Craig Green and Sandra Montalvo from SUNY Oswego’s Admissions Office presented on SUNY Oswego’s impactful and unique Start Now program partnerships at the inaugural SUNY Student Success Summit in Albany. Under Start Now, the college works with Jefferson Community College and Onondaga Community College for students to begin their studies at its partner institutions to prepare for a better chance of success at SUNY Oswego.

Renee Landers-Jennings, associate director of residence life and housing, recently earned the Beth Purk Distinguished Service Award from the SUNY Residence Life and Housing Association. The award honors professionals who have at least 10 years of continuous membership and who demonstrate outstanding commitment and contributions to the field while serving the organization in various leadership roles. The award is named in honor of Purk, whose strong commitment to the association and to the profession helped establish the foundation and tenets of the SUNY-wide organization.

The Oswego County Traffic Safety Board presented University Police Officer Scott Maynard with a Traffic Champion Award for his enforcement efforts this past year. “With the assistance from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, and support from the Oswego County Traffic Safety Board, we all do our part in helping to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, as well as property damage caused by vehicle crashes,” said University Police Assistant Chief Kevin Velzy. “Officer Maynard has gone above and beyond in issuing almost 350 traffic citations so far this year, more than any other officer in this department.”

Ulises A. Mejias, communication studies professor and director of the college’s Institute for Global Engagement, published “Data Colonialism: Rethinking Big Data’s Relation to the Contemporary Subject,” a paper co-authored with Nick Couldry from the London School of Economics and Political Science, in the journal Television & New Media. On Sept. 20, Mejias moderated a panel titled "Anti-Social Media: Digital Space and the Destabilization of Democracy” with authors Safiya Umoja Noble and Siva Vaidhyanathan. The panel was the opening event for the Buffalo Humanities Festival. On Oct. 12, Mejias presented two papers at the 2018 Association of Internet Researchers Conference in Montreal (both written in collaboration with Couldry): "Can Data be Decolonized? Data Relations and the Emerging Social Order of Capitalism" and "The Entanglement of Computing and Social Ontologies: Consequences and Strategies for Resistance."

Tim Nekritz, director of news and media, presented “What’s News? Changing Dynamics and Definitions in Digital Higher Ed News Operations” at the 2018 annual HighEdWeb Conference, Oct. 21 to 24 in Sacramento. His presentation focused on the evolution in the speed and dissemination of news; changes in priorities, procedures and structures in SUNY Oswego’s news operations, including the addition of Oswego Today and increased user-submitted content; and how student-produced social media dovetails with news efforts. Nekritz also served as master of ceremonies for HighEdWeb lightning talks -- with presenters making 10-minute presentations on a variety of topics -- at the international conference, which is the largest gathering of professionals working in higher education digital communications.

Kate Wolfe-Lyga, director of the college's Counseling Services Center, was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Association of University and College Counseling Centers. "This is a national recognition and highlights not only Kate’s contribution nationally, but is a significant recognition of Kate as a national leader from your campus," said Barry A. Schreier, chair of the AUCCCD, the largest organization of campus mental health leaders in the world.


To submit an item for People in Action (publication, noteworthy award, presentation at a conference or in the community, etc.), email details to proffice@oswego.edu. Relevant and high-quality photos connected to the honor are welcomed.