December Commencement Ceremonies

Commencement Ceremonies Recognize 2020, December 2021 Graduates

SUNY Oswego held two in-person Commencement ceremonies on Dec. 11 in the newly renamed Deborah F. Stanley Arena and Convocation Hall—one for December 2021 graduates, and a second, separate ceremony to officially confer the degrees upon members of the Class of 2020. Two accomplished alumni offered words of inspiration to the nearly 700 graduates at the two ceremonies.

The 9:30 a.m. ceremony celebrating the Class of 2020 featured Jeff Knauss ’07, a serial entrepreneur, an angel investor and a co-founder of Digital Hyve agency and Profound (profoundmastermind.com). The 12:30 p.m. ceremony featured Mark Baum ’81, chief collaboration and commercial officer for the Food Marketing Institute— The Food Industry Association. Knauss and Baum, both members of the Oswego College Foundation Board of Directors, also earned honorary doctorate degrees in humane letters from SUNY for their service to the institution, the business world and society in general. “Strength of purpose and strength of character (AKA grit) have been the essential partners for you to obtain your academic degrees,” said President Deborah F. Stanley in her last address to graduates before her retirement. “Draw on the foundations that you have built while you’ve been here. Use your intellect well. Use it always in collaboration with others, with your determination and imagination. So that when your voice is needed—and it will be needed in your family, in your work, in your community—you are prepared and motivated to get involved and wrestle with the issues of our time. They are ever-present and ever-changing and will forever need you.”

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“I’m particularly honored to be a part of today’s Commencement ceremony, the last that President Stanley will preside over, as she finishes out her extraordinary career and tenure on this campus—a campus that she leaves in a much better place than she found it. We’re all the beneficiaries of her hard work and dedication. “Thank you, President Stanley, for all that you’ve done for transforming our campus, expanding our curriculum, enriching the lives of our students and providing much needed access to those in search of higher education regardless of their background or their socioeconomic status. Also as part of your legacy, you leave us as a diverse, inclusive and representative institution on sound financial footing with a growing endowment for future generations. Thank you, President Stanley. ” — Mark Baum ’81, chief collaboration and commercial officer for FMI—

The Food Industry Association and 2021 SUNY honorary degree recipient

Novelis Gift to Fund Two New Scholarships for SUNY Oswego Students

Novelis, an industrial aluminum company in Oswego, donated $150,000 to SUNY Oswego to endow two scholarships for students with financial need in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Gathering in SUNY Oswego’s Culkin Hall on Dec. 9, 2021, to celebrate the establishment of the Novelis Path Forward Scholarships were: (from left) Jeff Cruse, Novelis Oswego plant manager; Scott Furlong, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs; Deborah F. Stanley, president; Kristin Croyle, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Marianne Hromalik, associate professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Andrew Quinn, Novelis director of human resources; and Antonio Chagas, Novelis engineer and member of the college’s Engineering Advisory Board.