President Battles greets the Class of 2021 during New Student Convocation.
GENESEO, N.Y. – New and returning students and faculty are settling in for the start of the 2017-18 academic year as classes started today.
Numerous activities for new students to get acquainted with fellow classmates took place over the weekend, including residence hall meetings and the annual First-Year Olympics competition Saturday. The college officially welcomed new students to campus during New Student Convocation Friday evening, which included a keynote address by Chris Leary, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics, who encouraged new students to take full advantage of the benefits of Geneseo’s liberal arts focus in telling their story.
“One way of thinking about the liberal arts education that we offer at Geneseo is that you will be exposed to different ways of telling stories, of understanding the world and expressing that understanding to others,” said Leary. “By embracing the liberal arts, you enrich the supply of tools you have to tell stories, which means you can spin richer, more interesting, and more compelling tales… The ability to tell your stories in different ways will make you flexible enough to adapt to the different careers you will have after you leave Geneseo and make you a more interesting person, to boot.”
After convocation, new students gathered on the College Green for the First Knight Celebration, highlighted by food, fun and games, culminating in a fireworks display.
SUNY Geneseo President Denise A. Battles delivered her keynote address “Geneseo 2021: Embracing Our Journey” at Faculty and Staff Convocation Friday afternoon. Battles recently completed her second year as president and reviewed the college’s many recent accomplishments and addressed some of the challenges the college faces.
“I hope…I have conveyed the importance of our strategic plan as we seek to build on our strengths, address our challenges and pursue our opportunities,” said President Battles. “I have every confidence that – with the commitment of our people and strategic plan as our guide – we are well-equipped to embrace our journey, as we strive to be an exemplar of a public liberal arts college for the 21st century.”
View President Battles’ address here.
President Battles also recognized recent 2017 award recipients:
SUNY BOARD OF TRUSTEES DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIP HONOR
Charles Freeman, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Physics
CHANCELLOR’S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
Harry Howe, professor of accounting
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FACULTY SERVICE
Jennifer Katz, professor of psychology
CHANCELLOR’S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN ADJUNCT TEACHING
Charles Hertrick, lecturer in philosophy
Glenn McClure, lecturer in English
Maria Del Rocio Vallejo-Alegre, lecturer in Spanish
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Daniel Ray Nguyen Jacques, prep room and stockroom supervisor, Dept. of Chemistry
Laura Swanson, staff counselor, Lauderdale Center for Student Health and Counseling
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLASSIFIED SERVICE
Dawn Rowe, secretary 2, Dept. of Facilities Services and Planning
DRS. CAROL AND MICHAEL HARTER ENDOWMENT FOR FACULTY MENTORING AWARD
Katie Rommel-Esham, professor of education
Paul Pacheco, associate professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology
FACULTY CAREER ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ronald Herzman, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of English
Faculty promotions announced at the convocation included Lei Gao to associate professor of business and Eric Helms to associate professor of chemistry.