OWWR: Old Westbury Web Radio

Dr. Debra Handel Appointed to SUNY Old Westbury College Council

Debra Handel, Ph.D., a resident of Shoreham, New York, has been named a member of the College Council of SUNY College at Old Westbury.

A school psychologist with the Middle Country Central School District and an adjunct professor at Suffolk Community College, Dr. Handel has spent a more than 20-year career working in education and philanthropic endeavors on Long Island.

"Dr. Debra Handel has spent her career working with young people and helping them create successful lives," said College President Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III. "Her role on the College Council will enable her to continue on that path through the leadership and guidance she will offer as we move our College forward. I look forward to working with her for the betterment of our students and our Long Island home."

Along with her professional responsibilities, Dr. Handel is founder and currently a board member of Long Island Adolescent and Family Services, a not-for-profit organization that provides emergency shelter for homeless, abused, and neglected youth. She has also served since 1999 as a member of the Mental Health Response Team for the Suffolk County Department of Health.

Source: oldwestbury.edu

5/11/2007 Final News Show

Featured Stories:

Year in review of NCATE, our Student Government Association, Panther sports, our campus events, and our outstanding students and professors. 

Listen to our show: Web_Radio_News_Show 25.mp3

This will be our last live broadcast of the Web Radio News Show for the spring. Our news team would like to thank the entire college community for listening.

Thank you to all the students, staff, and faculty members that submitted news ideas that have contributed to past news shows.

A special thank you to Michael Kinane, Assistant to the President for Advancement and Dr. Calvin O. Butts the III, President of SUNY College at Old Westbury.

Have a great summer,

Donato Palumbo II, OWWR News Director.

Welcome To SUNY Old Westbury!

Hello OW Family,

On behalf of the Division of Student Affairs, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ron West to the position of Assistant to the Dean of Students. In this capacity Mr. West will liaison with various campus constituencies in order to form student service coalitions and support networks to help establish a more nurturing campus environment and out-of-classroom learning experience.

Ron West brings twelve years of Student Affairs experience to SUNY Old Westbury, joining us after serving as Director of Career Development at both Borough of Manhattan Community College and Medgar Evers College, as well as serving as President of the City University of New York's Career Services Association from 1996 thru 2003 and an instructor at the Brooklyn Economic Opportunity Center. He received his Master of Arts Degree in Media Studies/Communications from The New School and is completing his Master of Science Degree in Higher Education Administration at Baruch College.

Ron West can be reached at (516) 876-3071 and [email protected]. His office is in Suite 303/Student Union. Please feel free to reach out and welcome him to the OW family.

Wayne Edwards, Dean of Students

Year In Review: Student Government Association

Our Student Government had conflicts, difficulties, and many challenges this academic year.

SGA started the Fall 2006 semester with a full executive board which consisted of Ms. April Davis (President), Mr. Isaiah Valentine (Vice President), Ms. Julie Clarke Douglas (Treasurer), Ms. Sheila Wilson-Wells (Executive Senate Secretary), Ms. Alycia Vasquez (Governess of Social Affairs), Mr. Justin Toro (Executive Staff Officer), and Mr. Chris Dallas (Public Relations Manager). By the end of the spring semester, only Ms. April Davis, Ms. Sheila Wilson-Wells, Ms. Alycia Vasquez, and Mr. Justin Toro were still in their positions.

In November, a motion to impeach Mr. Dallas for failure to carry out his executive duties as public relations manager was passed by the student senate. Mr. Dallas resigned from his position before any further action could take place.

Ms. Julie Clarke Douglas was relieved of all Treasurer duties in the middle of the spring 2007 semester because an investigation. All clubs were able to have events but had to go through Ms. Susanne McLoughlin, Director of Student Activities, for all check requests. At the same time, Mr. Valentine was removed from his position due to academic probation.

An application to impeach Ms April Davis was submitted by Ms. Julie Clarke Douglas shortly after in a student senate meeting. Ms. Douglas stated Ms. Davis should be impeached on grounds of nonfeasance and misfeasance which are both reasons an SGA official may be impeached. The Student Senate passed the motion and scheduled the impeachment trail. They also unanimously voted to submit a request to administration to have Ms. Davis hand in her SGA office keys. In the event that Ms. Davis did get impeached, it was stated that her duties will be distributed to the remaining Student Government Association Members.

