Around the SUNY Oswego campus

Near the completion of a week filled with spiritualism, artistry and ceremony, Palden Beri, spokesperson for the monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery presenting as “The Mystical Arts of Tibet,” pours sand swept up from the monks’ mandala into Lake Ontario as others, with brass horns and a drum, observe. Assisting at right are Lynne Rhys (partly hidden), associate director of Penfield Library, and Lowell Hutcheson, arts programming coordinator. The pouring of sand into flowing water symbolically transmits the healing power of the mandala throughout the world.

Palden Beri (right), English-speaking spokesperson and translator for the Tibetan Buddhist monks, explains the opening ceremony of “The Mystical Arts of Tibet” to a crowd that formed a horseshoe around him in Penfield Library’s lobby and onto its staircase. A photo of the 14th Dalai Lama serves as the centerpiece of the altar-like table behind the monks. In the foreground is the community mandala designed by graduate student Asli Kinsizer.

Pranay Chapagain, a web application developer and analyst for the SUNY Oswego offices of Business and Community Relations and of Communications and Marketing, tries his hand at sand painting April 10 on the community mandala, designed by graduate student Asli Kinsizer, during the weeklong “Mystical Arts of Tibet” presentation in Penfield Library’s lobby. He’s using the same ancient tool, the chakpur, that the Drepung Loseling monks (background) used in painting their own mandala design. (Submitted by Joe Fitzsimmons)

With 12-foot horns, a drum, cymbals and a bell at the ready, monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery chant during the closing ceremony of “The Mystical Arts of Tibet,” just before sweeping up the sands of their weeklong mandala project into small bags for visitors and for sacred vessels for a pouring-out ceremony along Lake Ontario. More than 200 people watched the symbolically rich festivities, and many followed the monks in a procession to the lake. The photos here are by campus photographer Jim Russell. Syracuse.com’s Mike Greenlar also covered the closing ceremonies.

Quest day, April 3, saw the second annual 3-Minute Thesis competition in Marano Campus Center auditorium, where graduate students had that amount of time and one slide to describe their research. Competitors gathered for this group photo, including counseling and psychological services student Ishara Harris (right, with big check), who earned first place with “How Multiple Uses of Expressive Arts Can Be Helpful in School Counseling Children with Adverse Childhood Experiences”; while chemistry student Kimberly LaGatta (left, with big check) took both second place and the People’s Choice Award with “Determining Drug Facilitated Crimes.” The competition cultivates students’ academic, presentation and communication skills.

Graduate student Megan Russell speaks about her research -- titled “‘Wow, I Can Spell Now’: Supporting Students with Disabilities’ Writing Using Assistive Technology” -- to Mary Toale, executive assistant to college President Deborah F. Stanley, during the Quest Kickoff on April 2 at SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse campus. Russell, who works for BOCES, graduated in December with a master’s degree in special education. She formerly taught fourth-graders at Elmcrest Elementary School in Liverpool, employing Clicker 7 and Google Co:Writer to develop the literacy skills of students with such learning disabilities as dyslexia.

The first-ever Quest Kickoff at SUNY Oswego’s Syracuse campus on April 2 drew, among numerous others, this team of research presenters from the School of Education's graduate program in educational leadership. They worked on a project titled "Meeting the Needs of Students in Poverty" with East Syracuse-Minoa Central Schools Superintendent Donna DeSiato. From left are Nicole Petranchuk, Jessica Fox, Emily Biele and Lisa Quinones.

Junior software engineering major Tonia Sanzo works on her project -- “Making a Text-Based RPG Simulation in C++” -- as Juan Denzer, discovery services librarian at Penfield Library, looks on. The Quest Poster Session in Marano Campus Center arena featured scholarly posters, demonstrations and explanations of dozens of faculty-mentored student research projects.

Nate Canfield, a junior studio art major, displays the puppets he sculpted at the annual Art Showcase in Tyler Hall lobby, where passersby could check out his cast of marionettes and many other art exhibits. Since 1980, Quest annually has celebrated scholarly and creative activity among students, faculty and staff across campus.

As part of an “I, Too, Am Study Abroad” panel at Quest, Monica Espada (right), a public relations major, speaks about her decision to take part in a SUNY Stands With Puerto Rico trip last summer. Relatives of hers, including her grandparents, live in the Caribbean nation, still recovering from hurricanes Irma and Maria. “I didn’t think I could be prouder to be Puerto Rican, but I am,” Espada said. Amber Johnson (left), who also has relatives in Puerto Rico, said the people there were “so welcoming, so open to us.” Moderated by curriculum and instruction faculty member Joanne O’Toole and Student Involvement Coordinator Maggie Rivera -- both of whom led SUNY Stands With Puerto Rico work trips -- the panel also featured students Nicholas Carbone, Jon Arcese and Joshua Craig.

