Post written by: Lisa Allen

The Student Affairs Faculty Connection Award is a newly created award designed to recognize a faculty member for establishing and maintaining significant connections with students outside of the classroom. Nominees were drawn from SUNY Cortland faculty serving in full-time teaching positions during the 2007-2008 academic year. We received many nominations that highlighted what great things faculty members are doing to connect with their students outside of the classroom.

The Student Affairs Connections Committee is pleased to announce that Dr. Caroline Kaltefleiter was selected to receive the award this year. Dr. Kaltefleiter is currently serving as the Women’s Studies Co-Coordinator. She is the formal advisor to POWER (Planet of Women for Equality and Respect) and an informal advisor to WSUC-FM and Cortland Students for Peace.

Based on the nominations Dr. Kaltefleiter received, it is obvious that she goes above and beyond what is expected of her to establish excellent relationships with students, participates in student life outside of the classroom, and strives to make success happen in the lives of everyone that comes in contact with her.

The nominations speak for themselves as they describe how “Dr. K. goes beyond what is needed…looks for opportunities to further facilitate the student experience outside of the classroom…extends herself as a mentor and a friend.” One nominator wrote that “without the guidance of Dr. K. it is unlikely that my experience here at Cortland could have been as incredible as it was.” Another stated that “Dr. Kaltefleiter is someone that does more than teaches her course material, she aims to inspire her students to try and make a difference in society.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. K. for all of her hard work inside and outside of the classroom.

Contributing to this post was Amber Ingalls ‘10, a member of the Student Affairs Connections Committee.

Post written by: Michele Baran

“I had the most amazing far years of my life at Cortland. It helped me to be the person I am today.”

2006 Graduate Response from Grad Survey

“Positive Connections” is a series of short features highlighting examples of ways students have felt connected to SUNY Cortland. Many of the posts will come directly from recent graduates, though any source is welcome!

Post written by: Michele Baran

“Throughout the time I took EDU 255, Kathleen Howarth made me realize what kind of teacher I wanted to be. I cherished everyday that I was in that class and to this day find myself trying to mimic her teaching style during my own classes. Also, every time I walked into PER I was always welcomed by the warmth and compassion of Dr. Joellen Bailey. She made me feel like I belonged and was always willing to give me a helping hand or some sort of advice. These women were two of the most important teachers to me at SUNY Cortland and I hope I can be half the teacher they both are someday.”

2006 Graduate Response from Grad Survey

“Positive Connections” is a series of short features highlighting examples of ways students have felt connected to SUNY Cortland. Many of the posts will come directly from recent graduates, though any source is welcome!

Post written by: Michele Baran

“It was great being a student athlete because my professors congratulated me on athlete achievements along with academic achievement. They all showed interest in what I did at Cortland.”

2006 Graduate Response from Grad Survey

“Positive Connections” is a series of short features highlighting examples of ways students have felt connected to SUNY Cortland. Many of the posts will come directly from recent graduates, though any source is welcome!

Post written by: Michele Baran

“The coffee house at the library kept me rocking!!!! I still stop in now and again. The non-instructional staff made a tremendous difference with my experience: They welcomed me, every day.”

2006 Graduate Response from Grad Survey

“Positive Connections” is a series of short features highlighting examples of ways students have felt connected to SUNY Cortland. Many of the posts will come directly from recent graduates, though any source is welcome!

Post written by: Michele Baran

Today is the beginning of a new weekly blog piece. “Positive Connections” will provide a short feature highlighting examples of ways students have felt connected to SUNY Cortland. Many of the posts will come directly from recent graduates, though any source is welcome!

Post written by: Lisa Allen

There have been many studies done regarding what connects students to a college campus. There are obvious things such as involvement in campus activities and clubs, as well as making important connections with professors inside and outside of class. One connecting factor that may sometimes be overlooked is campus employment. According to the American Council on Education in an article in the 12/17/07 edition of the Wall Street Journal, approximately 75% of all college students work while they are in college. Some participate in Work Study programs on their college campuses, while others work part time jobs either on or off campus. Student employment was identified by students as important to their success in connecting to the SUNY Cortland campus in the “Person to Person Links: Creating Intentional Connections for SUNY Cortland Students” presented by Dr. Raymond Franco, Darshini Roopnarine, and Dr. Michael Kniffin in 2004.

Many offices on this campus could not function as well as they do without the help of student employees. These students are an integral part of the overall operation of the college community. Do the students who work for you know how important they are?

SUNY Cortland’s Student Employment Recognition week is Monday, April 14 – Friday, April 18, 2008. We are hoping that employers will use this opportunity to let their students know how valuable they are to their office operations. There are many ways employers can show their appreciation to their students:
 Recognize them through the Student Employment Recognition program. They will receive a certificate with your comments on it, as well as an invitation to our reception on May 14.
 Make them a “care package” to help get them through the end of the semester stress.
 Take your student worker to lunch.
 Give them a small gift.
 Have the department head or VP send them a thank you letter.
 Just tell them how much you appreciate their hard work (you might think they already know, but they may not). Everybody likes hearing appreciation for what they’ve done.

