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Cheers to 2017

It was a year of innovation, renovation and growth. Here are our Top 10 moments.

By SUNY Oneonta

December 29^th, 2017

1. physical science opens

"Science on Display"

SUNY Oneonta’s completely renovated Physical Science Building officially opened on Wednesday, Jan. 18 - the first day of classes for the spring semester. The $27.5 million renovation project, which began in summer 2014, created new, state-of-the-art teaching and research spaces for the college's departments of Anthropology, Chemistry & Biochemistry, and Physics & Astronomy. It's also home to a renovated A.J. Read Science Discovery Center (bottom center), which - for almost 30 years - has hosted area children and school groups, offering hands-on learning through its experiments and demonstrations.

A classroom in the renovated Physical Science Building

Ribbon-cutting event unveiling renovated Science Discovery Center

A lab in the renovated Science Discovery Center

Glass display cases in the renovated Physical Science Building

The new Science Discovery Center, located in the renovated Physical Science Building

Students enjoy the open, bright spaces in the new Physical Science Building.

2. that's a lot of students!

This fall, we enrolled 1,402 freshmen, the largest first-year class since the college began keeping records.

3. new sport management major

In 2017, SUNY Oneonta unveiled a new program within its Health and Fitness Department - a bachelor's of science degree in Sport Management. It's a contemporary health- and fitness-related program that provides fundamental knowledge and skills applicable to work in organizations across the sports industry. The major grew out of a minor of the same name that has become increasingly popular in recent years.

Sport Management majors attend class in Chase Fitness Center.

Sport Management majors talk during a class in Chase Fitness Center.

4. college wins diversity award

In late August, SUNY Oneonta received the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. This was the second time we've received the award.

5. hidden figures

This year's Common Read selection was Margot Lee Shetterly's "Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race," which was recently made into a feature film.

Shetterly came to campus Sept. 25 to meet with students, answer questions and, later that night, give the 2017 Mills Distinguished Lecture in the Alumni Field House to a packed audience of college students and community members.

6. red chef

In the fall, the college debuted "Red Chef," a new meal kit program that provides students with ingredients and recipes to cook nutritious meals in their residence halls or apartments. This was a first for Sodexo, and it's exclusively offered at SUNY Oneonta.

7. fed challenge team places third

SUNY Oneonta’s Fed Challenge team of economics and business economics students took third place overall at the 2017 College Fed Challenge, held Nov. 14 at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Five students – Melissa Voyer, Heather Teichman, Carlos Salomon, Mike Deyak and Kevin Stearns – presented, while a group of non-presenters supported teammates and toured the vault at the Fed.

8. Marketing professor makes national headlines

Professor Lambrianos Nikiforidis made national headlines (and was quoted in Newsweek) for his research on whether fathers spend more money on their sons and mothers spend more money on their daughters.

9. company licenses faculty member's invention

In December, Geneseo-based startup company Verdimine signed an exclusive license agreement with the Research Foundation for The State University of New York to employ a green chemistry process invented by one of our faculty members.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Jacqueline Bennett patented a process for making imines, a class of chemical compounds frequently used in the pharmaceutical, agrichemical, fine chemical, plastics manufacturing and household product industries.

Bennett invented the new process after years of research, including projects undertaken in collaboration with SUNY Oneonta students in her research group, BLONDES (Building a Legacy of Outstanding New Developments and Excellence in Science).

10. welcome center built

In mid-December, staff members from the Office of Admissions & Recruitment began moving into the 7,800-square-foot Welcome Center, a $5.4 million project paid for by SUNY Construction Fund capital funding. Construction began in December 2016.