Dr. Kristin Poppo, of Belmont, Mass., has accepted the position of vice president of Academic Affairs at Alfred State.
Most recently, Poppo has been associate provost and executive director of regional centers and the National Institute of Teaching Excellence at Cambridge College.
Poppo has held teaching positions at colleges in Vermont, North Carolina, and Washington. She was head of graduate and professional studies at IslandWood/University of Washington from 2001 to 2008 and director of extended learning at Olympic College, a Washington State community college, from 2008 to 2011.
Poppo has served in the Solomon Islands as a community development worker/medical discharge with the U.S. Peace Corps and has held chaplaincy internships at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital and Goddard Chapel at Tufts University. She has also served on numerous committees in leadership and membership positions, published articles, given numerous presentations, and has been awarded two fellowships.
Poppo received her Ph.D. in the social and philosophical foundations of education from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; her master’s in divinity from Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.; her master’s in teaching/environmental communications from Antioch University – New England in Keene, N.H.; and her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion with a minor in women’s studies from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.
Dr. Robert Curry has been appointed dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Alfred State.
Curry joined the Alfred State faculty in 2004 and served as department chair for English and Humanities from 2008-2013, and as interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences in 2013-2014. He is New York’s higher education representative to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and serves on PARCC’s Core Leadership Review Committee and New York’s English Language Arts Content Advisory Panel—groups that guide development of state and national Common Core-aligned assessments. He has also worked on Common Core-aligned standards and assessment projects for the U.S. Department of Education and with the GED Testing Service.
As dean, Curry is responsible for leading more than 70 faculty and staff. The school, with an annual budget of about $3 million, includes seven departments (Agriculture and Veterinary Technology, English and Humanities, Mathematics/Physics, Nursing, Physical and Life Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Student Success Center) offering 19 programs to more than 1,250 students.
Curry holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut; a master’s in English from California State University, Chico; and a bachelor’s in creative writing and comparative literature from San Francisco State University.
Dr. Craig Clark,dean of the School of Applied Technology, successfully defended his dissertation “Funding Local Rural Highways” on July 14 and has completed all requirements for his Ph.D. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, NC.
Clark was also a panelist at the Oct. 9 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Conference titled "Investing In Appalachia's Youth" in Florence, AL. He discussed a construction-related overview of the region's STEM jobs and Alfred State’s programs that target them.
Dr. Richard Kellogg, professor emeritus of psychology at Alfred State, is the author of an article appearing in the most recent issue of “The Serpentine Muse,” a quarterly literary journal. The article, titled “Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Sherlockian,” summarizes the life and literary legacy of Gilman (1860-1935), a prominent writer and a crusader in the feminist movement.
Lucas Bayus, of Alfred Station, a business administration (BBA) major at Alfred State, has been named the 2013-2014 Alfred State Student Employee of the Year. Bayus works in the Marketing and Communications Office and was nominated by his supervisors, Deb Root, senior director of Marketing and Communications, and Molly Andrus, graphic designer. Students are nominated on the basis of reliability, initiative, quality of work, disposition, and contribution to employer.
Bayus’ duties included photographing events and activities on campus, which require excellent technical and photographic skills; good communication and people skills; a good eye for a picture; and being proficient in uploading photos to Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube.
Dr. Kathleen Ebert, chair of the Mathematics and Physics Department; Tammy Brackett, chair of the Digital Media and Animation Department; and Kandi Geibel, senior associate director of Admissions, have been selected for the Western New York Consortium of Higher Education Women’s Leadership Institute, which is intended for women who are preparing for higher education senior leadership positions.
Tammy Brackett, chair of the Digital Media and Animation Department, presented a solo art exhibit titled “Deer Dear” at the Syracuse University Art Galleries in Syracuse.
William Dean, chair of the Architecture and Design Department, delivered a presentation titled “Community Visualization Studies in New York's Southern Tier: Engaging Students to Help Create Sustainable Communities” as part of the first annual AIANYS Design Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY. The presentation featured work from senior architectural technology students in the Urban Design Studio as well as ongoing community engagement projects by students involved with the Southern Tier Architectural Resource (STAR) Center. This was the first time that a member of the architecture faculty has been invited to present at a statewide conference sponsored by the New York State Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Dr. Kathleen Ebert, chair of the Mathematics and Physics Department, and Dr. Earl Packard, professor in the Alfred State Mathematics and Physics Department, served as College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Program readers in Kansas City, MO for seven days in June 2014.
Ebert was selected to score AP statistics for more than 183,000 student exams with nearly 700 college faculty and AP teachers from around the world.
Packard was selected to score AP calculus exams for more than 407,000 student exams with more than 1,000 college faculty and AP teachers from around the world.
David Haggstrom, director of libraries, received the Community Service Award from the Catherine Schuyler Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) at the chapter’s luncheon meeting in Wellsville on Sept. 18. The award recognizes “a worthy individual for voluntary achievement in cultural, education, humanitarian, patriotic, historical citizenship, or environmental conservation endeavors.”
Dr. Ron Rhoades, curriculum coordinator of financial planning in the Business Department, recently published his new book, “Choose to Succeed in College and in Life: Continuously Improve, Persevere, and Enjoy the Journey.”
Jeffrey Stevens is the new chair of the Electrical Trades Department. He replaces Jim Jerla, who retired at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year, completing 29-plus years of service at Alfred State.