Seth N. Asumah
Seth N. Asumah, Africana Studies and Political Science departments, was a recipient of the Alumni of Distinction honor at a ceremony at the State University of New York College at Oneonta in September. The Alumni of Distinction honorees are selected in recognition of their “demonstrated leadership, superior career achievement and distinguished service.” Asumah is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, chair of the Africana Studies Department and a political science professor. He is the author, co-author and co-editor of 11 books and over 100 articles, book chapters, reviews and essays and a recipient of more than 20 international, national and local awards and honors. At SUNY Cortland, Asumah’s recognitions include the Excellence in Teaching Award, Rozanne Brooks Dedicated Teacher Award and Outstanding Achievement in Service Award. As a member of many soccer referees’ associations, Asumah has officiated soccer matches for 35 years at the international, national, state and local levels.
Carol Van Der Karr, Susan Wilson, Andrea Dávalos, Michael Hough and Tim Baroni
Carol Van Der Karr, Academic Affairs, Susan Wilson, Parks, Recreation and Leisure Studies Department, and Andrea Dávalos, Michael Hough and Tim Baroni, all from the Biological Sciences Department, volunteered at the 24-hour community BioBlitz Sept. 8 and 9 held at the Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY. The event was sponsored by Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Sciences (SIPS) and the Cayuga Nature Center and the censing work was done at the both the center and The Smith Wood Preserve in Trumansburg, a patch of old growth forest near Taughannock State Park that has recently yielded newly discovered species for the Cayuga Lake Basin. A BioBlitz is the cataloging of all life forms, from mammals to bacteria, that can be found in a defined area over a 24-hour time span. It is meant to serve as a baseline snap shot of biodiversity for the area. The first ever BioBlitz was held in 1996 at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. Such events are now common across the US and can cover small or large areas, such as national parks, and the time frames can be extended to a year or more. Van Der Karr and Wilson helped with the census for mollusks (snails and slugs) and annelids (worms). Dávalos assisted with identification of non-native annelids, Hough helped with identification of plants and Baroni with collecting and identification of fleshy fungi (mushroom and relatives). The BioBlitz started at 5 p.m. Friday at the Cayuga Nature Center and included talks and demonstrations that evening until 9 p.m. on snails, slugs, bats, spiders, moths and other nighttime insects. Saturday’s events began at 10 a.m. and included talks, walks and demonstrations on plants, fungi, microbiology, bees, large wild animal back yard feeding and birds. In addition, some of the selected organisms collected by the survey teams and brought to the nature center for identification were placed on display, along with field guides and literature on identification of organisms in nature. The event drew nature enthusiasts from as far away as Rochester, N.Y., and resulted in an overflow parking capacity at the center on Saturday.
Jacob Hall and Kate McCormick
Jacob Hall and Kate McCormick, Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, co-authored an article published in TechTrends titled ‘My Cars don’t Drive Themselves’: Preschoolers’ Guided Play Experiences with Button‑Operated Robots. The article describes what preschool children’s computational thinking experiences are like when button-operated robots are introduced into their guided play.
Theresa Curtis
Theresa Curtis, Biological Sciences Department, had her article, co-authored with three undergraduate students, published in Biosensors. The students include two current biomedical sciences majors, Annabella Nilon ’24 and Jacob Scibek ’24, and Matthew Besner ’22, who will attend medical school in the fall at University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. The research article, “Odorant Binding Causes Cytoskeletal Rearrangement, Leading to Detectable Changes in Endothelial and Epithelial Barrier Function and Micromotion” details a new label-free method to detect odorant molecules which was funded by the Department of Defense.
Robert Spitzer
Robert Spitzer, Political Science Department, has been informed that his article, “Growing Executive Power: The Strange Case of the ‘Protective Return’ Pocket Veto,” has been accepted for publication in the Fall 2012 issue of Presidential Studies Quarterly.
Tiantian Zheng
Tiantian Zheng, Sociology/Anthropology Department, was invited by University of Rochester to deliver a book talk on Nov. 10 on her book Tongzhi Living: Men Attracted to Men in Postsocialist China.
Ryan Vooris
Ryan Vooris, Sport Management Department, presented his research on ESPN at the 11th Summit on Communication and Sport, held April 26 to 29 at Indiana University. Also, he served on a panel focused on the intersection of marketing and communication theory.
Danica Savonick
Danica Savonick, English Department, presented her research at a panel on “The Campus as Crucible of Struggle,” sponsored by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The conversation was streamed live on YouTube on Sept. 5.
Sharon L. Todd
Sharon L. Todd, Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies Department, was inducted into the South Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 16. Part of Todd’s athletic career involved serving as assistant coach of SUNY Cortland’s field hockey team for 12 years, while also serving as a faculty member.
Kevin D. Dames
Kevin D. Dames, Kinesiology Department, collaborated with members of Colorado State University’s Sensorimotor Neuroimaging Laboratory on research presented at the Rocky Mountain Regional American Society of Biomechanics held in March in Chapel Hill, N.C., and at the Neural Control of Movement conferences, held in May in Santa Fe, N.M.