Parks Alumni House Celebrates First Decade

09/23/2014 

It’s been 10 years since the SUNY Cortland Alumni Association took ownership of the gracious brick mansion now known as the Lynne Parks ’68 SUNY Cortland Alumni House, and the association would like all Red Dragon alumni and the Cortland community to celebrate its success.

In the past year alone, 29 Tompkins St. has served as the memorable setting for 170 events. These include weddings, baby showers, graduation parties, college retreats, community fundraisers and unofficial alumni “reunions.” The five well-appointed bedrooms in the stately, 102-year-old Parks Alumni House have attracted 650 overnight guest bookings.

“Celebrating 10 years of operation is an amazing success story for our greater Cortland community,” said Michael Sgro, executive director of alumni engagement. “We have hosted activities related to many personal milestones that engender fond, lifelong memories, whether it be a wedding, alumni reunion or a College parent visiting their student.”

The Alumni Association wants to create even more of these memories. It is dedicating the month of October to encouraging alumni, friends and community members to visit the house, which has become a thriving landmark for both the campus and Cortland community:

• For the entire month of October, any person who stays at the house is entitled to a 10 percent discount on top of any price reduction offer they already received.

• The alumni association plans to hold an open house on Sunday, Oct. 26, for alumni, students and the public. All are welcome.

“The house has become more and more a vital part of the alumni, the College and the community,” agreed Carl Gambitta ’63, a member of the alumni association’s Board of Directors who chairs the Parks Alumni House Committee.

“We also have an intern program that gives us important help from some very talented students and furthers their development in the field of hospitality,” Gambitta said.

Over the years, the association has provided resources to improve and maintain the house, such as replacing the barn with a modern storage facility and extending the backyard patio to keep larger outdoor functions off the grass. As responsible stewards of the property, the staff also hired contractors who have completed the third phase of a roof maintenance project and repaired the chimneys.

For more information, contact the Parks Alumni House by calling 607-753-1561, emailing ParksAlumni.house@cortland.edu or visiting the website at cortland.edu/alumnihouse.