Vol. III, No. 5
November 27, 2001
Wanted: Helping hands
For 16 years the generous caring faculty, staff and students
of SUNY Brockport have
been getting into the holiday
spirit by giving of their hearts
to their needy neighbors in
the surrounding community.
That’s what the annual Holiday Helping Hands (HHH)
program is all about.
This year will make 17
that we’ve been reaching out.
behalf of SUNY Brockport.
Donations should be left
at one of the collection
points below by Dec. 14.
Cash/checks (payable to
SUNY Brockport HHH)
should be given to either
Dorothy Ballard, educational administration; Betty
Drennen, BASC; Phyllis
Lista, physics and chemistry;
or Jackie Thomas, dance.
HHH, no longer a
COSAC-sponsored
project, but now Collegewide, will support 13 local
student and community
families who need assistance this holiday season.
Contributions of non-perishable food, new toys,
new clothing and cash/
checks are being accepted.
All donations are made on
The collection points and
contact people for HHH
this year — all COSAC representatives who are continuing the organization’s
tradition of caring, are:
• Allen: Joani Martin,
administrative services
• Brockway/Thompson:
Betty Drennen, BASC
(continued on page 15)
SPOTLIGHT ON:
The Budget,
page 10.
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
The next regular issue of Statements,
etc. will be published Dec. 18.
Submissions are due by 4 pm on
Dec. 4. Articles e-mailed to
kmerrifi@brockport.edu or accompanied by a computer diskette are
preferred.
Statements, etc. is published by
the Divison of Enrollment
Management, SUNY College at
Brockport, 350 New Campus Drive,
Brockport, NY 14420-2931.
Editor: Karla Linn Merrifield
Photographer: Jim Dusen
Visit www.brockport.edu for a
color version of Statements, etc.
It’s official — The Lennon Hall Science Center is open for business. President Paul Yu and Chancellor
Robert L. King put the ceremonial scissors to the green and gold ribbon at the grand opening of the newly
renovated Lennon Hall Science Center last on Nov. 8. Visitors, dignitaries, emeriti, students, faculty and
staff were treated to tours and demonstrations of the new facility that will serve as home base for the
Departments of Biological Sciences and the Earth Sciences, and the Environmental Science program.
Robert Rutzen, biological sciences, (far l) holds the ribbon for the big snip!
State University of New York • College at Brockport
1
The budget is the buzz
The following is a memorandum from President Paul Yu to all faculty and staff. Originally issued on Oct. 31, the memo describes the current year’s budget and prospects for next year.
“You undoubtedly have been reading in the local newspaper recently about the impact that the events of Sept. 11 will have
on the New York state budget. The Governor has notified all state agencies of the necessity to reduce state spending for 200102 and 2002-03. While what this means for SUNY and for Brockport is still unclear in terms of specifics, I would like to share
with you what I do know at this point.
Current Year Budget (2001-02)
Situation
• The Sept. 11 events could reduce state revenues for 2001-02 by as much as $3 billion.
• The Department of Budget (DOB) issued a formal bulletin announcing a hiring freeze for all state agencies.
What This Means for Brockport
• SUNY operates under so-called flexibility legislation. That means that we are treated differently from other state
agencies in that SUNY has the flexibility of deciding how to deal with a deficit situation.
• So far we have received no instructions from SUNY Systems Administration that would change how we are operating — this includes hiring, expenditures, travel and all other operations — this fiscal year. Accordingly, we continue to operate in a “business-as-usual” mode until, or if, we do receive something definitive.
• It goes without saying that departmental managers should always be prudent in their expenditures so that we can
carry some state funds into next year. Any dollars we save will be that much that we do not have to look for in the
future.
Next Year’s Budget (2002-03)
Situation
• The Sept. 11 events could reduce state revenues for 2002-03 by as much as $6 billion.
• According to the guideline sent by the DOB to all state agencies, those agencies are asked to develop 2002-03
budget plans that hold 2002-03 spending levels at levels authorized for 2001-02.
• According to the same DOB memo, the Governor will submit legislation to authorize a targeted retirement plan
to reduce the state’s work force. All positions vacated by retirement will be eliminated.
What This Means for Brockport
• Since we must pay for all contractually agreed-upon salary increases, this means that SUNY Brockport must absorb about $1.6 million of salary costs. If we have to do this with no help, it would obviously be a stiff challenge.
• A number of positive developments remain possibilities – e.g., a federal bailout, an increase in SUNY tuition, etc.
So it is too soon to worry. In any case, we have not received any instructions from SUNY System Administration
that would change how we are operating for the 2002-03 fiscal year.
• SUNY did recently request budget-planning information from us as part of the System’s budget development
process for the Board of Trustees to forward to the DOB. President’s Staff has developed a response, one that
speaks to how we would meet a potential budget reduction. Since this material was required on extremely short
notice and campus consultation was not possible, the content of our response is not binding on the campus.
As more information becomes available through the SUNY Board of Trustees’ budget request to the DOB, the release of the
executive budget, and legislative considerations of the budget, President’s Staff will be working closely with the Budget and
Resource Committee to develop campus plans and we will keep you informed.”
2
More on the budget front…
The 2001-02 Budget and
Resource Committee met
for the first time on Nov. 1.
Tom Golaszewski, health
science and current chair,
welcomed the new committee members and introduced
President Paul Yu to review
his “call letter.” Yu discussed
the financial situation of the
ments, Jeff Post, budget
office, updated the 2001-02
budget and indicated that
this year is projecting a surplus of approximately
$700,000. Other highlights
of the meeting included a
discussion on opening the
Committee’s meetings to
the campus community.
College, and identified his
priorities for the Committee, including the need to
develop a balanced budget
with $525,000 of new initiatives, improve the fiveyear financial model, and
examine the possibility of
developing a staff allocation
model. In other develop-
A calendar was agreed upon,
and this information, along
with a general invitation to
attend, will be communicated throughout the campus. Minutes of the meeting
are found on the Web at
it.brockport.edu/~campus20/
budget.html; the meeting
schedule follows.
Tentative Budget and Resources Committee Calendar - 2001-02
Dec. 6, 2001
•
•
•
•
•
•
Review 2002-03 five-year enrollment plan.
Review updated five-year financial model.
Draft call letter from committee to vice presidents for 2002-03 budget initiatives.
Draft call letter to fee-based budget managers for 2002-03 budget presentations.
Update on status of work groups for staff allocation model and review of five-year financial model.
Initial discussion on budget recommendations.
Feb. 7, 2002
•
•
•
•
Review Governor’s Executive Recommendation for 2002-03 state budget.
Update on 2001-02 budget.
Update on status of work groups for staff allocation model and review of five-year financial model.
Budget recommendation discussions continued.
Mar. 7, 2002
• Presentation of fee-based budgets - DIFR and Athletics.
• Update on 2001-02 budget with spring 2002 enrollments.
Mar. 14, 2002
• Presentation of fee-based budgets - BASC, Health, Parking.
Mar. 28, 2002
• Presentation of fee-based budgets - Technology, Special Sessions.
• Discussion and recommendations on fee-based budgets.
Apr. 4, 2002
• Presentation of vice presidents’ budgets - Academic Affairs, Student Affairs.
Apr. 11, 2002
• Presentation of vice presidents’ budgets - Administrative Services, Enrollment Management.
Apr. 18, 2002
• Presentation of vice president’s budget - Institutional Advancement.
• Update on 2001-02 and 2002-03 budgets.
• Discussion and recommendations on operating budgets and budget initiatives.
Apr. 25, 2002
• Presentations and recommendations of work groups for staff allocation model and review of fiveyear financial model.