Post written by: Craig Dillaman

Ah, spring break, a time for students to relax and unwind; a chance to possibly go somewhere tropical or, at the very least, warm. This is the time of year when students are eager to experience something new and exciting. This did happen with a group of approximately 40 students this past break. You see, these students decided that instead of having the “traditional spring break” in Florida, Cancun, or another tropical destination they were going to go on an “alternative spring break” with the Habitat for Humanity Organization.

The alternative spring break experience is unique because it offers a chance for students with no prior building experience a chance to learn and appreciate what it takes to build a house. These students worked in various stages of residential construction while helping families establish a real (possibly first) home. Some tasks completed by the groups this year included framing, roofing, putting siding up on a house and some general landscaping. The Habitat organization has at least one full-time construction manager onsite teaching the students these tasks and making sure that they complete them successfully.

The SUNY Cortland Habitat for Humanity Club visited three sites in North Carolina this year. These were in the Aberdeen, Concord and Newland communities. The students left on Friday afternoon, March 7th, and traveled to Arlington, VA. On Saturday they got to go into Washington DC to do some site seeing. On Sunday morning the groups left for their respective sites and started work on Monday morning. The groups returned to Arlington the following Friday evening and arrived back in Cortland on Saturday, March 15th, 2008.

A lot can be said for the students who participated on this trip. The first is their commitment to serving others. One comment made during the trip this year was, “I never knew community service could be so much fun.” Another interesting observation was how the students wanted to spend their time in Washington DC. Of all the monuments, museums, and tourist locations in the greater DC area I found the participants going to some deep, thought- provoking places. These would be the Arlington National Cemetery and the National Holocaust Museum. To say that they learned something that day would be an understatement. One could tell that visiting these sites left a profound impression on them, one that will hopefully stay with them in the future.

All in all the respective trips were successful. New friends were made, a new beginning for a family was established, and a lot was learned and shared with each other. A challenge I gave my students when leaving the work site that last day was to reflect on what they learned that week about themselves and working with others and bring it back to campus. Some of these students may be in your classes, in a club that you belong to, or someone that lives in your hall. If you are interested in learning more about their experience strike up a conversation with them, I’m sure they would be happy to talk about their experience and let you know how you can get involved in the future.

Post written by: Nan Pasquarello

On April 16, 2007, tragedy struck the Virginia Tech community. One of the ways that VT is fostering healing is in promotion of their VT Engage Project, with its mission to encourage everyone, everywhere to do volunteer work as a way to give back to the community. In the spirit of the motto, “Remember, Serve, Learn,” Virginia Tech students, faculty, and staff are being asked to perform at least 10 hours of service before the end of the spring semester. SUNY Cortland is joining the effort to give back to the community with a goal of 10 hours of service each from 10 hundred people for a total of 10,000 hours.

Record of service forms are available in the Sociology/Anthropology Dept. and in the Judicial Affairs Office. Completed forms can be submitted to either department, by April 30, 2008. For more information, contact program coordinator, Kathy Gallagher at gallagherk@cortland.edu.

Post written by: Sandra Wohlleber 

March 1st — Court House Park — 10 am to 4 pm

Chill-A-Bration is a great example of how people can come together to achieve a common goal. The 40 Below group had an idea and pitched it to Lloyd Purdy of the Downtown Partnership. Lloyd in turn pitched it to both the Chamber of Commerce and a Leadership Cortland group looking for a project. And thus began an amazing collaborative project with far-reaching implications.

The event will have a terrain park for snowboarders and skiers, an ice rink, snow dogs and sled races, a chili cook-off, an assortment of family games, raffle prizes, concessions to benefit a senior class trip, the launching of a new Cortland beer, etc. And yes, many events will take place even if there is little natural snow.

To actualize this community friendly event, the following groups and offices have each played a significant role: SUNY Cortland, Albany International, Greek Peak, Limehollow Nature Center, OCM BOCES, Builder’s Best, Leadership Cortland, Downtown Partnership Promotions Committee, City of Cortland Mayor’s Office, City of Cortland Fire Department, City of Cortland Common Council, City of Cortland DPW, Cortland County Buildings and Grounds Committee, Cortland Regional Sports Council, Penn Sled Dog Club, Hopko Design, and Sheridan Jewelry just to name a few. And a special thank you to Lloyd Purdy for coordinating all elements of this event.

Please join us this coming weekend and see what can can happen when many minds come together with a common goal. This may be the first ever Chill-A-Bration but we sure hope that this will become an annual event that will continue on for many years. We also hope that it will inspire others to realize that all it takes is one person with one idea and the possibilities are endless!