Christopher Weiman (right), a senior geology major, describes his research project -- titled “Migration of the Taconic deformation front across the mid-Atlantic Piedmont: evidence from detailed porphyroblast analysis” -- during the annual Quest Poster Session in Marano Campus Center arena.

Dr. Peter Bocko, class of 1975, retired chief technology officer of Corning Glass Technologies, gives a talk titled "Simple Questions About Glass Science With Not-So-Simple Answers: Glass, the Periodic Table, Entropy, Topology and the Cathedral Window Myth” on April 4 in 201 Marano Campus Center. Introduced by Fehmi Damkaci, chemistry department chair, Bocko is a former Commencement speaker and has been the Augustine Silviera Distinguished Lecturer.

SUNY Oswego hosts 10 Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) students and their faculty mentors for the schools’ sixth annual get-together, held on Quest day, April 3, in Rich Hall. Since 2014, students, faculty and staff of Oswego’s School of Business and the Chinese university have jointly organized and held the annual business research forum, alternating hosting duties each year. Students from both campuses presented research papers before a joint panel of faculty judges from both institutions, lifting the research and presentational speaking abilities of both institutions' students, as well as maintaining meaningful international ties. While on campus, the Chinese students interacted with SUNY Oswego students -- some of whom traveled to Shanghai last May for the fifth annual forum -- and visited local businesses and sites around Oswego.

Alumnus Jeff Sorensen, class of 1992 and now PwC U.S. industrial products leader, speaks April 3 as he receives the Beta Gamma Sigma Chapter Honoree Award during the induction ceremony in 221 Rich Hall for the premier international honor society of AACSB-accredited business programs. School of Business Dean Richard Skolnik (seated at the table, at right) made the presentation to Sorensen, honored for his contributions to business and society. Others at the table are (from left) Yilong (Eric) Zheng, a faculty member of marketing and management and advisor to Beta Gamma Sigma; Susan Wright, accounting, finance and law; and Irene Scruton, director of MBA programs.

The Graduation Fair on April 9 in the Marano Campus Center arena offered the first opportunity for May 2019 graduating seniors to purchase their regalia for graduation, and meet all their graduation needs in one stop. Students picked up caps, gowns and diploma folders, and signed their names to the Class of 2019 banner, as senior Kelsey Morgan does here. At right are Kerisha Lewis (in front), representing the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations, and Skye Prosper, 2019 senior class gift coordinator. (Photo by Erin Niland)

Juniors Kaitlyn Barney (left), an applied mathematics and chemistry dual major, and Nora Walsh, a human development major, demonstrate their hooping skill during the Relay for Life charitable event April 6 in Marano Campus Center arena. Relay for Life is a community-based fundraising event of the American Cancer Society, where team members take turns walking around a track or designated path. In all, 271 participants, many in student organizations, took part in the overnight event to raise $15,734, according to Colleges Against Cancer, the relay’s host. (Photo by Gregory Caster)

Freshmen Andrew Sigurdson, an adolescence education major in social studies, and Katie Miano, who majors in teaching English to speakers of other languages, display their It’s On Oz T-shirts during the college’s April 2  It’s On Us Pledge Day along Marano Campus Center’s mezzanine. Members of the campus community took the pledge to stand up to sexual violence. Those already with a shirt were asked to wear it. For more information about the pledge, visit itsonus.org. Contact lisa.evaneski@oswego.edu for more information about all prevention efforts. (Photo by Erin Niland)

A yearlong art department project, "Recollections: Storytelling Through Mementos," is about to hit the road with a traveling exhibition for five nursing homes in the region. These three graphic design majors are among those who have been working over the course of the year to prepare for it, (from left) Miles Petersen, Hannah Sojka and Julie Farquhar. Students interviewed residents with memory challenges, asking them to tell stories behind the near-and-dear objects (examples are at center) the residents brought with them. Students artfully put together photos, stories and brief bios. The art department -- which benefited from three grants for the project -- bought a moveable gallery for the exhibitions, which rotate starting later this month on a schedule (in progress) through the summer to Loretto Health and Rehabilitation Center in Syracuse; The Manor at Seneca Hill, St. Luke Health Services, and Morningstar Residential Care Center, all in the greater Oswego area; and The Hearth at Greenpoint in Liverpool. This "Recollections" project is part two of an effort that began with “Recollection: A Memory Loss Awareness Project” five years ago.

Louis Fournier (standing, left), class of 1982 and now president of Sutton Real Estate, talks with technology faculty member John Belt, whose design studio in Park Hall served as the venue for Alumni-In-Residence (AIR) appearances by Fournier; David Banister ‘93, an education and Navy retiree; and Chuck Goodwin ‘67 M ‘73, a retired teacher and immediate past president of the New York State STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Collaborative. The AIR program brings accomplished Oswego alumni back to campus to share their knowledge and career experiences with current students.

