A tall, thin man with a grey beard walks hurriedly to his next meeting, briefing a new hire about student recruitment strategies and Albany politics. Suddenly, the man stops and begins walking through some fresh mulch outside of Thompson Hall - even though it has just rained, and he's wearing a suit and dress shoes. None of that matters as much as removing the bit of garbage that has blown into the freshly planted flowers. Talk about leading by example.

Two events will celebrate the career of President Dennis Hefner, and congratulate and say, “thank you” to him and his wife, Jan, for their 16 years of dedication to our campus and community. On Thursday, May 3, all are invited to the Rockefeller Arts Center’s Outdoor Arcade for a free reception in honor of the Hefners from 2 to 5 p.m. Then, join us the following evening – Friday, May 4 – for a night to remember, as we host a dinner gala and fundraiser in their honor as well.

Not since the I.M. Pei-designed centerpiece of the “modern” campus (Maytum Hall, Daniel Reed Library, McEwen Hall and Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center) took shape in the late 1960s has there been such a wide range of construction and design activity going on at once.

On Dec. 31, 2011, SUNY Fredonia and the Fredonia College Foundation wrapped up the largest and longest capital campaign in the college’s history: the six-year, $15 million Doors to Success Campaign. As 2011 came to a close, David Carnahan, chairman of both the campaign and the Jamestown-based Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, and Dr. David Tiffany, Vice President for University Advancement and executive director of the Fredonia College Foundation, shared their thoughts on the importance of this campaign to the future of the college and its students.

Pioneering research by Dr. Gary Lash into the sedimentary rock formation known as Marcellus black shale, which is believed to contain vast reserves of natural gas and oil, has placed the longtime SUNY Fredonia geosciences professor into an ultra-selective fraternity that spans the globe. Lash and his co-honorees were designated top global thinkers for “upending the geopolitics of energy.” 

A different type of insight into college and professional sports can be gained through statistical analyses, which is what Assistant Professor of Economics Paul Holmes has delivered in a series of essays. Of course, most fans won’t see them in the academic quarterlies in which they have been published, but they are reading about his perspectives on their local sports pages.

Nosek’s design was chosen by the NHL among dozens submitted by the company. She learned that it was selected several weeks earlier (not knowing which team would eventually be embroidered in the center), when New Era management called all of the designers in the room and asked, “Who designed this one?” Nosek’s hand cautiously rose, and she was congratulated by her whole team

More than 90 students from South Korea will officially become part of the SUNY Fredonia family at the start of the spring semester through a new 1+3 program with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Seoul.They spent a year preparing at their home campus, taking general education courses pre-selected by HUFS and Fredonia, along with intensive studies in English reading, speaking, listening and writing.

SUNY Fredonia’s Commencement keynote speaker will be alumnus and attorney Dale A. Cooter of Washington, D.C. Ceremonies are slated for Saturday, May 12, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in the Steele Hall Arena on campus.  Cooter’s Fredonia memories include an American Government class his freshman year with the late Dr. Murdoch Dawley, political science classes with the late Dr. Jack Everett, and watching the 1968 presidential elections with Professor Emeritus William Muller.

The Fredonia Alumni Association will host a gathering for alumni and friends in New York City on Thursday, March 8, at New York University’s famed Torch Club.  The Fredonia Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Gerald Gray, will perform at the alumni gathering as part of a new School of Music touring initiative.
 

To purchase tickets for all events, contact the SUNY Fredonia Ticket Office at (716) 673-3501 (1-866-441-4928), www.fredonia.edu/tickets, or in person.