The impeachment trail was halted when Dean Wayne Edwards addressed the senators at an emergency student senate meeting. He referred students to Article 11 section 2A of the SGA Constitution which states that the plaintiff must submit the charges in writing to the three branches (Executive Board, Student Senate and Student Court) of the Student Government Association. Dean Edwards stated that there is a Student Senate but the Executive Board is in disarray and there is no Student Court at this time. According to SGA’s own constitution, Dean Edwards explained, the impeachment proceedings can not take place. Dean Edwards stated that SGA has more pressing matters on their plate than impeaching the SGA president.

Dean Edwards further explained that President Butts was developing a campus wide committee to offer oversight for at least the duration of this semester in SGA matters and students woud definitely be on that committee. He requested that the Emergency Student Senate meeting be adjourned until that committee has been established because the committee will help determine the best way for the college to productively move forward.

A petition demanding the impeachment of the Student Government Association current members due to unprofessional, unorganized, and the demeaning behavior of SGA started to circulate during the 2007 spring semester. The petition was signed by over 300 students and set forth a chain of events. SUNY auditors visited our college campus on March 8th and March 9th to investigate SGA financial records. Dr. Butts was advised by SUNY Central to strengthen the colleges internal controls based on the preliminary findings.

President Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III also appointed members to the Presidential Committee to Assist the Student Government Association. The committee was made up of students, faculty and staff with the short term goals of assist in facilitating upcoming elections and to assist with funds programming, events and activities. Their long term goal were to assist in the restoration of SGA to the organization that has long and ably served in the best interest of our student body.

An election sub-committee was formed due to the current executive board vacancies that made the creation of an election committee impossible according to the Student Government Association Constitution. The election sub-committee was given full authority to oversee the spring 2007 Student Government elections after senators unanimously passed a vote in an unofficial emergency senate meeting that was held on March 28th.

The Student Government Association candidate application deadline had to be extended because of a lack of applications. To help encourage students to submit applications, our college president sent a college wide email. Dr. Butts urged interested students to take part in our campus' democratic process and reminded them apathy should not be an option when it comes to the SGA.

The May 7th and 8th Student Government Association elections were not free of controversy. Many Candidates complained that the 50 feet marker was not defined and that administrators were not at the tables at all times during the elections. Other candidates voiced concerns of campaigning rules were not followed by other candidates.  All concerns will be addressed to the election sub-committee meeting to held on May 11.

The results of the elections were announced on May 9th. The new executive board has a mixture of new individuals and previous SGA e-board officials. As of now, our Student Government Executive Branch for the next academic year will be Ms. Maziely Crisostomo (President), Ms. Sheri Bailey (Vice President), Ms. Qudsia Osmani (Treasurer), Ms. Chanelle Bland (Executive Senate Secretary), Ms. Alycia Vasquez (Governess of Social Affairs), and Mr. Jimmy Boone (Public Relations Manager).

Donato Palumbo II

(Donato Palumbo II is a member of the Presidential Committee and the Elections Sub-Committee.)

Year In Review: Panther Sports

The Men’s Soccer Team finished their season winning 5 games, losing 12 and tying in 2 games this past season and will start next season without graduating Senior Alex Renwart.

The Women’s Volleyball Team finished their season with a school record of 23 victories and only 15 losses reaching the skyline conference finals. Graduating seniors are Stacy Dubin, Jessica Ratchford, Nihal Boz, Vanessa Arias, Jennifer Hoyt, Janera Johnson, Jasmin Hernandez and Jennifer Ragone.

The Men and Women Swimming Teams will be losing Seniors Ya Shao, Bryan Aschendorf, Damian Bergamaschi, Bryan Hannibal, Brian Smith.

The Men’s Basketball Team finished their season winning 18 games and losing 11 games but making it to the conference finals only to come up short. They will start next season without Seniors Derek Deloney and Dan Kane.

The Women’s Basketball Team finished their season winning 13 games and losing an equal 13 games during the season. Departing seniors are Dana Purnell, Jennifer Hoyt, Janera Johnson, and Jessica Lippolis.

The Men’s Baseball Team finished their season winning 16 games and losing 18 games during the season. Departing Seniors Darly Alcantara, William Rada, Ricardo Pena, Jesse Germanario, Greg Jones, Roberto Bravo, Peter Reyes, Matt Schramm, Felipe Martinez, Alan Anderson and John Limberis.

The Women’s Softball Team finished their season winning 10 games and losing 22 games during the season. Departing Seniors Nihal Boz, Sheyra Veras, Jennifer Ragone, Janera Johnson, Katora Russell and Kelly Fegan.

