Between late night s’more sessions on the lake, pizza-fueled information meetings between professionals and students, and trips to maximum-security prisons, Gary Morris ’88 effectively helps students realize that the time is now to start keeping an eye keenly on their future.

Morris is the chief mastermind behind the Sophomore Year Experience. Now in its second — or sophomore — year, the program helps second-year students figure out what the immediate and long-term future holds for them.

Chemistry majors spent a day at Bausch & Lomb in Rochester to learn what it means to be an industrial chemist. Fehmi Damkaci, left, assistant professor of chemistry, joins biochemistry majors, from left, Andrew Preischel ’12, Ryan Cotroneo ’12, Jesse Vanucchi ’13 and Jake Demarree ’11, among 20 to make the trip. The program gives sophomores first preference before opening participation to other students.

The program hosts numerous events throughout the academic year, including the Job-A-Rama job fair, the S’mores with Sophomores welcome back event and Pizza with Professionals, where professionals from various fields come to campus to share a meal and chat with students.

Students also have the opportunity to take their interests in a certain field off campus with the program’s “Test Drive Your Career” events, where Morris and faculty take students on trips to businesses that hire graduates from a certain major.

Last October, 20 chemistry majors made the trek to Rochester to learn about the science and engineering involved in the manufacturing of contact lenses at Bausch & Lomb in Rochester, where they met with alumni who explained what it means to be a winning industrial chemist, what employers look for in new hires, and how the science and engineering fields work together to take an idea from research and development to a packaged product.

Stephen Maier ’84 M ’89, spoke to the sophomores about the importance of the opportunities presented to them at Oswego. “There [are] things that you can do or choices you can make, like taking more classes, that really help separate you from other students,” Maier said.

Jesse Vanucchi ’13 said the trip showed him what type of chemistry to home in on post-graduation.

The program also received a $5,000 Target grant in November that Morris plans to use to send cash-strapped sophomores around the world to perform community service in foreign communities.

—Kyle C. Gargan ’11

Irwin, president and CEO of Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Fla., has made a living out of researching and teaching the public about dolphins. Featuring 20 bottlenose dolphins as well as California sea lions, the center hosts narrated behavior sessions, educational presentations and interactive programs for the public.

Rita Irwin ’77 is president and CEO of the Dolphin Research Center in Florida.

It is also the southernmost manatee rescue operation in the country. As president, Irwin is responsible for taking care of the marine mammals, as well as maintaining the direction and mission of the entire center and its 83 employees.

Despite the stark differences, Irwin still finds a way to see parallels between the paradise-like city she resides in now and the notoriously chilly Port City, especially when looking out into the water.

“We used to look out onto the lake and see the snowstorms coming,” Irwin said. “Now I’m in the Florida Keys looking at the Gulf of Mexico. It’s very similar to being on campus and looking at the lake, but instead of snowstorms, it’s rain storms.”

Born and raised in New York City, Irwin’s first taste of small-town living came when she arrived at Oswego for college. It was an experience she says she still cherishes, and one that helped her make the decision to move to Florida, where she met her husband, Dan Gallagher.

“When I came to the Keys, I was so attracted to the research center and Oswego helped me realize I could move out of a big city. I like the small town experience and Oswego was the only small town I lived in before I came to the Keys.”

Outside of the job, Irwin has also found time to be active in the community, especially in the theatre scene. She recently co-wrote a musical and it is set to debut in March. Titled “Act Now,” the production is about an audition at a community theatre and the lives and decisions of the people at the theatre. A theatre major while at Oswego, she credits her time working on productions at college for her latest accomplishment.

“[Writing and directing a musical was] a lifelong dream of mine. All of the hours I spent in the Oswego theatre have paid off.”

— Kyle C. Gargan ’11

SUNY Oswego officially has its own band of Village people on campus.

Village Commons

The Village, Oswego’s highly anticipated townhouse-style complex for students, opened this semester to the immense excitement of its first 348 residents.

The Village houses students in four- and six-person townhouses in a complex just south of Glimmerglass Lagoon. Featuring  a full kitchen, furnished living room and laundry unit in each house and a large commons building for leisure and studying, the Village townhouse complex boasts a plethora of luxuries not available in typical residence halls.

“Having a dishwasher and all the amenities of a fully furnished house
really makes living here great,” Colleen Cessna ’12 said. “We have our own rooms and a commons area that is practically private to just us in the Village.”

“The brand new facilities are really the best part,” Katherine Grzesik ’11 said. “The houses are so nice and so different than living in the residence halls.”

Spending a quiet moment in a townhouse kitchen are, from left, math education majors Donnie Hebert ’11, Katherine Grzesik ’11, Darren Lucas ’11 and Amanda Burch ’11.

The close proximity to other students has also been a hit among Village residents. When asked about the best part of living in the complex, Leslie Look ’12 said “the neighbors. They are all so great and fun.”

