Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend Sparks the Imagination at Colgate University rtaurisano@col… Thu, 04/10/2025 - 10:03 Colgate University hosted its annual Arts, Creativity, and Innovation (ACI) Weekend to celebrate the importance of the creative process and imaginative thinking across all academic disciplines. Read more. Third Century Entrepreneurship News and Updates Alumni Faculty & Staff Student Marc Randolph, Netflix co-founder and former CEO (Photo by Mark DiOrio)

Suchi Reddy’s Bias and Belonging Exhibit Opens in Clifford Gallery rtaurisano@col… Thu, 04/10/2025 - 09:45 Suchi Reddy, Colgate University’s 2024–25 Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence, opened her new exhibit, Bias and Belonging, during Arts, Creativity, and Innovation (ACI) Weekend, April 4–5. The exhibit contains woven, textual, and digital elements, and it is currently on display in the Clifford Gallery of Little Hall. Bias and Belonging is the culmination of several community conversations Reddy facilitated on campus throughout the academic year with students, faculty, and staff. Reddy is a New York City–based architect, designer, and artist. She founded her studio, Reddymade, in 2002, and her work spans the globe. It has been recognized with awards such as the AIA Brooklyn + Queens Award, AIA New York State Excelsior Award, and Interior Design’s Best of the Year, among others. Artists Suchi Reddy and Rachel Mulder mingle with members of the Colgate community. (Photo by Andrew Daddio) Bias and Belonging is Reddy’s latest exploration of collective experience as people transform themselves in digital and physical spaces. The central feature of the exhibit is a double-sided woven textile in black and white hanging from the ceiling of the Clifford Gallery. Icons representing the various ways participants experienced bias and belonging are shown in a grid pattern. Their feelings are represented in black and white. Running along the center of the fabric is a red-braided cord in the shape of a heartbeat line, like an electrocardiogram — a concept inspired by being at a friend’s hospital bedside. The electrical activity of her friend’s heart on the EKG monitor fascinated Reddy. “I was always interested by the fact that the line was a register against this grid of information,” Reddy said. Attendees view the newly opened multimedia exhibition in the Clifford Gallery. (Photo by Andrew Daddio) In hosting her campus conversations, Reddy wanted to ensure that the final product truly reflected the concepts of bias and belonging as experienced by the Colgate community. She captured the conversations in video, sound, and written responses to her questions. All of her observations made it into the installation. In one of her earliest conversations, Reddy asked participants to come up with a single word that represented their earliest memory of feeling belonging — and then also bias. Reddy was surprised to find that, in many cases, participants used the same single word to describe both experiences. Along three walls of the gallery are black and white projections of the handwritten notes from the community conversations. A line of digital iconography repeats on the wall, pulsing like a heartbeat. “The icons are in a grid. The red heartbeat line as well as the running line on the walls — it’s blood. It moves in that moment, and that’s what you’re seeing,” Reddy said. “I like this tension between these colors. So it was a balance between both a conceptual match and also simplicity. And then the heartbeat evolved.” Associate Professor of Art Margaretha Haughwout welcomes the crowd. (Photo by Andrew Daddio) Architect and artist Rachel Mulder assisted with the creation of the iconography used in the woven textile. Associate Professor of Art and Clifford Gallery Director Margaretha Haughwout also worked closely with Reddy. Artist Molly Burt-Westvig and printmaker Annie Klein assisted in weaving the textile for the installation. The creation of the textile utilized the TC2 digital loom in the Fabulation Lab of Bernstein Hall, a hub of creativity and innovation in the Middle Campus and the physical location of the ACI Initiative at Colgate. “Suchi is dedicated to expanding our notions of empathy, equity, and agency,” said Haughwout. According to Reddy, her Colgate residency will influence her future projects. “When you create work, you’re invested in making it, and then, slowly, the effects of it start to ripple into what else you’re doing. I know this will change the way I work,” she said. Bias and Belonging is presented by the Art Department and the Christian A. Johnson Foundation. The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence was established in 1986 as a challenge grant in support of the arts at Colgate. The residency program permits one or more artists to become part of the Colgate community every academic year.  Arts and Humanities Third Century Arts News and Updates Alumni Faculty & Staff StudentBias and Belonging is a multimedia exhibition by Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence Suchi Reddy (Photo by Andrew Daddio)