For full details of our Panther teams, go to oldwestburypanthers.com.   

(The Catalyst: Submitted by Edmond Easton, Editor-in-Chief/Sports Editor)

Year In Review: Our Campus Events

The 2006/2007 academic year had many events for our college community. We were able to enjoy guest speakers, learn from educational functions, and just have fun during entertaining events.

The first important event for our college community was the 9/11 ceremony with guest speaker Mr. Rudy Washington, former Deputy Mayor. After Mr. Washington's speech, Dean Wayne Edwards presented him with a gift of appreciation on behalf of the school. The National Anthem was sung by a member of the Shekinah Chorale.  Ms. April Davis, President of the Student Government Association, read the names of the seven alumni that had perished in the attacks.  At the close of the ceremony, a rendition of “Taps” was performed by Professor Caroline Sawyer.

Guest speaker, Mr. James McBride, author of The Color of Water visited our campus as well. The evening started with James McBride attending a dinner with all the winners of the First-Year student essay contest. At the dinner, students and faculty were able to meet the author, share their views on the book and ask him questions. After the dinner, the student union multipurpose room was filled to capacity to hear James McBride expressed his feelings about education celebrities.

Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi came to Old Westbury at the invitation of the School of Business. He was welcomed to the campus by the Dean of the School of Business Dr. N.J. Delener. Mr. Suozzi spoke before a crowd of students, faculty and staff in the recital hall of Campus Center. He discussed property taxes, affordable housing, economic development, mass transit, and the difficulties posed by the complicated patchwork of local governments in Nassau County.

NYPIRG started its academic year with rock the vote. Students from Old Westbury and Nassau Community College gathered in the student union lounge to watch the election results as they rolled in. Next, NYPIRG traveled to Albany with our students to lobby for the Bigger Better Bottle Bill to be put into the state budget. Other NYPIRG events included a clothing drive, Earth day, and the homeless sleep out.

The Women’s Center sponsored a two day conference on "Confronting Sexual Violence in/through Hip Hop" during Women History month. President Calvin O. Butts III offered his views as a both a critic and a supporter of the traditional power of spoken word.

Through out the year, of our college community was kept busy.

Donato Palumbo II

Year In Review: Outstanding Students and Professors

SUNY College at Old Westbury demonstrated its excellence through our students and professors this academic year.

Students that received awards and recognition for their outstanding work included:

• Psychology major senior April Davis was presented with a 2007 Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence by SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan.

• Senior Louis Caruso was rewarded with honorable mention during the Long Island College Art Competition Reception at Stony Brook University. Mr. Caruso is a Visual Arts major who was recognized for his painted wooden sculpture of a stool whose legs are melting into a pool of liquid.

• Graduating senior Laura DiBari will end her college career by earning the Old Westbury President's Medal for Scholarship which is the College's highest student honor.

SUNY Old Westbury professors that received awards and made news included:

• Dr. Judith Walsh, chair of the History and Philosophy Department, was one of only 30 faculty members across SUNY that was presented a Research and Scholarship Award by The Research Foundation of the State University of New York.

• Dr. George Stefano, distinguished teaching professor of biological sciences, was named chair of the new Committee on Research by the board of trustees of the Research Foundation of the State University of New York. Dr. Stefano was also named the senior consultant by a Chinese association on human health issues organized by the Chinese Ministry of Health.

• Dr. Henry Teoh, distinguished service professor in the Chemistry and Physics Department, was one of 14 recipients of the inaugural "Education Partner Award".

• Professor Elizabeth Ewen, distinguished teaching professor of the American Studies Department, received many high reviews from critics on the book Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality in most major book stores. Professor Ewen co-wrote the book with her husband, Stuart Ewen.

• Professor Karl Grossman, Media and Communications program within the American Studies Department, delivered a presentation at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico concerning Native Americans and the nuclear fuel cycle.

• Dr. Johg Pil Lee, distinguished service professor of Mathematics, Computers & Information Science, was one of the inaugural inductees into the new Long Island Mathematics Educators Hall of Fame.

Year In Review: NCATE

On October 16th and October 17th , our campus received a visit from the NCATE accreditation team. NCATE, short for The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, is the highest accreditation for teacher education that a college can receive. The NCATE accreditation team evaluated the entire college, not just the School of Education. This was a very important visit that would have determined our school’s eligibility to receive accreditation.

