SUNY Oneonta

A total of 26 students were elected earlier this month to Student Association positions for the 2015-2016 academic year. Students are elected to Student Association positions by their peers in the student body. Elections for executive board positions were held April 9-10, and senators and associate judicial officers were elected April 16-17.

Nineteen SUNY Oneonta students were inducted into the college's Beta Gamma Sigma honor society chapter during a ceremony on April 24. Only the best business students in the world, and the professionals who earn the distinction of "the Best in Business" during their academic careers, can claim this international honor. Students ranking in the top 10 percent of the baccalaureate and top 20 percent of graduate programs at schools accredited by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business are eligible for lifetime membership in this international honor society. Beta Gamma Sigma has installed collegiate chapters and inducted students on six continents.

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.

The SUNY Oneonta Department of Geography faculty has selected Jesse Duppen to receive the 2015 Award for Excellence of Scholarship. Each year, the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) and the Association for American Geographers (AAG)--the two premier professional organizations within the field of geography--allow the geography faculty at colleges and universities across the country to select one senior geography major to receive this award.

More than 100 students attended the 28th Annual Harvey Delaney Leadership Institute from March 27-28 in the Hunt College Union. Designed to provide students with the tools to translate the leadership skills they have developed at Oneonta into skills that will benefit them in the workplace and/or graduate school, the program includes educational sessions, meals, a keynote speaker, and more than a dozen break-out sessions. It is named for former SUNY Oneonta Director of Activities and Student Association advisor Harvey Delaney, who chaired the college's Leadership Institute for many years.

Two students represented SUNY Oneonta at the inaugural SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference, held at SUNY Brockport on April 10. More than 500 SUNY students gave presentations on a wide range of topics across academic disciplines.

Twelve SUNY Oneonta students have been selected to receive the 2015 College at Oneonta Foundation Awards and Honorable Mentions for Excellence in Student Research & Creative Activity. Students were nominated for the awards by their faculty sponsors. During the college's annual Student Research & Creativity Day on April 16, finalists presented their work to a team of reviewers, which ranked and selected the winners.

SUNY Oneonta graduate student Kwasi Agyemang will represent the Mohawk Valley in the state finals of the sixth annual New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) on Friday, April 24, in Albany. Agyemang took second place at the regional level in the Informational Technology/Software category for his company, Travelsee. Travelsee is an app that helps users find and share cultural experiences based on GPS location and keywords.

Students from SUNY Oneonta and neighboring Hartwick College teamed up to raise $67,293—a record amount—for the American Cancer Society during a Relay for Life event April 17-18, and donations are still coming in. More than 1,500 students camped out all night in SUNY Oneonta's Alumni Field House, with team members taking turns walking laps around the gym from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. The annual event was organized by the Colleges Against Cancer student groups at the two colleges with support from SUNY Oneonta's Center for Social Responsibility and Community (CSRC).

Two SUNY Oneonta students presented papers at the college's 20th annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference. Students from over a dozen institutions nationwide gathered Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, to showcase and discuss their research at the college's Morris Conference Center.

Artwork by 72 students is featured in SUNY Oneonta's 2015 Student Juried Art Exhibition. The exhibition, featuring more than 100 works by student artists, opened April 13 and runs through May 16 in the college's Martin-Mullen Art Gallery. Featured artworks were chosen from an open jury process and works entered by the art faculty. Painting, drawing, sculpture, digital print, digital video, and an assortment of mixed media make up this year's offerings.

More than 150 SUNY Oneonta students presented original research and creative projects at the college's annual Student Research and Creative Activity Day on April 16.

SUNY Oneonta honored 16 recipients of the George E. Zimmerman Memorial Awards, Jean Parish Art on Campus Awards and Martin-Mullen Art Gallery Awards during a reception on Thursday, April 16. The award winners are among more than 100 student artists whose work was selected to be featured in the Annual Student Juried Art Exhibition, which opened April 13 and runs through May 16 in the college's Martin-Mullen Art Gallery.

Fifteen recipients of the 2014-2015 Biology Department awards and scholarships for academic achievement were recognized at an award ceremony this spring.

Two SUNY Oneonta geology majors presented research with faculty from the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the 50th Anniversary Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Geological Society of America in Bretton Woods, N.H., from March 23-25.

