Jessica Evans Receives Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award

Congratulations to SUNY Cortland senior women's swimmer Jessica Evans (Hamburg) who has been named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award winner in swimming for 2012-13 school year. The award is given to one student-athlete in the conference, from each sport, who has the highest cumulative grade point average, over a minimum of three semesters, among all first-team or second-team all-conference selections. The Chancellor's Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes a combination of academic excellence and outstanding athletic achievement within the SUNY system at the Division l, Division lll and junior college levels. A student-athlete is only permitted to win the award once.

Evans is a physical education major with a 3.89 cumulative GPA entering the spring semester. This past winter she earned second-team All-SUNYAC honors with a runner-up finish in the 100-yard butterfly at the SUNYAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. She also swam on a 200-yard freestyle relay team that won the SUNYAC title and earned honorable mention All-America honors with a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships.

Evans swam on both 800-yard freestyle relay and 200-yard freestyle relay teams that set school records. As a junior, she was part of two conference relay championship teams. She was the SUNYAC champion in the 100-yard butterfly as both a sophomore and junior.

She is a PE Rockstar Alum and we wish her all the best in student-teaching and beyond.

PE Student Teachers Honored

Eighteen senior physical education majors at SUNY Cortland were recognized with Lenore K. Alway/Anthony P. Tesori Awards for their outstanding work in student teaching in New York state schools during the Fall 2011 semester.

Physical Education Department faculty members nominated 12 men and six women for the recognition. The students received a certificate.

The men’s award honors Anthony P. Tesori, a 1939 graduate who gave the College many years of leadership in athletics and administration and earned the College’s C-Club Hall of Fame Award for his achievements before and after graduation. The Alway award, given to women, acknowledges the late Lenore K. Alway, the pioneering head of women’s physical education at the College from 1941 to 1965.

The Tesori Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their teaching are:

• Michael Esteves of Pleasantville, N.Y., at Mount Vernon City School District and Bedford Central School District.

• Michael Gimblette of Ossining, N.Y., at Hendrick Hudson Central School District and Somers Central School District.

• Anthony Giuliano of Harrison, N.Y., at Tarrytown Union Free School District and Irvington Union Free School District.

• Alexander Greenberg of Harrison, N.Y., at Peekskill City School District and Scarsdale Union Free School District.

• Scott Hamlin of Liberty, N.Y., at Sullivan West Central School District – Elementary School and Sullivan West Central School District – Secondary School.

• Christopher Heim of Amherst, N.Y., at Williamsville Central School District and Amherst Central School District.

• Mike Howell of Binghamton, N.Y., at Maine-Endwell Senior High School and Chenango Bridge Elementary School.

• Christopher Infante of Nanuet, N.Y., at South Orangetown Central School District – Elementary School and South Orangetown Central School District – Middle School.

• Miles Levesque of Tupper Lake, N.Y., at Lansing Junior Senior High School and South Hill Elementary School.

• Nick Mangan of Orangeburg, N.Y., at Ramapo Central School District and Byram Hills Central School District.

• Ryan Strader of Cicero, N.Y., at Central Square Central School District and Baldwinsville Central School District.

• Frank Zambrano of Nanuet, N.Y., at Ramapo Central School District and Pearl River Union Free School District.

The Alway Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their teaching are:

• Jenna Monahan of Holbrook, N.Y., at Deer Park Union Free School District and Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District.

• Brittney Reed of Cortland, N.Y., at Manlius Pebble Hill School and Moravia Senior High School.

• Caitlin Sharkey of Palenville, N.Y., at Saugerties Central School District and Saugerties Central School District.

• Megan Shirey of Springfield Center, N.Y., at Herkimer Central School District and Richfield Spring Central School District.

• Jennifer Thorpe of Lakewood, N.Y., at Beverly Martin Elementary School and Cincinnatus Central School.

• Jenna Wenk of Ossining, N.Y., at Lakeland Central School District and Peekskill City School District.