May 2, 2002
• Review 2002-03 state budget (if available).
• Wrap-up.
B&R Committee meetings open to all
Are you interested in learning more about the finances of the College and how resource allocation decisions
are made? If yes, the Budget and Resource Committee wants you to know that all its remaining meetings will
be open to everyone who’d like to attend (see schedule above). All meetings are held between 3-5 pm in room
220, Seymour College Union. Light refreshments will be served. If you need any information concerning the
agenda items, contact Tom Golaszewski, health sciences, at x2662.
3
’Tis the Season
By Tom Dreyer, facilities and planning
The Goal: Daily, we as a campus community are able to
avoid unnecessary energy costs, but it is the winter season
with its cold temperatures and decreased daylight that affords
us the greatest opportunity to make a substantial and positive
financial impact. The money that we don’t send to the utility
companies remains here for us to improve SUNY Brockport.
The choice is ours. Many on campus believed that last year’s
conservation initiative was an effort to address a one-time
energy or financial crisis. The fact is, with the cost of our
utilities more than $3.3 million annually and rising, we must
implement permanent changes of attitudes and processes.
There are certainly many other reasons to conserve energy
beyond those of the fiscal bottom line. Resource conservation, global warming, and energy source depletion are a few
of the common notable concerns.
on a five-year average, our conservation saved more than onemillion kilowatt hours of electricity and more than 26,000
dekatherms of natural gas. We achieved all of this despite a
colder-than-normal winter. Chart #2 reveals our declining
consumption trends per degree-day. Degree-days indicate the
extent to which the mean daily temperature departs from a
standard of 65 degrees. As indicated on Chart #3, we successfully exceeded the Governor’s 1990 executive order requiring
a 20 percent energy reduction despite the progressive addition of new campus equipment, more building mechanical
systems and full utilization of all of our buildings. No, it was
not convenient or easy to conserve energy as we did last year
and, yes, some areas were too cool. We did not capture all
opportunities to conserve, but together we will continue to
improve.
Past Success: Last year we were incredibly successful in reducing our energy consumption. We should all pat ourselves
on the back for the $400,000+ contribution to the College
budget (which really is considered a cost-avoidance). As
shown in chart #1, when compared to our projections based
Higher Hurdles: Fiscal challenges confront the College in
the foreseeable future as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. Anticipated constrained budgets will require us to be frugal in
all of our decisions. Certainly sizable savings opportunities
await us in the costly arena of utility consumption. “’Tis the
(continued on page 5)
Fiscal Year 00/01 Natural Gas
Dollars
Fiscal Year 00/01 Electric Dollars
250000
250000
200000
200000
150000
150000
100000
100000
50000
50000
0
0
Jul
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Proj $
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Proj $
Actual Electric $
#1
Apr
May
Jun
Actual NGas $
Fiscal Year 00/01 Natural Gas
Consumption
35000
2000000
Dekatherms
(mmbtus)
Dekatherms(mmbtus)
kilowatt hours
hours
kilowatt
Mar
#4
Fiscal Year 00/01 Electric Consumption
2500000
Feb
Jun
30000
1500000
25000
1000000
20000
15000
500000
10000
0
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
5000
0
Jul
Proj Elec
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Proj Ngas
Actual Elec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Actual NGas
#2
#5
Campus Electric Expeditures
Campus Natural Gas Expeditures
2500000
2148404
1199869
2250000
1250000
1855629
2000000
1040802.73
1000000
1750000
1500000
750000
1250000
500000
1000000
FY to date
FY to date
Proj $
#3
Proj $
Actual Electric $
4
#6
Actual NGas $
’Tis the season (continued from page 4)
season” for conservation!
Further, as of June 10 this
year, the Governor’s new
executive order #111 requires us to reduce our energy consumption by 35
percent from the 1989
baseline. We now have new
utility contracts in place
that minimize fluctuations
in commodity unit costs so
that reducing our consumption will be the largest variable in our utility bill. If we
as a campus are to partially
mitigate the financial impact of high-energy costs,
immediate, definitive and
sometimes unpopular action
is required. Your help is
needed.
It is well recognized that
extensive renovations to our
1960s-vintage buildings
would make a sizable reduction in energy waste. New
windows, ventilation systems, modern materials and
efficient equipment will
progressively appear as our
capital programs progress.
However, those future improvements will not achieve
the short-term savings required. It is estimated that
as much as 10 percent of
our energy could be conserved through simple individual efforts and process
modifications. Imagine saving 10 percent of $3.3 million. Our energy bill equates
to slightly over $420 for
each of us who study or
work on campus. Are you
able and willing to save $42?
Campus energy budget
allocations for 2001-2002
assume we will be at least as
successful in conserving as
we were last year, thus, any
cost avoidance we wish to
achieve necessities we be
even more proactive. Chart
#4 indicates we have a respectable start but the peak
utility consumption season
is upon us. “’Tis the season.”
minutes, it is generally costeffective to turn the lights
off as needed.
• Improve your comfort.
The state guidelines call for
heating our buildings only
to 66-68 degree range. That
is cool and in some facilities
difficult to control. Close
your blinds and drapes at
night in the winter to keep
the cold out. Remove and
store window air conditioners, or cover them to reduce
cold air from entering. Keep
warm-air registers clean and
free of obstructions, such as
furniture, carpets, and
drapes. During the heating
season, you save approximately one percent of your
heating costs for each degree
the thermostat is set back
for a period of eight hours.
Dress warmly with closely
woven fabrics. Dressing
wisely can help you maintain natural heat in the winter. Such clothing adds at
least a half-degree in
warmth. Close the door!
(Sounds like Mom, doesn’t
it?) How often have you
seen a door left propped
open that can be closed?
Take action on such obvious
energy wasters. It becomes
contagious to the rest of the
campus when you set an
example.
A recurring problem last
year was the scheduling of
special events or classes
without “scheduling heat.”
If it is necessary to hold a
special event or use a normally empty classroom, select a location that will be
heated. If absolutely required, request heat from
Facilities and Planning in
advance.
• Minimize equipment
use. We all need time off —
including our office equipment. Turn off computers
and computer monitors,
printers, photocopiers, and
other office equipment at
night and on weekends.
What We Can Do: We
should all make energy conservation part of our daily
lifestyle. You should be able
to affirmatively answer the
question, “Am I treating
College facilities and utilities the same as I do at my
home?” It is hoped that individuals, departments,
groups and organizations
will institute innovative
methods and process
changes that contribute to
our goal. The best ideas will
be yours and the bottom
line is commitment. Although many of the following may seem obvious, here
are some specific suggestions:
• Turn the lights off. Get
into the habit of turning off
lights when you leave a
room, this includes classrooms, meeting rooms and
offices. Decide who in your
organization turns the lights
out at the end of the day.
Use task lighting when you
need lighting in one small
area and then reduce background or ambient light
levels. Use natural day lighting when possible and reduce or eliminate artificial
lighting. Day lighting has
been proven to have many
benefits.
An average household
dedicates 5 to 10 percent of
its energy budget to lighting, while institutions such
as SUNY Brockport consume 20 to 30 percent of
their total energy just for
lighting. As a rule of thumb,
office lights are left on for
10 hours or more each day,
even though the office is
typically occupied only six
to eight hours. While it is
true that switching fluorescent lights on and off does
shorten the operating life of
the bulbs, it is also true that
leaving them lit shortens
their operating life. Unless
the switching frequency is
greater than once every few
5
Screen savers protect your
computer monitor screen
but consume energy. Office
equipment is our fastestgrowing use of electricity,
most notably computers and
associated equipment. The
new “sleep” mode found on
much equipment consumes
far less energy than the conventional “idle” mode, but
still uses energy such that it
can power up almost instantly when the user wants
to use the equipment. So
unless your equipment is
Energy-Star compliant,
turning it off when not in
use can save a considerable
amount of energy.
