2025/26 Academic Year Theme: Water
The Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC), in partnership with the Student Government Association (SGA), is proud to present a dynamic, interdisciplinary series of events centered on the theme of Water. This year’s programming invites our campus and broader community to explore the environmental, social, and cultural dimensions of this vital element.
From scholarly and practitioner presentations to book clubs, film screenings, and student-led initiatives, we will dive into the many meanings of water—its essential role in sustaining life, its symbolic power in language and culture, and its connection to critical global challenges. Water speaks to both the physical and the metaphorical: watershed moments, floods of emotion, and staying afloat in turbulent times.
As a universal and tangible element, water offers a shared language through which students, faculty, staff, and community members can engage in meaningful, pluralistic conversations about the pressing environmental and social issues of our era.
This year’s theme follows previous explorations of elemental foundations—Food (2023–24) and Air (2024–25)—continuing our commitment to fostering dialogue around the essential forces that shape our world.
Our Common Reads!
This year's common reads were once again selected in partnership with the Student Government Association. In addition to selecting both a fiction and non-fiction book for our common read programming, we are excited to add a children's book to this year's conversations.
We encourage faculty, staff, and students to creatively integrate this year’s texts and themes into their academic and co-curricular experiences. Consider starting a book club, volunteering to read to youth, incorporating the material into your courses, or sharing films and video content that align with the themes. You might also host a discussion event, lead a creative project, or explore other ways to engage your community around these powerful ideas. Let this be an opportunity to connect, reflect, and take action through the shared lens of Water.
Events and Activities
Announcements coming soon
About CICC
The Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC) is an all-campus committee of faculty and staff. Each year members of the Committee choose a theme to frame a year-long series of lectures, discussions, film screenings, and art exhibitions. This theme is meant to promote cultural life on campus and help the campus and Cortland community engage in discussions connected to issues relevant to today's world.
If you are a member of SUNY Cortland's faculty or staff and would like to participate in the CICC, please contact Benjamin Wilson, the committee's chair. If you are member of the student body or the Cortland community and have a suggestion for a speaker or event, please feel free to contact us as well.