Karyn Schutzer wins NYSAHPERD’S 2011 Jay B. Nash Award

NYS-AHPERD’S 2011 Jay B. Nash Outstanding Major Award winner is Karyn Schutzer, senior Cortland PE student and currently the President of SUNY Cortland PE's Major Club - APEM. The award will be presented at the NYSAPHERD Conference on November 18th, 2011 at Turning Stone.

Congratulations Karyn and for continuing to make your mark on our PE community. In the picture above, Karyn (far left) is assisting Jack Murphy (2011)  in a 21st Century Scavenger Hunt at the 2011 AAHPERD in San Diego, CA.

SUNY Cortland PE Alumna General Ann E. Dunwoody Selected to Receive NCAA’s Highest Honor

SUNY Cortland: News Detail

12/13/2010

Former SUNY Cortland student-athlete and 1975 alumna Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody has been selected to receive the 2011 Theodore Roosevelt award, the NCAA’s highest honor. The award, also known as the “Teddy Award,” will be presented on Friday, Jan. 14, during the annual NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, whose concern for the conduct of intercollegiate athletics led to the formation of the NCAA in 1906, the award was established in 1967 and is given annually to an individual “for whom competitive athletics in college and attention to physical well-being thereafter have been important factors in a distinguished career of national significance and achievement.”

Dunwoody joins a prestigious list of “Teddy Award” winners that includes former U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Other past winners include John Glenn, Bob Dole, John Wooden, Arnold Palmer, Bill Cosby, Sally Ride, Madeleine Albright and Jesse Owens.

Dunwoody is the first woman in U.S. military history to be promoted to the rank of four-star general and is the current Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command. She graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in physical education and was directly commissioned into the Women’s Army Corps. She received a Master of Science in Logistics Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1988 and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1995.

Dunwoody, a former gymnast and women's tennis player at Cortland, is the first woman in U.S. military history to be promoted to the rank of four-star general.

Nominated by recently retired SUNY Cortland Director of Athletics Dr. Joan Sitterly, Dunwoody was a starter and four-year participant on the College’s women’s gymnastics team under Coach Antoinette “Toni” Tiburzi and women’s tennis team under Coach Sylvia Stokes.

“They were just great role models, great people,” Dunwoody recalled about Tiburzi and Stokes. “They’re ‘people’ people. They just made sports fun. I will always fondly remember Cortland because it was a positive experience for me. I have been blessed to have lots of positive experiences. The encouragement I got from the faculty there, the friends that I made there, made my whole college experience a positive one.”

When Dunwoody began her military career, women had yet to be admitted to West Point. Her brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather all attended the U.S. Military Academy, a family history that stretches to 1866. Dunwoody’s father, a career Army officer, was a veteran of World War II and Korea and served in Vietnam during her college career.

In 1992 Dunwoody became the first woman to command a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division. She was the first female general at Fort Bragg, N.C., and the first woman to lead the Combined Arms Support Command at Fort Lee, Va.

Dunwoody was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm as a division parachute officer for the 407th Supply and Transportation Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. She served as the 1st Corps Support Command Commander in the deployment of the Logistics Task Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Dunwoody was promoted to the rank of four-star general in a ceremony at the Pentagon in 2008. Marking the occasion, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said, “History will no doubt take note of her achievement in breaking through this final brass ceiling to pin on a fourth star, but she would rather be known and remembered, first and foremost, as a U.S. Army Soldier.”

In a briefing to the press after the ceremony Dunwoody remarked, “I never grew up in an environment where I even heard of the words ‘glass ceiling.’ You could always be anything you wanted to be if you worked hard, and so I never felt constrained. I never felt like there were limitations on what I could do.”

Dunwoody remains a proponent of an active lifestyle and enjoys running with her husband, retired Air Force Col. Craig Brotchie, and their springer spaniel, Barney.