Concerns, Recommendation or Suggestions: Like
any large initiative, there
will be many opportunities
for improvements and occasions for corrections. If you
have a specific concern
within a building that you
are unable to resolve by
yourself, your first point of
contact normally should be
the building coordinator
who works closely with the
Facility and Planning zone
mechanic. For example, if a
particular room were suspected to be substantially
above or below the 67 degree target, the zone mechanic would be the “first
responder” to assess and coordinate any needed corrective actions. The same process can be used to make
minor energy improvements
that are of a maintenance
and repair nature. If necessary, the Facility and Planning help desk is available at
x2408 during the day or
(585) 455-0636 after working hours. For recommendations or suggestions on College procedures or opportunities to conserve, please call
Bob Hofstra, utilities and
energy, at x2664, or myself
at x5205. Thank you in advance for your help.
SEFA results: over the top
Marion Schrank, student
affairs and this year’s SEFA
chair, congratulates “all of
you for your help with the
campaign - obviously your
efforts paid off in a tremendous way.”
The great news arrived
on Nov. 7 from Herb
Holliday, United Way asso-
With a $46,345 goal for
the 2001 campaign (versus
last year’s $38,492), members of the SUNY Brockport community generously
donated $49,179 — which
was likely to edge upwards
in the last remaining week
of the campaign. As
Holliday noted, “This repre-
ciate campaign director for
our region, who also wanted
“to share some great news”
with you: “SUNY Brockport, under the leadership of
Dr. Marion Schrank,
George Toth [career services] and Ruth LeVesque
[student affairs] have some
outstanding results.”
sents 106.1 percent of goal
but, more importantly, a
27.7 percent increase over
last year. Brockport also had
a great first-time student
campaign.
Final results will appear
in the Dec. issue of Statements, etc.
Middle States: Last-chance self-study feedback completed
By now, suggestions for additions or changes to the
Middle States self-study
draft (that bulky document
with a green cover) have all
been received by Rich
Fenton, business administration and economics, and
Jenny Lloyd, history.
The MS Steering Committee subsequently met to
discuss the more substantive
Another important
techno note
additions. After that, the
Committee will incorporate
in a final draft, due to the
self-study team by mid-Jan.
Just don’t do it
Dan Raimondo, campus
life, would like to remind
readers that, as the end of
the fall semester approaches,
the usual campus moratorium on social events begins
at midnight on Dec. 7 and
continues until 7 am on
Dec. 17 (through exam
It’s soon to be goodbye Touchtone and hello Web registration. That’s right, this fall’s registration for the spring
2002 semester was the last time for Touchtone registration, which will not be available next spring for fall 2002
registration. Instead, students will register through the
College Web site. In-person registration will remain an
option. “The Banner Web registration has impressive
functions and students on other campuses have preferred
the Web to Touchtone by far. Since we are converting to
an entirely new data system, doing the necessary conversions for Touchtone while adding the more desirable
Web functionality is expensive and unnecessary,” said
Larry Humm, Banner project.
week). This is in accordance
with Section A., Number 7
of the Campus Event Policy.
If you have any questions
or would like a copy of the
Campus Event Policy, please
fee to call Raimondo at
x5646.
Welcome new employees
•
The Office of Human Resources has announced that
the following individuals
have joined the SUNY
Brockport community
(through Oct. 30):
•
•
Anders Bergstrom,
staff assistant, campus
recreation
Robert Blanchet, admissions advisor, undergraduate admissions
Mary Kirk, student
activities assistant, intercollegiate athletics
•
•
•
Stephen Locke, adjunct
lecturer, education and
human development
Mary Lee Miller, adjunct lecturer, physical
education and sport
Emeterio Otero, adjunct lecturer, counselor
education
•
•
•
Linda Secru, staff assistant, student health
center
Tiffani Sylver, keyboard specialist 1, theatre
Chao Xiang, adjunct
lecturer, foreign languages and literatures
And, oh yes, the pesky gremlins have struck again. Eli Katz is not in the Department of Psychology as last noted here; he’s in
the Department of the Earth Sciences.
6
More on the Banner project
From Larry Humm, project manager
As of Nov. 6, the Banner implementation project made yet more progress toward its final goal of 100 percent conversion from
EAGLE to Banner. Here’s the latest:
1. Graduate Office begins operation on production
Banner.
• The Office of Graduate Studies has begun entering prospects for entry in the fall of 2002 into production Banner. These prospective students will be tracked entirely
on the Banner system.
4. “Prospect-to-graduation” test of prototype successfully completed.
• During the last week of October we entered a group of
students into the preproduction database and then ran
them through each of the major student modules:
• The prospect and admissions modules are in production
• Students were registered, dropped, and added to
courses.
• Students were scheduled for rooms and meal plans.
• Tuition and fees were assessed as well as housing and
meal fees.
• Bills were sent.
• Refunds were calculated for students dropping during the refund period.
• Grades were awarded for courses and the end-ofsemester posting of grades was successfully performed.
• GPAs were correctly calculated using Brockport’s
grading rules.
• Probation, dismissal, and Dean’s List processes successfully applied SUNY Brockport’s rules.
• Grade reports were generated and student Web grade
reports were tested.
• Students were processed for graduation, degrees posted,
and transcripts evaluated.
2. Course scheduling for summer 2002 begun on production Banner.
• Instructional facilities inventory is present on the production database.
• The EAGLE catalog of courses has been converted to
production Banner.
• Both the fall 2001 and spring 2002 schedule of classes
has been successfully moved to the preproduction Banner
database. We will move each of these data sets to production Banner when we are ready to roll to the fall 2002
and spring 2003 semester respectively.
• The necessary rules, General Education codes, Faculty
IDs, and registration restrictions are all present in the
production Banner so that scheduling of summer 2002
can progress.
3. Conversion programming, data clean-up, and
EAGLE-to-Banner testing proceeding.
• Faculty table on production system populated from state
personnel file.
• Student demographic data conversion has been tested
and is undergoing some correction in the data migration
programming.
• Academic course history has been moved to the
preproduction database and tested.
• Academic degrees and notational statements are programmed for conversion and testing of the conversion
logic is progressing.
• We continue the tedious process of identifying anomalies
in student academic history on EAGLE and correcting
them before we migrate the data to production Banner.
• Successful conversion will require each EAGLE entry to
have an unambiguous map to a Banner entry. Since Banner is constructed around hundreds of validation tables,
it is much more precise than EAGLE has required us to
be.
5. Bursar’s and Financial Aid Offices continue to refine
and test their prototype modules and train staff on
use of Banner.
• The Bursar’s Office completed formal training with
a session on SICAS Accounts/Receivable functions
and is now engaged in testing established procedures
and refining processes.
• A plan has been specified and is being implemented
to prepare for the conversion of EAGLE student account data to Banner.
• The Financial Aid Office is also engaged in staff
training and prototype refinement.
6. Technical services busy installing new software, working on data conversion, and preparing reports.
• There was a new release of Banner in testing mode. This
version will access Banner with Web connections rather
than through the more cumbersome client-server architecture.
• The DARS-to-Banner bridge has been installed and is
undergoing testing. We also need to do some data conversion in preparation for use of this version of DARS.
• E-Visions software has been installed to improve the
quality of bills, checks, transcripts, and other Banner
output. We will employ this software to leverage Banner
production to serve our student needs with a continuing
high quality service.