SUNY College at Old Westbury received notification that it has been accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education on April 24. This accreditation is a sign of excellence and demonstrates our School of Education has met the highest national professional standards. Our campus joins a group of only 632 colleges and universities to have earned NCATE accreditation.

The accreditation was necessary because SUNY Old Westbury would not have been allowed to continue with offering teacher education courses. Accreditation is now required for all New York state teacher education programs by the state education department which the deadline for all schools to get accreditation was December 31st, 2006.

In a campus wide email, President Butts said,

“Congratulations to all the faculty of the School of Education and to Interim Dean Ruben Gonzalez on their accomplishment. Thank you also to the faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences and to Interim Dean Jim Llana for their ongoing collaboration with the School of Education regarding our middle childhood and adolescence education programs. Lastly, thank you to Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Patrick O’Sullivan for providing the leadership to see our campus through this process.”

School of Education currently has over 500 students enrolled.

Donato Palumbo II

Psychology Major Wins Old Westbury President's Medal for Scholarship, College's Highest Student Honor

Laura DiBari, a graduating senior at SUNY College at Old Westbury and a resident of North Massapequa, New York, will end her college career by earning the College's highest student honor - the Old Westbury President's Medal for Scholarship.

"This is an honor won as a graduating senior, but it can only be earned through stellar efforts throughout a collegiate career at Old Westbury," said College President Calvin O. Butts, III, in presenting the President's Medal to DiBari during the College's Convocation to Honor Academic Excellence. "You are a fine example of what can be accomplished through hard work and a dedication to succeed. I am proud to stand with you here today and even more proud to be the president of the College at which you earned your undergraduate degree."

DiBari will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology after having earned a 4.0 grade point average at Old Westbury. Along with earning induction into Psi Chi, the national honor society in the field of Psychology, she has been named to the Dean's List in the School of Arts and Sciences and been inducted into the campus' honor society.

In June 2007, she will take her place as a New York City Board of Education Teaching Fellow to begin her career in education.

Making DiBari's achievements even more distinctive was her perseverance through a serious medical condition which required and array of surgeries and treatments during the period in which she studied towards her degree.

"Laura DiBari learned throughout the adversity she has experienced," noted President Butts. "Equally important, though, is the lesson we can all learn from the dedication she has shown to her education and her community."

While maintaining her own high level of academic achievement, DiBari has found time to provide service to the greater community. She has worked with mentally and physically handicapped school-aged children at the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, served as a homecare therapist for children with special needs, and worked with children with autism and developmental delays at a local community center.

DiBari's accomplishments as a student were best summed up by Psychology Department Chairperson B. Runi Mukherji, who wrote in her nomination for DiBari: "She is the student that we all as faculty covet: smart, hardworking, perceptive, inquisitive and eager. She is tenacious in her quest for understanding of complex issues; she is never afraid to address difficult questions, and responds to challenges with a scholarly attention to detail that is far beyond what one might expect from an undergraduate."

Source:  oldwestbury.edu

Student Government Election Results

Results for the Student Government Elections held on May 7 & 8:

592 Old Westbury Students voted during the 24 hours of elections.

Executive Board (Executive Branch)

President:

Maziely Crisostomo  265

Sheila Wilson-Wells 250

Vice President:

Sheri Bailey 440

Treasurer:

Qudsia Osmani 185

Isabel Saavedra 91

Erik Sisenwein 85

Justin Toro 162

Governor of Social Affairs:

Shadi Alagheband 237

Alysia Vazquez 273

Executive Senate Secretary:

Chanelle Bland 250

Jasmin Velazquez 209

Public Relations Manager:

Jimmy Boone 414

Student Court (Judicial Branch)

Chief Justice:

Majok Chol 232

Lauren Santiago 250

Student Senate (Legislative Branch)

Senior Class President:

Tiffany Tait 162

Junior Class President:

Iman Ture 107

Sophomore Class President:

Adesuwa Enabulele 67

Natalie Lopez 39

Harman Preet Kaur 32

Residential Representatives (2)

Alexandria Ayala 185

Trianna Charles 200

Rajiny Nestor 144

Alanzo G. Phillips, Jr. 133

Commuter Representatives (2)

Clarissa Martinez 333

William Parris 206

Management, Marketing and Information Systems Senator:

Angelica Goddette 424

School of Arts and Sciences Senators:

American Studies/Media & Communications Senator:

Selena Hill 343

Shelley Mendoza 149

Biological Sciences Senator:

Ciara Bagnall 425

Psychology Senator:

Dana Vass 400