12 P.E. Student-Teachers Honored with Lenore K. Alway/Anthony P. Tesori Awards

06/07/2010 

Twelve senior physical education majors at SUNY Cortland were recognized with Lenore K. Alway/Anthony P. Tesori Awards for their outstanding work in student teaching in New York state schools during the Spring 2010 semester.

Physical Education Department faculty members nominated seven women and five men for the recognition. Each student received a certificate.

The Alway Award, given to women, recognizes the late pioneering head of women’s physical education at the College from 1941 to 1965. The men’s Tesori Award honors the 1939 graduate who gave the College many years of leadership in athletics and administrative areas and earned the College’s C- Club Hall of Fame Award for his achievements before and after graduation.

The Alway Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their student teaching are as follows:

• Courteny Hammond of Green Island, N.Y., at Lansing (N.Y.) Central School District and Ithaca (N.Y.) City School District.

• Taylor Houseman of Rushford, N.Y., at Lansing (N.Y.) Central School District and McGraw (N.Y.) Central School District.

• Alanna Cooney of Binghamton, N.Y., at Vestal (N.Y.) Central School District and Johnson City (N.Y.) Central School District.

• Stephanie Melkin of Seaford, N.Y., at Massapequa (N.Y.) School District and Freeport (N.Y.) Union Free School District.

• Miranda Lustig of Patchogue, N.Y., at Cortland (N.Y.) City School District and Tully (N.Y.) Central School District.

• Alyse Valentini of New Fairfield, Conn., at Port Chester (N.Y.) Union Free School District and Pelham (N.Y.) Union Free School District.

• Kathryn Dylag of Williamsville, N.Y., at Sweet Home Central School District in Amherst, N.Y.

The Tesori Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their student teaching are as follows:

• Jeremiah Retzlaff of Troy, N.Y., at New York City Geographical Districts #28 and #24.                                                     

• Russell Stephens of Wayland, N.Y., at Cincinnatus (N.Y.) Central School District and Marcellus (N.Y.) Central School District.

• Michael Burke of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., at Peekskill (N.Y.) City Schools and Mahopac (N.Y.) Central School District.                                 

• Brandon Herwick of Coxsackie, N.Y., at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central Schools in Selkirk, N.Y., and Catskill (N.Y.) Central School District.                                                     

• Joseph DiMaggio of Rome, N.Y., at Camden (N.Y.) Central School District and Oriskany (N.Y.) Central School District.

For more information, contact the Physical Education Department at (607) 753-4955. 

Brandon Herwick receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence

Brandon Herwick Receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence

CORTLAND, NY (05/22/2010)(readMedia)-- Brandon Herwick, a Coxsackie, N.Y., native, was one of four SUNY Cortland seniors honored on April 6 in Albany, N.Y., with 2010 State University of New York Chancellor's Awards for Student Excellence.

"The 228 students we honor today have excelled academically and taken advantage of what SUNY has to offer outside the classroom," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher as she recognized students from the 63 SUNY campuses throughout the state during the ceremony in Albany, N.Y. "These students are proven leaders, athletes, artists, community servants and much more. Congratulations to all of the students receiving today's award and thank you all for your genuine dedication to student excellence."

The recipients were honored for integrating academic excellence with accomplishments in leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts or career achievement. This year's honorees have an overall grade point average of 3.8.

To the SUNY Cortland community, Herwick brings to life the College's Red Dragon mascot, aptly named "Blaze."

But it's not all fun and games for this senior physical education major, who has maintained a 3.63 grade point average during his two years at the College and will graduate in May. The National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) honored him as its Major of the Year in March for his excellent academic achievement, exemplary leadership and involvement, and demonstrative dedication to the fields of health, activity and fitness.

A promising scholar in his chosen field, Herwick delivered four presentations at two New York State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYSAHPERD) conferences and recently was slated to give another for the national association.

"I think physical education is an elemental part of a child's education," Herwick says. "It's something that needs to be set up early so that it can be continued for life. Especially with the obesity epidemic, it's important that we get inside of schools and we teach students how to be confident in their abilities."

