ODEI Explores Universal Design in Honor of Disability Pride Month

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — July 7, 2025) In celebration of Disability Pride Month, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion invites all members of the university community to explore the power of universal design (UD) in this month’s Reason & Respect: Unplugged! Join us in honoring disability pride by reading the Q&A below and sharing your reflections, questions, and experiences on our community discussion board. 

Universal design is a proactive approach that shapes workplaces, events, products, and learning environments to be accessible and inclusive—without requiring individuals to disclose a disability or request accommodations. By embracing universal design in the workplace, we create a community of belonging where people feel supported and uplifted in their work. 

In this article, Sine Rofofsky, Lindsay Infantino, and Aley O’Mara will share their perspectives. 

About the Interviewees:

Sine Rofofsky, Ph.D., is a returning student at Empire State University majoring in human services. They are passionate about DEI and have been involved in the Center for Autism Advocacy: Research, Education, and Supports (CAARES) as a peer mentor. With a background in education, they bring a thoughtful and engaged perspective to conversations around UD. In their free time, they enjoy reading cozy mysteries.   

Lindsay Infantino is a digital accessibility coordinator at SUNY Empire with previous experience in disability advocacy and as a writing instructor and tutor. Lindsay holds graduate degrees in creative writing and in higher education disability services, with research interests in disability studies and applications of universal design in academia and beyond. 

Aley O’Mara is the program associate and training coordinator for CAARES. They are autistic and have a collection of other neurodivergent and chronic illness experiences. 

What makes a workplace accessible to you? 

Sine: A workplace is accessible in two ways. The first is that it follows universal design so there is not as much to ask for in terms of it becoming accessible. Having to self-advocate is difficult: It ‘labels’ me; it can make me feel like I’m making others jealous (whether or not they are); I have to ‘justify’ why I need this accessibility accommodation; and I’m not always sure what I need. [Second,] when I do need to ask [for an accommodation], there’s an easy process and I’m not made to feel [like] ‘a burden’ or defensive. 

Lindsay: Flexibility, transparency, clear communication, and a good combination of trust and support are all accessibility considerations that I really value. But what is accessible for one person may not be accessible for another, so options become very important. An accessible workplace can take many different shapes. It can look like providing flexibility in schedules or opportunities to work on-site or from home. It can look like having conversations with employees about how they work best and what they need (or don’t need). It can mean offering comfortable office furniture that is supportive of a variety of bodies, or making sure products or materials are accessible to the employees who will be using them. It can mean offering multiple methods of communication to a colleague, describing visuals in presentations, or proactively providing captioning and interpreters at events. 

Aley: I chose a unionized remote work setting intentionally: I benefit from being able to curate my own physical workspace with minimal in-person interruptions to meet my autistic needs. 

What steps can be taken by individuals, colleagues, and supervisors to make the workplace more accessible? 

Sine: Follow UD principles from the beginning—be proactive, not reactive. Understand that people have different needs/preferences. 

Lindsay: [There are] two very simple but important steps that individuals can take. The first step is to always assume you may have a disabled colleague, student, instructor, supervisor, friend, family member, etc. If you assume disabled people are always in your audience, whether they tell you or not, then it becomes crucial to consider ways to make environments as accessible as possible by thinking through universal design principles and putting them into action. The second step is to listen (really listen) to disabled people when they say what they need or what is not working for them, and to believe them. 

Aley: Assume everyone you’re working with has access needs and ask upfront about how you can best communicate with colleagues! 

What are some elements of universal design in the workplace that often go unrecognized as universal design? 

Sine: UD in the workplace includes things as simple as elevators or stairs, automatic doors, shelving that is reachable without step stools, eye-level signs and displays [that people can see] while seated, adjustable seating, a variety of input devices, text-to-speech and speech-to-text [options], flex time, agendas before and minutes after meetings, materials available in print or electronic [formats], captioning, larger print/easier to read fonts, adjustable lighting, chair/desk options, adjustable height tables, and high contrast. 

