minority groups.

Khyla Diggs

dual major adolescence education: social studies and history

Middletown, N.Y.

Khyla Diggs, who currently serves as president of the university’s Student Government Association, is always willing to advocate for people in need, especially through her training as a future teacher.

Diggs embodies what it means to prioritize diversity, inclusion and belonging in her life’s work. Her success as SGA president can be attributed to the many skills she brings to the classroom: listening, compassion, critical thinking and motivation. Her high-level president’s role also reflects the admiration she has earned from her peers.

Outside the classroom, she has served as president of the Black Student Union, secretary for Men of Value and Excellence and the public relations representative for the Curly Kinky Coily hair club. She also has raised funds and awareness to address student food insecurity at SUNY Cortland, while continuously advocating for the needs of underrepresented peers.

During the academic year, Diggs tutors her classmates through both the university’s Learning Center and the Cortland Educational Opportunity Program. She is a counselor for YMCA after-school and summer programs in her hometown.

Diggs has accomplished all this while excelling in the classroom with a 3.82 grade point average. She stands out as a star scholar in Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.) program, a research-driven opportunity on the campus that helps future teachers address inequities in education. Named the School of Education’s 2023 Black Lives Matter at School Promising Professionals Award recipient, Diggs’s field experiences have been diverse, introducing her to students of all abilities in urban settings from Ithaca, N.Y., to Syracuse, N.Y.

Hunter Martorella

childhood/early childhood education major

LaFayette, N.Y.

On and off campus, Hunter Martorella builds bridges and makes a difference.

Martorella’s extraordinary service on executive boards aims to assist marginalized groups, including Pride Club and Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER).

Martorella has initiated experiences for his peers across the state, from the university’s outdoor campus in Raquette Lake, N.Y., to the Stonewall Inn and from the New York City AIDS Memorial to the YWCA in the local community. He helped lead a community clean-up through The Big Event, the university’s annual day of student service.

An at-large senator for the Student Government Association as well as treasurer for the Cortland Writers’ Association, he participates with Men of Value and Excellence.

Martorella facilitates a COR 101 class for new students and is a consistent President’s List member with a 3.90 grade point average. Professors note Martorella’s excellence in the classroom and his willingness to far exceed the expectations of his field placements in teaching. He shined at nearby Groton Elementary School and, early during his teaching observations, he joined multiple school district events outside of traditional school day hours. Martorella also helped lead a campus tour of SUNY Cortland for fourth grade students.

Martorella works at the SUNY Cortland Child Care Center and volunteers with multiple organizations including Syracuse Prevention Network, where he helps peers develop healthy lifestyle habits.

He plans to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling after graduation.

Riley Meckley

dual major in history and adolescence education: social studies

Port Jefferson, N.Y.

Riley Meckley has long championed the interests of college students such as increased New York state student funding.

At SUNY Cortland, her involvement with organizations including the Galpin Institute for Civic Engagement and the Student Government Association (SGA) has been impressive.

An SGA senator for three years, Meckley encouraged student participation and reviewed organizational bylaws with members of various clubs while also representing student concerns on the SGA’s Campus Safety Committee and Academic Grievance Tribunal.

Her efforts both in Albany and on campus have earned her SUNY Cortland’s Democracy Engagement Leadership Award in addition to twice capturing the Student Campus Leadership Award. Meckley was presented the Vice President for Student Affairs Award and the Michael C. Holland Memorial Award, reflecting her academic success and commitment to classmates.

A future teacher who embodies academic excellence and meaningful participation in campus life, Meckley has maintained a 3.94 grade point average — the highest among classmates in her discipline. She received the President’s List and Top 5% distinctions every semester and was inducted into two honor societies, the interdisciplinary Phi Kappa Phi and, for history majors, Phi Alpha Theta.

Meckley has also participated in the university’s Education Club, Newman Club for Catholic students, and the women’s cross country and track teams.

A model lifelong learner, she traveled to Singapore and the United Kingdom, afterward serving as a study abroad ambassador. In her spare time, Meckley has earned certification as an American Sign Language interpreter, further proof of her talent and willingness to assist others.

In addition, she is a fashion influencer with an Instagram channel called “Always Dress Best” that has more than 164,000 followers.

Seven SUNY Cortland faculty and professional staff members will receive the prestigious State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.

The Chancellor’s Awards provide systemwide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement and encourage the pursuit of excellence at all 64 SUNY campuses. Each campus president submits nominations, which are reviewed by the SUNY Committee on Awards. 