In March 2008, Tau Sigma, the academic honor society for transfer students, initiated Herwick, who attended Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) before Cortland, as a member. A resident assistant on the campus, Herwick was recognized last spring with an Academic Excellence Award by the Residence Life and Housing Office.

Herwick serves as president of the Alliance of Physical Education Majors Club and the Cortland Table Tennis Club, participates on the Student Activities Board, and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. He has offered his time and talent to several efforts on behalf of individuals with physical challenges.

This spring, he student-teaches at V.W. Becker, an elementary school in Ravina-Coeymans-Selkirk (N.Y.) School District, and Catskill High School. He'll continue his studies toward a graduate degree in adapted physical education.

"SUNY Cortland is one of the premiere, if not the premiere, New York state physical education schools and it definitely ranks among the top in the nation, if not the world," said Herwick, noting that he was inspired to transfer to SUNY Cortland by Thomas Rogan '66, a Cortland alumnus and his professor at HVCC. His mother, alumna Denise Sonustun Herwick '86, was another influence.

"I think the teachers are very diverse at Cortland and what makes the program so great is how the professors can bring so many different aspects to one profession."

With this year's awards, 56 SUNY Cortland students have earned a Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence since the program was created in 1997.

Each year, SUNY campus presidents establish a selection committee to review outstanding graduating seniors. The nominees are forwarded to the Chancellor's Office for a second round of review and a group of finalists is selected. Each honoree received a framed certificate and a medallion that is traditionally worn at commencement. A complete listing can be viewed at:http://www.suny.edu/Files/sunynewsFiles/Pdf/StudentExcellenceListing.pdf.

Six SUNY Cortland PE Students Receive Alway/Tesori Awards for Student Teaching

Six senior physical education majors at SUNY Cortland were recognized with Lenore K. Alway/Anthony P. Tesori Awards for their outstanding work in student teaching in New York state schools during the Fall 2009 semester. Physical Education Department faculty members nominated one woman and five men for the recognition. The students received a certificate.

The Alway award, given to women, recognizes Lenore K. Alway, the late pioneering head of women’s
physical education at the College from 1941 to 1965. The men’s award honors Anthony P. Tesori, a 1939 graduate who gave the College many years of leadership in athletics and administrative areas and earned the College’s C-Club Hall of Fame Award for his achievements before and after graduation.

The Alway Award honoree and the school districts where she completed her teaching follows:
• Mallory Cogen of Bellmore, N.Y., at Westbury Union Free School District in Old Westbury, N.Y.,
and Herricks Union Free School District in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

The Tesori Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their teaching are as follows:
• Christopher Corso of Oceanside, N.Y., at Westbury Union Free School District in Old Westbury, N.Y., and Jericho (N.Y.) Union Free School District.
• Andrew MacArthur of Great Neck, N.Y., at Southern Cayuga Central School District of Aurora, N.Y.,and Whitney Point (N.Y.) Central School District.
• Joseph Moran of Gasport, N.Y., at Fabius-Pompey (N.Y.) Central School District and Cortland (N.Y.)City School District.
• Todd Plourde of Binghamton, N.Y., at Chenango Valley Central School District of Binghamton, N.Y., and the Binghamton (N.Y.) City School District.
• Edward Reiser of Sayville, N.Y., at Brentwood (N.Y.) Union Free School District and Connetquot
Central School District of Islip, N.Y.
For more information, contact the Physical Education Department at (607) 753-4955.

Dr. Tim Davis to Receive APAC National Outstanding Professional Award

Congratulations Dr. Davis! Please drop by or send him a congratulation e-mail.  davist@cortland.edu

Taken from the SUNY Cortland Bulletin

Timothy Davis, assistant professor of physical education at SUNY Cortland, has been named the 2010 Outstanding Professional Award recipient by the Adapted Physical Activity Council (APAC) of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

A nationally respected SUNY Cortland faculty member since joining the College in 1998, Davis will be recognized on Thursday, March 18, during the AAHPERD convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

“He embodies the concept of a truly selfless, compassionate professional, always taking the time to help others,” noted University of Florida Professor Christine Stopka, in her nomination of Davis for the honor.