Lindsay: Things like affordable health insurance, generous sick and vacation time, and fostering a culture where people are encouraged to take care of themselves are also examples of universal design. To push it even further, universal design in the workplace can also look like, where possible, giving an employee extra time to complete a project, just as an instructor might give a student an extension on an assignment. It can also look like evaluating quality over quantity of work, or working with employees to develop achievable goals specific to their strengths rather than relying on standardized performance metrics. 

Aley: I find performance programs to be a helpful access tool that is already built into our workplace. The collaborative process for filling it out helps me understand my role and my supervisor’s expectations in a clear and empowering way. My performance program is a great reference that helps both as a memory aid and as a way to keep my impulsive eagerness for new challenges in check! 

Is there anything else you would like to add? 

Lindsay: The term universal design can be misleading, because it doesn’t need to and shouldn’t be about creating a universal ideal environment where everyone’s access needs are perfectly met; that’s impossible. But what it is about is thinking through some of the most common accessibility barriers and, as much as possible, designing things to avoid those barriers from the beginning. It’s also about rejecting ableism and the ideas that environments should only be built with the needs of nondisabled people in mind, and only adjusted to be accessible when a disabled person asks for access through an accommodation request. 

Thank you for engaging with this conversation, and don’t forget to share your thoughts and questions on the community discussion board! 

Empire State University Launches New Colleges, Welcomes Deans

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — July 1, 2025) Empire State University officially launches five new colleges today, July 1. The move, which sees the university’s existing academic units transition from schools to colleges as part of a strategic restructuring, represents two years of planning and stakeholder engagement. 

According to Rai Kathuria, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the long-awaited reorganization enables SUNY Empire to “strengthen our academic infrastructure, integrate our approach to student success, and position the university for continuous improvement.”  

“The transition from schools to colleges marks an exciting new chapter in our university’s evolution, reflecting our commitment to expanding opportunities and promoting a collaborative academic environment,” he said. 

With this new academic structure comes a new era of leadership. The university acknowledges the longstanding dedication and service of its five outgoing deans—Nicola Allain, Desalyn De-Souza, Maureen Kroning, Audi Matías, and Mary Mawn—while also welcoming new ones. Three educators have joined SUNY Empire as inaugural deans: Carol DeNyscchen as the dean of the College of Health and Human Services, Ju Kim as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs as the dean of the College of Education. Two dean roles have been filled by current employees. Julie Gedro, who has been dean of SUNY Empire’s School of Business since 2020, now serves as dean of the College of Business while Gina Torino, formerly the interim dean of the university’s School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies, has been newly appointed the dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

“We warmly welcome our college deans, whose leadership will be pivotal in guiding us through this dynamic period of growth and innovation,” Kathuria said. 

Here, the leaders share in their own words their visions for their respective colleges.  

Carol DeNysschen  
Dean of the College of Health and Human Services 

“I am honored to join Empire State University as dean of the College of Health and Human Services. My vision is to foster a vibrant community of educators and staff dedicated to developing inclusive, flexible, and innovative programs. These programs will expand access for individuals seeking to make a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of diverse communities. I envision the college as an anchor for forward-thinking education—responsive to the evolving needs of society and foundational to strong, purpose-driven careers in health and human services.” 

Julie Gedro 
Dean of the College of Business 

“My vision is to position the College of Business as a leader in delivering rigorous and accessible business education that equips learners to navigate complexity, lead with integrity, and achieve meaningful career growth. We are building an academic environment grounded in professional relevance. Our students will engage with curricula that are informed by real-world challenges, global trends, and evolving workforce needs. I want our graduates to view their credentials not merely as steppingstones for career development, but as evidence of lifelong potential. They will leave our college prepared to lead, adapt, and contribute—whether in corporate, entrepreneurial, nonprofit, or public service settings.” 

Ju Kim 
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences 

“I am honored and excited to serve as the inaugural dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Empire State University. At the heart of my vision for the new college is a bold commitment to uniting the liberal arts with science and technology. By integrating the creative, critical, and analytical strengths of the humanities, arts, and sciences, the new college will prepare diverse students not just for jobs, but for the future. In an age shaped by artificial intelligence, our students will graduate with the adaptability, ethical grounding, and interdisciplinary skills to lead in any field.” 

