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GREAT Day on Geneseo’s Horizon
The day-long, campus-wide event will feature 57 sessions including:
In addition, a Chamber Music Festival performance will occur throughout the day on the Union Grind Stage. Steven W. Squyres, Goldwin Smith professor of astronomy at Cornell University, will deliver the keynote address at 1:45 p.m. in Wadsworth Auditorium. Squyres is principal investigator for the science payload on the Mars Exploration Rover Project. His lecture is free and open to the public. “‘GREAT Day’ is a celebration of what Geneseo students do best,” said Stephen West, faculty director of the event and distinguished teaching professor of mathematics emeritus. “It is a combined showcase of their creative talents and research capabilities, illustrating to attendees the wide range of activities that make Geneseo such a special place.” According to West, more than 40 students will participate in the Chamber Music Festival, indicating the rich co-curricular life that exists on campus. GREAT Day allows Geneseo students to exhibit their talents and research capabilities through a variety of mediums, including artwork exhibits; dance, vocal, instrumental and theatrical performances; poster, PowerPoint and paper presentations; and creative works readings of poetry, prose or diction. Each student submission must be sponsored by a faculty member. “The hardest thing to do will be to choose between the stunning array of concurrent events,” noted West. “Students should be encouraged to attend all types of sessions, rather than just those in their particular area of interest.”
State Budget Affects SUNY for 2008-09 The new (but not improved) 2008-09 budget for New York will have both short-and long-term effects on all SUNY institutions, including Geneseo. The budget involves two main funding categories: Operating Support Former Governor Eliot Spitzer’s 2008-09 recommended budget contained a 2.5 percent cut in SUNY operating support, resulting in the loss of approximately $34.2 million system-wide. State energy funding also was reduced by $26.6 million. The State did provide a contingency appropriation of $45 million to protect campuses from extraordinary energy cost increases in 2008-09. When David Paterson assumed the governorship in mid-March, the State’s fiscal condition had deteriorated and revenue projections worsened. As a result, Governor Paterson recommended additional cuts which, combined with those by former Governor Spitzer, they totaled $80 million -- a 5.85 percent reduction in support to the State-operated campuses. The State Legislature was able to restore some of this additional cut. The final budget contained a 2.9 percent cut or $38.8 million. For Geneseo, this is a reduction of approximately $475,000. Geneseo also lost $293,600 in energy funding. The total cut for the College is approximately $768,600. Capital Support Geneseo received $19.35 million for Strategic Initiatives and $14.607 million for Critical Maintenance for a total of $33.957 million in capital appropriations. The College’s strategic initiatives are:
"The budget process is not yet over," said Christopher C. Dahl, president of SUNY Geneseo. "We are still seeking capital funding for the Doty project, but in general, this is disappointing given that this was supposed to be the year for higher education."
What Lies Beneath: Expert to Deliver American Rock Salt Lecture
His lecture will address the various state-of-the-art geophysical techniques used to create 2D, 3D and even 4D images of “things” buried in the ground, including Alaskan glaciers, Jordanian archaeology, land mines, frozen Arctic lakes, migrating groundwater contaminants, and more. Baker, who also serves as director of the Environmental Geophysics Research Laboratory at UT, previously served as director of the University at Buffalo Summer Geology Field Program from 2001-2005. He is currently co-director of the Buffalo Geosciences Program, which promotes diversity in the geosciences by providing unique opportunities to underrepresented minority student populations. Baker specializes in “near-surface geophysics” which deals with remotely imaging the upper 200 meters of the subsurface of planets and their moons. His research is focused on developing new geophysical instrumentation and data processing techniques; improving standard operating procedures of data collection; and demonstrating applied examples of state-of-the-art techniques. Current projects include imaging Pleistocene sediments within lakes on Baffin Island for climate-related studies; environmental site characterization on Fort Wainwright and Fort Richardson, Alaska; glacio-geophysics research at Matanuska Glacier, Alaska; archaeo-geophysics studies on a 4th Century Roman fort in Humayma, Jordan; and a 3D tracer mapping project in the fractured bedrock of Altona Flats, New York. Baker earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in geology from Lehigh University, and a Ph.D. in geophysics from The University at Kansas. He was awarded the inaugural Environmental and Engineering Geophysics Society/Geonics Early Career Award (2008) for his contributions to near-surface geophysics.