The 2025 honorees are:

• Katherine “Kati” Ahern, associate professor, English Department — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service

• Lisa Czirr, associate librarian, Memorial Library — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship

• Katherine Hicks, professor, Chemistry Department — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities

• Daniel Radus, associate professor, English Department — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Tracy Rammacher, director, Marketing Office — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service

• Kimberly Rombach ’88, M ’93, associate dean, School of Education — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Abby Thomas, director, Advisement and Transition — Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service

This year’s award winners are detailed below. 

Katherine “Kati” Ahern

Ahern’s service has made a difference across the university’s campus in many important areas: student writing and artificial intelligence; sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; and professional support for her faculty colleagues.

She is viewed as a go-to campus resource on timely artificial intelligence topics in the classroom, leading the establishment of university’s collaborative, cross-campus group known as the Generative Artificial Intelligence and Student Writing Committee. Its contributions have included GenAI policy recommendations for the SUNY Cortland Handbook, sample course syllabi statements for faculty and an upcoming pedagogy fair in May. In December, Ahern was added to SUNY’s FACT2 Optimizing AI Task Force to represent SUNY Cortland.

Under her leadership as director of writing programs, the university’s approach to teaching and assessing student writing has been reimagined in a way that motivates faculty and students.

“Dr. Ahern does more than manage the day-to-day operations of the Composition (CPN) Program … She leads the program,” wrote Laura Davies, professor of English. “She notices what the faculty and students in the program need, and then she creates support structures to address these issues.” 

An advocate for environmental concerns, Ahern also serves as interim chair of the university’s Sustainability Curriculum Committee, helping to incorporate sustainability-focused topics in the classroom and establish a micro-credential in the discipline. She also has contributed to the university’s Anti-Racism Task Force, where she considers how her expertise in writing, pedagogy and artificial intelligence can improve the experience of students of color. 

Ahern has supported colleagues across campus through United University Profession activities, extensive participation in search committees and teaching observations and meaningful contributions to SUNY Cortland’s Faculty Development Committee. In her portfolio, she notes that her many service outlets are not merely items on a checklist, but ways to ensure that her “heart is in the work,” borrowing the phrase from Andrew Carnegie and her undergraduate alma mater.

Ahern holds a B.A. in creative writing and decision science from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.F.A. in creative writing (fiction) from George Mason University and a Ph.D. in communication, rhetoric and digital media from North Carolina State University.

Lisa Czirr

Czirr models modern academic librarianship and instructional innovation at SUNY Cortland. Her impact across campus is significant, especially when it comes to educating future teachers.

As the manager of the university’s Fralick Teaching Materials Center, Czirr oversees Memorial Library’s most heavily circulated print collection. Since 2012, her lessons have reached an estimated 20,000 students, helping education-related majors identify teaching resources spanning children’s books to interactive games.

“No other librarian at Memorial Library has reached so many students, and her efforts play an important part in the success of creating new teachers here at SUNY Cortland,” wrote Richard Powell, instructional services librarian in Memorial Library.

Creativity and innovation also inspire Czirr’s work. The Inspiration Station in the Fralick Teaching Materials Center offers a wide range of crafting supplies so that future teachers can gain hands-on practice with helpful resources before using them in the classroom. In collaboration with colleagues, Czirr has completed a large-scale recategorization of the teaching collection in an effort to make it easier for students to locate materials and complete assignments.

Czirr also has curated an expansive collection of culturally responsive children’s books, going as far as to develop a Diversity in Children’s Literature resource to ensure teacher candidates can lead lessons that reflect people from all backgrounds. Her ability to promote active learning through hands-on pedagogical tools has earned praise from students and faculty alike.

Beyond her skill in librarianship, Czirr has demonstrated a strong track record of service to Memorial Library. She has chaired the Library Personnel Committee and served many others. One of her greatest contributions has been the development of a robust mentorship program for tenure-track librarians, one that fosters collaboration and provides a model for the SUNY Librarians Association.

She also has contributed more than 170 children’s book reviews to professional databases. This scholarly work on mentorship and inclusive children’s literature has influenced both her profession and the broader field of education. 

Czirr holds a B.A. in biology from Hamilton College and M.L.S. from the University at Buffalo.

Katherine Hicks

As a biochemist, Hicks has demonstrated impressive research, undergraduate mentorship and meaningful contributions to the larger scientific community. A member of the campus community since 2013, she stands out as a model teacher-scholar at SUNY Cortland and across her field.