7
Senators recently heard reports from Diane Elliott,
graduate studies, on the
functions of her office, and
from Michael Fox, aca-
As Statements, etc. went
to press, resolutions on
American Sign Language
and the withdrawal policy
were on their way back to
the Senate floor. The Executive Committee is also considering a draft resolution
calling for a rational SUNY
demic affairs, on the
College’s assessment program.
The Senate has approved
revisions to the MALS program and a policy on reregistering Comparative Perspectives Programs as “O”
in the new General Education program.
tuition policy.
Please note: Senators
from some departments or
units have been absent three
or more times, and two
units have not identified
representatives. Department
chairs and unit heads where
this is the case will shortly
be receiving letters.
Synnestvedt Lecture
draws large audience
Professor Douglas Egerton
of Le Moyne College delivered the Department of
History’s Synnestvedt Memorial Lecture to an attentive overflow audience in
the New York Room of
Cooper Hall on Nov.1.
Egerton, who proved a
riveting speaker, addressed
the remarkable life of Denmark Vesey, a free black who
plotted an elaborate and
extensive slave uprising in
Charleston, SC, in 1822.
Egerton’s biography of
1800 and 1802, which won
the annual book prize of the
Society of Historians of the
Early American Republic
and was a History Book
Club selection. He has appeared on the PBS series
Africans in America, and will
be seen on PBS again in
2001 in “This Far by Faith.”
The Synnestvedt Lecture
honors the memory of Professor Sig Synnestvedt, history emeritus, who chaired
the Department of History
from 1969 through 1974
Vesey, He Shall Go Out Free:
The Lives of Denmark Vesey
(1999), is the first modern
treatment of the abolitionist
whose daring plan met defeat when exposed by a confidante. Even today Vesey
remains a source of controversy in Charleston, where
residents debate whether
and where to erect a memorial to him.
Among Egerton’s many
other publications is
Gabriel’s Rebellion: The Virginia Slave Conspiracies of
and who helped to establish
the Department of African
and African-American Studies at SUNY Brockport.
Synnestvedt wrote The
White Response to Black
Emancipation (1972) and
taught a course of the same
name, introducing hundreds
of students to the issues involved. His deep personal
commitment to the struggle
for civil rights in America is
reflected in the subject of
the annual lecture.
Taking tragedy studiously
— Wanda Wakefield, history/Delta College, (r) went
the extra mile with her students in the aftermath of the
Sept. 11 attack on America.
Following class discussion,
they were given the assignment to write a thought-provoking essay about the tragedy
and their reactions to it. Not
only did the students gain a
helpful outlet for their ideas
and impressions about the
attack, but as budding historians they took the project a
step further under Wakefield’s
guidance. In late Oct., the
students presented a portfolio
of their essays to Mary Jo
Gigliotti, library, (l) for the
College archives.
8
In other areas:
• Ilan Alon, business administration and economics, has seen his paper “Interview: International Franchising in
China with Kodak” in
the Thunderbird International Business Review,
Vol. 43, No. 6, pp. 737754, Nov.-Dec. 2001.
• Bill Andrews, political
science and international
studies emeritus, was
guest editor of the fall
2001 journal New York
Archives. He’s also a
member of the journal’s
Editorial Advisory Board
and the Archives Partnership Trust Board.
• Betsy Ann Balzano and
Linda Kramer
Schlosser, education and
human development,
presented “Do Internships
Better Prepare First-year
Teachers?” at the National
Middle School Association
Conference in Washington, DC, Nov. 1-3.
• Margay Blackman, anthropology, recently attended the American
Folklore Society meetings
in Anchorage, AK, where
she chaired a session,
“Faces of the Nunamiut,”
a demonstration of
Nunamiut Eskimo maskmaking by Nunamiut bilingual teacher Rachel
Riley from Anaktuvuk
Pass, AK. Blackman also
presented an invited paper, “99721: The Place
of Many Caribou Droppings,” in a session on
“The Power of Alaskan
Places.” Readers may be
interested to know that
next year’s Oct. meetings
of the American Folklore
Society will be held in
Rochester.
ducted a joint advocacy
training session on the
SUNY Brockport campus
for faculty, staff and students on Nov. 2. The allday session was sponsored by the New York
State Physical Activity
Coalition through its “Be
Active New York State”
initiative, which aggressively addresses the problem of inadequate physical activity — a major
risk factor of cardiovascular disease, cancer and
diabetes. Topics included
the principles of dynamics of change, the socioecological model, and advocacy and lobbying,
along with the review of
examples of efforts going
on nationally to promote
physical activity.
• Monica Brasted, communication, presented
two papers at the recent
NYS Speech Association:
“Advertising and the
Consumer Culture,
1880-1920” and “The
Press and the Student
Movement: The 1968
Democratic Convention.”
• Joe Chesebro, communication, along with six
other contributors from
his new book (see upcoming Dec. issue of
Statements, etc.), recently
presented a short course
on “Teaching Beginning
Teachers to Communicate Effectively with their
Students” at the National
Communication Association.
• Donna Kowal, communication, presented two
papers at the National
Communication Association Convention in Atlanta, GA, Nov 1-4. The
papers were: “Tree-Sitting
and Strip-Teasing to Protect the Wilderness: Strategic Enactments of
Femininity” and “Emma
Goldman, AnarchoFeminism and the Working Class Roots of Radicalism.”
• Alice Crume, communication, made the following presentations at National Communication
Association convention:
1) “The Communication
Audit as an Exercise in an
Organizational Communication Course,” 2)
“Mediation is...New Uses
of Mediation,” 3)
“Learning the Skills of
Servant Leadership,” and
4) “Linking Communication Research and K-12
Practice: Communication, Conflict and Violence in America’s
Schools.” She also was
elected vice-chair elect
for the Experiential
Learning in Communication Commission. This is
a progressive officer position in the NCA commission.
• Warren Kozireski, communication, presented
four seminars at the College Broadcasters,
Inc.(CBI)/College Media
Advisors (CMA) National Convention, Oct.
24-28 in New Orleans.
The seminars were: 1)
“Integrating Your Station
Into Your Community,”
2) Advanced Fund Raising,” 3) “50 Low or No
Cost PR Ideas in 50
Minutes,” and “Talk,
• Tom Golaszewski,
health sciences, and
Frank Short, physical
education and sport, con9
Tech & Jocks: The Nuts
and Bolts of PBP
Sports.” Kozireski was
also appointed chair of
CBI effective immediately.
• Ann Liao, communication, presented a paper in
Oct. at the NYS Speech
Association; the paper
was entitled “Toward an
Epistemology of Participatory Communication:
A Feminist Perspective.”
• Bruce Leslie, history,
along with Jody
Pennington (Aarhus University, Denmark) and
David Mauck (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) organized and participated
in three sessions on Scandinavian immigration
and Scandinavian-American culture for the Biennial Conference of the
Nordic Association of
American Studies in
Copenhagen. Leslie also
just completed a threeyear term on the
Fulbright Selection Board
for Scandinavia.
• Jenny Lloyd, history,
presented a paper, “Bible
Christian Women in the
Field,” at the North Atlantic Conference on
British Studies, and another paper, “Maiden
Preacher, Wife, and
Mother: The Life of
Mary O’Bryan,” at the
Northeast Conference on
British Studies in Nov.
She served as outside
evaluator for the SUNY
Oswego History
Department’s self-study.
(continued on page 10)
In other areas (continued from page 9)
• Jeff Magers, criminal
justice, conducted a
workshop titled, “Ethical
Practice for Police Leaders: Implications for
Leadership Training,” at
the annual conference of
the International Association of Chiefs of Police
in Toronto. Attendees at
the workshop included
police executives and police training directors
from Europe, Asia and
the United States.
