Cortland in the news

12/03/2019 

Anne Burns Thomas, professor in the Foundations and Social Advocacy Department, and James A. Felton III, SUNY Cortland’s chief diversity officer, co-authored a story that appeared in the December 2019 issue of Insight Into Diversity.  

The story, “SUNY Cortland Program Places Qualified Teachers of Color in Urban Schools,” focuses on Cortland Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.), a unique teacher recruitment effort that encourages students who are African American, Hispanic and Latinx, Native American or are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds to become K-12 educators in underserved urban schools.

Since the program was launched in 1998, more than 125 Cortland students have graduated from C.U.R.E. Nearly 95% have completed or are working toward a two-year teaching commitment in urban schools and three out of four continue their urban teaching career beyond two years.

C.U.R.E. thrives thanks to tuition support, the real-world teaching experience gained by college students and the formal mentoring from faculty, staff and the C.U.R.E. graduate assistant.

In other news:

• The Choral Union was featured in the Cortland Standard prior to its performance of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” which is set for Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Rose Hall on 19 Church St. in Cortland.
• Robert Spitzer, distinguished service professor and chair of the Political Science Department, was quoted in a Washington Times story on the Supreme Court’s upcoming Second Amendment case, its first in nearly a decade. He was quoted in a separate story in USA Today about the FBI processing a surge in background checks, a rough barometer of gun sales. Spitzer spoke to WAER-FM about the late entry of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the Democratic primaries.
• Andrew Pragacz, visiting assistant professor in the Sociology/Anthropology Department, was quoted in Pipe Dream, the Binghamton University student newspaper, about a proposed law in Broome County that would criminalize annoying or threatening emergency first responders.
• Lindsey Darvin, assistant professor in the Sport Management Department, was quoted in a story on SBNation.com about the opportunities for female college athletes who may soon be able to profit from pending changes in name, image and likeness legislation.
• Steven Szatko, adjunct lecturer in the Foundation and Social Advocacy Department, and his wife, Carol Szatko, were featured in the Finger Lakes Times after purchasing the Newark (N.Y.) Pilots baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
• Former UPD Officer Jeff Bouyea is an investigator with the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and has been recently trained in using a polygraph as an investigative tool, according to the Times Union.
• Ryan Pacatte ’94 was named superintendent of the Avon (N.Y.) Central School District and was featured in the Livingston County News. Pacatte previously served as assistant superintendent of instruction and student learning for the Palmyra-Macedon Central School District.
• Brad Thomas ’92, president of First Transit, has been named to the National Safety Council’s board of directors. The NSC is a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate preventable deaths at work, in homes and on the road.
• Irene Furness ’85, M ’90 was featured in the Elmira Star-Gazette prior to her induction into the New York State Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Furness, who retired two years ago, was a longtime physical education teacher and coach in the Corning-Painted Post School District.