Hicks’s record of continuous scientific work “surpasses levels of excellence achieved by many faculty at (Research I) universities, as measured in peer-reviewed publications, broader impacts and ongoing nationally competitive external funding for her research,” wrote Jeffrey Werner, professor of chemistry. Several other colleagues note her ability to integrate responsibilities as a teacher and a researcher without sacrificing quality in either regard.

Hicks’s research focuses on enzymes, particularly those that degrade environmental pollutants. Her work, which employs a wide range of experimental approaches, is considered highly impactful. She has published 24 peer-reviewed articles, many of which appear in noteworthy journals like Biochemistry and Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. She also has contributed 14 unique protein structures to the Protein Data Bank, further solidifying her reputation as a trusted scholar in her field.

In addition to her personal accomplishments, Hicks is a dedicated faculty advisor to undergraduate scientists at SUNY Cortland. She has mentored 36 undergraduate students in her Bowers Hall laboratory and 42 students through the innovative Molecular Interactions Virtual Research Experience for Undergraduates (MIV-REU) program she helped establish — the first fully online REU funded by the National Science Foundation’s Chemistry Division.

Hicks has secured more than $979,000 in external funding through three NSF grants to support her research and the work of her students. Her efforts have been recognized by colleagues at various institutions who understand the scope and impact of her work, and this excellence was cemented most recently with the university’s 2023-2024 Outstanding Achievement in Mentoring Undergraduate Research Award. 

Hicks earned a B.S. in biochemistry and cell biology from Bucknell University. She holds both an M.S. and Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan and completed postdoctoral studies at Cornell University. 

Daniel Radus 

Radus has earned a reputation as a dedicated professor who inspires students to push beyond their intellectual comfort zones — constantly motivating them to analyze challenging texts through a student-centered and discussion-oriented approach.

“He does not just tell us what we must do, he gives us the purpose of the assignment,” wrote Nora Glover ’24, a childhood/early childhood education major who enrolled in several of his courses. “For me, knowing why a professor is making us do something makes it feel more meaningful. This also shows his interest and passion for what he is teaching.” 

Radus specializes in 18th and 19th century Indigenous literatures in North America, with particular interests in historical writing, book history, print culture and materialism. Since his arrival at SUNY Cortland in 2017, his undergraduate and graduate teaching has included 11 new course offerings.

These titles span introductory classes in literary study, upper-division offerings in American literature, special topics courses and several others. Regardless of the subject, Radus consistently earns perfect scores on his course teacher evaluations, with detailed student comments about the depth of his literary knowledge and his well-planned lessons that produce rich, thoughtful discussions. His expertise on Indigenous topics also has helped SUNY Cortland’s English Department teach from a diverse historical perspective.

Students praise Radus’s ability to create a supportive classroom environment that encourages them to take risks and share their ideas confidently. His ability to promote student participation through verbal discussion and in written formats is particularly meaningful.

Radus serves as a senior fellow in the Andrew W. Mellon Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography at Rare Book School, based at the University of Virginia. His scholarship has been supported by fellowships at the American Antiquarian Society and the Newberry Library, with published work in American Literature, Studies in American Indian Literatures, Early American Literature, Criticism and other venues.

Radus earned a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in English language and literature at Cornell University. He also holds an M.A. in English from the Pennsylvania State University.

Tracy Rammacher

Throughout a 32-year career at SUNY Cortland, from her earliest days as publications editor to her current role as director of marketing, Rammacher has made extraordinary contributions across campus — earning a reputation for her dependability, strong work ethic and leadership.

“Tracy’s quality of work, attention to detail and creativity serve as the foundation for the branding evolution that has occurred at Cortland the past three decades,” wrote Rich Coyne ’07, vice president for institutional advancement.

Rammacher has been instrumental in overseeing how the university presents itself to the outside world, navigating industry changes from print layouts by hand to an online approach informed by data. She has guided four major website redesigns, established a comprehensive Brand Identity Guide and contributed to numerous high-profile projects elevating SUNY Cortland’s visibility across academics and athletics. Her ability to understand and articulate institutional culture has generated a sense of pride that can be felt by students, faculty, staff and alums.

Beyond her job description, Rammacher has been a trusted collaborator with partners across campus, serving on more than 30 committees and leading initiatives that help shape positive perceptions of the university, from logos to signage to national television commercials. Her effort and attention to detail has consistently improved SUNY Cortland’s work tied to student recruitment, fundraising and overall engagement. She also has cultivated an office environment that promotes creativity and personal growth.

