John Suarez
John Suarez, Service-Learning Coordinator at the Institute for Civic Engagement, has been accepted into the new Community and Civic Engagement Corps of New York Campus Compact (NYCC). Suarez’s expertise is in the area of developing and delivering tailored role-play and simulation events. The purpose of this Corps is to provide “a searchable database of Community and Civic Engagement experts from across the state. We are doing this in order to serve higher education better and move New York to the forefront of national community and civic engagement in higher education movement.”
Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, is the recipient of the “Chapter Advisor of the Year” award given out by Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honors society. Spitzer has served as advisor for SUNY Cortland's Zeta Delta chapter for nearly 20 years. He is one of two recipients of this nationwide award.
Debbie Warnock
Debbie Warnock, Sociology Department, presented two papers at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association held in August in Seattle, Wa. One of her articles, “Inequalities at the Outset: Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences in Parents’ Perceptions of Paying for College,” was published in July in the Journal of College Student Development. Another of her articles, ““The Poor Kids’ Table”: Organizing around an Invisible and Stigmatized Identity in Flux,” was published in September in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Fang “Faye” Yang
Fang “Faye” Yang, Communication Studies Department, was the lead author of the article “Do Violent Movies Scare Away Potential Visitors,” published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Advertising. The article explores transportation theory’s role in the relationship between movie watching and tourism.
Nancy Kane
Nancy Kane, Performing Arts Department, will perform in the Ithaca Shakespeare Company’s production of “Othello” from July 25 to 28 and from Aug. 1 to 3, at the Cornell Plantations, Ithaca, N.Y.
Dennis Weng
Dennis Weng, Political Science Department, co-authored an article that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Chinese Political Science in 2017. “Disrespect for Human Rights and Contentious Participation: Evidence from China,” was co-authored with Ching-Hsing Wang of the University of Houston and two SUNY Cortland undergraduate students, Laura Barnstead and Garrett DuMond. Also, Weng is a guest speaker at a conference on human rights issues set for Friday, April 21 in Taiwan.
Tadayuki Suzuki
Tadayuki Suzuki, Literacy Department, presented “Stories to Tell—Listening to the Words in LGBT Themed Children’s Literature” at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention held Nov. 22 in Washington, D.C.
L. Sebastian Purcell
L. Sebastian Purcell, Philosophy Department, presented “What the Aztecs Can Teach Us About Happiness” at the Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 10. Purcell has written widely on topics of moral, political and Latin American philosophy, from topics addressing environmental ethics to his comparative scholarship on Aristotle and the Aztecs. In 2016 he received the American Philosophical Association’s national prize for best essay in Latin American Philosophy for his comparative work on Aztecs, happiness and the good life. A philosopher by trade, he has learned that creative and critical thinking can have an impact on living better, and he applies these thoughts to investing, art and society. He writes about natural goodness, the ethics of cosmopolitanism, and what he calls the “Normativity Challenge: Happiness across Cultures.”
Willnide Lindor
Willnide Lindor, English Department, was accepted as a member of the 2022-2023 cohort for the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies’ RaceB4Race Mentorship Network. This Mellon-funded initiative based at Rutgers University connects established scholars with early career scholars to offer them research and career-development opportunities in the field of premodern critical race studies.
Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy, Health Department, and her project staff team of 15 undergraduate and graduate students and alumni surveyed more than 500 adult cigarette smokers and e-cigarettes users over 13 days of the 2019 New York State Fair as part of the “Patterns of Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adults in New York State” research project.
Murphy’s research interests include tobacco control and cancer prevention. Previously she conducted a survey of tobacco users at the fair in 2011. This latest research at the fair will allow her to compare changes (from 2011 to 2019) in the patterns of electronic cigarette use among adults in New York state and examine smokers’ beliefs about the harm or safety of various tobacco and nicotine projects.
Murphy teaches epidemiology courses where students learn about how to collect, gather and analyze survey data to answer a research question. This project at the fair provided a fun and real-world experience for students to see how data is gathered from humans “in the field,” which in this case was the fairgrounds.
Several SUNY Cortland undergraduate and graduate students took part in experiential learning and were able to apply and practice their survey research skills and communication skills as they interacted with fairgoers and invited them to participate in a brief survey. Also, the students had the chance to speak with potential college-bound students who are interested in attending SUNY Cortland and speak with numerous proud SUNY Cortland alumni who were at the fair.
Now that the surveys are complete, Murphy will work with undergraduate students to compile the data, analyze it and then write up the results for publication and dissemination. The findings from this research will be important given the public health epidemic of vaping which has received considerable attention in the news.