It's one thing to read about water resource problems and environmental issues in the developing world. It's an entirely different experience to see these issues - and the people they affect - first-hand and work toward solutions. Sixteen environmental sustainability students from SUNY Oneonta recently returned from a summer international field course where they did just that. In its fourth year, the field course, called "Water and Environment of Guatemala," brought students to Guatemala for two weeks, where they took water samples and analyzed water quality data from Lake Atitlan and the surrounding drainage basin. The course is led by Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Sciences Tracy Allen. Based on their observations, interactions with local residents, and data collection, students worked to identify sustainable solutions to the area's water resources problems. Students were also able to learn about agriculture while touring a coffee plantation and, later, take in the area's natural wonders, including the Pacaya volcano, which is active. The students went into a Guatemalan elementary school to teach fifth and sixth graders about the lake and water quality, and they also installed water filtration systems into some of the area homes. Students said these interactions were particularly meaningful and rewarding, and the trip was eye-opening.

Senior Nicole Johnston was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

SUNY Oneonta will open the 2017-18 gallery season with an exhibitions featuring artwork by student scholarship winners. "Student Recipient Exhibition, Jean Parish Memorial Scholarship 2016-2017" opens Sept. 11 and will run until Oct. 6 in the Project Space Gallery. This exhibit will feature the artwork of recipients of the 2016-2017 Jean Parish Memorial Scholarship awards: Lorelei Olk, Cap Dramstad, Jessica Tyler, Noah Barton, Briela Tollisen and Megan Jansen. A range of styles and media - including drawing, painting, photography, prints and mixed media - will be presented. A reception for the exhibit and student presentations will take place Thursday, Sept. 14, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., funded through the estate gift of Jean Parish, faculty emerita in art, to the college foundation. The Project Space Gallery is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday when the college is in session and during special events. For more information about the gallery or upcoming exhibitions, contact Gallery Director Tim Sheesley at (607) 436-2445, (607) 436-3456 or visit www.oneonta.edu/academics/art/gallery.html.

Eleven new international freshman and transfer students have been awarded merit scholarships to attend SUNY Oneonta beginning in the fall 2017 semester. The award amounts range from $6,000 to $8,000 per year.

Four SUNY Oneonta students are involved in a year-long project with the goal of shaping the future of science education by designing and creating their own instructional models for use in classrooms. The project, titled "Authentic Research Experiences for Earth Science Education Majors," gives pre-service Earth Science teachers the chance to design and build their own models of particularly complex or abstract Earth processes and concepts, according to project leaders Dr. James Ebert of the Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department and Dr. Paul Bischoff of the Secondary Education Department. Participating students, who were selected from a pool of applicants, spent four weeks in the spring designing and building the models and will work throughout the year to tweak and perfect them. Four of the students were from SUNY Oneonta, and two were from other SUNY schools. The students were given a stipend of $2,500 for their work. Six more students will participate next year, with six more after that.

Eight SUNY Oneonta students participating in the Pine Lake Archaeological Field School this summer are seeing firsthand what it would be like to work as archeologists. The immersive learning experience takes students to Hartwick College's Pine Lake Environmental Campus in West Davenport, about eight miles from SUNY Oneonta. There, they spend about eight hours a day learning basic methods in field archaeology, including surveying and excavating techniques, mapping and laboratory analysis. The summer program, which is offered every other year, is a collaborative effort of SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick, with SUNY Oneonta providing most of the equipment. Students can earn six credits by taking the summer course.

Three SUNY Oneonta students received funding totaling $5,700 to support summer internships through the Dewar Foundation Fund for Internship Support. The new fund, which will offer $12,500 to SUNY Oneonta students over the course of the year, helps make internship experiences more accessible. Permanent residents of Otsego County and contiguous counties who are interning for academic credit either in the United States or abroad are eligible to apply. Award preference goes to students who graduated from Oneonta High School.

A total of 187 SUNY Oneonta students earned Provost's List honors for the spring 2016 semester. To qualify for the Provost's List, a student must earn a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while carrying a course load of 12 hours or more. The following area students were named to the spring 2017 SUNY Oneonta Provost's List:

SUNY Oneonta recognized 54 outstanding students during an Academic Achievement Awards reception on May 3. One to three students were chosen from each of the college's academic departments and programs to receive the 2017 Academic Achievement Awards. Each student selected one faculty guest to accompany them to the recognition event. In addition to their excellent work in the classroom, students were honored for distinguishing themselves in many ways, including research, activism, mentoring, athletics, involvement in campus activities and volunteerism.

Fifty-two members of the Class of 2017 received Senior Service Awards in recognition of their outstanding commitment to volunteerism while at SUNY Oneonta. Students who completed at least 350 hours of service through the college's Center for Social Responsibility and Community (CSRC) were recognized during a reception on May 12.

Four students were elected to the College at Oneonta Foundation Board of Directors at the April 14, 2017, board meeting. All terms begin in June 2017.

Seventeen SUNY Oneonta students participated in the 2017 National Model United Nations Conference in New York City from March 19-23. The Oneonta delegation represented South Africa.

A total of 14 new members were inducted into the SUNY Oneonta Alpha-Kappa-Iota chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society, during a ceremony on April 7.

Nine SUNY Oneonta students will present papers at the college's eighth annual New Critics: Undergraduate Literature and Composition Conference on Saturday, April 8. More than 20 students from 10 colleges and universities throughout the East Coast will present their scholarly work at the conference, which will feature a keynote address by Ben Saunders of the University of Oregon titled, "Wonder Woman in Bondage."

More than 300 students met requirements for graduation from SUNY Oneonta following the Fall 2016 semester. Graduates were honored at a December recognition ceremony hosted by College President Nancy Kleniewski and held in the Dewar Arena of the Alumni Field House. They also are eligible to participate in the college's commencement on May 13.

Twenty-eight members of SUNY Oneonta's Zeta Beta Tau fraternity chapter helped organize SUNY Oneonta's third annual Gift of Life Bone Marrow Donor Registration Drive on Oct. 26 and 27.

This fall, SUNY Oneonta will welcome approximately 1,100 freshmen and 600 new transfer students hailing from across New York, as well as from 12 other states and countries. New students moved in on Aug. 24, and the fall 2016 semester starts Aug. 29. Our newest Red Dragons will officially join the Oneonta family when they walk through the historic pillars of Old Main during the traditional Pass Through the Pillars ceremony on the campus quad the night before classes begin.

A total of 27 students were elected this spring to Student Association positions for the 2016-2017 academic year at SUNY Oneonta. Students are elected to Student Association positions by their peers in the student body. Elections for executive board positions were held April 7-8, and senators and judicial officers were elected April 14-15.

SUNY Oneonta recently recognized nearly 100 alumni during the 2015 Alumni of Distinction Presentation of Honors.