Under Rammacher’s direction, the Marketing Office has earned more than 20 awards from the State University of New York Council for Advancement (SUNYCUAD) across various mediums, from print publications to website design. Individually, she was recognized in 2011 with SUNY Cortland’s Excellence in Professional Service Award: Innovation Within Profession. Her service also extends beyond campus, most notably through the SUNYCUAD network of marketing and communications professionals, where she has served two terms on its board of directors.

Rammacher holds a B.A. in English from SUNY Fredonia and M.A. in magazine journalism from Syracuse University.

Kimberly Rombach ’88, M ’93

 A former elementary school teacher with a successful academic career spanning more than 30 years, Rombach has prioritized student-centered instruction and inclusive education. She is proof of Cortland’s excellence in teacher education. Prior to her appointment as associate dean in 2023, she served as a full-time faculty member since 2004.

“In my mind, Dr. Rombach’s teaching is in a class of its own,” wrote Andrea Lachance, dean of SUNY Cortland’s School of Education. “Her wisdom, empathy, thoughtfulness, and command of her content make her an extraordinary instructor. Over my 30-plus year career in education, she is one of the finest teachers with whom I have had the pleasure of working. She is not only a model of outstanding teaching for our students, but also for our colleagues.”

Rombach is praised for embracing new technology in the classroom, adopting teaching strategies on social justice and incorporating student feedback to raise her high level of teaching. She has taught many different courses throughout her career, including field-based undergraduate courses and online graduate courses for the Master of Science in Teaching program she helped develop. Regardless of the format, she is known for prioritizing individual learning needs.

Rombach’s strong publication record includes her 2023 book, Preparing to Teach in Elementary Classrooms: An Introduction to Becoming an Effective Childhood Educator, which serves as a culmination of her experiences as a classroom teacher, teacher educator and supervisor of interns. She also co-authored a $1.4 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education as the co-principal investigator for SUNY Cortland’s IM:PACT Project, “Inclusion Matters: Partnering for Authentic Change in Teaching,” which helped assure inclusive education was central in the revision of curriculum across the university’s School of Education.

Colleagues and former students both praise the care that forms the foundation of Rombach’s teaching, from her hands-on classroom lessons to student teaching observations in the field, with letters of support calling attention to her strong work ethic, thorough feedback and support for students.

Rombach earned a B.S. and M.S. in elementary education at SUNY Cortland. She holds a Ph.D. in teaching and curriculum from Syracuse University.

Abby Thomas

SUNY Cortland’s academic advising efforts have flourished under Thomas’s direction. Throughout her 22-year career on campus, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership, creative problem-solving skills and an unwavering commitment to student success.

“Abby is a student of students,” wrote Kevin Sheets, professor of history. “Her insights into how and what our students are thinking and needing is not merely academic, though her command of the professional literature is evident. She also connects to students and listens to them. Her ‘data gathering’ through formal and informal student interactions informs her decision-making, but, it should be said, her research is not transactional. She genuinely cares for our students.”

Thomas has been instrumental in SUNY Cortland’s continued development of a faculty-supported advising model, early alert systems to monitor student academic performance and orientation programming informed by assessment and best practices. Under her guidance, Advisement and Transition has significantly expanded the office’s duties, adding responsibilities that include transfer credit evaluation, registration compliance tracking and specialized support for first-generation students and other groups. 

Across campus, Thomas is highly regarded for her knowledge of academic decision-making matters. She has served on more than 25 committees during her Cortland tenure, including key groups dedicated to educational policies and the university’s General Education requirements. During the Fall 2022 semester, she was named interim director of Student Registration and Record Services, providing support during a time of transition while filling two director roles at once.

Thomas also stands out as a sought-after collaborator with many academic departments and offices, working with areas such as career services, residence life and housing, and financial aid. For five years, she also helped facilitate the university’s Crucial Conversations series dedicated to effective communication in the workplace.

Thomas has helped execute several SUNY grants to support student engagement and retention. These initiatives have created strong transfer partnerships with two-year partners, prepared new students for college-level coursework and built an informed advising culture among faculty and staff members on campus.

Thomas holds a B.A. in clinical and counseling psychology from Alfred University and M.Ed. in counseling psychology from James Madison University.

SUNY Cortland Professor and Chair of Africana Studies Michael Tillotson didn’t plan to develop a comprehensive theoretical construction illuminating why people of African descent must move towards building their internal agency.

But he did. As a result, his Agency Reduction Formation (ARF) theory unintentionally became a widely used model in African American studies.

