Skip to main content

Faculty and Staff Activities

Mechthild Nagel

Mechthild Nagel, Philosophy Department and the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies (CGIS), is research professor in residence at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague. During the spring semester, her stay is supported by a grant project of the Czech Science Foundation titled “Performativity in Philosophy: Contexts, Methods, Implications. No. 16-00994Y.”

Szilvia Kadas

Szilvia Kadas, Art and Art History Department, recently presented “Evoking Empathy through Graphic Design” at the Popular Culture Association - American Culture Association Conference on April 18 in Washington D.C.

Szilvia Kadas

Szilvia Kadas, Art and Art History Department, exhibits her recent graphic design works at “The SUNY Design Invitational” at The College at Brockport among other graphic design faculty at the State University of New York system. The exhibition opened to the public on Jan. 30 and will be on display through March 6 at the Tower Fine Arts Center Gallery, located at 180 Holley St., Brockport, N.Y.

Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla and Paulo Quaglio

Patricia Martínez de la Vega Mansilla and Paulo Quaglio, Modern Languages Department, coordinated the Virginia Levine Second Language Educators Conference held in Sperry Center on Saturday, Sept. 23. Titled “World Language Education: Supporting Our Students, Supporting Each Other,” the conference included nine workshops for TESOL, Spanish, French and general language instruction. A keynote address was given by Bill Heller, a methods and Spanish instructor at SUNY Geneseo and a member of the executive board and advisory panel for World Languages at the New York State Education Department.

Dakin Burdick

Dakin Burdick, director of the Institute for College Teaching, presented “Fleeting Glances: Using brief encounters with disciplinary specializations to enrich and diversify competency-based introductory classes” at the Conference on Instruction and Technology (CIT) on May 31 at Purchase College. Also, he presented on “Active Learning Activities that Minimize Student Anxiety” at the New England Faculty Development Consortium (NEFDC) conference on June 6 at Landmark College in Putney, Vt.  Finally, he was interviewed on “Small-Group Discussions” for SUNY Oswego’s “Tea for Teaching” podcast, available at http://teaforteaching.com/85-small-group-discussions/

Melissa A. Morris

Melissa A. Morris, Physics Department, gave an invited talk titled “The Current State of Research into the Formation of Chondrules” on April 27 at Cornell University.

Peter Ducey

Peter Ducey, Biological Sciences Department, coauthored a manuscript over the summer titled “Confirmation and Distribution of Tetrodotoxin for the First Time in Terrestrial Invertebrates: Two Terrestrial Flatworm Species (Bipalium adventitium and Bipalium kewense),” which appeared in the journal PLoS ONE. The eight-author team included scientists from the University of California Bakersfield, Utah State University, University of Notre Dame, University of Virginia, and SUNY Cortland. Popular articles about the work have been posted by numerous science news outlets including Science News, Science Daily, Nautilus and Mysterious Universe.

Led by Amber Stokes of UC Bakersfield, the research team found that two species of terrestrial flatworms living throughout the U.S. have within their tissues a potent neurotoxin that may be used to either defend them from potential predators or to subdue their own prey (earthworms). Because this is the same toxin that occurs in pufferfish and certain salamanders, interesting questions about its biochemistry and evolution have been raised. Ducey and his students at SUNY Cortland have been studying the ecology, behavior and evolution of these flatworms since the mid-1990s. Although the flatworms are not native to the U.S., they are now quite abundant in many parts of the country, including Central New York, and are formidable predators on earthworms. Because of the tetrodotoxin, Ducey advises against eating these flatworms if found locally. 

Tegan Bradway

Tegan Bradway, English Department, interviewed Judith Butler, author of the national bestseller Who’s Afraid of Gender? (2024) and one of the founders of queer theory. Bradway’s interview, “Queer Narrative Lines: A Conversation with Judith Butler,” was published by differences: a journal of feminist cultural studies and is available online. 

Diane Craft

Diane Craft, Physical Education Department, delivered a keynote address titled “Active Play! Fun Physical Activities for Young Children” at the Young Child Expo and Conference held April 22-24 in New York City. The 12th annual conference drew participants from 40 states and 23 countries. 

Lauren deLaubell

Lauren deLaubell, Memorial Library, presented with Diane Shichtman and Michelle Malinovsky, SUNY AI for the Public Good Fellows, at the SUNY Association of Chief Academic Officers Fall 2025 Conference.  Their talk addressed ethical and social concerns related to generative AI, syllabus statements, and campus implementation.