Cortland PE Connection in MD

Staying in contact with fellow alumni is so important for your professional careers especially when it comes to staying on top of the great things you accomplish. Remember that no one can build or promote outstanding PE programs for you. You will have to be your best JAG (Judge, Advocate, and General).

This online article highlights PE alumni Julie Provino (2006), Laura Barrett, Don Cleveland, Chris Acosta, Pat Colgan, and Elise Moscati. Thanks to Pat Colgan for forwarded this article from the Laurel Leader in Maryland. Keep the tips coming! Pat is currently teaching APE and coaching in the Prince Georges County Public Schools.

Provino new Laurel softball coach

By David Driver

ddriver@patuxent.com

Posted 12/04/08

Prep notebook

Call it the Cortland Connection. The new varsity softball coach at Laurel High is Julie Provino, who graduated from the State University of New York-Cortland.

Her assistant this spring will be Don Cleveland, another Cortland graduate. Provino replaces Chris Acosta, who also went to Cortland and was the Spartan coach for one year.

And Laura Barrett, who just completed her first season as the Laurel High girls soccer coach, is another product of the Division III school in upstate New York. Provino heard about the opening from Laurel baseball coach Bryan Harris, who went to Ithaca, an athletic rival of Cortland.

Provino, who attended high school at Mount Mercy Academy in Buffalo, was the junior varsity softball coach in 2008 at High Point High in Beltsville, where she was also the assistant cross country coach last fall.

"I want to build a more competitive program," Provino said. "There is more to softball than hitting and fielding the ball."

Provino recalls playing against the Laurel High junior varsity team last year and said the programs at High Point and Laurel are similar. She was named the Laurel head coach in late November and met recently with most of the players.

The Columbia resident said 24 players have expressed interest in playing softball this spring at Laurel. "That is a good number," said Provino.

Provino began playing softball when she was 5 and played on travel teams in western New York for several years. She played center field as a college freshman as Cortland advanced to the Division III World Series.

Provino then stopped playing softball to focus on academics: She graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in physical education and is slated to receive her master's degree from Cortland this month. She teaches physical education at an elementary school in Lanham.

The New Yorker said it is not a coincidence so many Cortland graduates have landed teaching and coaching jobs in Prince George's County. Other Cortland grads with ties to High Point include Pat Colgan, who coaches both girls soccer and wrestling, and Elise Moscati, the first-year girls basketball coach.

Provino applied for the Laurel softball job when it opened prior to the 2008 season. The post went to Acosta, who recently moved out of the area after coaching at Laurel High.

Congratulations 4-Star General Ann Dunwoody (PE Alumni)

2008 PE Mini-Conference (Wrap-Up)

The 2008 SUNY Cortland PE Mini-Conference went really well thanks to the many students, faculty, and staff that helped to organize and run the workshops. With more than 200 attendees, Dr. Pasarini's keynote speech really inspired a lot of students (Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3) to see each child's abilities and not their disabilities. Special thanks go out to Dr. Eric Malmberg and the Executive of the Alliance of Physical Education Majors club for all their hard work in planning and running the event. Please e-mail me any of your conference pictures and they will be added to the online photo albums that can be seen on our PE Dept. blog and website.

The thing I appreciated the most about the conference was when the opening speaker spoke about Katie Lynch a young woman with a disability and she referred to herself as an athlete. This brought out a completely new light for me. All throughout our classes we learn how to play new sports and how to teach them and occasionally there is the class that says we have to be able to work with all different types of students. Of course I heard what these professors were saying but it never occurred to me that an athlete is not someone that can play professionally or play on the school basketball team or what have you. An athlete is someone that has the never quit, never fail attitude and wants to be physically active. It really does not matter your size or shape or your ability or disability. - Jessica Forte

APE Recieves Program Recognition Award

The SUNY Cortland Adapted Physical Education (APE) Program received the Program Recognition Award at the 2008 AAHPERD Convention. The Award was presented to our faculty (Diane Craft, John Foley, Tim Davis, Luis Columna) in April 2008 from the Adapted Physical Activity Council (APAC) of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR). Given in recognition of significant contributions to the promotion of physical activity to individuals with disabilities, our APE program was one of only two nationally recognized programs this year. Congratulations to all our faculty, staff, students, and community members that make our outstanding outreach programs possible.

2008 Mini-Conference schedule

The most up-to-date PE Mini-Conference is located here. Remember that the keynote by Dr. John R. Passarini begins at 9am in the main gym. Breakout sessions run from 10am - 1pm. The cost is free to students and for others a $20 donation is payable at the door via check, PO, voucher, or cash. If you're a Cortland student, please sign-in to each session you attend and please wear khakis and a collared polo shirt (preferably with a Cortland logo).

Teacher of the Year Keynotes 2008 Cortland Mini-Conference

Dr. John R. Passarini, Ed.D., CAPE will deliver the keynote address to kick off the 2008 SUNY Cortland PE Mini-Conference on October 10, 2008. His speech “Nobody is Disabled; We are All Differently Abled” will no doubt echo his illustrious career as a tireless proponent of high-quality education for children of all abilities. John is an Assistant Professor at Salem State College, in Lexington, MA and received the Disney National Teacher of the Year Award in 2003 and the Adapted Physical Education National Teacher of the Year in 2000. The faculty and students are eager to hear him speak, participate in his workshops, and learn about his Inclusion Cube.