“I am an accidental theorist. I didn’t set out to develop theoretical constructions,” said Tillotson, who for the last three years has been a monthly recurring panelist on the regional public television program, WCNY-TV’s “Ivory Tower,” where he soon will join other upstate New York academics to talk about current events Tuesday, April 29, during a special, full-hour discussion taking place on the SUNY Cortland campus.

Since his theory was introduced, ARF has been presented in academic papers at Black studies conferences, been the subject of conference panel discussions and academic journal articles, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. Over just the last two years, ARF will have served as the focus of four separate, daylong symposiums at universities in Indiana, Tennessee, Delaware and Illinois.

“Agency Reduction Formation meets the moment and responds at a critical time as many Black people are re-thinking their role in helping build collective efficacy to respond to the current political architecture,” stated Serie McDougal, an Africana studies researcher and scholar from California State University-Los Angeles.

In only the latest example, Tillotson’s theory — with an operational definition of “any system of thought that distracts, neutralizes or reduces the need and desire for assertive collective agency by African Americans” — was the Presidential Plenary topic on March 22 during the 49th annual conference of the National Council for Black Studies in Cincinnati, Ohio.

At the Presidential Plenary, three noted scholars discussed his theory, its use and application: Valerie Grim, professor of African American and African diaspora studies at Indiana University, Bloomington; Stephen Finley, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies at Louisiana State University; and Charisse Burden-Stelly, associate professor of African American studies at Wayne State University in Michigan.

“It is the highest point of my academic career thus far to have my peers and my colleagues in my discipline use my work in their scholarship, have their students use my work for master’s theses and dissertations and to be in a crowded plenary ball room with colleagues and witness them discussing my work,” said Tillotson, who earned a Ph.D. from Temple University’s African American Studies Department, the birthplace of doctoral-level African American studies.

“It was also rewarding that — for the first time in SUNY Cortland’s history — I was able to take three Africana majors and minors to experience the conference and also to present their own work and be around scholars that they have studied,” he said of the SUNY Cortland students Andrew Morene, Kyla Young and Anahis Mercedes.

Tillotson’s theory was introduced in his book, Invisible Jim Crow: Contemporary Ideological Threats to the Internal Security of African Americans (2011), soon after he had completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the African American Studies program at the University of Houston.

“As research-oriented academics know, you write something — a peer-reviewed article or monograph or a book — and then you move on to the next project,” Tillotson said.

“But sometimes the ancestors work in mysterious ways because this current attention to ARF is happening many, many years after the first book was published. Out of nowhere I started getting emails and phone calls and texts and voicemails from colleagues telling me that scholars are not just citing the theory but this person is using my theory as a launch point for their master’s thesis or that person is using my theory as a platform for their dissertation,” he said.

The next thing he knew, the theory was being used as a call for papers for the International Journal of Africana Studies. The next year, a panel of four scholars examined it at the annual conference of the National Council of Black Studies in Los Angeles. Two years ago, Indiana University in Bloomington held the first all-day ARF symposium.

Since Invisible Jim Crow, Tillotson has broadened his research to encompass the worldwide Africana experience in 14 peer-reviewed articles in leading Africana studies journals.

“It’s just an exciting time for Africana studies, because in this current moment, egalitarians are looking for race-specific information that can speak to the unique challenges of Africana people, in general, and Black Americans in particular,” Tillotson said.

Tillotson said his theory was part of his response to the critical need for a conceptual counter argument that addresses the challenges of Africana people due to factors crossing both time and geography, such as invasion, annexation, division and exploitation.

“Therefore, as a researcher coming out of the applied school of thought in the discipline, I was equally convinced that the negative disparities in the quality-of-life indicators for people of African descent could not simply be the singular result of members of this population not living up to their human potential,” Tillotson said.

“I clearly understood the X and Y axis, i.e. independent and dependent variable, explanations on Black life put forth by the expositors of the anti-egalitarian project were too binary and simplistic for my understanding. Therefore, I set out to investigate the confounds, or the Z factors, existing in the larger explanatory horizons of restrictive ideologies.”

Agency Reduction Formation provides that sorely needed Africana studies diagnostic.

“Ivory Tower,” the longest-running television show on Central New York public television, will record a special episode at SUNY Cortland, and the panelists will include two Red Dragon academic superstars.

Professor Michael Tillotson, chair of SUNY Cortland’s Africana Studies Department, and Bob Spitzer, distinguished service professor emeritus of political science, will join a panel of academic experts from across the region to record WCNY’s popular public affairs program on campus.