The professional publication has come a long way since its first conception as part of a course project. Creator and project manager Mike Baker ‘08 initially gained experience through a Florida real estate magazine. He applied his knowledge by creating a mock magazine as part of his “Theory and Practice of Public Relations” class taught by Mary Mohan, associate professor of communication. Baker’s pitch to develop the magazine into a public and professional endeavor gained the attention of Louise Wadsworth, director of the Alliance for Business Growth. Working with Wadsworth and her assistant, Maureen Palumbo, Baker formed the model of Live as a local, student-run magazine to promote awareness of Geneseo businesses, events and activities, and to provide affordable advertising for Main Street businesses. According to Baker, the value of Live Magazine is threefold: it provides a learning experience for students, it offers a competitive and inexpensive outlet for local businesses and it helps bridge communications between the town and the College. “Hopefully this will inspire other students to get out and explore this wonderful area that we call home for four years,” he said. Reflecting on the past year of magazine development, Baker acknowledged the assistance of others. “I could not have gotten anywhere without the guidance of Dr. Mary Mohan, the leadership of Louise Wadsworth, and of course, the team that was the real heart behind this magazine,” he said. Other members behind Live include Alyssa D’Anna, Liz Levy, Beth Farmer, Chris Boyce, Ivan Cash, Meri Teasdale, Sarah VanNostrand and Ashley Coon. Although some members of the current team will graduate in May, succession planning has already occurred. Current sales manager Beth Farmer will take over as project manager next semester, and the magazine is already looking to expand its reach online. Read Live magazine at http://www.live-zine.com. This story was written by Dan Skahen, a junior communications major interning in the Office of Communications and Publications this semester.
History Department Holds Alumni Weekend The department of history will hold its alumni weekend on Saturday, April 19 featuring a Geneseo walking tour, the C.R. Baily Alumni Lecture and an awards dinner. Rebecca Rowe, from the Landmark Society of Western New York, will lead the walking tour from the front of Welles Hall beginning at 10:30. The C.R. Baily Alumni Lecture and reception will take place at 2:30 p.m. in 214 Newton Hall; James Barrett from the University of Illinois will present “The Irish and the Jews: Americanization on Stage, On Screen and in the Streets.” Details can be found in the department’s newsletter. Rob Doran ’00 has been appointed as the James R. Kolster Chair in Mathematics at Allendale Columbia School in Rochester. Doran, who majored in math, succeeds Diane Trasher Broberg, whose parents, Virginia and Donald Trasher, served on the math faculty at Geneseo. Coincidentally, Donald Trasher served as department chair during Doran’s undergraduate years.
Long Island-based alternative rock group “Brand New” will headline the Activities Commission’s Spring Concert on Sunday, April 20 in Kuhl Gymnasium. “Brand New” has released three albums, selling more than one million records worldwide. Tickets for this event are $17 and are available in the Student Association Ticket Office, located on the ground floor of the MacVittie College Union. For more information, contact the Activities Commission at actcomm@geneseo.edu.
Geneseo's Student Music Association will host “The After Hours Ultra-Hip Brick House Experiment,” an informal open mic session at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 18 at Sturges Auditorium. Students will perform self-composed, original music and/or arrangements of a song by another artist. Any genre of music will be accepted at this event. For more information or to sign up for this event, please contact Maeghan Dineen at mkd6@geneseo.edu.
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Geneseo’s second annual “GREAT Day” (Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement and Talent) will take place on Tuesday, April 22 in celebration of the creative and scholarly endeavors of Geneseo students. This year, more than 660 student participants sponsored by 145 faculty members will be involved – a 60% increase from a year ago.
The fifth annual American Rock Salt Lecture on Geology will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17 in 202 Newton Hall. Gregory S. Baker, who holds the Jones/Bibee Endowed Associate Professorship of Geophysics at the University of Tennessee (UT) will deliver the keynote address. His presentation is titled, “Mars? Glaciers? Dead Bodies? Roman Forts? Using Geophysical Technology to Image the Unseen.”
Geneseo students launched the first issue of Live Magazine on Friday, April 4, celebrating its premiere with a press conference in the Campus House Ballroom.
Sarah Teres ’90 is serving as publisher and editorial director of Motherwords, the first locally published magazine for mothers in the North of Boston area. The inaugural issue debuted in January and will be published nine times a year. “Motherhood is amazing, and we all love it a huge percentage of the time,” she wrote in her editorial column, ‘Scribbles from Sarah…’ “That said, there are times, sometimes even days or weeks, when we don’t. We at Motherwords want to talk about real motherhood in a smart way that all moms can relate to…” Sarah is the daughter of Michael Teres, professor in the School of Arts. For news releases and breaking news about SUNY Geneseo, visit SUNY Geneseo's news and events page.
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