• John Masco, physical
education and sport, was
last spring appointed assistant varsity softball
coach. Coincidentally,
the team broke all its
win-loss records since its
inception. Masco has also
been appointed New
York state director and
umpire-in-chief for the
North American Sports
Federation. There will be
NASF national softball
qualifiers in the Rochester area in which Masco
will send both teams and
umpires to several national fast-pitch tournaments in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He teaches softball and football officiating and now can certify
his students upon their
successful completion of
the course(s).
• Sanford Miller, mathematics, in recent months
presented the following
invited talks: “The History of Differential Subordinations” at BabesBolyai University, ClujNapoca, Romania, on
June 1; “Subordinants of
Differential Superordinations” at the Fourth
Hungarian-Romanian
Conference on Mathematics and Computer
Science in Felix-Oradea,
• William F. Stier, Jr.,
physical education and
sport, has recently published three articles. They
are: 1) Fund Raising for
Athletic and Physical
Education Program in
Strategies, 15(1), pp. 1719; 2) “‘Fake It’ — Boost
School Spirit and Raise
Permanent Funds Selling
Temporary Tattoos” in
American Cheerleader,
7(4), pp. 101, 103, 105
and 107; and 3) “Desirable Qualities, Attributes
and Characteristics of
High School Athletic Directors — As View by
Principals” in Applied Research in Coaching and
Athletics Annual, 2001,
pp. 16 and 89-109.
Romania, on June 5; and
the “Subordinants of Differential Superordinations” at the Computational and Function
Therory Conference in
Aveiro, Portugal, in late
June 26.
• Alison Parker, history,
reviewed a manuscript,
“Peace and Patriotism:
The Woman’s Christian
Temperance Union’s Critique of Militarism and
Manliness in America,
1877-1914,” for the Journal of Women’s History,
fall 2001. Parker also
wrote book reviews for
the Journal of American
History and Gulf South
Historical Review.
• Barbara Thompson,
CSTEP/McNair Program, history and African-African American
studies, attended a professional development
seminar which was held
in Denver, CO, Oct. 1920, and was sponsored by
the Council for Educational Opportunity. This
seminar provided indepth training on regulations that govern the
McNair Program from
the Federal Register,
EDGAR (Education Department General Administrative Regulations)
and the Office of Management and Budget Circular. Thompson was invited to attend this training by the Council and
travel was funded by a
supplemental training
grant administered by the
US Department of Education.
• Bill Reed, communication, in Oct. presented a
paper entitled “The Use
of Religious and Political
Oratory Surrounding the
Death of George Washington” at the NYS
Speech Association.
• Bob Smith, history
emeritus and former
chair for several years, has
just had a book published
entitled The Bouchayers of
Grenoble and French Industrial Enterprise, 18501970; from The Johns
Hopkins University
Press, 2001, 247 pages. A
reviewer wrote this about
the study: “This is an excellent piece of historical
work. It successfully
combines family and economic history to demonstrate the the importance
of entrepreneurial decision-making and the crucial role of cultural factors in shaping these decisions.”
10
• Ralph R. Trecartin and
Jeffrey C. Strieter, business administration and
economics, received a
Best Paper Award for
their paper “Cross-border
Arbitrage and Free
Trade,” presented at the
International Business &
Economics Research
Conference, Oct. 11, in
Reno, NV. The paper has
been accepted for publication in the International Business & Economic Research Journal.
Trecartin and D. Donald
Kent, business administration and economics,
with Miranda Detzler
(University of Massachusetts-Boston) presented
their paper “Negative
Cash Flow Firms: Value
or Growth?” at the Academy of Financial Services
15th Annual Meeting,
Oct. 17, in Toronto,
Canada. And Steven T.
Breslawski, business administration and economics, and Trecartin
presented at the same
conference their paper
“Self-assessed Motivational Predisposition:
Can Non-quantitative
Measures Predict Success?”
In memoriam
John Atherton, English
emeritus, founding president of Pitzer College, and
writer, departed this life on
Oct. 31. at the age of 85.
The cause of death was not
released by his family.
Atherton was a poet and
short story author whose
work was published in the
pages of the Saturday Review and The New Yorker.
He also wrote scholarly
books. His most recent,
published last year, was Imperial Steel. Atherton led
Pitzer College, the newest
of the undergraduate
Claremont Colleges, in its
first seven years. At the time
it was an experiment in college education that mixed
community involvement
and social work with academics.
Atherton was born in
Minneapolis. He graduated
magna cum laude and Phi
Beta Kappa from Amherst
College in 1939. In 1941,
he married the former Virginia
Richards.
He earned master’s and doctoral degrees in English and
American literature from the
University of Chicago.
Literature and reading were
what formed his life, his family
said. The Atherton household
has always been filled with
books. His children remembered him as an intellectual
and voracious reader.
Atherton was a gunnery and
torpedo officer in World War
II and studied Russian with the
Navy in Boulder, CO, in 1945.
He joined the faculty of
Claremont Men’s College in
1949. He became a professor
of English and was the dean of
faculty from 1961 to 1963 at
the college that would become
Claremont McKenna College.
When he left Pitzer in
1970, he chaired the Department of English at SUNY
Brockport, returning to teaching “where my basic interests
have always been.” He retired
from SUNY Brockport in 1985
and returned to Claremont. He
could be seen every day walking
from his home to the library,
where he continued to write and
do research.
“John Atherton’s passing is a
particularly significant one for
me. Like many others, the
Athertons (John and Virginia)
came to Brockport during the
growth years. They made significant contributions and
brought a certain grace and
dignity to the campus community that was special. In particular, I cherish the memories
of the social gatherings of the
time — the Brockport Symphony Orchestra concerts under the direction of the late
Ascher Temkin and the parties
that often followed the concerts. The Athertons were great
supporters of the symphony
and made many other significant contributions to the
greater Brockport community
as well. Those who knew John
and Virginia in Brockport have
missed them since John
retired and they moved
back to California. I am
sure that John will be sorely
missed by all who knew
him. Our thoughts and
prayers are with John’s family at this time of loss, but
we also join them in the
celebration of a life well
lived!” noted Bud Meade,
human resources emeritus.
In addition to his wife,
Atherton is survived by a
daughter Carolyn of Oakland, CA; and two sons,
John Jr. of Nantucket, MA,
and Thomas of Joshua Tree,
CA.
The family suggests memorial contributions be
made to the John W.
Atherton Scholarship Fund
at Pitzer College, 1050 N.
Mills Ave., Claremont, CA
91711. Words of sympathy
can be mailed to Virginia
Atherton, 703 Wellesley
Drive, Claremont, CA
91711.
Print and drawings exhibition
continues at Tower
Printmaker and Keene State
College (NH) Art Faculty
Rosemarie Bernardi
opened her exhibition,
Prints and Drawings by
Rosemarie T. Bernardi on
Nov. 8 at the Tower Fine
sively nationwide, is well
respected for her experimentation and advancement of
the photo-intaglio process of
printmaking.
Tower Fine Arts Gallery
hours are Tuesday through
Arts Gallery. The exhibition
of large-scale, photo-intaglio prints and charcoal
drawings continues
through Dec. 9.
Bernardi, whose work
has been exhibited exten-
Friday, noon to 5 pm, and
Tuesday and Thursday, 6-9
pm. Saturday hours are
noon to 5 pm. For more
information, call Timothy
Massey, art, at x2805.