Tillotson is a frequent “Ivory Tower” panelist and a nationally respected academic whose work has helped shape the field of Africana studies. Spitzer is an original “Ivory Tower” participant and an internationally known expert on gun legislation whose expertise is frequently sought by news outlets around the globe.

The panel will record a special live-to-tape episode at Cortland’s Brown Auditorium on Tuesday, April 29, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to all students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. The episode will also be available to stream on-demand.

"I always feel fortunate when I walk into the studio to engage in the life of the mind,” Tillotson said. “To be on the trading floor of the marketplace of ideas, and to examine the larger questions of the human story with a crew of thinkers that I look forward to seeing every time.”

“I was sorry to leave ‘Ivory Tower’ when I retired and moved away from the area, but I’ve continued to watch the program online,” Spitzer said. “I am so very happy to return for an episode of the show, especially since it will take place at my longtime home campus.

“I’m looking forward to seeing many old friends and colleagues, both on the show and on the SUNY Cortland campus.”

Spitzer and Tillotson will join host David Chanatry, Utica University professor of journalism emeritus; Tara Ross, Onondaga Community College professor of history; Jenny Stromer-Galley, Syracuse University professor of information studies, and retired Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, Hamilton College visiting professor of history.

The expanded, hourlong format of the show will allow for audience questions. Barbara Fought, professor emerita of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, will moderate the questions.

The episode will premiere on WCNY-TV on Thursday, May 1 at 8 p.m., with encore broadcasts on Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. It will also be available to livestream at wcny.org/livestream.

Learn more about WCNY’s “Ivory Tower,” now in its 21^st season, at wcny.org/ivory_tower.

WCNY was founded in 1965 as The Educational Television Council of Central New York. Today, it is a public communications organization that produces content across multiple platforms, including television and radio, web and targeted email content, the WCNY CONNECT magazine, and social media.

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

But not at SUNY Cortland, where the university is celebrating sustainability and the protection of the environment for the entire month of April.

From a tree planting to a 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.

At SUNY Cortland, Arbor Day is about more than digging a hole for a new tree. There are also opportunities to learn about  the plant life around us.

On Arbor Day, Friday, April 25, members of the campus community are invited to attend a daylong schedule of events hosted by students in the Environmental and Outdoor Education class taught by Dr. N. Qwynne Lackey, an assistant professor in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department.  

“We forget that trees are in our yards and on our campus,” said Ashely Perretta, a graduate student in recreation and member of Lackey’s class. “Planning for Arbor Day has helped me to understand the value of trees everywhere, big and small, near and far.” 

A variety of events is planned for the day. There is, of course, the annual tree planting.  But there’s also a tree care workshop, a tree photo contest, a guided tree walk and much more.

“Planning an Arbor Day event has shown the importance of the holiday,” said Logan Bowling, another graduate recreation student in the class. “The diversity of trees on campus and across upstate New York truly defines the landscape. Hopefully, this event will inspire others to recognize the role that greenspaces play in student wellbeing. Being a part of the team that has put this event together has really been special.” 

For Cortland’s 12^th Arbor Day celebration, Lackey’s class is hosting six events on behalf of SUNY Cortland’s Tree Advisory Committee. The events, which will be, “filled with fun, learning and community spirit” include:  

• Tree Care Workshop
  8-9 a.m., Student Life Center (SLC), Room 1104 
  Learn about proper tree pruning and care. Workshop includes a 30-minute presentation followed by a live outdoor demonstration with real trees and tools. 
• Make a Difference on Arbor Day
  9-11 a.m., Front entrance of the Student Life Center (SLC) 
  Join us for this hands-on volunteer session. Come prepared to for light outdoor work to help keep our campus green and clean. Your time will make a big difference!
• Tree Planting Ceremony
  11:30 a.m., Meet at the grassy area between Lusk and Park Center 
  Plant a tree and leave your mark on our campus. This annual tree planting ceremony is a proud SUNY Cortland tradition involving students, faculty and staff.
  

• Guided Tree Walk
  Noon-1 p.m., Front entrance of the Student Life Center (SLC) 
  Discover the diversity of trees on campus. You'll uncover the hidden stories, surprising benefits, and natural beauty you pass by every day. 
• Treebling Activities
  10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Corey Union and Student Life Center (SLC) 
  Stop by our tables at the SLC and Corey Union tables for exciting trivia games, the Arbor Day photobooth, maple syrup tasting, and more! Learn more about the significance of Arbor Day and win prizes.
• Photo Contest
  Monday, April 21 – Friday, April 25 
  Participate in our photo contest running from April 21 to April 25. Capture the essence of Arbor Day and submit your photos for a chance to win fantastic prizes. Enter your photos online here.
• Campus tree map

  Any time, any day

  SUNY Cortland has a geospatial map of all trees on campus that can be used to identify and learn more about any of the university’s trees. You can find the app here or through Cortland’s geospatial hub, which maps locations of campus bicycle racks, water bottle stations and more.

