Two SUNY Canton Employees Recognized for Meritorious Service

by Lorette Murray

Canton, NY (07/25/2019) — SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran has selected two college employees to receive the 2019 President's Meritorious Service Award.

In addition to their exemplary job performance, Szafran said both were chosen for their efforts to strengthen the college through academic innovation, advocacy and university service.

Instructional Technologist Christina Smith was recognized for her work to assist faculty with creating multidimensional, engaging educational experiences for online students. She was also instrumental in developing an interactive, versatile flex class learning space that accommodates on-campus and distance learners alike.

"Christina has supported the incredible growth of our online course offerings and programs over the past seven years," Szafran said. "Her accomplishments have helped the college remain SUNY's online learning leader and have laid the groundwork for our next chapter."

Assistant Professor Barat Wolfe, Ph.D., was selected for her teaching excellence, university service and research achievements. As a result of her leadership to develop an online pathway for the four-year Applied Psychology degree, students can now choose to complete the program on-campus, online or through a combination of both.

In 2016, she was elected by her peers to serve as SUNY Canton's representative to the SUNY-wide Faculty Senate, and the following year she was chosen to serve as the colleges of technology representative to the Senate's Executive Committee.

Wolfe is also the lead researcher for a grant-funded study of the biopsychosocial health of collegiate esports competitors. She recently presented her initial findings at the SUNY Conference on Instruction and Technology.

"Barat brings an incredible energy to every endeavor she's involved in," said Szafran. "She is an outstanding faculty leader who we are pleased to recognize with this award."

Smith and Wolfe were presented with their awards at the college's annual Recognition Day event in May.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 18 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The college's 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also offers varsity esports and cheerleading. For more information, visit www.canton.edu.

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