Enriching the Communities We Touch
There are many ways SUNY Oswego faculty members, staff and students come together with our community partners, both near and far, to enrich and support the communities we touch.
Focus Forward
SUNY Oswego’s Focus Forward mentoring program paired 99 undergraduate student mentors with 200 middle and high school students from five nearby school districts, for weekly mentoring sessions, which included academic tutoring and social support.
My Brother’s Keeper
SUNY Oswego recruits and retains highly diverse and talented students, by providing academic, social, financial and professional support to 50 teacher candidates of color each year through the Teacher Opportunity Corps II grant ($325,000/year).
ARTSwego
SUNY Oswego’s ARTSwego program provides culturally rich, engaging and accessible historical, arts and culture programs to the region each year.
Leadership Oswego County
Through Oswego’s Office of Business and Community Relations’ civic engagement programs last year, 20 professionals from businesses across the county graduated from the Leadership Oswego County Class of 2020 and earned 120 SUNY Oswego continuing education credits.
Oz Grand Challenges Academy
The Oz Grand Challenges Academy, a summer residential program, provides an opportunity for first-generation students to experience a vibrant campus life, inspire them to pursue a college degree, prepare them for going to college and “ignite their intellectual curiosity.”
Oswego Forward
With caution, creativity, care and community partnership, SUNY Oswego developed a plan titled Oswego Forward — A Plan for Fall 2020 Restart at SUNY Oswego that was approved by the State University of New York and met the New York State’s Department of Health “Reopening New York Higher Education Guidelines.” The college’s Spring Forward 2021 Plan continues to support vibrant academic and campus life opportunities while preparing for the health and safety of our community.
Community-Focused Response to COVID-19
When the COVID-19 pandemic “hit home” in March 2020, SUNY Oswego faculty members, staff and students quickly volunteered to share their skills and talent, joining together with neighborhood partners to help keep our community members healthy and safe. In total, official college donations to local healthcare workers, first responders and others numbered: 23,200 rubber gloves, 2,150 3-D face shields, thousands of cloth face masks, 60 N95 face masks, 30 ventilator adapters, and two patient body shields.
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Partnering to Produce PPE
Faculty members Daniel Tryon of technology education and David Dunn of biological sciences led the effort (and partnered with Exelon and Novelis) to design and produce nearly 2,200 protective face shields, intubation shields, and ventilation adaptors for local healthcare providers.
Visiting Scholars Donate PPE
A group of more than 50 former SUNY Oswego visiting scholars from China to donate five large boxes of personal protection equipment to the Oswego Health Foundation for local healthcare professionals.
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Making Masks for the Community
Theatre faculty members Kitty Macey and Judy McCabe, and their students made hundreds of cloth face masks for local healthcare workers, agencies, and campus and community members. SUNY Oswego’s Facilities Services staff also made more than 1,600 cloth face masks.
SA Donates Ambulance
The Student Association at SUNY Oswego shared an ambulance from its Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SAVAC) fleet with the Oswego City Fire Department for use during the pandemic.
Commitment to Community Engagement
SUNY Oswego’s decades of commitment to serving its community was again recognized this past year by the Carnegie Foundation when the college was announced as one of 119 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the competitive Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement. One of only four SUNY institutions to receive this designation, SUNY Oswego first earned the classification in 2010, making this the second consecutive time the Carnegie Foundation has renewed the honor.