SUNY Oswego - Alumni Association - December E-Newsletter

December 2010 • Vol 6 No 9

Faculty Fellow Kanbur Enhances Possibilities

Shashi Kanbur has a yearlong Faculty Fellowship through the President’s Office in support of two key initiatives: the Possibility Scholars and Global Laboratories programs.

Shashi Kanbur was named Faculty Fellow in charge of the Possibility program

Kanbur conducts many day-to-day activities of the Possibility Scholars program, launched by President Deborah F. Stanley to provide full funding and research opportunities for outstanding students who may not otherwise be able to study in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.

“I develop grants to help support the scholarships and work with others to find grant support,” Kanbur said. “I try to publicize Possibility Scholarships with our partners in the Syracuse City School District, Oswego City School District and Syracuse Academy of Science charter school.”

The program launched with four freshmen this year — with an emphasis on first-generation college students — and Kanbur is working on a larger class for next fall.

The Possibility Scholars initiative dovetails with the Global Laboratories program looking to provide opportunities for students to study on all seven continents —from medicine in the Congo to ecology in Brazil to climate change in Antarctica.

“I try to encourage other faculty to make connections with research partners in other countries, to create programs and apply for funding to take their students abroad to do research for six to eight weeks,” Kanbur said.

To his new role, Kanbur brings the experience of taking students to a Brazilian national telescope facility in Minas Gerais, as part of a partnership between Oswego and Brazil’s Federal University of Santa Catarina. Kanbur hopes to take students to a telescope facility in Taiwan as part of a new Global Laboratory placement.

“We’re looking at experiences where students have a central role,” Kanbur said.

— Tim Nekritz M ’05

PHOTO CAPTION:
Shashi Kanbur, associate professor of physics, has accepted a yearlong position as Faculty Fellow, working with President Deborah F. Stanley and Interim Provost Lorrie Clemo on special projects.

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Who doesn’t want to save the world? Michael Kite ’02 does that for a living through World Wildlife Fund.

As marketing specialist for one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, Kite and his team of three work to raise more than $5 million each year. The majority of that money comes from licensing partnerships and promotions with the likes of Barnes & Noble, Gap, Hewlett-Packard, Dial and Coinstar.

Retail partnerships help WWF spread its message to the general public and raise funds for its conservation work around the globe. For example, Bank of America contributes $100 for every special Visa account opened and Nabisco is supporting WWF’s “Year of the Tiger” initiative with special packaging and a $100,000 donation. The new CVS Green Bag Tag program rewards reusable bag-toting customers, and generates five cents for WWF for each tag sold.

All support WWF’s mission of protecting the future of nature, down to the finest details, Kite said.

“We like to see that the product is made from recycled material and is recyclable itself, and somehow ties into our mission,” Kite said. The Green Bag Tag, for instance, is made from a corn-based material and features a 100 percent recycled silicone lanyard.

As a broadcasting major at Oswego, Kite got involved with WRVO-FM and WNYO-FM.

“I think it gave me a lot more confidence in talking to people,” he said. It was an important part of his early career in broadcast sales and remains an important piece in the message he “sells” today.

“The best part of my job is seeing a product in the store with the WWF logo after months of working with a company to launch it,” said Kite, who joined the organization in 2006. “It’s rewarding to give people a fun, unique way to protect our planet.”

— Shane M. Liebler