Student Select 2025, SUNY Cortland’s annual, juried exhibition featuring paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, digital media, fibers, and prints created by students, opened on April 21.

The exhibition runs through Friday, May 9, in the Dowd Fine Arts Center’s Dowd Gallery.

Student Select is sponsored by the Art and Art History Department’s Dowd Gallery and the student-run Art Exhibition Association (AEA) to celebrate excellence in studio art from courses offered through the Art and Art History Department.

Student Select 2025 will feature an opening reception and awards ceremony from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in the Dowd Gallery. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.

The opening reception will include an award ceremony with the student artists, faculty and staff from the Art and Art History Department and this year’s exhibition curator.

Winners have been announced for best in show, second prize, third prize, honorable mention and gallery awards. They are:

• Best in Show/1st prize: Nicholas Kaires, "Big Time Players make big time Plays," 2025, film
• 2nd prize: Kat McCorrmick, "Worst thing I could do is disappoint you," 2024, oil paint
• 3rd prize: Melissa Kummrow, "Hypnotic Jerk," 2025, weaving and embroidery
• Honorable Mention: Sarah Goldberg, "Crucifixion," 2025, iron and hair
• Gallery Awards: Megan Ludgate and Casside Blake

During the ceremony, the winner of the fifth Muriel and Newell Keegan Prize for Excellence in Studio Art will be announced.

Sayward Schoonmaker, the artistic director of the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia, N.Y., was invited to be this year’s juror.

Schoonmaker has a Master of Library and Information Science from Syracuse University, a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art: Department of Fiber and Material Studies, from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science in Studio Art from Skidmore College.

“Each year, the show is curated by an outside juror, typically one who Dowd Gallery has been affiliated with,” said AEA President Kat McCormick said. “The exhibition features art of all mediums offered here at SUNY Cortland’s Art and Art History Department made by students across all majors.”

Schoonmaker chose for public display some 70 pieces made by 48 student artists out of 150 submissions.

“Schoonmaker had a tactful and attentive approach during her selection process,” McCormick said. “Distinguishing between foundational techniques and advanced studio concepts, her multi-disciplinary experiences in visual art guided her thoughtful curation of the exhibition.”

The gallery in Dowd Center is located on the corner of Graham Avenue and Prospect Terrace. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Walk-ins are welcome.

For more information, contact Kat McCormick. Visit the SUNY Cortland Dowd Gallery website for details about exhibiting artists, other programs, safety protocols and group visits.

The Student Select 2025 participants are:

Sinem Demir, Christopher Ramirez, Isabelle Magee, Melissa Kummrow and Sophia Rezende Peterson;

Keightlen Eaton, Jess Chochorek, Sophie Marin, Kelley McKenna and Tatiana Patrone;

Nicholas Kaires, Kathy Mckenna, Tristinye Martinez-Reyes, Lisa Smith and Sydney Clark;

Kat McCormick, Lee Clasby, Maura Brosnon, Jacob Van Langeveld and Brooke Shultz;

Gabz Danyew, Abigail Carberry, Simeon Parks, Dahlia Wilson and Sarah Goldberg;

Megan Ludgate, Madison Gaffney, Mackenzie Loughlin, Jessica Dillingham and Manuel Ray Beltran;

Aimee Craddock, Leah Bernhardt, Ariele Vance, Nasir Iderabdullah and Zoe Vaughn;

Daniel Gunther, Marissa DeLuca, Ashley Nazario, Brooke O’leary and Jacqueline Brown;

Casside Blake, Anna Lynch, Rameen Zehra, Carmela Cofini and Anias Lamour; and,

Ava Given, Hannah Wilson and Danielle Lewis.

Select an image below to begin a slide show.

The best of SUNY Cortland’s student academic projects will be highlighted when the annual Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference returns this month.

This year, a total of 96 students will showcase their work mentored by 47 faculty members. That will include 45 students presenting talks and 66 students presenting posters, including in those numbers some students doing both.

Created in 1997 as Scholars’ Day, the conference lets students share the results of their hard work throughout the school year on an array of topics. It was renamed Transformations in 2012 to emphasize how research transforms the studied subjects, the students’ lives and the world at large.

