Employees receive Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence

Three faculty and two staff members at Alfred State were recently honored with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Professional Service, Classified Service, and Faculty Service.

David Hunt received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Matthew Ryan was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service, Scott Bingham was presented with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service, and George “Joe” Richardson and John Santora were both named recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. Each received a certificate and a medallion.

Hunt, an associate professor in the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department, is known for his passion in teaching and for his dedication to students, who respect him for the wealth of information and support that he offers them. He makes the world their learning ground, as he provides practical and professional knowledge to them that they will need to be competitive in their field of study and work. His student strive to meet the challenges he presents them, and they do so willingly because of their regard for his abilities and intelligence.

As faculty adviser of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Club, Hunt attends all major club events, giving freely of his time on weekends and after class. He is also the faculty adviser to the Robotics Club, and has travelled with the club to regional and national competitions.

Ryan, the senior director of Residential Services, worked with the vice presidents of Academic and Student Affairs to pilot and chair the college’s first Academic Intervention Team. He also led the redesign of the room selection process in order to provide both group housing options and affinity living areas for upper-class students.

Furthermore, Ryan has enthusiastically embraced the campus’ emphasis on civic engagement. Examples of his involvement, both on and off campus, include supervising Alfred State students’ relief work at the Lion’s Camp Badger in Spencer; leading a relief trip to Binghamton to assist in the cleanup after Hurricane Sandy; co-organizing a donation drive for Johnson City flood victims, and serving as an active member of the Scio Lions Club.

Bingham, a lieutenant in the University Police Department, is a consummate professional and a highly skilled and dedicated police officer. As a lieutenant in a small organization, he is asked to perform every function of the department from clerical duties to executive/administrative duties. At times, Scott has prioritized his time – even when personally inconvenient - for the needs of the department, whether it be staying late to complete an investigation or switching to a completely different shift and days off for an extended period of time.

In addition to his role as a law enforcement officer, Bingham worked with a student to begin the Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club in 2009. Since then, he has built the team into one that consistently competes for first place in multiple divisions at the competitions they attend. This past April, he helped coordinate a large spring woodsmen’s meet called the “Northeast Woodsmen’s Conclave” that brought regional exposure to Alfred State.

Professor Richardson, the chair of the Building Trades Department, has served the college, SUNY, and the local community at a national and international level through numerous student and faculty projects. He has generously given his time and creativity to many in numerous ways, including as faculty adviser to the Solar Decathlon teams of 2013 in China and 2015 in California, and as interim dean of the School of Applied Technology for two separate time periods.

He also was instrumental in moving a Buffalo Billions initiative forward, worked extensively to help make green energy technology training available in the region, had extensive involvement in continued efforts to fund construction of the School of Applied Technology Workforce Development Center, and coordinated the construction of the Alfred State Zero Energy House to be certified as· an Energy Star Home and green building.

As a professor and chair of the Culinary Arts Department, Santora seeks to inspire students to perform at levels that are higher than what is required to meet current standards. Drawing on his personal expertise in the culinary arts, he has consistently involved his students in a variety of community projects that bring their class lessons to life.

Santora’s efforts have been recognized with awards in community service and in multiple articles in trade publications and in the regional press. His excellence in areas of specialization have led to television appearances that in tum provide inspiration to his students. He was recognized for his many accomplishments with a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities in 2005.