Gina Torino 
Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 

“As inaugural dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, my vision is to lead a dynamic and inclusive academic community that directly addresses workforce development needs, preparing our students for immediate career success. We will accomplish this by providing relevant programs such as psychology, public policy and administration, labor studies, criminal justice, and others, all while cultivating an inclusive environment in which every voice is valued. Our commitment is to provide high-quality online education and culturally responsive support, enabling our graduates to effect positive change and make a significant contribution to their chosen fields and communities.” 
 
Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs 
Dean of the College of Education 
 
“The College of Education will be a leader in innovative approaches to education programs and certifications. I look forward to working closely with the faculty in the college to continue to build and grow as we meet the ever-changing demands and challenges in B-12 education. Together, we are committed to equipping educators with the tools students need to succeed in today’s dynamic educational landscape. Our programs are designed to be inclusive and adaptable to a wide range of learners, ensuring that every student can thrive. The flexibility of our online format provides educators with the opportunity to enhance their skills and advance their careers, all while balancing the demands of their professional and personal lives. ” 
 

Tzvi Simchon ’24: Keeping History Alive on Film

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — June 30, 2025) Decades after the Nazis invaded Poland and sent millions of Jews to concentration camps, a class of high school boys from an Orthodox Jewish high school in Brooklyn arrived in Warsaw to revisit their family history.  

Their trip is captured in a documentary called “Can These Bones Live Again?” filmed, directed, and produced by Tzvi Simchon ’24, a filmmaker who went along to document the 10-day trek as part of his final project at Empire State University. The film was featured in the Miami Jewish Film Festival earlier this year.

The 50-minute documentary, named for a phrase in the Biblical book of Ezekiel, follows the group as they tour concentration camps, mass gravesites, and memorials that pay homage to the Jewish community that was devastated during the Holocaust. They were joined at times by Dov Landau, a Holocaust survivor. The film also captures the Jewish culture that has since been revived.

Simchon says he wanted to create a film that would bridge the generations, especially as the number of Holocaust survivors dwindles and the incidence of anti-Semitism grows. “That whole generation is soon going to die away, which is very scary, especially with the rise of anti Semitism and hate of all kinds,” he says. “We need to preserve that legacy.”

Coming Back to Life

The trip to Poland was organized by Names Not Numbers, a nonprofit dedicated to Holocaust education through oral history and film. Simchon was ready to go on the trip as a student himself in 2020 when COVID struck. When the trip was revived three years later, Simchon was invited along, this time as a professional filmmaker. 

Simchon’s camera follows the students as they travel through Warsaw. “We were literally walking on the same grounds where a lot of our ancestors were murdered,” he says.

The students were often at a loss for words, especially at the concentration camps, where they saw showerheads that once spewed gas and piles of shoes and hairbrushes belonging to victims. Many students, Simchon says, were confused.

“It’s mindboggling to see that it’s possible, that something like this could ever happen,” one student says. “They built this massive camp, and it was open for three years without anybody stopping it. I can’t really wrap my mind around it. I can’t really understand it.”

Many of the visitors, including Simchon himself, had family members who died in the Holocaust. Some students had grandparents who came from Poland and discouraged them from going there. “There is an emotional distaste and trauma associated with it,” Simchon says.

To counter the horror, Simchon also included footage of Jewish music and dance, scenes of joy that show Jewish culture is alive and well today. “So, when the title asks, ‘Can These Bones Live Again?’ the answer is yes, they can,” he says. “We are the bones come back to life.”  

Filming With Legos

As a child, Simchon loved photography. He learned film editing from his father, a graphic artist who taught him how to make stop motion animation using Legos. His father also showed him the behind-the-scenes secrets to making the movie “E.T.”

“I fell in love with all the work that goes into creating something, and how hours and hours of work can go into a single minute of film,” he says.

In 8th grade, Simchon made a graduation film for his classmates. “It was the worst video I ever made, and they played it at our graduation ceremony,” he recalls. “Afterward, my mom was getting messages from her friends who saw the film and cried. I realized I had the ability to make people feel a certain way through my films. That’s the feeling I always chase.”