“In fact, his mission has been to improve the quality of physical education services for children with disabilities through the development and promotion of highly qualified adapted physical education teachers, one teacher at a time. He believes strongly that empowering individual teachers can have a profound effect on the quality of lives of children with disabilities.”

The APAC award recognizes an exceptional member who not only has provided leadership to the organization and who has contributed to scholarly publications in the field of adapted physical education, but also someone who has “made a significant mark on the lives of others through teaching, athletics, entertainments, serving in public office, or in some other way enhancing the positive image of people with disabilities in society.”

Davis, who presided over APAC from 2000-02, has been a role model and an indefatigable adapted physical education leader in both service and scholarship for years, noted Stopka.

The chair of the Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS) Project for the past eight years, Davis is the anonymous “expert” behind the organization’s PE Central “Ask the Expert” online service.

“Dr. Davis receives 15-20 e-mails and messages a week asking for information ranging from disability to state licensure and beyond,” explained Stopka, adding that he answers those requests “in a meaningful and personal manner” and “without receiving credit whatsoever for his time and effort.”

He has promoted APENS through a Web site, online links and enhanced visibility at AAHPERD regional and national conferences, she noted.

“More recently, he was interviewed for an article in Education Weekly, where he was asked to speak on behalf of the field of adapted physical education and national standards,” Stopka explained.

"Dr. Davis’ scholarly activity speaks to his passion in the field,” she continued. “He has been represented in all of the leading physical education journals. His list of international and national presentations is formidable. Dr. Davis exemplifies the professional who ‘talks the talk and walks the walk.’ He connects with practicing physical educators through his writing as well as through his presentation. He has a national reputation as being a ‘go-to’ person for answers that require practical application.”

Stopka said that Davis has been instrumental in the three-year expansion of the national mentoring program, “I Can Do It! You Can Do It!” for youth with disabilities developed by the Office on Disability in the Department of Health and Human Services. He is one of nine national directors promoting the mentorship of children with disabilities to increase physical activity and nutrition. He is targeting his upcoming research on addressing perceptions of physical education teaching majors with disabilities, an underrepresented area in literature for many years, said Stopka.

She singled out his commitment to the local community as director of the Cortland Homer Afterschool Mentorship Program (CHAMP), a five-days-a-week, state-approved, afterschool daycare program. In addition, Tim has developed many service learning opportunities for his students. These include Skill Builders and Challenger Sports for children with disabilities birth to 21 years, Thursday night wheelchair sports, Project LEAPE, and most recently Project DREAM serving at risk youth and those with disabilities ages 13-21.

A native of Reno, Nev., Davis earned both a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in adapted physical education and early intervention from California State University, Chico. He has a Ph.D. in adapted physical education and early childhood special education from the University of Virginia.

From 1991-94, Davis was an adapted physical education instructor and director of the Ability Challenge Sports and Recreation Program at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

At SUNY Cortland, Davis received the 2009 Rozanne M. Brooks Dedicated Teacher Award and was honored by the College with its Excellence in Research, Scholarship and Outreach Award. In 2007 and 2008, he was presented by the College with its Distinguished Faculty Service Learning Award. In 2008, SUNY Cortland earned the Adapted Physical Education Program of the Year Award from AAHPERD.

Davis was presented with the prestigious William A. Hillman Distinguished Service Award in 2006 by the National Consortium on Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. He has received several other Professional of the Year Awards from state organizations in New York and outstanding service awards while working in both New York and Indiana.

A member of several College committees, across his career he has successfully written grants for nearly $600,000 in sponsored research associated with adapted physical education. Most recently, Tim has developed the School Partnerships in Physical Education Program creating funded teaching opportunities for graduate students majoring in adapted physical education.