A total of 131 students received the SUNY Oneonta 2014-2015 Susan Sutton Smith Award for academic excellence. To be eligible for the award, a student must be a freshman, sophomore or junior with a grade-point average of 3.9 or higher. Student award winners receive a certificate, a gift card to the campus bookstore, and an invitation to attend the annual Susan Sutton Smith Lecture and reception. Dr. Joseph Pignato, associate professor of music at SUNY Oneonta, will deliver this year's lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the Craven Lounge of the college's Morris Conference Center.

Fourteen SUNY Oneonta students have been selected to present papers at the college's sixth annual New Critics: Undergraduate Literature and Composition Conference on Saturday, April 11. Students from 10 colleges and universities will present their scholarly work in 25 sessions at the conference, which will feature a keynote address by acclaimed critic and Guggenheim Fellow Dr. Daniel Mendelsohn.

SUNY Oneonta recognized 28 student athletes by inducting them into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, during a luncheon held on April 9. To qualify for induction a student athlete must have achieved at least junior standing with a cumulative 3.4 grade point average while earning a varsity letter in an NCAA intercollegiate sport. Each student athlete must also be of good moral character and have the endorsement of his/her coach and the Chapter President.

During an awards reception on Wednesday, March 18, SUNY Oneonta honored 50 seniors for outstanding academic achievement and participation in department, campus and community service activities.

Three SUNY Oneonta students presented papers at the college's seventh annual Undergraduate Political Science Conference on March 20, 2015. A total of 16 students from colleges throughout New York state were selected to present papers at the conference, which featured a keynote address titled "Presidents on Political Ground" by Dr. Bruce Miroff, professor of political science and Collins Fellow at the University at Albany.

SUNY Oneonta's Big O Poetry Slam team made it to the semifinals at the 15th annual College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University from March 25-28. The annual event is sponsored by the Association of College Unions International. This year, 68 teams competed during the four-day event, which included educational workshops, haiku and nerd slams. Oneonta finished 12th in the nation, ahead of last year's national champions, the University of Texas-Austin.

Three SUNY Oneonta students are among a select group of State University of New York students chosen to receive the 2015 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence. SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher presented the awards to the students at a reception in their honor on April 2 at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.

Twenty-one students represented SUNY Oneonta at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City from March 22-26. SUNY Oneonta students represented two countries: Oman and Turkey. The Turkey delegation was recognized by conference organizers as an Outstanding Delegation, the highest honor of the conference. The Oman delegation was recognized as a Distinguished Delegation, the second-highest honor.

Six field hockey players have earned academic honors from the NFHCA.

SUNY Oneonta senior theatre major Christopher Mackin of Merrick, NY, will direct four performances of "The House of Bernarda Alba," a drama written by Federico Garcia Lorca. Performances will be held in the college's Hamblin Theater on Thursday, March 26, Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. March 29.

26 student athletes competed for the SUNY Oneonta wrestling team during the recently completed winter season.

Three SUNY Oneonta orientation leaders gave an award-winning presentation at the NODA Regional Conference in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 27-March 1. NODA is an international association providing education, leadership and professional development in the fields of college student orientation, transition and retention. The students' presentation, titled "Learning from Experience," won the "Best Ed Session" award at the NODA Region IX conference for college orientation, retention and transition staff. The presentation focused on the role of returning Orientation Leaders in team development.

A total of 39 students from SUNY Oneonta's School of Economics and Business have become certified by the Internal Revenue Services to help families prepare simple tax forms through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Residents of Delaware and Otsego counties who earned less than $53,000 in 2014 may be eligible for this free service, which is offered through the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties CA$H (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) program.

SUNY Oneonta Theatre major Jomary Pena of the Bronx has been awarded a Tayneshia Jefferson Mentorship scholarship to attend the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) national conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, this week.

More than 60 SUNY Oneonta students faculty and staff participated in SUNY Oneonta's fourth annual Student Diversity & Leadership Conference on Feb. 21. The conference is organized by the college's Multicultural Student Council, Office of Student Diversity and Advocacy, and Office of Equity and Inclusion. In addition to the SUNY Oneonta participants, the conference drew attendees from the Oneonta community and neighboring colleges. Dr. Leigh-Anne Francis, SUNY Oneonta assistant professor of Africana and Latino Studies, presented the keynote address, titled "Surviving Whiteness in the Ivory Tower."