For Simchon, who now lives in Teaneck, NJ, the last few years have been a whirlwind. He graduated high school in 2020, took a gap year at a yeshiva in Israel, and launched his film production company in 2022. He got married in 2023 and his son was born this June.

In between, in 2024, he graduated with a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies from SUNY Empire where he learned the art of Holocaust filmmaking from Ruth Goldberg, Ph.D., a professor of film. “I owe a lot to SUNY Empire,” he says. “I would not have been able to work and pursue what I wanted to pursue and learn what I wanted to learn.”

While Simchon once dreamed of going to Hollywood, making “Can These Bones Live Again?” has kindled a new passion. “I’m not sure what the future holds, but making this movie created a love of documentary filmmaking for me,” he says. “I hope to one day tell more stories through documentaries.”

SUNY Empire Spotlight: June 2025

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — June 25, 2025) The latest news on research efforts, awards, grants, and media appearances from Empire State University faculty, staff, and leadership.  

Elizabeth Bradley, professor, edited and co-authored a book titled “Navigating Academic Motherhood: The Possibilities of Effective Mentorship for Tenured Faculty Mothers.” Assistant Professor Lauren Allen, Professor Diane Gal, Assistant Professor Blair Izard, Distinguished Teaching Professor Peggy Tally, Distinguished Teaching Professor Tina Wagle, and Assistant Professor Melissa Wells also served as co-authors.

Shantih Clemans and Debra Kram-Fernandez, both associate professors, presented at the International Association of Social Work with Groups annual symposium. Shantih presented “Joys, Frustrations, and Moments of Learning: Virtual Study Groups for Online Adult Learners.” Debra presented “The Women’s Therapy Center Institute Historical Project: The History of a Grass Roots Training Institute through a Social Work Group Work Lens” and “Engaging Aging: Using a Group Work Model to Promote Critical Thinking About Aging in America” (with co-presenter Lela Zaphiropoulos from the Women’s Therapy Centre Institute). 

Anita DeCianni-Brown, director of career and experiential learning services, presented “Scaling Career Supports for Nontraditional Students in an Online Environment” at the 2025 NACE Conference on June 10.  

Xiomara Giordano—assistant vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer—served as a panelist for the “Progress Under Pressure: Can We Still Deliver on the American Dream?” discussion hosted by the SUNY Global Center on June 18. Giordano also coordinated an event in collaboration with Hispanic Education Technology Services (HETS) held at 4 Park Avenue that day. The event, titled “Student Passport: Connect, Learn, and Lead,” promoted international connection and academic engagement, with five student presentations on subjects ranging from interior décor to health sciences. President Vollendorf addressed attendees and Digital Accessibility Coordinator Pam Doran presented on machine translation—a powerful resource built into the software used by the university community that facilitates multilingual communication in the landscape of higher education.    

Douglas Gruse, chief marketing officer, and members of the Marketing and Creative Services team attended SUNYCUAD’s 2025 Awards for Excellence ceremony, where they received Judges’ Citation awards in the Excellence in Creativity and Excellence in Strategy categories.  

Lynn Lubecki, assistant professor, has been named a consulting editor for the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) journal, Young Children, and NAEYC publications. 

Alan Mandell, professor emeritus, was the invited keynote speaker for the “President’s Dialogue Series” at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Vancouver, BC, on May 6. 

Njoki Mwarumba, assistant professor, spoke with Spectrum News 1 about how Canadian wildfires are impacting air quality in New York.  

Renee O’Brien, adjunct instructor, was featured in the National Association of Women Artists’ 136th Annual Exhibition, on display at New York’s Leonovich Gallery from June 6-21. The show highlighted one of O’Brien’s photographs.  

Shannon Pritting, executive director of the Office of Graduate Studies and Scholarly Support; Pam Doran, digital accessibility coordinator; Herbert Covington, assistant professor; Jolie Kennedy, assistant professor; and Hope Sun, associate professor, co-published an article, “AI-integrated Literature Discovery Tools: A Guide to Reviewing for Institution-wide Use,” in the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship. 