Kimberly Allen ’10 agreed. “It’s just nice to have the company around,” she said.

Many students have also come to love the off-campus feel that the Village provides, while still being within walking distance to classes and other campus activities.

“It’s nice that we are still so close to campus and yet the Village still has a regular house feeling to it,” Jason Johnson ’12 said.

Journalism major Chris McPherson ’12, left, shoots pool in the Commons game room with Tuba Toori ’11, a biology major.

“I felt that living off campus would be like living at home,” Chris McPherson ’12 said. “Living in the Village is a mixture. I have the freedom of living on my own without having to worry about things like rent and utilities.”

Calling the Village another component in the college’s focus on learner centeredness, Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley said, “The Village provides an environment that allows students to take learning deep within them, build a family around their learning experience, and gain more from the experience.”

Residence Life and Housing Director Rick Kolenda said the completion of the Village is a reflection of the collective efforts from a variety of different groups, including architects, construction crews, administrative planning and student focus groups. The final product is something of which the entire college should be proud, he said.

The Glimmerglass Bistro in the Village Commons is a busy place. Here biology major Regine Michel ’11 purchases a snack from Tiffany Chiu ’11, an accounting major.

“You have the flagship student building project in the state of New York, if not the Northeast,” Edward McGraw of Ashley McGraw Architects said during the Village dedication Sept. 17.

Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Joseph Grant said the decade-long journey included visiting other colleges and “reviewing architectural designs from all over the country,” but what separates the Village from the rest of the pack is not just its modern feel and state-of-the-art amenities, but the unparalleled passion and commitment brought to the project by students and administrators alike.

“The Village is more than the sum of all those parts,” he said. “This special place we call the Village is a residential community without equal anywhere in higher education.”

Joel Danko ’11, a biology major, pours a cup of coffee in his kitchen prior to a study session.

The $42 million complex was funded through the SUNY Capital Plan, mostly through bonds issued by the State Dormitory Authority, said Tom Simmonds ’84, M ’88, associate vice president for facilities.

Simmonds echoed Kolenda’s praise for the diverse groups that helped make the Village a reality. “I’m proud of the end result,” he said. “But I’m also equally as proud of all of the people who helped make this happen.”

Although blue-and-white siding adorns each Tudor-style townhouse, the Village’s biggest achievement could be in how green it is. The complex was designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, gold standards, meaning it was built using strategies aimed at saving energy, conserving water and limiting carbon emissions.

“There are various elements of design that will make this a sustainable building well into the future,” Facilities and Design Project Coordinator Allen Bradberry said. “Being very energy efficient, the design is such that it will have minimal impact to the environment and [have] longevity to the materials chosen for construction.” With SUNY Oswego continuing a campus-wide trend toward becoming a more sustainable campus, making the complex an environmentally friendly area was quite the accomplishment, said Bradberry.

The implementation of LEED standards will help students make a more positive impact on not only the Oswego campus, but the entire environment, Stanley said.

“It will help students understand how they will live in and interact with the world and make the world a better place, one person at a time,” Stanley said.

With the renovation of Piez, Wilber and Park halls now under way, and planning for a facelift of the Hewitt Quad set to unfold after that, Student Association President Steven DiMarzo ’11 said the Village is the latest in a long line of projects to modernize facilities across campus. “The completion of the Village is proof of how Oswego can, undoubtedly, expand and adapt to the future.”

For those students who call the Village home, that ability to transcend helped turn what was merely a bold idea 10 years ago into a modern, dynamic reality. l

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education recognized the Oswego Alumni Association in its 2010 “Outstanding External Program” category for the day college unity is most prominently on display.

Green and Gold Day has come a long way in the short time it’s been around, said Associate Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Laura Pavlus ’09, and the additions and improvements made to last year’s event made the day worthy of the recognition.

“Last year we added an ice cream social, as well as a roller skating party held by SAPB [Student Association Planning Board],” Pavlus said. “We also added a Flickr account for alumni to upload photos. These additions really set it apart from previous years.”

Oswego is one of only three schools nationwide to earn recognition by CASE Affiliated Student Advancement Programs. Associate Director for Stewardship Michelle Tackett-Spinner ’98 said the honor “helps put Oswego on the map.”

“Oswego is competing against schools across the country that have bigger sizes and budgets, and more members,” Tackett-Spinner said. “It’s pretty exciting to know Oswego won a national award.”

The 2010 Green and Gold Day saw an even more impressive showing among the Oswego community, with almost 650 showing up for the ice cream social, more than twice the 300 who participated in 2009, and an enthusiastic group participating in the Oswego family photo, above.

CASE is the professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas. Membership includes more than 3,400 colleges, universities, independent elementary and secondary schools, and educational associates in 68 countries around the world.

— Kyle C. Gargan ’11