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| With the close of the Fall 2022 semester, I hope we can all look back with pride and look forward with anticipation. As we wrap up this year as a college and begin next semester as a university, this is a time for us to think about the frontiers emerging across the higher education landscape and how we, as an institution, can engage in the wonderful opportunities these frontiers present.
One major area of opportunity for growth is our graduate programs. Research is underway, and this will be a point of discussion during the dialogue sessions scheduled this spring and with our shared governance structures. Academic Affairs is also working hard on a teach-out plan for students who may transfer from Cazenovia College and enroll here.
All faculty, staff and students are key members of our strong community, and I look forward to reinforcing our sense of community through events and programs such as our successful Engage Oneonta program. You can read more about this program and its future below. I also announced in The Oneonta Bulletin recently a series of institution-wide events to be held during the new common meeting time next semester. I hope you attend and contribute, and I look forward to seeing how everyone will use the common meeting time for various opportunities to gather and connect.
Sincerely,
Alberto J.F. Cardelle
President
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| New Program Engages New Employees
Karyn Wendrow
Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Executive Communications
This fall, more than 40 employees participated in a new program called Engage Oneonta. This program was designed to provide a more complete introduction to the college and our community for faculty and staff hired between September 2019 and July 2022. COVID shutdowns and restrictions severely impacted this group's introduction and acclimation to the college community and campus life.
Employees from each division of the college participated and connected with colleagues they may not have met during the regular work routines. The program structure consisted of six sessions hosted by President Cardelle, Human Resources, the President's executive team, departmental leaders, and community leaders. Several departments also contributed by offering a tour of some of the unique facilities and locations we have on campus. My thanks go to all the participants and colleagues who assisted during the sessions.
Due to the excellent feedback and participation, we are planning to continue offering this program or similar options regularly for new employees.
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| Men's Soccer Team and Coaches Achieve Excellence
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| The men's soccer team had an outstanding season this fall, reaching the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The coaching staff also had a banner year and was recognized for several achievements.
Head Coach Iain Byrne became the winningest men's soccer coach in college history in October as the team recorded a win over SUNY Plattsburgh. That was Coach Byrne's 274th career win, surpassing the win total of longtime coach Garth Stam. Iain has seen significant success throughout his tenure with the Red Dragons, including several NCAA tournament appearances and conference championships. Read more about Coach Byrne on the athletics website.
Earlier this month, the entire staff for men's soccer was named Regional Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches. The coaching staff consisted of Head Coach Iain Byrne, Assistant Coach Brian Wagstaff, Associate Director of Academic Advisement and faculty mentor JoAnne Murphy, and Chris Saggese, goalkeeper trainer. This season, they coached two All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans, five All-Region selections, three Academic All-District, seven All-Conference, the SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Year, and SUNYAC Rookie of the Year. As a team, the Red Dragons finished their season ranked first in Region III with a final record of 15-3-3, won the SUNYAC Championship, and made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
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Paul Adamo Recertified as a Certified Fund Raising Executive
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| Vice President for College Advancement Paul Adamo '81 was recently recertified as one of fewer than 8,000 Certified Fund Raising Executives (CFRE) around the world. CFRE is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and is the only globally recognized fundraising certification.
Individuals granted the CFRE credential have met a series of standards, including tenure in the profession, education, and demonstrated fundraising achievement. They have also passed a rigorous written examination testing the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a fundraising executive and have agreed to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.
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| Campus Climate Survey Results
Bernadette Tiapo
Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer
In the spring of 2022, students and employees were invited to take a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Campus Climate Survey administered through the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS). More than 1,100 college community members responded. The Office of Equity and Inclusion worked with the Office of Institutional Research to analyze the data, a summary of which is shared below.
The results showed that 62-77% of students indicated they were comfortable interacting with someone of a different gender, sexual orientation, country, disability, or non-native English speakers. Over 85% of respondents agreed that “diversity on campus improves experiences and interactions within the classroom, the workplace, and the overall community.” A majority were also comfortable sharing their views on diversity, equity, and inclusion at SUNY Oneonta. Most respondents had engaged in programming or activities at the college related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and found that those activities increased their support for DEI. Over 68% of students said they were very or generally satisfied with the overall campus climate, relatively higher than employees (55%), and 20.8% of students and 30.8% of employees indicated they were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied. Similarly, 60% of students and 56% of employees indicated they were either very or generally satisfied with their experience in regards to a sense of belonging or community at SUNY Oneonta.
