SUNY

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that former state comptroller H. Carl McCall will become the new chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees.

McCall is replacing Carl Hayden, who will remain on the Board.

Cuomo said he selected McCall because of his legislative experience as a comptroller and a state senator, and that he had experience getting bills passed.

McCall said he would lead SUNY with a “shared vision” with Cuomo, and he promised to raise academic standards, create economic growth and keep tuition affordable.

-Associated Press

Canton

SUNY Canton announced on Oct. 13 that they will become a tobacco-free campus, joining the ranks of several other colleges across the U.S.

Canton president Joseph Kennedy said the ban on tobacco will enhance community life, improve the overall health of students and reduce health care costs.

The school will begin implementing this measure over the course of the next three semesters, with an informational campaign that will inform students on why this ban is in place. Full enforcement of the ban on tobacco products will begin in the Spring 2013 semester.

-readmedia.com

SUNYIT

SUNYIT president Bjong Wolf Yeigh was officially appointed president of SUNY Morrisville, effective on Oct. 20.

This move follows SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s announcement in August that Yeigh would preside over both schools.

The move to combine the leadership of two schools, also being done with SUNY Delhi and SUNY Cobleskill as well as SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton, is an efficiency and cost-saving measure by SUNY.

SUNYIT and Morrisville will remain separate institutions despite the unified leadership.

-uticaod.com

Buffalo

SUNY Buffalo professor Sargur Srihari has won the 2011 International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition Outstanding Achievement Award.

Srihari, the director of UB’s Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition and a SUNY Distinguished Professor of computer science and engineering, is being given this award due to his contributions to the fields of handwriting research and document analysis, as for his contributions to the local community.

Srihari went to Beijing to receive the award, and he served as the keynote speaker at the conference held by the International Association for Pattern Recognition.

-buffalo.edu

Fredonia

SUNY Fredonia held their sixth annual Sing a Cure For Breast Cancer event on Oct. 18.

The ceremony, which was sponsored by the school’s Birth Control Information Center, was a series of discussions and musical performances focused on letting breast cancer survivors tell their stories. A capella groups and other performers came together to support the cause.

All of the event’s proceeds go to the Circle of Love, a local group dedicated to supporting breast cancer survivors and those still dealing with the disease.

-observertoday.com

Cortland

Renowned geographer and University of Maryland professor John Rennie Short will discuss his collection of Aboriginal paintings at SUNY Cortland on Oct. 27.

In the lecture, which is being held as part of Cortland’s “Contemporary Aboriginal Art: Mapping Land, Representing Country” exhibition, Short will discuss the development of contemporary art in Central and Western Australia.

In addition to the 27 paintings, the exhibition will also consist of aerial maps of Australia and a sculpture.

-readmedia.com

Potsdam

SUNY Potsdam will hold the all-day event Chemtoberfest on Friday.

Chemtoberfest is a free campus carnival that will focus on family-friendly activities that demonstrate how chemistry is used in everyday things, such as the creation of candy and special effects in movies.

The event is being described as part fall festival and part science fair, with science demonstrations, crafts, giveaways and a chemistry magic show.

-northcountrynow.com