Within the community, Davis presided over the board of directors for Access for Independence of Cortland County, an independent living center servicing adults with physical and developmental disabilities. He has been active with local Little League organizations and serves as faculty advisor to the national powerhouse SUNY Cortland baseball team.

For many years, Davis was a big game guide in the province of Alberta for the Canada Division of Forestry, having served a year as a guide in the Yukon Territories. Since 2003, he has taught Inclusive Outdoor Education, a graduate course at SUNY Cortland developed specifically to address the needs of diverse populations in outdoor education experiences.

He and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Chase, 13, and Peter, 10, and reside in Homer, N.Y.

PE Students Recieve Teaching Awards

Jaime Atencio Named Australian Teaching Fellow

On June 7, Atencio, a 2009 SUNY Cortland graduate, who majored in physical education, will board a plane headed for Mountain Creek State Primary School in Queensland, Australia. He will spend the next 18 months in a fellowship program teaching physical education to kindergarten through seventh grade at the same school where he student taught last year.
Atencio is SUNY Cortland's third Australian Teaching Fellow, the result of a collaborative effort among the College, Education Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast. The fellowship has been offered to SUNY Cortland alumni who have a provisional or initial teaching certification in New York state.

Alway and Tesori Awards to PE Seniors for Student Teaching

The Alway Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their teaching are as follows:

• Erin Brooks of Macedon, N.Y., at Fairport (N.Y.) Central School District and Newport (N.Y.) Central School District;
• Nicole Corcoran of Massena, N.Y., at Ithaca (N.Y.) City School District and Southern Cayuga (N.Y.) Central School District;
• Susan Dittrich of Cortland, N.Y., at Fabius-Pompey (N.Y.) Central School District and Cincinnatus (N.Y.) Senior High School;
• Lauren Friedlander of Cortland, N.Y., at Marathon (N.Y.) Central School District and Ithaca City School District; and,
• Katharine Spader of Larchmont, N.Y., at Mount Vernon (N.Y.) City School District and Rye Neck (N.Y.) Union Free School District.

The Tesori Award honorees and the schools or school districts where they completed their teaching are as follows:

• Keith Greene of Bay Shore, N.Y., at Connetquot (N.Y.) Central School District and Brentwood (N.Y.) Union Free School District;
• Shaun McGee of Pawling, N.Y., at Peekskill (N.Y.) City School District and Brewster (N.Y.) Central School District; and,
• Richard Miglietta of Port Washington, N.Y., at New York City Geographical District No. 28 and Glen Cove (N.Y.) City School District.

Yang & Foley receive Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Outreach Award

In May 2009, Stephen Yang (Assistant Professor) and John Foley (Associate Professor) received the Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Outreach Award in recognition of being the assessment team for a Department of Edication - Carol M. White - Physical Education Program grant.

The purpose of this project is to collect and analyze data to support the implementation of the Cortland County Physical Education Program (PEP) Grant from the Department of Education that is intended to improve physical education classes district-wide. SUNY Cortland graduate and undergraduate students will assist in the collection of teacher and student data such as attitudes towards physical activity, time spent in physical activity, and motor skill testing. Results of the assessments will be reported back to the grant administrator to include in the grant progress reports to the U.S. Department of Education. School level reports will also be generated to inform administrators and educators. (Cortland Excels)

Gary Babjack Receives Excellence in Professional Service Award

Congratulations to Gary Babjck for receiving the Excellence in Professional Service Awards -
Excellence in Innovation within Profession. This award is in recognition of Gary's constant strive to making things better and to help different groups here at Cortland.

