SUNY Empire Spotlight: January 2025

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — January 30, 2025) The latest news on research efforts, awards, grants, and media appearances from Empire State University faculty and staff.
Anita DeCianni Brown, Melissa Zgliczynski, Noor Syed, and Lauren Allen will participate in the Pathways to Inclusion project, which is sponsored by the Office of Disability Resources at SUNY System Administration, in collaboration with the SUNY Career Development Organization (CDO) and John Robinson, president and CEO of Our Ability. SUNY Empire was one of six SUNY schools chosen to participate in the program, which runs from January-August 2025. Together, Robinson and the teams at SUNY Empire will create and implement a strategic plan focused on empowering students with disabilities.
Alison Brust, assistant director of virtual student services in 1Stop Student Services, will be featured in Ocelot’s Automatic Content Generation Masterclass series on January 30, 2025.
Nadine Fernandez, professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Science, authored the opening chapter of “Intersections of Tourism, Migration, and Exile”, which won the Edward M. Bruner Prize for best book published in 2022-2024 by the Council on Heritage and the Anthropology of Tourism at the American Anthropological Association.
Cherrelle Hall, assistant to the vice president of Enrollment Management and Marketing, will be presenting at the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education’s Annual Conference March 29-April 1 in Washington, DC. Her proposal is “Authenticity, Empathy, and Leadership: Perspectives of Black Women Administrators in Academia.”
Tom Mackey, professor in the School of Arts and Humanities, was featured in a discussion “Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, and Civic Discourse: SUNY Core Competencies in the FIT Classroom” on January 24.
Njoki Mwarumba, assistant professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Science, was featured in WXXI’s segment “Dialogue on Disability: Disaster preparedness often excludes people with disabilities; how do we prevent tragedies?”
Ian Reifowitz, distinguished professor in the School of Arts and Humanities, was featured in France 24 for political commentary on Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Shaun Richman, program director, spoke about Trump and the labor movement in MSN.
Gayle Stever, professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Science, published an article in The Amplifier Magazine titled “Understanding Cameo: Research on a new social media service”. Stever was also featured in an article by The Washington Post about Hope Walz’s videos and their effect on Democrats, and in the New York Times about a Tik Tok star with a terminal illness. Stever also spoke on The Ringer NFL Show, “There’s Something About Josh”.
Libby Tsibulsky, director of health and wellness programs, was featured in the Daily Gazette and WXXI on her work with Empire State University’s virtual food pantry.
Victoria Vernon, associate professor in the School of Business, coauthored two papers that were mentioned in the 2025 Economic Report of the President.