Students set to shine at Transformations 

04/18/2023 

SUNY Cortland’s students are putting one year’s worth of academic excellence across all disciplines on display Friday, April 28, during Transformations: A Student Research and Creativity Conference. 

All presentations take place in Bowers Hall except for the “Writing Gala,” which is new to the conference and will be at the Dowd Fine Arts Center’s Dowd Gallery. “We are very excited to bring back the keynote address as part of the Transformations conference, which is something we have not had since 2019,” said Bruce Mattingly, the dean of arts and sciences and chair of Transformations, which he is coordinating for the 15th year.  

Starting this year, the recipient of the Dr. Peter Di Nardo ’68 and Judith Waring Outstanding Achievement in Research award will serve as the keynote speaker. 

Rhiannon Maton, an associate professor of foundations and social advocacy, and the 2023 DiNardo and Waring award recipient, will give the keynote lecture from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, in Sperry Center, Room 104. 

Student presentations will take place on Friday, April 28. The conference includes: 

• Contributed talks I, 10:20 to 11:20 a.m. 
• Poster session A, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Contributed talks II, 12:40 to 1:40 p.m.
• Poster session B, 1:50 to 2:50 p.m.
• Contributed talks III, 3 to 4 p.m.
• Writing Gala, 5 to 7 p.m. 

A full schedule of presentations is available in the presentation booklet on the Transformations website. 

Mattingly expects the event to highlight the exceptional academic work being done at the university. 

“As always, there is quite a variety,” he said. “As you look through the program, you will see titles such as ‘Transformative Immersive Education: Hawaii,’ ‘The Influence of Music in a Classroom on Student Performance and Motivation,’ and ‘Social Media and Its Negative Impact on Adults.’ There are presentations from students in many fields, from archaeology to exercise science to studio art. I think we have something for everyone.” 

The “Writing Gala” was created this year to give student writers an expanded opportunity to share their work. In past years, Mattingly said, students who won campus writing awards were given a standard time slot at the conference that wasn’t long enough. The event will bring the same award-winning writing to Transformations, but with more time for students to be recognized. 

Originally established as Scholars’ Day in 1997, Transformations was renamed in 2012 to emphasize how student research can transform the studied subjects, the students’ lives and the world at large.  

Each year, the university sends out a campuswide call for presentations and uses faculty mentors to encourage students to take part. All students given a summer fellowship from the Undergraduate Research Council also are expected to present.  

This year, 100 students will deliver 29 lectures and 32 poster presentations, Mattingly said. An additional 15 students will be part of the “Writing Gala.”  

While the students get the spotlight, faculty help is crucial to Transformations. 

“They guide them through every step of the process, from identifying the initial problem, developing the appropriate methodology, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions and summarizing the results,” Mattingly said. “What you see at Transformations is typically the culmination of a research project that might extend across several semesters.” 

Support for Transformations is supported by the President’s Office, the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Office and Cortland Auxiliary Services. To view presentations, posters and research materials from past conferences, visit the Digital Commons @ Cortland repository.