What can we learn from the academic examination of red-backed salamanders, The Hopi Tribe, and JELLO molds and recipes of yesteryear? As it turns out, a lot. Looking at the world with different perspectives, SUNY Oneonta professors and staff members are generating conversations that help us engage in learning and research in our classrooms, lecture halls and beyond.
“Our SUNY Oneonta Scholars of the Year are finding solutions, expanding knowledge, and advancing understanding of the world,” says Dean of the School of Sciences Dr. Tracy Allen. “Scholarship makes us better teachers, and our students benefit.”
This week, SUNY Oneonta showcased the research, service, teaching, creative and scholarly activities of its instructors and staff members at annual Life of the Mind XV and Community of Scholars events.
The Life of the Mind XV, held on Nov. 13 and 14 at the Morris Conference Center, gave students, staff and faculty the opportunity to inspire and celebrate learning in a collaborative environment. With 99 participants sharing 54 presentations, it was a room filled with conversation on wide-ranging topics from Amish communities of Central New York to ring systems in our Outer Solar System to using disco balls to safely view solar eclipses.
On the evening of Nov. 14, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Enrique Morales-Diaz hosted the Community of Scholars reception at the Otsego Grille in Morris to recognize the four 2024 Scholars of the Year:
Michelle Hendley, Milne Library’s Head of Collection Development, Resource Management, and Sharing, championed library spaces to best serve students and faculty during the library’s renovation. She authored a chapter entitled “Prepare, Partner, Protest, Propose, and Persevere: Advocating For a Dedicated Information Literary Classroom” in K. Henrich & C. Ippoliti’s Critical Library Leadership: Managing Self and Others in Today’s Academic Library. She has authored several chapters in Chronicling a Crisis: SUNY Oneonta’s Pandemic Diaries.
Thor Gibbons is an Associate Professor of Secondary Education and Education Technology, with the School of Education, Human Ecology and Sports Studies. He edited with E. Beck and K. VanSlyke-Briggs a book entitled ReStorying Education: Critical Perspectives in Public Education, and authored chapters on philosophy of education and the history, policy and places of public education.
Kiara Pipino is an Associate Professor of Theatre with the School of Liberal Arts and Business, wherein she directed SUNY Oneonta’s productions of “Dead by Jack” and “Novecento” and edited a publication of “Dead by Jack.” Most recently, she has directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Prague Shakespeare Intensive and Divaldo Bez Zebradli in Prague, Czech Republic.
Elizabeth Seale is a Professor, Sociology, Human Services and Crime Studies with the School of Sciences. She authored Understanding Poverty: A Relational Approach, and co-authored The Dark Side of Agency: A Life Course Exploration of Agency Among White, Rural, and Impoverished Residents of New York State, Qualitative Sociology Review.