Bulletin News

09/24/2019 

Tommy Sheehan ’14 had two dreams as a child.

One, he wanted to teach fourth grade.

Two, he wanted to go on the hit reality show “Survivor.”

Mission accomplished. He’s done both.

Sheehan teaches fourth grade at Floral Park-Bellerose Union Free School District on Long Island. His passion for teaching — he is known to jump up on desks and rap about long division — was what sealed the deal in his application process for “Survivor.”

The series’ 39th season begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25 on CBS.

Sheehan was featured in the latest edition of Moments, SUNY Cortland’s monthly alumni enewsletter, and he also did an interview with Parade.

In other news:

• Matthew Madden, associate professor in the Physical Education Department, and Charles Yaple, professor emeritus in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department, were quoted in a Cortland Standard story on the social and physical benefits of playgrounds for young children.
• The Observer-Dispatch (Utica, N.Y.) wrote about Paul Wehrum ’72, M ‘74, who will be honored as part of the SUNY Cortland Lacrosse Legacy Club weekend on Oct. 5. Wehrum recently retired as the head men’s lacrosse coach at Union College and previously led Herkimer County Community College to eight NJCAA national championships.
• Robert Spitzer, distinguished service professor and chair of the Political Science Department, spoke with NPR about firearms manufacturer Colt announcing that it will suspend production of its AR-51 semi-automatic assault-style rifle. Spitzer was quoted by the Statesman (Austin, Texas), commenting on presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s proposal for a national gun buyback program.
• The late Gerry Gentner ’66 will be posthumously elected into the New York State High School Softball Hall of Fame. The Amherst Bee provided details of his career as head softball coach at Williamsville South (N.Y.) High School, which included state titles in 2000, 2004 and 2006. His daughter, Julie Gentner Murphy ’03, is a member of Cortland’s C-Club Hall of Fame.
• Bob Bulman M ’17 was named chief operating officer of the Albany Empire, an Arena Football League team. He previously served as COO of Mohawk Valley Garden, the parent company that oversees the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
• The Cortland Standard provided an update on the $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding that was awarded to the City of Cortland. The university’s Institute of Applied Geospatial and Drone Technology will use $100,000 of that money.
• Noelle Wolford Stolle ’98, a former member of SUNY Cortland’s gymnastics team, was featured in the Newport (Ore.) News Times for her role as tumbling coach with the Taft High School cheerleading team.