Gary has taken the lead in developing new initiatives from synthesizing and utilizing technology in the classroom to developing a web-assisted master’s degree program in Physical Education at SUNY Cortland. He “catalyzed technology applications,” including Dartfish technology, XOS (a state-of-the-art digital team analysis system), and a mobile tablet computer lab to provide training to physical educators and students in utilization of cutting edge technologies. Through Gary’s diligent efforts and close work with Academic Computing, all student-athlete program evaluations are now done using WEBCT. He was instrumental in securing the hardware necessary to have a digital analysis system in place for coaches to utilize in assessing individual and team performance. As a Dartfish Master trainer, he attends practices daily to assist coaches in learning to use Dartfish and XOS to enhance team and individual performance. Our state-of-the-art camera systems for Corey Gymnasium were the result of his being instrumental in partnership discussions with Panasonic. He co-wrote and received a grant for instituting computer assessment in pedagogy classes. In addition to teaching, advising and volunteer activities, Gary coached our 2007-08 Gymnastics team to a third place finish and coordinated the 2008 USGA National Gymnastics Championships held at SUNY Cortland this spring. His technology innovations have resulted in improved processes and effectiveness for all connected with our Physical Education Programs and Team Sports. (Via Cortland)

Please leave a comment for him, stop by his office, or send him an e-mail (babjackb@cortland.edu) to congratulate him.

Dr. Tim Davis receives Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Outreach Award

Dr. Timothy D. Davis, also received the Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Outreach Award at the President's annual award ceremony, Cortland Excels.

Dr. Davis was responsible for securing funding and programming for the “Homer CSD/SUNY Cortland Graduate Student Partnership” worth $15,000.

The Homer Central School District (HCSD) and the Adapted Physical Education faculty within the Department of Physical Education have created a partnership to improve the quality of Adapted Physical Education services currently provided to children with disabilities. Tim Davis and Mike Carboine, Athletic Director for HCSD, outlined the guidelines for a long-term partnership designed to enhance the access and adaptive physical education programming opportunities for children with disabilities throughout the Homer school district. The HCSD will support a part-time Adapted Physical Education graduate student in exchange for 20 hours per week of direct service working with children. The responsibilities of the graduate student are to teach the majority of HCSD’s adaptive students four hours per day in either the elementary, intermediate or junior high schools. The graduate student is responsible for the planning and teaching of daily lesson plans specific to each individual student, along with coordinating and updating any IEP plans for students with the office of Special Education for Homer Schools. The “win/win” scenario provides financial support while graduate students receive valuable public school experience. Past public school partnerships in Adapted Physical Education have been created with Marathon Schools, DeRuyter Schools and the Fransizka Racker Centers. The creative designs and outreach for school partnerships exemplifies why SUNY Cortland’s Adapted Physical Education program was recognized in April of 2008 by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAPHERD) for The Program of the Year Award, which is the highest honor for adapted physical education programs as recognized by AAPHERD. The school partnerships are an extension of the APE commitment to promote and assure integrity for individuals with disabilities throughout central New York.

Professor JoEllen Bailey to Receive Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching

CORTLAND, NY (05/14/2009) JoEllen Bailey, an associate professor of physical education at SUNY Cortland, will receive a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching during the 2009 Undergraduate Commencement on Saturday, May 16, in the Park Center.

She is among five SUNY Cortland faculty and staff members to be honored this year with a prestigious State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence. A second faculty member, Kathleen Lawrence, associate professor of communication studies, will also be recognized with a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The Chancellor's Award process begins at each of the 64 SUNY campuses with nominations submitted by the respective presidents. The SUNY Committee on Awards then reviews the nominations and makes its recommendations.

Bailey, of Dryden, N.Y., becomes the 50th SUNY Cortland faculty member to receive the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

A Physical Education Department faculty member at SUNY Cortland since 2002, she teaches teacher education courses in physical education at both the undergraduate and graduate level, supervises student teachers, coordinates physical education student teaching in Australia and facilitates master's student comprehensive examinations.

Her scholarly activity centers on teaching pedagogy; in particular, how to improve teacher education in physical education and the student teaching experience.

"Many faculty are knowledgeable regarding pedagogy, but I have never known anyone that can consistently and effectively apply that knowledge the way that JoEllen does," noted one colleague, a previous Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient. "She is a masterful and powerful teacher."

