08/16/2010
SUNY Cortland will open its 2010-11 academic year with an Academic Convocation on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 29, in the Park Center Alumni Arena.
All first-year and new transfer students, along with the SUNY Cortland faculty, librarians and professional staff, are invited to participate in this hour-long event, which will begin at 4 p.m.
“Academic Convocation at SUNY Cortland marks the beginning of a student’s academic journey,” said SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum. “An important milestone, the event affords faculty and staff the opportunity to formally welcome incoming students to the College. In addition, the ceremony reflects the supportive role of the entire campus community in ensuring academic achievement.”
The Academic Convocation processional begins with the all-college gonfalonier, who leads in the faculty, followed by the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Professional Studies and Education gonfaloniers. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark Prus will carry the all-college gonfalon, while the gonfalons representing the College’s three schools will be carried by Marley Barduhn, assistant provost for teacher education; R. Bruce Mattingly, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; and John Cottone, interim dean of the School of Education and the School of Professional Studies.
The processional concludes when the mace bearer brings in the platform party, which consists of members of the College’s administration and faculty leadership, the College Council, visiting dignitaries and honorees. Joy Mosher, associate professor of childhood/early childhood education, will carry the mace, a ceremonial staff used as a symbol of authority.
Richard Kendrick, professor of sociology/anthropology and director of the Institute for Civic Engagement, will deliver the Academic Convocation address. Speakers will include Bitterbaum; Prus; senior Jesse Campanaro, president of the Student Government Association; junior Jamie Piperato, student athlete; senior Daniel Pitcher, a student-athlete; and Robert Howe, representing the Cortland College Foundation.
A photographic and video montage of SUNY Cortland created by Rebecca Job, a 2009 graduate in communication studies, will be shown prior to the ceremony. Performing Arts Department Associate Professor Edward Moore will provide the processional and recessional music. Sophomore speech and hearing science major Khalia Brown will sing the National Anthem and the Alma Mater. Several returning students have volunteered to serve as student marshals.
The concept for an opening academic convocation, modeled after a ceremony held during the College’s earlier years, was developed from a recommendation by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee. The tradition, restarted in 2003, is coordinated through the President’s Office. An academic convocation website can be found at www2.cortland.edu/events/academic-convocation/.
For more information, contact Darci Bacigalupi, special events coordinator, at (607) 753-5453.