Academic Affairs Awards
Academic Affairs Awards for Outstanding Commitment to Geneseo's Values
In Fall 2018, the Provost's leadership team created five new awards based on the College's stated values to recognize faculty, professional staff, and classified staff in Academic Affairs who have helped move forward Geneseo's vision of demonstrating the enduring power of liberal arts education through teaching, advising, program development and implementation, student support, scholarship, and service to the campus community.
- The Learning award honors intellectual inquiry, critical thinking, scholarly exploration, and personal growth.
- The Creativity award celebrates a spirit of innovation that inspires intellectual curiosity, self-expression, and problem-solving.
- The Belonging award recognizes accomplishment(s) related to promoting a diverse campus community that supports and celebrates different identities, promotes equity and inclusion, and respects the ideas and contributions of each individual.
- The Civic Engagement award commends active participation grounded in self-reflection, empathy, and an ethical commitment to the common good of our local and global communities.
- The Sustainability award acknowledges advancement of a culture of well-being that integrates and applies principles of environmental, social, and economic stewardship informed by an understanding of the past and our obligations to the future.
All personnel in the Academic Affairs division, except those having already received an award, are eligible for nomination. Nominations are accepted from the campus community and chosen by a selection committee. During the annual Academic Affairs Fall Festival, all nominees for the awards receive a certificate, and recipients of the awards receive an engraved acrylic award.
Previous years' award recipients are listed within each category below (based on the College's former similarly-named values):
- Learning
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This award honors intellectual inquiry, critical thinking, scholarly exploration, and personal growth.
- 2024 David Levy, Philosophy
- 2023 Gillian Paku, English
- 2022 Josephine Reinhardt, Biology
- 2021 Catherine Adams, History
- 2020 Karleen West, Political Science and International Relations
- 2019 Melanie Medeiros, Anthropology
- 2018 Christopher Sandefer, Computing and Information Technology
- Creativity
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This award celebrates a spirit of innovation that inspires intellectual curiosity, self-expression, and problem-solving.
- 2024 Jack Truckenmiller, Computing & Information Technology
- 2023 Allison Brown, Library
- 2023 Brandon West, Library
- 2022 David Warden, Computing & Information Technology
- 2021 Kristin Gentry, English
- 2020 Travis Kershner, Computing and Information Technology
- 2019 Lytton Smith, Center for Integrative Learning & English
- 2018 Avan Jassawalla, School of Business
- Belonging
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This award recognizes accomplishment(s) related to promoting a diverse campus community that supports and celebrates different identities, promotes equity and inclusion, and respects the ideas and contributions of each individual.
- 2024 Jasmine Tang, Global Languages and Cultures
- 2023 Mackenzie Gerringer, Biology
- 2022 Anne Pellerin, Physics & Astronomy
The Inclusivity award recognized accomplishment(s) related to promoting a diverse campus community marked by mutual respect for the unique talents and contributions of each individual.
- 2021 Amy Fisk, Accessibility Services
- 2020 Maria del Rocio Vallejo-Alegre, Languages & Literatures
- 2019 Irene Belyakov-Goodman, English
- 2018 Alice Rutkowski, English
- Civic Engagement
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This award commends active participation grounded in self-reflection, empathy, and an ethical commitment to the common good of our local and global communities.
- 2024 Michael Oberg, History
- 2023 The Ukrainian Working Group (Andrew Hart, Raslan Ibrahim, Cynthia Klima, Alla Myzelev, Sonya Bilocerkowyca, and Robert Goeckel)
- 2022 Stephen Dresbach, Library
The Civic Responsibility award commended the promotion of ethical local and global citizenship.
- 2021 Emily McCrossen, Study Abroad/International Programs
- 2020 Jennifer Guzman, Anthropology
- 2019 Edward Pogozelski, Physics & Astronomy
- 2018 James Kernan, Geography
- Sustainability
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This award acknowledges advancement of a culture of well-being that integrates and applies principles of environmental, social, and economic stewardship informed by an understanding of the past and our obligations to the future.
