SUNY Oneonta

A new project developed by SUNY Oneonta's Psychology and Sociology departments will give six students an immersive applied-learning experience in the fields of health care and human service while simultaneously looking to alleviate some serious community problems. During the year-long venture, student researchers Joshua Garufi, Kathryn Kilichowski, Taryn More, Judson Parisi, Stacy Pinto and Peter Richardson will work with several local health and social service agencies to examine the well-being of area residents and identify areas that need improvement. To learn more about the area and its residents, students will conduct survey research at the Southside Mall in Oneonta. This research will focus on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of residents of Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Otsego and Schoharie counties. Specifically, it will assess residents' risk of alcohol/illegal drug abuse and mental illness and identify challenges to health wellness in rural areas. Funding for the research is being provided by LEAF Inc. (the Leatherstocking Education on Alcoholism/Addictions Foundation) and by a grant from the SUNY Oneonta Faculty Center for STEM-related applied learning. In its annual Community Health Assessments, the Otsego County Department of Health routinely names promoting mental health and preventing substance abuse as two of its top priorities, with an emphasis on affordability, since many residents are living at or near poverty level. "It is so important to include our students in this project and have them gather data from members of our community," said Julie Dostal, executive director of LEAF, "so we can better define the problems and also refine the resources we are offering." The project will culminate with students developing a county-wide map of substance abuse treatment and mental health services and resources. Students will also assist local agencies with program evaluations and run an analysis to identify gaps within the county's continuum of care. Each of the six student researchers will receive a $600 stipend for the project.

The latest exhibition at SUNY Oneonta's Project Space Gallery will feature the work of three student artists who have, through their artwork, explored the contrast in city and country lifestyles and the concept of vacationing in one place or the other as an "escape." The exhibit, called "[e]scape," features the artwork of Jessica Tyler, Tyler Burke and Henry Feist. It opened Nov. 29 with a reception at the Project Space Gallery and will run through Dec. 19. The show consists of a combination of silver-gelatin photographs and digital photographs ranging in size from 21 inches by 18 inches to 36 inches by 64 inches. In their combined artist statement, the students explained how their work explores the contrast between living in the city or country and visiting the city or country for a vacation. City dwellers often find summer homes in Oneonta, they explained, while Oneonta natives find themselves taking trips to explore the big city. Each reality is someone else's vacation. "Sometimes we forget what else is out there," the students wrote. "No matter which landscape you live in, whether it be the Catskill Mountains or one of the Five Boroughs of New York, the other always feels like an escape." "As the three of us prepare to graduate, we want to use this series as a means of exploring the contrasts in the lifestyles we've experienced and appreciating the good and bad of each one," the statement continues. "Even when things seem gray in the environment you're living in, there is always a burst of color that will follow. It's up to us to find our escapes."

SUNY Oneonta's Fed Challenge team of economics and business economics students took third place overall at the 2017 College Fed Challenge, held Nov. 14 at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Donning blazers and nametags and standing in front of an audience and panel of judges, the students delivered a 15-minute presentation in which they analyzed economic conditions and recommended a course for monetary policy. Five students - Melissa Voyer, Heather Teichman, Carlos Salomon, Mike Deyak and Kevin Stearns - presented, while a group of non-presenters supported teammates and toured the vault at the Fed. Forty-three teams competed in the preliminary rounds on Oct. 31. Twelve teams advanced to the Nov. 14 semifinals, and three teams made it to the finals, where SUNY Oneonta took third place, Rutgers University - New Brunswick took second, and Pace University came in first.

15 student athletes competed for the SUNY Oneonta volleyball team during the recently completed fall season.

SUNY Oneonta recognized six students for academic excellence at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences' annual Majors' Night in October. Now in its 41st year, Majors' Night offers the department's undergraduates the opportunity to network with alumni who return to campus for the event, where they share their experiences and offer advice to current students.

Five SUNY Oneonta women's soccer players earned All-Conference honors this fall.

Eight SUNY Oneonta men's soccer players earned All-Conference honors this fall.

SUNY Oneonta senior Melissa Voyer earned Third Team All-SUNYAC honors.

Five SUNY Oneonta field hockey players earned All-Conference honors.

Junior Devin Akerley and sophomore Ethan McDonald earned SUNYAC All-Conference honors in the sport of cross country.

Sophomore Jessica Fowler was selected as the Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

SUNY Oneonta graduate student Alexandra Vlk has an important mission - to learn all she can about the endangered wood turtle in Oneonta and protect it for future generations.

Junior Alyssa Brault and freshman Julieta Eulau were selected to the SUNYAC All-Conference Team in the sport of women's tennis.

Junior Julie Steinhauer was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Sophomore Danell Jones was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Freshman Roberto Ventura was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Junior Nicholas Giordano was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Junior Allyson Wells was selected as the Offensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Junior Alyssa Brault was selected as the Singles Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

Sophomore Danell Jones was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

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

Senior Kevin Hoff was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week in the SUNYAC.

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.

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.

More than 300 new freshman and transfer students have been awarded merit scholarships to attend SUNY Oneonta beginning in the fall 2017 semester. The award amounts range from $1,000 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.

Six students enrolled in Biology 296, a Directed Research course called CCRABSS: Creating Collaboration in Research Among Bahamian and SUNY Oneonta Students, spent a month in the Bahamas learning about fishery management issues. The data they collected will aid in determining land crab fishery stock abundance on North Andros Island as a means of enabling long-term, sustainable harvests of this economically and culturally important species. The students surveyed 5,000 square meters of land crab habitat, counted and measured hundreds of land crab burrows, explored a handful of Blue Holes, enjoyed 28 sunrises from Forfar Beach, and learned how challenging field work can be, even in a tropical paradise.

Senior Katie O'Gorman earned honors as an Academic All-District selection by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

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.