Ian Reifowitz, distinguished professor, appeared on France 24 and ARC Rochester to comment on the protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles and President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard and the Marines. In separate interviews with ARC Rochester this month, he discussed war and diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran, as well as the cease-fire and the constitutionality of President Trump’s actions.  

Kim Stote, associate professor, co-authored an article that was recently published in the Annals of Medicine.  

Betty Wilde-Biasiny, professor of visual arts, is featured in “New Drawings,” a juried group exhibition curated by Samantha Friedman of the Museum of Modern Art. On view at the Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn, the exhibition runs through July 20.  

Empire State University Set to Launch Nine New Academic Programs This Fall 

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 16, 2025) Empire State University’s Office of Academic Affairs has announced the introduction of nine new academic programs, which will begin enrolling students for the fall 2025 semester. These include a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in accounting; bachelor’s degrees in human services management and information technology; a master’s in organizational psychology; advanced certificates in higher education leadership and bilingual education (the latter with separate tracks for post-baccalaureate and post-master’s); and a certificate in labor studies. As part of this rollout, the university also plans to launch the previously announced Spanish BBA: SUNY’s first Spanish-language online degree program. 

“These new academic programs reflect SUNY Empire’s ongoing commitment to meeting the evolving needs of students and communities across New York state and beyond. By strategically expanding our offerings, we are equipping learners with practical, career-aligned skills that will empower them to make meaningful contributions in today’s evolving workforce,” says Rai Kathuria, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This is not just about launching new degrees; it’s about opening doors to opportunity, access, and sustainable success. I’m deeply grateful to our faculty and staff whose dedication, insight, and hard work made these launches possible.” 

Empire State University Student Wins Best of SUNY Art Award 

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 13, 2025) At the ripe age of 11, Caleb Rubright landed an opportunity to do something that few other tweens do: take a college course. 

“I actually entered an art competition, and I got to take a class at Monroe Community College (MCC) in 1991,” says the Rochester native, a visual arts student at Empire State University. “I remember walking into the college looking at all these 20-year-olds and being like, ‘Whoa, this is cool.’” 

It was a pencil drawing of a horse that earned Rubright his spot at MCC. And now, more than 30 years later, that same subject matter has garnered the longtime artist his latest accolade: a 2025 Best of SUNY art award, conferred during an in-person reception in Albany on May 30. Selected from pieces submitted by students throughout the SUNY system, Rubright’s acrylic-on-canvas painting “Wild Horses” was one of three works chosen for the award. Four other submissions received honorable mentions.  

Rubright (right) accepting his Best of SUNY Award. Courtesy photo

“It was a big surprise … I did not expect to win knowing that I’d be competing against [students from] dedicated art schools,” says the painter, whose 4-by-6-foot creation also won a SUNY Empire student art competition last fall. “It’s an honor.” 

Rubright—who first discovered his interest in art as a middle schooler, when his aunt took him to a local exhibition—has always sketched and painted images of animals. The neon color scheme on display in “Wild Horses,” though, has become a staple of his work in recent years. He says he first experimented with it while creating a painting of a Great White shark for his son.  

“It was naturally colored, and it was just boring. So I started playing around with neon colors,” he says, adding that the cheery palette soon caught on with customers of the commission-based art business he ran prior to enrolling at SUNY Empire. “I wanted to make things that were happy and made people smile … that’s the whole reason why I paint.” 

Associate Professor Jim Robinson Reflects on 50 Years at Empire State University

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 12, 2025) Fifty years have come and gone, but Jim Robinson still remembers his first day at Empire State University. It was 1975, and Robinson—then a Ph.D. candidate and teaching assistant at New York University—joined the faculty as a part-time instructor. 

“I was interviewed in a room full of about 30 to 40 people who were having a bag lunch. People sort of asked me questions at random while they ate their sandwiches,” he recalls. “The social work people wanted to know how I would talk to a student, and the art people wanted to know if I went to museums. The question really was, ‘Will you fit?’” 