- 2023 Dan Dezarn, Office of Sustainability
- 2022 Suann Yang, Biology
- 2021 Sarah Gaudio, Geological Sciences
- 2020 Barbara Welker, Anthropology
- 2019 Andrea Klein, Scheduling, Events, & Conference Services
- 2018 Kristina Hannam, Biology
Provost's Award for Exemplary Faculty Mentoring
The Provost’s Exemplary Faculty Mentorship Award was designed in early 2021 to encourage, honor, and reward those faculty members who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to mentoring other faculty at SUNY Geneseo. All faculty members with a full-time academic appointment are eligible to be nominated. Faculty holding the Distinguished rank, those currently serving as administrators, and previous award recipients are not eligible for this award. The recipient is recognized and receives a $500 monetary award at the annual Academic Affairs Fall Festival.
Exemplary faculty mentoring involves a generous sharing of valuable time with mentees and may include the following:
- Providing a supportive environment that encourages growth and achievement through openly sharing/examining challenges, successes, and failures.
- Guiding mentees in identifying/defining/attaining their academic, professional, and/or personal goals by exploring their interests and sharing information, knowledge, wisdom, and experience.
- Providing regular and constructive feedback on mentees’ teaching, service, and/or scholarly work.
- Promoting and making others aware of mentees’ contributions.
- Involving mentees in publications, grants, presentations, expositions, conferences, or professional/leadership opportunities, and readily sharing knowledge of other such opportunities.
- Providing valuable networking opportunities by facilitating academic, professional, and personal contacts.
- Sharing knowledge of the political landscape and power dynamics in the discipline and exploring effective strategies for navigating those structures.
- Encouraging the development of skills and support networks for overcoming barriers that mentees may face in their field.
Award Recipients
- 2024 Ken Pan, Associate Professor of Finance
- 2023 Justin Behrend, Professor of History
- 2022 Brandon West, Librarian
- 2021 Kathy Mapes, Associate Professor of History
Curriculum Development Awards
The Curriculum Development Award program (piloted in 2021) provides strategic support to full-time faculty who are working to develop new programs that are aligned with our mission and values, leverage our strengths, and have potential to recruit students and/or generate revenue. "New programs" are defined broadly to include majors, minors, microcredentials, partnerships with other organizations or industries, and other kinds of learning experiences that can help us attract new students and develop new sources of funding to support our educational mission. Creative thinking, cross-unit collaborations, and innovative partnerships are encouraged.
Recipients of the Curriculum Development Awards receive a one-semester course reduction to develop curriculum related to their award proposal.
Academic Year 2022-23 Recipients
- Travis Bailey, Associate Professor of Biology -- Summer 2022 -- to research a post-baccalaureate certificate program for pre-health science graduate programs
- Alla Myzelev, Associate Professor of Art History -- Spring 2023 -- to develop a BA in Museum Studies
- Institute on General Education and Assessment team's follow on projects in general education development
- Doug Baldwin, Professor of Mathematics -- AY 2022-23 -- to develop "Ideas that Matter" for a pilot in 2023-24, including student focus groups
- Caroline Haddad, Professor of Mathematic -- Spring 2023 -- to reimagine the math curriculum across the first two years with partner disciplines
- Monica Hershberger, Assistant Professor of Music -- Spring 2023 -- redesign MUSC 120 as an explicityly interdisciplinary course, satisfying more than one category of Participation in a Global Society; to document and present this work as a model for rethinking general education courses
- Suann Yang, Associate Professor of Biology -- Spring 2023 -- to develop a new general education, introductory biology laboratory course that is an authentic research experience (Course-based, Undergraduate Research Experience or CURE); to document and present this work as a model for rethinking general education courses
Academic Year 2021-22 Recipients
- Aaron Heap, Associate Professor of Mathematics - Spring 2022 - to develop a Geneseo Summer Science and Math Academy
- Allison Bechard, Assistant Professor of Psychology - Spring 2022 - to develop a graduate program in Neuroscience/Psychology
- Annmarie Urso, Associate Professor in the School of Education - Spring 2022 - to develop a Dyslexia Certificate Program and a Dyslexia Microcredential
- Justin Behrend, Associate Professor of History - Fall 2021 - to develop a masters degree program in the History Department