President’s List Honorees Regaled

10/09/2018 

Susan Wilson has walked the path of excellence.

So it’s only fitting that Wilson, a 2015 recipient of the State University of New York’s SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Service, was chosen to offer students guidance for their journey during SUNY Cortland’s President’s List Reception for students who have stood out in the classroom.

Wilson addressed 184 honorees who attended the Oct. 1 event with their families in the Corey Union Function Room.

The President’s List is the College’s highest honor for students who excel academically. It acknowledges students enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours who achieve grades of A- or better in each of their courses. In Spring 2018, 9.2 percent of the full-time student body reached this level of achievement.

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum opened the reception, which recognized 532 students this year.

“Sometimes you think you have to take one particular path and then when that path doesn’t work out you need to make the most of the opportunity you have been given,” said Wilson, an associate professor of recreation, parks and leisure studies, to the gathering. “When you feel you have ‘failed’ tap into your values, interests and passions, find another path.” 

Wilson engages students while guiding them on the steps to take to achieve an outstanding education, and for that she has been honored again and again.

In 2011, students singled her out from among all the full-time teaching faculty members for a Student Affairs Connection Award. The selection committee noted her many campus roles, including softball team academic advisor, instructor for the first-year student seminar (COR 101) and a student conduct justice.

Wilson joined the College in 1998 after receiving her Ph.D. in therapeutic recreation from Clemson University.

In 2000, the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification recognized Wilson for preparing therapeutic recreation students to score higher than the regional and national averages during a three-year period.

From 2011 to 2013, Wilson worked closely with students in academic jeopardy as interim associate dean of the School of Education.

A certified therapeutic recreation specialist, Wilson is a published scholar who has shared her research extensively at state and national conferences in her field.

A past president of the New York State Therapeutic Recreation Association, Wilson was honored by the association in 2008 as an outstanding professional.

In the community, Wilson has served on various committees of the YWCA Board of Directors and as a Girls Day Out program volunteer.

Next spring, a second President’s List Reception ceremony will be held to recognize Fall 2018 honorees in conjunction with the College’s Academic Hall of Fame Award to a gifted former student who has excelled in their field.