Luckily for Robinson, currently an associate professor based on Long Island, it’s safe to say the answer was “yes.” Although his pre-Empire resume includes formative stints as a staff assistant for Congress and a labor relations assistant for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the longtime educator—who has two children and a granddaughter—views teaching as his true calling.  

“It fit me because it allowed me to work closely with people, and that was something that I valued,” he says of his first position at SUNY Empire.  

Robinson’s addition to the faculty made sense in other ways, too: Prior to his appointment, “I had gone through three different programs: a bachelor’s degree in literature, a master’s in history, and a Ph.D. in political science. And Empire was looking for generalists and people who worked interdisciplinary,” he explains. “It turned out that I have used at Empire every scrap of what I had ever learned in any program, and it has paid off in strange ways.” 

Robinson—an Oregon native who, as a child, moved around the country with his family before settling in New York—has held numerous positions at the university over the years. In addition to teaching, he has performed a wide variety of administrative roles including serving as the program director for the international Cyprus/Athens Unit in the early 1990s and chairing the graduate program in policy studies, which he helped develop. Through it all, though, his dedication to empowering his students has remained the same.  

“I’m interested in [students] developing the skill to learn for themselves, and that was right there from the very beginning for me,” Robinson says, noting that he encourages those who take his classes to think of him as a coach rather than a judge. “We were told the core of our mission was that people should be independent learners, and that just struck a chord with me. That’s probably the one thing that stayed with me throughout.” 

After half a century on the job, Robinson says other parts of the university’s stance on education have continued to resonate with him, too—namely its focus on “the broadening of peoples’ perspectives … and a commitment to get people to the point where they could participate publicly.” 

“That is civic education in the best sense,” he says.  

Introducing the 2025-2026 Scholars Across the University 

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 5, 2025) Empire State University has named two faculty members as the recipients of its annual Scholars Across the University award. Distinguished Professor Ian Reifowitz, Ph.D., and Assistant Professor Melissa Wells, Ed.D.—who also serves as the university’s director of teaching, learning, and faculty development—were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year. Supported by the SUNY Empire Foundation, Reifowitz and Wells will present their work to the university community beginning this September.  

About the Scholars:  

Ian Reifowitz  

A photo of Ian Reifowitz smiling
Ian Reifowitz

Ian Reifowitz will share material from his forthcoming book, “Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes through an Interdisciplinary Lens,” which looks at the language President Trump has leaned on over the course of his political career. 

“Given the importance of the position of President of the United States, and the particular expertise President Trump has demonstrated in using his public platform, my co-author Anastacia Kurylo and I felt it made sense to focus largely on his rhetoric, which relies heavily on stereotypes, and try to understand how and why this kind of rhetoric resonates with his base, which represents a significant segment of the American population,” Reifowitz explains.  

“Since we are all active participants in American society, I thought this research would be relevant to all members of the [SUNY Empire] community, whatever their particular areas of interest,” he continues. “I hope [it] will give people a better understanding of how political rhetoric works, and in particular why using stereotypes can succeed in persuading and motivating some voters to support the candidates who use them effectively.” 

Melissa Wells  

A photo of Melissa Wells smiling
Melissa Wells. Photo by Joseph O’Dea

Melissa Wells will present her research on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and digital engagement strategies. 

“My passion for UDL stems from its power to affirm all learners by making education both accessible and adaptive—especially for those who have historically been underserved. Integrating UDL principles with digital tools creates space for learners to engage on their own terms, without compromising academic rigor,” she says.  

“Our institution has a long tradition of personalized education, and this research reinforces that legacy while offering new frameworks to ensure consistency, equity, and innovation in a digital age,” Wells adds. “I hope my findings will prompt faculty and staff to reflect on how course structure and teaching practices—especially in asynchronous settings—can either support or unintentionally hinder student success. Even small design decisions can impact belonging, accessibility, and engagement.” 

ODEI Celebrates LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with Stories from Empire State University Community

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 4, 2025) Welcome to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’s Reason & Respect: Unplugged for the month of June! June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, and we invite you to celebrate with us by reading the lived experiences and stories of three Empire State University community members. We also encourage you to share your thoughts, questions, and stories via our community discussion board.  