Philosophic Exchange features Dartmouth prof
Professor Robert Fogelin of
Dartmouth College will
visit Brockport under the
auspices of the Center for
Philosophic Exchange on
Nov. 29-30. On Nov. 29 at
4:30 pm in room 220-221,
Seymour College Union, he
will give a public lecture
entitled “Why Obey the
Laws of Logic?” On Nov. 30
at 9:30 am in room 114,
11
Seymour, he will hold a visiting lecture-discussion entitled “Living with Incoherence.”
Also in the arts:
• Leading Eastman graduates in recital Nov. 30:
SUNY Brockport’s School
of Arts and Performance
continues an exciting season
of events with a recital presented by two acclaimed
young graduates of the
Eastman School of Music.
Hanno Strydom (cello) and
Kristian Bezuidenhout
(piano) will perform a program of popular music for
cello and piano, including
works by Brahms,
Prokofiev, Faure,
Mendelssohn, and SaintSaëns. The recital will take
place on Nov. 30 at 7:30
pm in the Tower Fine Arts
Theatre.
Born in Ireland to South
African parents in 1978,
Strydom has gained recognition as one of today’s leading young Irish musicians.
He has appeared as concerto
soloist with both the National Concert Orchestra
and National Symphony
Orchestra of Ireland, as well
as the Eastman Philharmonic. He also has performed at the National
Concert Hall, Dublin, and
with the Vanbrugh String
Quartet. He obtained his
Bachelor of Music from the
Eastman School of Music,
Eastman’s prestigious
Performer’s Certificate in
2000. In Jan. 2001 he made
his official New York debut
at Weill Recital Hall in
Carnegie Hall, followed
soon after by the release of
his debut CD for the New
York label Fleur de Son. The
Democrat and Chronicle
(Nov. 2, 2001) says that
with music schools churning
out young pianists, “only a
few of those artists… will
likely establish meaningful
careers. One such musician
is pianist Kristian
Bezuidenhout.”
Tickets for this recital are
$7 general and $5 seniors
and students, and are available at the Tower Fine Arts
Box Office, xARTS.
where his distinctions include being awarded the
Performer’s Certificate in
2000, and winning the
Eastman School Concerto
Competition in 2001. He is
presently a student in
Eastman’s two-year Master
of Music program and
serves as teaching assistant
to Eastman Professor Steven
Doane.
Bezuidenhout, 22, is a
versatile performer who is
equally at home on
fortepiano, harpsichord and
modern piano and is fast
earning a reputation as one
of the most promising musicians of his generation.
Born in South Africa,
Bezuidenhout was recently
awarded both the First Prize
and the Audience Prize in
the 38th Festival of Flanders
International Fortepiano
Competition in Belgium,
the first pianist to win the
gold medal since 1986.
Other competition successes
include first prize in the
Chautauqua Piano Competition (1996), Australasian
Youth Piano Concerto
Competition (1997), and
the Eastman School of Music Concerto Competition
(2000). Bezuidenhout also
was the recipient of
• An exhibit by Tiffany
Cross and Rachael Hetzel
in the Art Student Association Rainbow Gallery runs
Nov. 27-Dec. 15. (No other
information was available at
press time.)
• The Brockport CollegeCommunity Chorus will
present its traditional holiday concert on Dec. 1 at
7:30 pm at the First Presbyterian Church at 35 State
Street in Brockport. Admission is free, but a donation
of canned foods is appreciated. The Chorus and the
Brockport Symphony will
also present The Messiah
during a special holiday
concert on Dec. 9 at 7 pm
in the Hartwell Dance Theater. Tickets, available at the
door, are $5, $4 for seniors
and students and free for
children under 12.
• The Harlequins Student
Theatre production of
Sylvia will be held Dec. 6-8
in the Tower Fine Arts Lab
Theatre at 8 pm. The play
presents the mid-life crisis of
a dog named Sylvia and a
marriage saved by a series of
hilarious complications.
Ticket are available at the
BSG Box Office, x2487.
• Kirsten Peterson and
Denise Purvis will present
their MFA dance theses
projects in Hartwell Studio
152 on Nov. 29-30 at 8 pm.
Admission is free.
Three SUNY Brockport students
in civic leadership program
Leadership Rochester has
accepted three SUNY
Brockport students to participate in the inaugural
year of its Civic Engagement Leadership Program.
The students, Brandon
Clark, a senior majoring in
criminal justice; Rajat
Kumar, a junior majoring
to help them develop leadership skills.
Some 20-25 area college
students will participate in
workshops that teach them
about the criminal justice,
economic, cultural and education systems and other
such systems.
The program is an off-
in accounting; and Pertina
Reid, a junior majoring in
business, have demonstrated
interest in civic and community services. The purpose of the program is to
prepare young aspiring leaders for greater involvement
in the Rochester community
and other communities, and
12
shoot of the successful Leadership Rochester, which prepares area leaders for an increasing role in civic involvement. The Civic Engagement Leadership Program will be similar to
Leadership Rochester, but
aimed at grooming young
people for future leadership
roles.
Alpha Chi welcomes new students
In late Oct., 97 students
from across the disciplines
were inducted into Alpha
Chi, the distinguished national honorary society.
Alpha Chi is the national
honor society with more than
300 chapters at colleges and
30 or more credits, or been
ranked in the top 10 percent
of the class, whichever is
more restrictive. Alpha Chi
encourages students to continue their academic careers
through graduate school, supports a scholarship program,
universities across the country. Open to juniors and seniors in every discipline, students must have completed
24 credits at SUNY Brockport, with 12 credits in their
major, and have achieved a
minimum GPA of 3.5 with
Kathryn L. Amidon - Health Science
Michael D. Arena - Nursing
Daniel J. Baker - Business Administration and Economics
Karyn Ann Bartnick - Sociology
Stephanie D. Becker - Business Administration (Finance)
Stacy L. Belden - Health Science
Marilo Besanceney - Social Work
David A. Bolen - Physical Education
Karen Michelle Burgun - Nursing
Jennifer Marie Burke - Journalism/English
Alicia Helene Carey - Sociology
Chan B. Carlson - Criminal Justice
Amie Champion - Interdisciplinary Arts
Christin L. Cherkis - Psychology
Jessica L. Cohen - Psychology/Health Science/English
Claudia Colasanto - Communication (Journalism)/Political Science
Richard C. Conheady Jr. - Social Work
Karen Cornell-Hendershot - English
Karin Corriere - Health Science/Physical Education
Tiffany M. Costanza - Business Administration (Marketing Specialty)
Julie L. Crawford - Psychology
Virginia E. Cumine - Health Science
Darryl Delooze - Physics
Jayne Marilyn Downes - Communication
Shannon Eisermann - Computer Science
Sara Elizabeth Elliott - Criminal Justice
Tracy Lynn Featherly - Social Work
Elizabeth Josephine Francica - Political Science
Charlene M. Fry - Psychology
Kathleen K. Gaffney - Health Science
Matthew Gelina - Criminal Justice/International Studies
Mathieu R. Gerbush - Meteorology
Michelle L. Gordon - Business Administration (Marketing Specialty)
Sarah Jane Grudzinski - Interdisciplinary Arts/Dance
Michael R. Hall - Criminal Justice
Kelly M. Harrison - Sociology/Elementary Education Certification
Jennissa M. Hart - Fine Arts
Elise A. Hennig - Nursing
Melissa A. Herman - Recreation and Leisure Studies
Rachael Hetzel - Art
Lorie M. Hickox - Recreation and Leisure Studies
Jody L. Hillman - Dance/Recreation and Leisure Studies
Beth A. Hochuli - Dance/Communication
Kathleen S. Hodgins - Social Work
Jennifer Lee Howland - English
Stephen J. Hungerford - Health Science/Elementary Education
Certification
Mariana Jbantova - International Business/Computer Science
Christine Stella Kadama - Criminal Justice/International Studies
Jeffrey A. Kantrowski - Criminal Justice
Amy B. Kaplan - Nursing
Kathryn Kawa - Nursing
Melissa Koleff - English/ Elementary Education Certification
Kevin R. Laforest - Mathematics/Computer Science
Shana M. Lawson - English
admits students to regional
and national programs, and
issues publications.