Carol Lebiedzinski, Rosamond Gifford Zoo volunteer, shows the blue-tongued skink, also called a blue-tongued lizard, to students in the Focus Forward Program during an educational visit April 11 in Wilber Hall. The relatively shy creatures are common to Australia and often kept as pets. Lebeidzinksi invited the students to feel the animal’s textured skin. The Focus Forward Program is a schools-based mentoring program that strives to enrich the lives of students in the community. It matches middle- and high-school students from participating school districts with trained and supported undergraduate mentors, under the supervision of SUNY Oswego professional staff. (Photo by Erin Niland)

Rosamond Gifford Zoo educators visit the Focus Forward Program April 11 in Wilber Hall, posing with SUNY Oswego students, high school mentees, and an African rock python skin and a tiger hide. From left are zoo volunteer Carol Lebiedzinski (volunteer at the zoo); Megan Coyle, Peter Sawicki, Gabriela Manzano, Taylor Hart and Victoria Townsend, all mentees of the program; mentor and team leader Kathleen Weber; Angel Rouse, a mentee; Sean Milligan, Focus Forward program coordinator; and Katelyn Chatterton, education coordinator at the Syracuse zoo. (Photo by Erin Niland)

Phoenix Boisnier (left), a double major in philosophy and computer science, holds the Paideia Award plaque presented to him as the Outstanding Senior in Philosophy. At right is Jean Chambers, chair of the philosophy department. The 2019 Honors Convocation recognized more than 100 students for academic excellence on April 6 in Marano Campus Center convocation hall. (Submitted by Jean Chambers)

Signing their introduction of American Sign Language storyteller Dack Virnig (not pictured), ASL Club officers (from left) Kyle Bautista, president; Leeza Roper, vice president; Juliann Geraci, vice president; Madison Seamans, treasurer; and Angela Lawrence, secretary, prepare the audience for his appearance April 1 in Marano Campus Center auditorium. The event aimed to build awareness of deaf culture and the beauty of the language through Virnig’s personal experiences and tall tales, uniquely told with considerable enthusiasm through ASL. (Photo by Erin Niland)

Dack Virnig (front), an American Sign Language storyteller, gathers with ASL Club officers April 1 in Marano Campus Center auditorium following his performance. From left are Madison Seamans, treasurer; Kyle Bautista, president; Leeza Roper, vice president; Juliann Geraci, vice president; and Angela Lawrence, secretary. Virnig’s appearance furthered the club’s goal of building awareness of deaf culture and the beauty of the language. “Our event was a huge success,” said Bautista. “Probably the biggest turnout we have ever had!” (Submitted by Kyle Bautista)

SUNY Oswego graphic design major Julie Farquhar of Lowville prepares for the spring BFA Exhibition, showing a few of her portfolio items for a fictitious business, Boozy Smoothies, concocted with her friends. Farquhar is one of a dozen candidates for the bachelor of fine arts degree showing her work in BFA Exhibition I, April 23 to 30 in Tyler Art Gallery. BFA Exhibition II, with the work of 11 more artists, runs May 7 to 15. The spring Master of Arts exhibitions run concurrently, in a new gallery in Room 208 Tyler Hall. MA Exhibition I features Asli Kinsizer’s “Strong Women” portfolio work -- Maya Angelou, Golda Meir, Amelia Earhart and more -- and MA II the illustration of Yarbrielle Ingram, who updates mythological character Poseidon and has created mytho-modern characters such as woman with fox-like features. Both are graduate students in graphic design. 

Oswego’s Teresa Shattuck (front, at right) cradles the ball past Potsdam defenders as Lakers Zeina Akl (in gold, left) and Riley LaCava trail the play. With last Saturday's 23-4 win over Plattsburgh, Shattuck tied a program record for most points in a career with 304. With four games remaining in the regular season, the senior attack from Syracuse has her eyes on breaking the record. The Lakers women's lacrosse team stands at 3-3 in the SUNY Athletic Conference (6-4) overall heading into today’s scheduled 4 p.m. league game against Buffalo State at Laker Turf Stadium.

Oswego’s Mike Dellicarri bats in a game against Canton. The Lakers were perfect at home last week, 5-0, sweeping two games from Clarkson University and three from Oneonta. With its wins over the Red Dragons of Oneonta, Oswego moved to 11-1 in the conference (20-8 overall), clinching a spot in the SUNY Athletic Conference playoffs. The Lakers trail only Cortland (12-0) in league play, and will travel there for three games this weekend.