In the following Q&A, we will hear from Nathaniel Gray, Bryant O’Donnell, and Ade Byron. 

About the Interviewees:  

Nathaniel Gray, MSW, is executive director of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, an external partner focused on queer equity that supports many schools in the area. They are a nonbinary leader with a master’s in social work from Fordham University and a focus on macro-level changes to improve life for queer New Yorkers. 

Bryant O’Donnell is a 2025 SUNY Empire graduate, former vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), and a current SGA senator. Bryant is founding executive director of Raising the Vibration and a spokesmodel for HIV Stops With Me. His story can be found here. 

Ade Byron is program manager in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SUNY Empire. Their background is in using restorative practices to build resilient communities of care and belonging, and they are currently pursuing their master’s in social work at the University at Albany. 

Can you share a bit about your identity and what being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community means to you? 

Nathaniel: As a person who grew up with all the bullying that comes with being an effeminate boy in rural America, it took a long time for me to understand that I was normal, but that culture and conditioning around me was not. As I grew older and identified as a gay man, I realized that I didn’t feel like I fit in much with the cis-gay man community and explored my gender identity through drag performance and more femme gender expression.  Because of how I was raised, I still have a lot of unlearning to do to just be myself. 
 
What it means to me to be in the queer community is that I have family who gets it. We often look at DEI from a lens of “vertical” marginalized communities, such as race, religion, and ethnicity, where the person has been marginalized from childhood, but typically raised by at least one parent who shares that marginal identity. Queer people are more akin to “horizontal” marginal communities, such as people living with disabilities: children who do not have a parent or a family member who can commiserate with the experience or teach them their history and support their growth. That is why the concept of chosen family isn’t just powerful for us; it is necessary to begin the process of understanding yourself and your history. 

Bryant: I’ve been gay since my youngest years of memory. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t come out and embrace it till I was 23! The ages of 23 to 33 were years of discovering love, myself, trauma, recovery, divorce, and eventually rehab. [It was a time of being] wild and out and [I] became HIV positive. 

Ade: I identify as nonbinary, which means I don’t identify as either male or female. I also identify as queer, which for me acts as an umbrella term that identifies me as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Being a part of this community and finding others that identify with the LGBTQIA+ community has taught me so much about myself and the world around me. It opened my eyes to a worldview I was never exposed to growing up and has given me a community of people who not only accept me but understand me. I feel like a part of something larger, a part of a group of people who have shown strength, resilience, and pride throughout history and today. 

Where have you found or created communities of care and belonging that support and uplift your identity/identities within Empire State University and beyond? 

Nathaniel: In meeting with the team working on DEI initiatives in the community, I have found family that understands our experiences and who I trust to share and defend the protections that queer students have. In my personal life, I’m someone who no longer has—and never really had—a mother. Although she is alive, her faith is one that excludes my existence and pathologizes me and the rest of our community. I’ve built a  network of chosen family that is stronger than I imagined possible to fill the gaps my own family has left behind. 

Bryant: My entire SUNY Empire support system. My student body and the SGA. 

Ade: I first found my LGBTQIA+ community when I went to college. There was a lot I didn’t know about the queer community and how I fit in, but there were people who took me in and held space for me as I found myself. These people became my chosen family and helped me build the confidence to show up authentically in the spaces I occupied. At SUNY Empire, I have found community in my co-workers, both those who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community themselves and those who are allies. I’ve also found community in those who aren’t familiar with the LGBTQIA+ community but take the time to ask questions and learn or make the effort to use my correct pronouns when they aren’t used to using they/them pronouns for individuals. 

What role has community played in your journey of self-discovery and living authentically? 

Nathaniel: What I love about being queer is that we choose authentic living over fear every day. For all of my feminine attributes, I know that I had to be braver and stronger at a very young age than any of the hyper-masculine cousins and uncles I have who talk a big game but could never choose authenticity over discomfort or fear. My inspiration to choose self and choose truth has come at a cost, and the peers and leaders of the queer community have modeled that bravery over and over again for me to learn from. It’s even allowed me the time and processing to see that there are more options for people assigned male at birth to exist in the queer space as something other than just a cis-gay man. Community visibility gives me strength, inspiration, and joy. 

