For Release:         Immediate – March 29, 2016

Contact:                Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations ­

 (518) 956-7359 | jgretzinger@sunypoly.edu

SUNY Poly Students Earn SUNY’S Highest Honor

Two to Receive Chancellor’s Award at Albany Ceremony April 5

Utica, NY – Reflecting Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s commitment to giving students access to world-class academic opportunities throughout New York State, SUNY Polytechnic Institute today announced students

[caption id="attachment_21889" align="alignright" width="225"] Shannon Kern of Whitesboro[/caption]

and Kyle Waldeck of Sauquoit have been chosen to receive this year’s Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. The award honors SUNY students who have best demonstrated and been recognized for their integration of academic leadership, athletics, career achievement, community service and creative and performing arts. Kern and Waldeck will be honored April 5 at a ceremony at the Empire State Convention Center in Albany recognizing Chancellor’s Award recipients from across the state.

“SUNY Poly encourages its students to be well rounded individuals who display the same level of passion and dedication for both their studies and their extra-curricular interests and activities. Shannon and Kyle have emerged as leaders in both the classroom and the community and we are extremely proud of them,” said Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, President and CEO of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. “Congratulations to Shannon and Kyle on being chosen for the Chancellor’s Award.  Their recognition is well-deserved and SUNY Poly is honored to have them as members of its community.”

“These students are being honored not only for what they have accomplished in the classroom, but for the impression they have made on everyone here at SUNY Poly as well as the greater Utica community,” said Dr. Robert Geer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Shannon and Kyle both truly embody the essence of SUNY Poly.”

[caption id="attachment_21890" align="alignleft" width="225"] Kyle Waldeck of Sauquoit[/caption]

“Shannon and Kyle are great examples of the terrific students that make SUNY Poly special – creative, intelligent, dedicated, and compassionate,” said Dr. William Durgin, SUNY Poly Provost. “Classroom learning is one thing, but applying that knowledge by putting it to use for the good of others is the mark of innovation and success, as these two Chancellor’s Award winners so aptly show.”

Kern, an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, is an active member of the Student Veterans Club, as well as a mother of three and wife and caretaker of a combat veteran. While maintaining academic excellence, Kern has assisted the Veterans Club in charity fundraising and clothing drives for those in need and recently attended the national Student Veterans Club conference in Orlando, Florida. Chosen for a competitive research assistantship position, Kern also participated in a research project investigating violent apocalyptic cults.

Waldeck, an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, helped develop a radio bridge system for the Oswego County E-911 Center.  The project, part of an internship with the Air Force Research Lab, enabled more efficient communication between Oswego County Sheriff’s Deputies and New York State Police Officers. While maintaining academic excellence, Waldeck served as a student member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Industrial Advisory Board and helped guide curriculum and accreditation with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.  He also helped develop more efficient office organization methods as a Student Assistant in the Department of Arts and Sciences.

The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997. Each year, campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews exemplary students. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office and are subject to a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award. Each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion, which is traditionally worn at commencement.

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit www.sunycnse.com andwww.sunypoly.edu.