ESF to confer degrees at May 10 Commencement ceremony

ESF to confer degrees at May 10 Commencement ceremonyApril 28, 2009Karen Moore

The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) will confer more than 400 degrees during joint Commencement exercises with Syracuse University on Sunday, May 10, in the Carrier Dome. During the ceremony, SUNY-ESF will confer 342 bachelor’s degrees, about 55 master’s degrees and 10 doctoral degrees.

The college also awards associate in applied science degrees at its Ranger School in the Adirondack Mountain community of Wanakena. Twenty-eight students in the forest technology program and 13 students in the land surveying technology program will receive degrees during a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at Clifton-Fine High School.

Commencement weekend festivities in Syracuse begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 9, with curriculum-specific receptions for degree candidates, their guests and members of the SUNY-ESF college community.

The college’s traditional convocation will be at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 9, at the Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree candidates will be honored and Sally Roesch Wagner, executive director of the Matilda Josyln Gage Foundation, will be the speaker. During the convocation, faculty honors will be bestowed upon the top students in each of the college’s discipline areas.

On Sunday, May 10, a continental breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m., in the Marshall Hall Alumni Lounge, followed by a recognition ceremony for advanced degree candidates.

Joint commencement exercises with SU will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Carrier Dome. Class Marshals leading the SUNY-ESF degree candidates in the Commencement procession are Jorge Barbosa of New York City and Anthony Capece of Hopewell Junction, N.Y. Two students are designated as class valedictorians/SUNY-ESF Scholars: Jessica Gail Lambert of Marcellus and Eli Lenore Polzer of Syracuse. Kerin Rosen of New Paltz will be honored as third SUNY-ESF Scholar, with the third-highest grade point average in the graduating class.

Faculty honors will be bestowed upon Stephanie T. VanKempen of Colonie, N.Y. (environmental biology); Stephen N. Gorman of Syracuse (forest resources management); John R. Zale of Buffalo (natural resources management); Maxwell G. Wightman of Rochester (forest ecosystems science); Matthew P. Huchzemeier of Fayetteville (forest engineering); Jeremy D. Bower of Gansevoort, N.Y. (paper science); Christopher D. Wood of Syracuse (paper engineering); Clinton J. Maloney of Cicero (construction management); James S. Brown of North River, N.Y. (wood products engineering); Katy M. Johnson of Munnsville, N.Y. (landscape architecture); Alyssa M. DeLeon of Williamsville, N.Y. (biotechnology); Alexander P. Mueller of Binghamton (chemistry); Jonathan S. Reynolds of Collins, N.Y. (wildlife science); Ashley R. Thomas of Port Jervis, N.Y. (natural history and interpretation); Katherine E. Mann of Fairport, N.Y. (environmental science); Barbosa (aquatic and fisheries science); Lambert (conservation biology); Polzer (forest health); and Rosen (environmental studies).