SUNY Geneseo Kicks Off the New Academic Year

New Student Convocation (SUNY Geneseo/Mat Johnson)

The 2026–27 academic year kicked off last week with two campus convocations.

New Student Convocation on August 20 marked the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester at Geneseo. The event featured a keynote address by Robert Doggett, professor of English and creative writing, who reminded students to be comfortable with merely being.

“Yes, careers matter; yes, it’s good to have goals; yes, it’s okay to feel that you’re making sacrifices now that will pay off in the future. But don’t do so at the expense of being present in your life as it unfolds in this ongoing now.” Mere being, Doggett said, is “the place where we encounter again and again the strangeness, the newness, the beauty, the terror, and the wonder of our own human existence and of all the realities we inhabit. And if college has a core purpose, I think it’s that: learning to be present where we really live.”

Student Association President Lucas Pastwik ’27, a political science major from Eden, NY, spoke about being open to the challenges and opportunities that college offers.

“In college, and particularly at Geneseo, there are so many opportunities that help shape who we become,” Pastwik said. “When I think about the person I was when I first arrived here and the person I am today, the biggest difference comes from the opportunities I chose to take … take them. Because what you make of the next four years is ultimately up to you,” he advised.

Geneseo’s Opening Convocation for faculty and staff on August 21 celebrated 2026 recipients of SUNY Distinguished Professorships, SUNY Chancellor’s Awards, and the Faculty Career Achievement Award. Other promotions and appointments were as follows:

Faculty promotions and appointments announced at Opening Convocation:
Mohammad Sadegh Ansari, promotion to associate professor of history with continuing appointment
Amy Braksmajer, promotion to associate professor of sociology with continuing appointment
Whitney Brown, promotion to associate professor of psychology with continuing appointment
Elizabeth Felski, promotion to associate professor of business with continuing appointment
Kristi Hannam, promotion to professor of biology
Varuni Jamburuthugoda, continuing appointment in biology
Ryan Jones, promotion to professor of history
William Jones, promotion to librarian
Peter Kalenda, promotion to associate professor of education
Nicholas Warner, promotion to professor of geological, environmental, and planetary sciences
Michael Webb, continuing appointment in biochemistry
Suann Yang, promotion to professor of biology

Staff promotions and appointments announced at Opening Convocation:
Elisabeth Adams, permanent appointment as parking and transportation administrator
Lisa Bishop, promoted to enrollment specialist
Sabrina Bramwell, permanent appointment as multicultural student success coordinator
Timothy Carey, permanent appointment as project manager
Aquella Deskov, promoted to senior triage/crisis counselor
Brendan Fuhr, promoted to community engagement and applied learning access coordinator
Teddy Gyamfi, permanent appointment as evening access service manager
Betsy Harris, promoted to social media manager
Nicholas LaGamba, permanent appointment as chemistry stockroom and safety manager
Ravi Lamontagne, permanent appointment as senior software application developer
Hope Martin, promoted to assistant director of internships and applied learning
Suzanne Miller, permanent appointment as assistant director of admissions
Heather Morens, permanent appointment as assistant director of Career Design
Emma Orlando, promoted to senior counselor
Rebecca Patt, permanent appointment as senior instructional designer
Nathaniel Pietropaolo, permanent appointment as assistant dean of students
Robyn Rime, permanent appointment as senior writer and editor
Andromeda Sawtelle, promoted to IDS project developer
Alison Sexton, promoted to director of student accounts
Jack Truckenmiller, promoted to senior systems analyst
Cailley Wayman, permanent appointment as training program coordinator