Here is the schedule for this year's SUNY Cortland PE Mini-Conference. Click here to view the schedule.

Faculty in JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge

Current PE faculty members John Foley and Stephen Yang were part of the SUNY Cortland JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge team. The 3.5 mile fun run was held at Onondaga Park in Syracuse on June 24, 2008. The event was coordinated by John Beecher in the Business Office and there are plans to get more faculty and staff from PE to join next year's challenge.

John Foley elected President-Elect of NAFAPA

Current Associate Professor John Foley, was recently elected to the position of president-elect of the North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (NAFAPA). The election took place at the 9th North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity Symposium titled, “Setting the Pace for the Future: Innovations in Inter and Multi-disciplinary Research in APA.” The symposium took place in Indianapolis, Indiana between September 4th and 6th, 2008 and was co-sponsored by Indiana University and Purdue University.

NAFAPA is an international organization dedicated to the conduct, implementation, and dissemination of research in the practice of adapted physical activity. Dr. Foley is looking forward to contributing to the Federation and working with his fellow researchers to increase the physical activity levels of individuals with disabilities and reduce the health disparity that exists between individuals with and without disabilities.

Cortland Alum David Gise creates Fitspott

Cortland Alumni David Gise (1991 - BS Adult Fitness) created Fitspott, a new social networking platform for anyone interested in health and fitness, a robust platform to meet, communicate, exchange ideas and more. Fitspott also wants to organize the very large and convoluted health and fitness industry into easy to navigate sub-communities of members with similar interests, goal, skills and needs. Currently they are in Beta testing and they will be launching mid September. Fitspott will be collaborating with Assistant Professor (Physical Education) Stephen Yang and his students to see how Fitspott might be used by physical educators and exergamers.

From their press release:

Fitspott is a result of a passing conversation between 2 colleagues regarding the popularity of social networks. We discussed how the most popular social networks are reaching a critical mass which would result in the emergence of much more targeted social networks. This passing conversation has quickly become a well formed snowball that is gaining size and momentum with every turn.

The Fitspott team is made up of a group of highly motivated and diverse entrepeneurs, athletes and creative minds. We have set forth a goal of creating a social network which will give trainers, members, athletes, coaches, corporate fitness executives, health clubs and basically anyone with any level of interest in health and fitness, a robust platform to meet, communicate, conduct business, exchange ideas and more.

One of our primary goals, aside from creating unique and valuable platform with robust communication tools, is to organize the very large and convoluted health and fitness industry into easy to navigate sub-communities of members with similar interests, goal, skills and needs.

We have scoured the internet, educating ourselves on the pros and cons of existing social networks, and are committed to using this knowledge to create the most powerful, yet simple platform for all of our members.

Unlike many self serving communities that preach one philosophy, are too clinical, or are just one big advertisement, the direction of our growth will be determined by our members.
It is our belief that a good about us section of a website should be a book with no end.

PE Alum Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody - 1st female 4-star general

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- America's first female four-star general has been nominated, the Pentagon announced Monday.

President Bush nominated Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody to serve as head of the Army's supply arm.

By law women are excluded from combat jobs, the typical path to four-star rank in the military.

"This is an historic occasion for the Department of Defense and I am proud to nominate Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody for a fourth star," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "Her 33 years of service, highlighted by extraordinary leadership and devotion to duty, make her exceptionally qualified for this senior position."

The Senate must approve the nomination.

Dunwoody, a native of New York, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1975 after her graduation from the State University of New York in Cortland. She also holds graduate degrees in national resource strategy and logistics management.

She became the Army's top-ranking woman in 2005 when she received her third star and became deputy chief of staff for Army logistics.

"I am very honored but also very humbled today with this announcement," said Dunwoody. "I grew up in a family that didn't know what glass ceilings were. This nomination only reaffirms what I have known to be true about the military throughout my career ... that the doors continue to open for men and women in uniform."

The Army Materiel Command handles all material readiness for the Army. During her career, Dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and the Defense Logistics Agency. She served with the 82nd Airborne in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, Master Parachutist Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

The first woman to become a general officer in the U.S. armed services was Brig. Gen. Anna Mae Hays, chief of the Army Nurse Corps, who achieved the rank in 1970 and retired the following year.

Elizabeth Hoisington, the director of the Women's Army Corps, was promoted to brigadier general immediately after Hays. She also retired the following year.

Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, the first director of Women in the Air Force, was the first woman to wear two stars, attaining the rank in 1973 and retiring two years later. In 1996, Marine Lt. Gen. Carol A. Mutter became the first woman to wear three stars. Mutter retired in 1999.

Currently, there are 57 active-duty women serving as generals or admirals, five of whom are lieutenant generals or vice admirals, the Navy's three-star rank, according to the Pentagon.

Dr. Lynn Couturier - New PE Dept. Chair

Lynn Couturier, head of the Health and Physical Education Department at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, will join SUNY Cortland on Monday, Aug. 4, as professor and chair of the Physical Education Department. Couturier of Griswold, Conn., will replace Jerome Casciani, who has overseen the department almost continuously since 1990 and will retire on Aug. 30.
Reporting to the dean of professional studies, Couturier will direct one of the largest undergraduate physical education teacher education programs in the country. The Physical Education Department is the largest department on campus in terms of the number of majors served, including roughly 950 undergraduate and graduate students.

From SUNY Cortland press release

SUNY Cortland PE Dept Blog

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