This year's Transformations conference kicks off Thursday, May 1.

Transformations begins with the annual keynote address at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, in Sperry Center Hobson Lecture Hall (Room 104). The speaker will be Teagan Bradway, a SUNY Cortland associate professor of English and recipient of the 2025 Dr. Peter DiNardo ’68 and Judith Waring Outstanding Achievement in Research Award.

It continues the next day, Friday, May 2, with student presentations from 10:20 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Bowers Hall.

More information is available on the Transformations website.

Each year the university sends out a campuswide call for presentations and uses faculty members serving as mentors to encourage students to participate. All students given a summer fellowship from the Undergraduate Research Council are expected to contribute.

For questions about Transformations, please contact the Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office at 607-753-4312 or email SchoolOf.ArtsandSciences@cortland.edu.

SUNY Cortland honored students for their contributions to the university at the 40th annual Student Leadership Recognition Banquet held Thursday, April 10, in Corey Union. 

Among those recognized were 51 students who played integral leadership roles on campus, one student organization, one faculty member and one staff member. Following are the award recipients: 

Outstanding Student Leaders 

Mohammadreza Afkhami 

Parker Arenas 

Kalyn Badgley 

Kate Baranello 

Joshua Bates 

Nathan  Bearup 

Carly Chardavoyne 

Roberto Coppola 

Ashlynn Crasa 

Tyler Dame-Meehan 

Vanessa Danese 

Julian deRoziere 

Shreya Dhital 

Khyla Diggs 

Maryoulematou Doumbia 

Jade Entien 

Preston  Fuerbacher 

Grace Galarza 

Holly Gesin 

Justin Gottlieb 

Kadence Grierson 

Kirstyn  Hastings 

Alex Jackson 

Dwayne Jones 

Jennifer Kelly 

Zachary Kushner 

Madison Lauber 

Cecile Lessard 

Emma Lisnow 

Max Llewellyn 

Abigail Loiselle 

Alexandra LoVerde 

Emma Madigan 

Emily Martinez 

Hunter Martorella 

Asa Mikelbank 

Calistus Nwuzor 

Shannon O’Sullivan 

Camilla Piano 

Victoria Pierre 

Tannu Punn 

Kelsey Quinn 

Isabella Retter 

Summer Roberts 

Megan Rothmund 

Mason Rowlands 

Gabriella Torres 

Kyrstin White 

Chloe Zeeuw 

Lauren Zeo  

Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 

Victoria Pierre 

Leadership in LGBTQAIP Advocacy 

Hunter Martorella 

Excellence in Leadership 

Shreya Dhital 

Mary Doumbia 

Alex Jackson 

Dwayne Jones 

Cecile Lessard 

 Outstanding Senior 

Dwayne Jones 

Student Government Association (SGA) Awards 

Outstanding Club Member — Gaven Jean-Baptiste, French Club 

Outstanding SGA Involvement — Hunter Martorella 

Outstanding Club — SUNY Cortland Emergency Medical Services (SCEMS) 

Outstanding Staff Member — Jacob Wright, Career Services 

Steven J. Barnes Outstanding Faculty Member — Samantha Applin, Sociology/Anthropology 

Michael C. Holland Memorial Scholarship 

 Khyla Diggs 

Shreya Dhital 

Vice President for Student Affairs Merit Scholarship 

Khyla Diggs 

Shreya Dhital 

The student awardees were invited to share the name of a faculty/staff person who has been supportive of them. Thank you to the dedicated people identified below. 

Andrew Abrams 

Jesse Bair 

Brian Barrett 

Bryanne Bellovary 

Elizabeth Bittel 

Kyle Cannon 

Siobhan Dailey 

Alyssa Estus 

Tracy Hudson   

Caroline Kaltefleiter 

Chris McRoberts 

Scott Moranda 

Mecke Nagel 

Christian Nelson 

Diana Niland 

Amber Pakkala 

Lauren Scagnelli 

Marinda Souva 

Tom Spanbauer 

John Suarez 

Esther VanGorder 

MaryBeth Voltura 

Ryan Vooris 

Nance Wilson 

Sandra Wohlleber 

Jacob Wright 

Each year with the assistance of President’s Cabinet and Student Government Association, the Cortland Auxiliary Services board of directors allocates funds to support a wide range of projects that enhance the life of the SUNY Cortland community. For the 2025-26 year, we proudly announce that $133,930 has been awarded to grant recipients.