Students and employees did indicate experiencing harassment around racial and/or ethnic identity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic background, religion, and disability. Furthermore, 15 – 44% of respondents had witnessed insensitive or disparaging remarks directed toward people with different identities. Students who witnessed these comments were more likely to identify other students as the source of the comment. Employees who witnessed the remarks were more likely to say the source was another staff member or local community member. Over half (52 – 65%) of students indicated they knew who to contact to report an incident of harassment and understood the reporting and investigation process.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion has many plans for events and activities to engage in dialogue with the college community around the important issues highlighted by the survey results. We will work diligently to strengthen the things we received positive feedback on and identify actions to address the issues/concerns raised by the results.
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Fall 2022 Milne Library Highlights
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| Darren Chase
Library Director
It’s been a lively semester. In this season of fellowship and reflection, I want to thank my colleagues at the Milne Library for the care and commitment they practice for our students, faculty and staff. I honor the collegiality and work of the entire Milne staff and want to share a selection of Fall 2022 library programs and highlights.
The Department of Sociology and Milne Library collaborated on hosting and staging visiting scholar and artist Qiaoyun Zhou’s open studio exhibit, Lines in Rendering. Coordinated by Librarian Lori Wienke with the support of librarians and staff including Brendan Aucoin, Robin English, Cat Fallon, Kim Noorlander, and Jenn Regg, and Department of Sociology professor Dr. Ho Hon Leung, Lines in Rendering was an exhibition which included weekly demonstrations of Professor Zhou’s artistic process.
Librarian Sarah Rhodes was named a 2022 Scholar of the Year for her publications on school violence and adolescent literature. She completed the six-month Leadership Otsego Program, learning about the local community and networking with its existing and emerging leaders. Sarah collaborated with Dr. Kjersti Vanslyke-Briggs and her Adolescent Literature class to lead discussions of the Common Read selection with approximately 200 high school students who met on campus prior to the talk by author George Takei.
Members of the Special Collections Center Team Sophia Dunne, Sarah Rhodes, Anne Moore and Mary Lynn Bensen, under the leadership of librarians Heather Stalter and Lori Wienke, contributed to the success of several college events throughout the Fall semester. These included the college’s activities recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Black List, for which team members created a library exhibit documenting the event and local and national media coverage. For the week celebrating the inauguration of President Alberto Cardelle, the team contributed to exhibits at Foothills Performing Art Center and the Greater Oneonta Historical Society highlighting the enduring relationship between the college and the local community. In November, the team created and staffed the display of SUNY Oneonta faculty publications at the annual Life of the Mind showcase.
Librarian Mary Lynn Bensen coordinated a visit from the Cooperstown Central School Battle of the Books Club. Librarians Michelle Hendley, Brendan Aucoin, Heather Stalter, Circulation Supervisor Cat Fallon, and two student workers spoke to the group about the types of work done in an academic library and library employment as a future career path for interested students.
The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center and Milne Library continued administration of our successful Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative, co-led by Instructional Designer Ed Beck and Librarian Jen Jensen. OER adoption in SUNY Oneonta General Education courses rose to 18% during Fall ’22. With support from the OER Initiative, a new OER textbook, #TheatreAppreciation edited by Theatre Professor Kiara Pipino, was published online and will be used in all THTR 1000 courses beginning in Spring ’23. Jen also led the implementation and development of the new Research and Creative Works Digital Display. Her outreach and collaboration with partners from multiple departments and campus-wide programs (ex., Theatre Department, Art Galleries, Life of the Mind, Student Research and Creative Activities) have resulted in a set of engaging digital exhibits of student and faculty scholarship, art and performance.
Librarian and Academic Affairs Faculty Fellow Brendan Aucoin led the implementation of the Milne Scholars, a pilot program that provides direct, sustained support for student scholarship and creative work, and information literacy instruction, including assigned study carrels for participants and scheduled research consultations with librarians.
Librarian Alayna Vander Veer was hired as a Reference and Instruction Librarian in August 2022. She is a member of the Faculty Academy for Inclusive Pedagogy, a three-year training program on inclusive educational strategies. She also served on the Steering Committee for the October 2022 PRISM (Pride, Research, Intersectionality Support Movement) Conference, at which she moderated a presentation.
The Collection Development, Resource Management and Sharing department undertook meaningful calibration of its services and operations, including Interlibrary Loan and acquisitions. The department’s collaborative work included significant contributions from Staff Supervisor Tammy Southard, Interlibrary Loan Coordinator Heather Gad, Acquisitions & Collections Management Assistant Betsy Tucker, Acquisitions & Electronic Resources Librarian Lori Wienke and Department Head Michelle Hendley.
I’m grateful for and inspired by all my SUNY Oneonta colleagues and take pride in spotlighting some of the vital and impactful work done in Milne Library by our talented staff. Connect with us and learn more on our website.
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