Please join Mark
Anderson, English, honors
and Alpha Chi advisor, in
congratulating these students:
Joshua R. Leathersich - History/Teacher Certification
Dawn M. Marciszewski - Business Administration
John P. Marollo - Criminal Justice/Political Science
Katherine M. Marshall - Psychology/English
Arianne E. Martin - Psychology
Maryrose J. Mason - Business Administration (Marketing Specialty)
Scott Paul McConnell - Business Management
Courtney Ann McPherson - Dance
Angelo Mercone - History
Jacqueline A. Mogle - Psychology
Stacy Morrill - Biology
Al Nash - Physical Education
Kevin T. Neu - Health Science
Sara Nowakowski - Psychology
Melissa Anne Ognibene - Poltical Science
Ngozi Vivien Okam - Biological Sciences
Margaret M. Oles - Biological Sciences
Kelly L. O’Neill - Criminal Justice/Sociology
Grace Sen Payne - Social work/International Studies
Meredith-Joy Petersheim -International Studies/International
Business
Christine R. Pettapiece - Biological Sciences
Chrystal D. Price - Physical Education
Shawn A. Reed - Physical Education
Anne K. Rehor - International Studies
Mark David Resch - Physical Education
Elizabeth A. Rinaldo - Theatre/Journalism
Carol A. Rotolo - Business Administration
Kristine Sallustio - Business
Nicole Sallustio - International Business/Economics/International
Studies
Erin M. Salter - English
Jason G. Schug - French
Alison L. Schweichler - Social Work/International Studies
Tina M. Segave - Sociology
Crystal M. Shelby - International Business/French
Jennifer L. Sikorski - Nursing
Jennifer Lynn Simmons - Recreation and Leisure Studies
Johanna Soule - Health Science
Jacqueline A. Stachowiak - Psychology
Amanda B. Sturdevant - Chemistry
Thuy Lisa Tang - Social Work
Seila Kay Thompson - Health Science
Andrea N. Topolnycky - Chemistry/Biological Sciences
Michelle L. Utano - Sociology/Criminal Justice
Pheomany Vandy - Nursing
Sarah E. Warner - Physical Education
Kevin J. Watson - English
Maureen L. Werner - Political Science
Emily K. White - Political Science
Megan C. White - Communication
Lawrence D. Willoughby - Computer Science
Stephanie L. Wilson - Sociology
Patricia A. Wyble - Mathematics
Victor T. Yannuzzi - Meteorology
13
Memos perhaps I should
never have sent
By Roger Weir, student affairs
ine that makes any difference, and they look pretty precarious to me. Maybe you ought to ask the campus safety officer
to check out the safety implications.”
1. To an employee asking for paternity leave:
“With regard to your recent memo requesting paternity
leave, I can’t see what all the fuss is about. I mean, it isn’t as
if you were giving birth to the baby. I would think that the
one who is doing all the hard work would rather not be rewarded by having one more millstone around her neck at a
difficult time. Why don’t you offer to work overtime for the
same days, and give your wife a real break?
4. Memo to the chair of a graduate department regarding his attendance at Faculty Senate meetings while I was
president:
“I regret to inform you that your Certificate for Perfect
Non-attendance at the Senate for academic year 1986-1987
cannot be forwarded, marred as your record was by your appearance at one meeting. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, arguing that you had probably made a
wrong turn heading for the men’s room, but others insist that
you may have actually attended intentionally. I encourage
you to make another try next year. You were so close.”
2. To President John Van de Wetering on my first discovering the Iron Sculpture in the Planter in Front of Dailey
Hall (1992):
“This morning I passed through the square in front of Dailey
Hall and found in the central planter, not geraniums, but
what appears to be the remains of a horse-drawn cultivator,
half-buried. From its condition, I can only surmise that it
had been involved in some tragic accident, and this possibility seems heightened by the oblong pile of stones immediately to the west of the twisted former Farmall, suggesting
that it is the burial site of either the horse, the driver, or both.
“Given the steady decline of the small farmer, this is a
tragedy indeed. But what concerns me even more is the apparently flagrant flouting of the public health laws forbidding
the use of a state planter as a burying ground. Laxness in
such matters could lead to far more serious consequences
than some people may imagine. Zealous custodians attempting to clean up the campus for Commencement or Homecoming, for example, not being in possession of the most
subtle tests for signs of life, could immure half the occupants
of the Faculty Office Building, and the results could be even
worse if they started on the Allen side of the bridge.
“Quite aside from all that, I have a question. Will there be
a memorial service for the horse, the driver, or the geraniums? If so, please let me know.”
5. My Trouble-shooting Check List for the Advisor Signoff Form, sent to faculty, who seemed to be having an inordinate amount of trouble using the (then) new form:
Presenting Problem
Form too wide, too short
Form too thin
Form yellow and blank
Form hard to read
Form brown and wrinkled
Form difficult to see
Probable Cause
You’re holding it sideways
You’re holding it edgeways
You’re holding it backwards
You’re holding it upside down
You’ve picked up your
lunchbag
Your office lights are off*
*For further possible causes, see my monograph entitled
“Darkness: Its Causes and Cures.”
6. Memo to Marion Schrank after receiving from her a
copy of Steven R. Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:
3. Memo to a vice president, concerning fans delivered to
Rakov 101, but not installed:
“Last June or so a dozen ceiling fans were delivered to Room
101 of the Rakov Center to help with our summer heat
problems. They were stacked in our storeroom, where so far
they have not lowered the temperature of the storeroom appreciably, never mind the larger room 101. We’ve placed
them in three different areas of the room, and stacked them
to different heights, and nothing makes a difference.Tom
Nugent tried swinging one back and forth in front of his
face, and this worked a little, but Tom says it was a lot of
work compared to one of those Japanese paper fans. Those
Japanese really have the know-how.
Could you send over a book of directions for these fans?
Next summer will be here before we know it, and if there is
a different way to stack them, we might as well get at it. The
oddest thing is that Financial Aid had the same problem, and
they ended up hanging them from their ceiling. I can’t imag-
Weir’s Seven Habits of Extraordinarily Ineffective People
1.Covey: Be Proactive. Weir: Be Reactive. Why plan for a lot
of things that probably won’t happen anyway, and certainly
won’t happen the way anyone predicted? Just wait a while,
and see what messes actually occur, then pick up the pieces
and wait for the next mess to strike.
2.Covey: Begin with the end in mind. Weir: Begin with the
beginning in mind. If you worry too much about the end,
you’ll probably screw up the beginning, and that is a sure
way to screw up everything from there all the way to the end.
3. Covey: Put first things first. Weir: Put last things first.
Why mess around with first things, when almost everyone is
(continued on page 15)
14
Memos perhaps I should never have sent (continued from page 14)
working to get to the last? Like desserts and, well, think
about it. Most highly effective people are so busy putting first
things first that they never get to the good stuff. Can you
imagine having a fatal coronary during the broccoli?
5.Covey: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
Weir: Seek first to get your way, then if others don’t understand, it’s already too late. Understanding is highly overrated.
Ask any high-level administrator.
