Parents Weekend: An inside look at the Geneseo experience

More than 800 parents visited Geneseo last weekend, Oct. 23 and 24, to find out more about their sons' and daughters' professors, courses, friends and activities.

"Parents Weekend is an opportunity for parents to get a first-hand look at what life is like at Geneseo," says Tammy Ingram, director of parent relations. "We want them to discover what Geneseo offers both in and out of the classroom."

Those opportunities include conducting research with faculty members, more than 20 study abroad and service-learning programs and clubs. Last year, so many parents registered for Saturday study abroad workshops that more information sessions were added. This year, more than 670 parents and students attended study abroad sessions, says Ingram.

President Christopher C. Dahl addressed parents Saturday morning, sharing Geneseo's mission to provide not only great academic courses but transformational learning experiences that prepare students for careers and life.

More than 300 parents attended Parents College, with workshops on subjects like computer science, cancer from a biologist's perspective, baseball statistics and student field research in the Grand Canyon, taught by faculty.

There were also soccer and swimming meets, a late-night ice-cream social, tours, a harvest dinner, showcase of talent at the Kaleidoscope concert and a performance by the a capella group The Blanks.

"We did a good job of finding a little something for everybody," says Ingram.
 

See more photos from Parents Weekend events in the gallery section of this ENCompass issue.

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 The annual SEFA campaign is underway, helping those in need

At Teresa House in Geneseo, volunteers provide round-the-clock care to community members at the end of their lives, providing support for families and an opportunity to cherish time together with their loved ones.

The Livingston County hospice is one of many local, national and global organizations that rely on private support to carry out their missions, and that benefit from the annual State Employee Federated Appeal campaign, or SEFA.

Last year, SUNY Geneseo employees contributed more than $54,000 in gifts — $6,000 more than the goal. During week three of the 2009 campaign, there has been more than $32,500 gifts, says Patty Hamilton-Rodgers ‘85, research and development specialist, and this year's campaign coordinator.

"Since I arrived at Geneseo as a freshman, it has been clear to me that Geneseo is generous," says Hamilton-Rodgers. "The people who make up the college community give abundantly of their time, on and off campus, and are amazingly philanthropic when it comes to a vast number of charities and causes across the region."

Contributions are accepted through Nov. 11. Employees were provided information packs and forms. As a thank-you, there are weekly prize drawings for donors.
Find out more about the SEFA campaign online.

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Students celebrate National Chemistry Week

In celebration of National Chemistry Week Oct. 18-24, students from the Chemistry/Biochemistry Club showed people a whole new side of their breakfast cereal: They extracted metallic iron from Total.

They also condensed liquid oxygen from air and performed other demonstrations for visitors at the Rochester Museum and Science Center on Oct. 18. This year's theme was a celebration of the 140th anniversary of the periodic table. Students also created a balloon model of a carbon nanotube, a recently discovered allotrope of carbon. Assistant Professor James McGarrah is the club's adviser.
  

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  KUDOS

• Geneseo's Web Communications Manager Laura Kenyon was part of a team that took home top honors in the Slice, Dice and Spice Cook Off NY competition, held Oct. 25 at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua. The team of amateurs was led by the chef of a Buffalo restaurant. See the full story from Buffalo Rising.
  
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UPCOMING EVENTS

Events today ...

• On Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. in the Roemer Arboretum, the Geneseo Community Garden group will host a special “Undead Gardens: A Halloween Tour." Visitors will enter “the season of darkness, death, and decomposition,” and learn about biology of decay and winter-hearty crops. Bring vegetable scraps for the compost piles and help plant and mulch garlic that will be harvested in spring. There will be cider and donuts. It’s free.

Upcoming events ...

• On Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m. in Wadsworth Auditorium, the Geneseo Wind Ensemble with conductor James Walker, distinguished service professor, and the Geneseo Jazz Ensemble, with director Jonathan Kruger, a lecturer at SUNY Geneseo, will perform. Admission is free. The event is sponsored by the School of the Arts.
  
  
• On Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. in Wadsworth Auditorium, the "Orchesis Dance Concert: Beyond the Studio Mirror" will be performed. Admission is $5. It is sponsored by the Geneseo Student Association. Tickets are available at the Brodie Box Office.
  
  
• On Monday, Nov. 2, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the College Union Ballroom, visiting Fulbright Scholar Eva Tagoe-Darko, of the Department of Geography, will present the lecture "The Healing Brass Bowl: Traditional Teachings and Practices for Child Health in Ghana." There's a reception following the lecture at the Campus House from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  
  Tagoe-Darko is the head of the Department of Geography and Rural Development at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. She is teaching “Women's Roles and Health in West Africa" this semester at Geneseo. The lecture and reception are sponsored by the departments of geography, Africana/black studies, anthropology, environmental studies, women's studies, urban studies, the Office of International Programs and the Office of the Provost.
  
  
• On Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in Newton 204, the Philosophy Club is sponsoring a debate concerning national health care reform. Panelists are economics Associate Professor Christopher Annala, biology Associate Professor and Chair George Briggs, sociology Associate Professor Anne Eisenberg and philosophy Professor Ted Everett.
  
  
• On Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the College Union Ballroom, the Department of Human Resources is sponsoring the SUNY Geneseo Employee Wellness Fair. For details and opportunities to sign up for a Wellscan or ultrasound-based stroke prevention and thyroid screenings, visit online.
  
  
• On Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Welles 123, Molly Kerker ’09 and Colin Waters ’10 will present "Biodiversity in Action: Lessons Learned in India." Last summer, they volunteered on two farms in India, studying seed preservation and indigenous rights and utilizing traditional farming techniques to foster biodiversity. Learn about the importance of preserving biodiversity through seed banks, seed saving and cultivation.
  
  

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 PHOTO GALLERY

 Photo of the week ... Have you taken a photo of campus or a picture that helps tell the story of the Geneseo experience? Send your snapshots to encompass@geneseo.edu.

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• Parents Weekend: An inside look at the Geneseo experience

• The annual SEFA campaign is underway, helping those in need
  
  
• Students celebrate National Chemistry Week
  
  

• KUDOS
  
  

• Upcoming events

• Photo Gallery

About ENCompass: 

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