New Student Convocation keynote speaker Barnabas Gikonyo, lecturer and director of introductory chemistry labs (SUNY Geneseo photo/Matt Burkhartt)
New and returning students and faculty gathered at two campus convocations to mark the beginning of Fall 2023.
New Student Convocation on August 24 officially started the 2023–24 academic year at Geneseo. Faculty and staff, many attired in academic regalia, attended the event to welcome new students into the Geneseo community. The event included a keynote address by Barnabas Gikonyo, lecturer and director of introductory chemistry labs, whose address asked the Class of 2027 to face their possible fears, from new environments to different opinions. “Be engaged in your new community,” he said. “Share your unique perspectives and experiences with each other; take calculated risks, for that will go a long way to helping you be the best YOU there can be.”
Alumni speaker Marissa Mulder ’07 (musical theatre) said her college years gave her the confidence to live, work, and perform in New York City. “Here at Geneseo, I learned what set me apart as an artist and a person. I was given the encouragement to celebrate and strengthen the talents that made me unique,” she told students. “Don’t worry if you don’t have your whole life figured out yet, if you don’t know what to major in, if you don’t have a plan. Stay present, slow down, look around. You are in the right place.”
Student Association President Ryan Frangipani ’26, a marketing major from Deer Park, NY, advised new students to be brave enough to stand firm within the environments that scare them. “Take time to find yourself,” he said. “Be someone who looks back four years from now and is proud of who they’ve become.”
SUNY Geneseo President Denise A. Battles delivered her keynote, “Geneseo: Redefining the Honors Experience,” at the Opening Convocation for faculty and staff on August 25. Battles highlighted recent successes, identified challenges and opportunities for improvement, and spoke of the college’s work ahead at redefining the honors experience.
“Becoming the nation’s first equity-centered honors college—one that offers the highest quality liberal arts-centered education and seeks to extend the fullest possible honors experience to ALL students whom we select through our rigorous admissions process—is a natural extension of our strengths, values, and aspirations,” she said. “It’s who we are and what we do, as well as being right for our state.”
Many Geneseo alumni are leaders and difference-makers in their communities and the world, Battles concluded. “They are the beneficiaries of our outstanding educational experience, and they support my contention that Geneseo has long exemplified an honors college. Who better than Geneseo to become a national leader through our aspiration to become the country’s first equity-centered honors college?”
2023 award recipients announced at convocation:
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching
Brian Barnett
Caroline Beltz-Hosek
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service
Minh Huynh
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship
William Jones
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service
Sarah Frank
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
Yvonne Seale
Distinguished Professor
D. Jeffrey Over
Faculty promotions and appointments announced at convocation:
Ahmad Almomani, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of mathematics
Jovana Babovic, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of history
Susana Castillo-Rodriguez, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor in global languages and cultures
Samuel Fallon, promotion to associate professor in English
Raslan Ibrahim, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of political sciences and international relations
Chinmay Jain, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of business
Rebecca Leathersich, promotion to associate librarian in the library
Vincent Markowski, promotion to professor of psychology
Leah McGray, promotion to associate professor in music and musical theatre
Melanie Medeiros, promotion to professor of anthropology
Christine Merrilees, promotion to professor of psychology
Sedar Ngoma, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of mathematics
Thomas Osburn, continuing appointment with promotion to associate professor of physics and astronomy
Alessandra Otero, promotion to associate librarian in the library
Lee Pierce, promotion to associate professor in communication
Alice Rutkowski, promotion to professor of English
Annmarie Urso, promotion to professor of education
Alan Witt, promotion to librarian in the library
Staff promotions and appointments announced at convocation:
Kristina Barsema, permanent appointment as associate director of student life
Enrico Coloccia, promotion to director of network and information security operations
Shannon Cowdrick, promotion to assistant director of facilities maintenance
Riley Damerell, promotion to director of athletic communications and media relations
Stephen Dresbach, promotion to head of library information technology services
Laurie Fox, promotion to director of educational technology
George Gagnier, promotion to senior associate director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation
Bryan Jackson, promotion to assistant director of facilities planning and construction
Nicholas LaGamba, promotion to instructional support technician
Ravi Lamontagne, promotion to senior software application developer
Anne Lanzafame, permanent appointment as assistant college registrar
Gerald Meade, promotion to technology support professional
Suzanne Miller, promotion to assistant director of admissions
Craig Moscicki, promotion to director of systems and identity and access management
David Norton, promotion to director of planning and construction
Jessica Seren, promotion to associate director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation
Angelo Zegarelli, promotion to head athletic trainer