Colleagues praise her student-centered teaching philosophy that emphasizes multi-modal instruction, practical application of concepts and regular assessment of student learning.

"All students have the right to learn in an environment that is supportive and directed to their own learning style," Bailey wrote. "Students need a choice to bring personal meaning to their learning. Students want to feel a sense of belonging and be valued as a person. Students need to experience success through challenge."

Current and former students and colleagues continually describe Bailey as "effective," "organized," "accessible" and "caring" and note that she expects excellence and professionalism from her students, models it herself every day and works tirelessly with her students to achieve it.

"It is clear that she has created an environment in which students feel safe to take the academic risks important for their growth," the selection committee observed.

Her students engage in a variety of learning experiences: lectures, hands-on activities, oral presentations, appropriate application of technology and writing assignments.

"I find Bailey's instruction and presentation of the material to be stimulating and extremely effective," wrote one student on his experience in her statistics and assessment course. "She has the ability to keep each class interesting and the ability to bring out the best in each and every one of her students."

Faculty colleagues noted her dedication to mentoring students and colleagues.

"With Bailey one never feels discouraged or left without answers," commented one student in a letter to the committee.

"If students do poorly on formative assessments, I believe it is my responsibility to find a way to help them improve," Bailey explained.

"After graduating from SUNY Cortland four-and-a-half years ago, Bailey still has a lasting impact in my life and profession," a former student wrote. "Her positive character, support and enthusiasm are just a few strengths that make her stand out among her colleagues."

Bailey weaves her research in physical education pedagogy and assessment into her courses. Her work has been published in Research Quarterly and Strategies, two highly respected, peer-reviewed journals.

A native of Glenville, Minn., Bailey earned a doctorate in physical education pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado. She has a bachelor's degree in physical education with a minor in health education and coaching certification from Winona (Minn.) State University. Bailey also received a Master of Arts in Physical Education with emphasis in developmental adapted physical education from Mankato State University.

Congratulations Dr. Tim Davis - Teaching Award

Congratulations to Dr. Tim Davis - for being selected to receive the 2009 Dr. Rozanne Brooks Dedicated Teacher Award. Tim will receive this prestigious award at the Honors Convocation on April 18, 2009. It’s wonderful recognition for the great work that Tim has been doing and very much deserved.

The Brooks Award honors a faculty member who devotes a significant amount of time both to teaching and to working with students outside of class. A $5,000 honorarium is included with the award for use in enhancing Tim’s teaching initiatives. Tim is a dedicated and outstanding teacher. His classes are exciting, challenging and filled with energy. He expects professionalism both in behavior and academic performance from each individual student in his classroom as well as from the community of students in his classroom. Tim’s students respond to his expectations by being active and vigorous contributors to class discussion, always listening, always questioning, always engaged. The selection committee noted that Tim’s work outside the classroom is exceptional. He developed a partnership with the J.M. McDonald Sports Complex and the Cortland Homer Afterschool Mentorship Program (CHAMPS), which is an extension of his Motor Development undergraduate course. The program places his students as afterschool mentors to at-risk youth ages five to fourteen. He develops community programs that benefit the participants and, at the same time, gives our students the confidence and skills they need to succeed as teachers and leaders. Tim serves on the College’s Student Affairs Committee as the School of Professional Studies representative for the Faculty Senate. Tim directs the Adapted Sports and Adventure Camp at SUNY Cortland. He is faculty advisor for the College’s baseball team and for Project LEAPE (Leadership and Exercise in Adapted Physical Education). Since 2002, he has chaired the Adapted Physical Education National Standards Project (APENS), which provides national standards and certification examination for adapted physical educators. A grant review committee member for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Recreation Services in the Division of Personnel Preparation since 2001, Tim has been awarded many College, state, federal and private grants. Tim has presented at numerous international and national conferences and has written for several publications and children’s books. (Viaww.Cortland.edu)

Please stop by his office or send him an e-mail (davist@cortland.edu) to congratulate him.