4. Covey: Think win/win. Weir: Think why compete?/why
compete? You don’t really need to win, you know. Just find a
comfortable spot, pour yourself a drink, and watch all the
highly effective people run each other down, give themselves
strokes from stress, and become hated by those who aren’t so
effective. When they’ve run out of friends and lives, slip into
the power vacuum. In other words, you don’t have to win –
you just have to wait for others to lose. How else could
people like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan ever have gotten elected?
6.& 7.Covey: Synergize. Renew Yourself. Weir: Go ahead, if
you want to, but you could go blind.
7. Memo to an unnamed supervisor who had been difficult to track down:
“How have you been? I’m well, and I hope you are the same.
Have you found work yet? I don’t think the picture of you
on the milk carton is all that flattering. Maybe it is because
it’s squeezed onto the pint container. When they put you on
the half-gallon one it will probably be fine.”
8. Opening of a memo to another vice president:
“Now pay attention. I’ll type slowly.”
More chickens
• Chancellor King:
Never mind why. Just don’t
tell the Board of Trustees, or
the first thing you know
road crossing will be a General Education requirement.
• Michael Fox: Well, if
it does, at least we ought to
be able to design a competency exam. Assessment
Committee to Michael:
Do you have any idea how
complex it is to assess roadcrossing skills? Crossing
perpendicularly or on an
angle? If an angle, which
one? Into a headwind, a
tailwind or a crosswind?
Blacktop or concrete? During morning traffic or
……… Fox: (Sigh).
• Alcohol Task Force:
Well, they aren’t crossing the
road as often as they used
to, thanks to our social
norming program. You’ve
probably seen our posters
that show a flock of chickens just hanging out in their
coop, with the message
“Most Brockport chickens
cross the road fewer than
five times per week.” Those
posters are workin’!
• George Toth: What
happened with the chicken?
Sorry I missed it; I got talking with someone on my
way to the road. But I just
have three questions of my
own . . .
• Gary Metz: It was
probably running for its life.
Do you realize how many
satanic cults there are right
here in Western Monroe
County, and what they do
to chickens? It’s ugly stuff.
You might want to keep an
eye on your goats, too.
• Theatre: That was a
rooster gaining on Dick St
George. Right about now he
probably wishes he’d
dumped the chicken costume and stuck with the
Teddy Roosevelt outfit.
• Political Science: Define “chicken.”
• The Village: The
chicken crossed the road
because it was retiring. We
have nothing more to say on
the matter, and we’re sure
the chicken doesn’t either.
• Rochesterians: Brockport has roads?
Wanted: Helping hands (continued from page 1)
• Chapman/Commissary:
Laurie Hildebrant, facilities and planning
• Cooper: Sue Lower,
Delta College
• Dailey: Tammy
Loscombe, ITSS
• Drake: Becky
Livingston, library
• FOB: Carol Giblin, education and human development
• Rakov: Ave Gardner, career services
• Seymour: Susan Arno,
campus life
• Smith/Lennon: Phyllis
Lista, physics and chemistry
• Tower Fine Arts: Loretta
Lonnen, art
• Tuttle North/South: Pam
Rowles, athletics
• FOB: Dorothy Ballard,
educational administration
• Hartwell: Jackie Thomas,
dance
• Hartwell: Mary Derleth,
business administration and
economics
• Hazen: Marcia Lyman,
residential life/learning
communities
• Holmes: Marcy Stickles,
psychology
15
If you have any questions
about the HHH drive, want
additional information, or
wish to do a “departmental
adoption,” please call either
Phyllis Lista at x2182 or
Jackie Thomas at x2153.
International students
add to the experience
By Liz Serling, communication intern
This fall when 28 international students entered
SUNY Brockport, they
found a receptive “homeaway-from-home.”As part
of achieving its new mission
and strategic planning initiatives of providing extraordinary academic programs
and a rigorous collegiate
experience, SUNY Brockport has actively been recruiting students from
abroad.
Once accepted into the
College, six of these students were then “recruited”
to join other international
peers in Delta College,
SUNY Brockport’s collegewithin-a college, which offers an alternative set of
General Education requirements – and much more.
These classes are held as
small seminars with collaborative, interdisciplinary,
team-teaching and experiential-learning opportunities,
as well as three required internships: a local, a national,
and an international placement. These professional
work environments help
students bridge the gap between the classroom and the
working world.
Delta College’s, Sandra
Holinbaugh-Beltz explained, “Delta is the Greek
symbol for change. With
American students interacting in small-sized seminars
with international students,
they get a hands-on understanding of societies in
which they are studying;
with the added international
internship component, it
truly transforms academic
knowledge into human understanding.”
When reviewing applicants for admissions into
Delta, Holinbaugh-Beltz
looks at the complete package. “I am interested in the
doers, those who are actively
engaged in the community
and will continue to contribute to their communities
in the future. I like to see
how people have overcome
obstacles in order to achieve
their individual successes,
which is especially true of
our international students.”
Students in Delta may
choose any major to
complement the seminar
classes; they may design
their own major through a
CLAM (contractural liberal
arts major) or they may enroll in the international
studies/political science
track, which affords them
the opportunity of applying
Delta classes and internship
placements to major requirements. A sociology
curriculum with similar features is also in the planning
stages.
For international students at SUNY Brockport,
Delta College offers a closeknit group of peers to relate
to as they adjust to college
life and a foreign culture.
Karen Podsiadly, leadership
and community development, is responsible for the
“care and feeding” of all the
international students on
campus. Podsiadly feels that
“international students add
a different flavor to this
campus and interacting with
them has made me grow in
my capacity as a student
affairs professional.”
She helps these students
“adjust to living here, I help
them get connected to the
College campus, anything
from getting pillows, to advising them about the need
for clothing for winters, or
more complicated matters
such as cutting through the
red tape of obtaining Social
Security Cards.”
International students
who choose to live on campus are placed in Thompson
Hall, one of the nicest residence halls on the SUNY
Brockport campus. In many
ways Thompson resembles
an upscale urban apartment
complex with nicely carpeted hallways, a sophisticated intercom system and a
private lobby area.
“The residential assistants
in Thompson pay attention
to the special needs of the
population in their residence halls and, as a result,
they create unique programming for their residents,
helping them foster a family
type atmosphere,” said
Podsiadly.
Both Podsiadly and
Holinbaugh-Beltz see in the
international students a focus and a discipline not always as intense in some
other students attending the
College. International students have a mission when
they come to college in the
United States, and they
truly value the educational
process. Therefore, their
presence on the SUNY
Brockport campus benefits
the entire educational community.
16
“I chose SUNY Brockport over the other colleges I
applied to because I was offered a Faculty Scholarship
and then I was recruited and
enrolled in Delta College. I
have enjoyed the learning
process and it has helped me
with my presentation skills,”
said Katie Salvaterra, a
sophomore in the program.
Leana Boyarskay, a
Delta College junior and
native of Ukraine, has been
through the paces in Delta
and has dreams of attending
Harvard Law School.
“I study all the time, and
I work really hard and I enjoy it, but I do hope it pays
off. The one thing that
strikes me as different in the
United States is how everyone is out for himself,
people will do anything to
‘get ahead.’ In Russia it was
not like that; people were
more concerned with their
families,” Boyarskay said.
She has managed well in
adjusting to a new culture
and its academic rigors,
achieving a 3.75 GPA.
As so well stated in the
Delta College Handbook,
“Our students arrive as
teenagers and leave as
poised, polished, professional adults.” What else
could reflect so positively
upon the merits of a SUNY
Brockport education than
the way in which it prepares
all of its graduates, national
and international alike, for
their future contributions to
their professional fields and
to the communities in
which they will live?