Ade: I was only brave enough to come out as queer after I watched people I looked up to do it first. They showed me that it was possible to exist as my full self in a space where I didn’t know it was possible to do so. Having those two role models led me to let people know who I was and then be a part of a larger community that taught me about different identities and labels until I found the ones that felt right for me. My community has helped me find home in every place I’ve been by recommending LGBTQIA+ community spaces, resources, events, and even things like cafes and healthcare.  

Thank you for engaging with this conversation and don’t forget to share your thoughts and questions on the community discussion board! 

Empire State University Student Named Director of Veteran and Military Services at SUNY New Paltz

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(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – June 3, 2025) From working in accessibility and accommodations to tackling more administrative positions, Donald “Donnie” Martin has worn many hats as a higher education professional. Now, the Kingston resident—who is currently pursuing an M.A. in higher education at Empire State University—is taking on a new role: director of the Office of Veteran & Military Services at SUNY New Paltz. 

For Martin, who earned his bachelor’s degree in adolescent education at New Paltz in 2011, the job is a natural fit. Not only has he worked as the office’s assistant director since 2023, but he is also a veteran. Following in the footsteps of his parents, both of whom served in the military, Martin was enlisted in the U.S. Navy from 2002 to 2006. While he says he didn’t start out in higher ed with the specific goal of catering to military-affiliated students like himself, he acknowledges that his personal experiences as a service member—combined with the wide-ranging work he’s done for colleges including Marist and Vassar—gives him a unique outlook on this population of learners.  

“I’m a higher education professional that happens to be a veteran. Sometimes I think that’s better because I understand how the field works versus just being a veteran advocating for veterans,” Martin says, noting that he’s also held positions in departments such as academic affairs. “I like that I took the path that I did because it gave me time to learn more about how institutions operate … I’ve gotten to understand how different divisions work and how to help veterans and their dependents navigate that system.” 

Being back in school as a student at SUNY Empire is also broadening his perspective, he says. In addition to gaining a better understanding of the needs of non-traditional learners through his coursework, Martin says the experience has helped him further empathize with his students. 

“It’s helped me be more supportive and has also made me more relatable because a lot of my students know I’m doing this and they’ll ask, ‘How’re your classes going?’” he says. “So, it’s giving me more stuff to talk to them about.” 

On track to graduate next May, Martin decided to work toward his master’s at SUNY Empire after realizing his bachelor’s degree “had taken [him] as far as it would go” in higher ed. Still, he admits that the idea of returning to school “terrified” him, both in terms of shouldering the expense and wondering whether he was up to the challenge academically. Luckily, Martin’s state employee benefits and recent changes to New York State’s Veteran Tuition Award—which make him newly eligible for tuition assistance this fall—have significantly reduced costs. And as for his academic concerns? Martin, who describes himself as a historically “average student,” is thriving.  

“It’s been just a really great experience. The professors are really smart people, and they’ve made the programs very easy to follow along,” he says.  

Martin—who, after being the first in his family to receive a bachelor’s degree, will be the first of his relatives to earn a master’s—notes that the staff at the university’s Veteran & Military Resource Center have been helpful, too. 

“They check in each semester to see if I need to use any benefits or anything,” he says, adding that he was drawn to SUNY Empire for its reputation as a “very veteran-friendly school.” “It’s definitely been a supportive environment for adult learners, and a lot of the resources are easy to use.” 

It’s the type of setting Martin strives to offer his own military-affiliated students at SUNY New Paltz, where he’ll officially assume his new director role in early June.  

“Only 1% of the nation joins the military, so it’s important to me to give back to them,” he says. “A lot of people join the military because they can’t go to college. The military is why I got a college degree, and I like being a part of helping the next generation do that [because] I know what that sacrifice means. I know how great that benefit is, and I like being a part of ensuring they get to maintain it.”