Heterodox Academy’s John Tomasi Discusses the Importance of Ideological Inclusivity on Campuses nhendrickson@c… Thu, 04/03/2025 - 08:35 Colgate University welcomed political philosopher and inaugural president of Heterodox Academy John Tomasi to campus on March 27 to discuss the importance of ideological diversity at colleges and universities. The talk, moderated by President Brian W. Casey, was the fourth installment of the spring Presidential Speaker Series, which has fostered discussion around the public responsibilities of higher education. Heterodox Academy is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization composed of college faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to restoring and protecting the integrity of universities as spaces for intellectual inclusiveness and exploration. Tomasi said he places the quest for truth at the forefront of this mission. “We restore that truth-seeking mission, not by going back to some supposed good old days, but [understanding that] there is a future glimpsed but not yet realized, which is deeply worth fighting for — a university that is truly inclusive, where people seek knowledge together,” Tomasi said. Casey and Tomasi first crossed paths more than 20 years ago, while both were working at Brown University — Casey as assistant provost and Tomasi as a professor of natural theology and political science. Tomasi would later become chair of the natural theology department. In 2022, Tomasi left Brown to lead Heterodox. He was inspired by two former students who represented different sides of the political spectrum yet agreed on the necessity of hearing differing perspectives for intellectual growth. Tomasi recounted the pivotal message of one of those students — words that have stayed with him: “He said, ‘We didn’t come to campus merely to become more skillful defenders of some inherited ideology, left or right. We came to college to think in new ways for ourselves.’’’ Tomasi acknowledges that, while universities have made significant progress in becoming more inclusive of diverse identities and backgrounds, they have become more ideologically exclusive, particularly where conservative viewpoints are concerned. “Universities have endangered themselves by letting themselves become silos — or be perceived as silos — not connected to the wider society,” Tomasi said. “There are forces in society now that are very concerned with looking at these publicly funded institutions and saying, ‘Shouldn’t they be accountable to all of us?’” According to Tomasi, that’s a precarious position, and some universities are starting to address it. But the work must be organic and come from within — thus the partnerships formed with individuals on campuses across the country. “We love our universities the way Socrates loved Athens, we love them enough to criticize them,” he said. News and Updates Faculty & Staff Debate and Discourse Presidential Speakers Series John Tomasi (Photo by Mark DiOrio)

Colgate in the Media: March 2025 kputman@colgate.edu Wed, 04/02/2025 - 16:02 Colgate University faculty, staff, and alumni regularly provide their expertise and contribute to national and regional media outlets shaping discussions around vital research and current events.  Art Seizures at the Met Caused Concern. His Job Is to Address It. The New York Times, Professor of Art; Chair, Department of Art Elizabeth Marlowe Group Chat War Plans Provide a Window Into Trump’s Mafia State The Nation., Associate Professor of Political Science Sam Rosenfeld Cuomo lacks interest in ‘actual governing,’ longtime foe argues in new book Politico, Charles Evans Hughes Visiting Chair of Government and Jurisprudence in the Department of Political Science Stephanie Miner The Art of State Persuasion Exposes the Hidden Role of Media in Authoritarian Foreign Policy WKRG News 5, Assistant Professor of Political Science Frances Yaping Wang Colgate students partner with Rogers Center to learn maple syrup production WBNG News 12, Isabella Gregory ’25, James Manderlink ‘25, and Laura Richard ‘25 Bobby McMann took an unusual journey to the Maple Leafs. But he’s thriving in the NHL spotlight Toronto Star, Bobby McMann ’20 Lt. Gov. Delgado To Speak at Hartwick College AllOtsego, Antonio Delgado ’99 Jaime Dunn: “It’s not about wanting to be president, it’s about being able to be one.” El Deber, Jaime Dunn ’90 Colgate University generates $157M economic impact The Central New York Business Journal Colgate to host entrepreneurship showcase in early April The Central New York Business Journal Mexico celebrates return of 915 Pre-Hispanic artifacts from U.S. ArtDaily Faculty News Alumni News and Updates Alumni Faculty & Staff

Field Ecology Students Help Colgate Earn Tree Campus Certification mdonofrio@colg… Tue, 04/01/2025 - 13:00 With more than 3,500 individual trees and 130 species, Colgate’s lush tree canopy provides an undeniably stunning backdrop for study, work, and play.  But when plant life is regarded as just part of the scenery — not something to learn about and engage with — it could point to a condition with serious implications for the future of our ecosystem. “Plant blindness is an actual phenomenon,” says Professor of Biology Eddie Watkins of the term coined by botanists James H. Wandersee and Elizabeth E. Schussler in 1998. When plants are seen as static or even purely decorative, Watkins explains, people are less likely to care about preserving them, despite their critical importance for air quality, food sources, and animal habitats. “Most of my career has been dedicated to helping people see plants from multiple perspectives — beyond their mere presence to who they are and what they do,” he says. Students in Watkins’ Field Ecology (BIOL 328) course joined in that effort last fall. With help from Oneida Nation botanist Sheri Beglen and Professor of Biology Emeritus Ron Hoham, students were tasked with developing a field guide, signage, and a website dedicated to the University’s diverse tree canopy, examining plant morphology and physiology and incorporating information about Native American traditions and medicinal uses. The project was supported by the President’s Office and funded through a grant from the Upstate Institute. The result of their semester-long endeavor: the Campus Tree Guide, a 69-page handbook with extensive information on every species from American Basswood to Sweet Gum, and an accompanying map, which guides visitors through the campus’ plant landscape, much like Hoham’s popular reunion tree walks.  “[The goal] was to share the traditional wisdom of the Oneida while honoring the two most important people who have shaped our tree canopy: President Brian Casey and Professor Hoham,” says Watkins, adding that President Casey’s emphasis on tree health and sustainability as part of the Third-Century Plan has added hundreds of trees from dozens of species to campus and “helped create a botanical Shangri-la for anyone interested in plants.” As the work on the Tree Guide progressed, Watkins encouraged students to submit Colgate’s application for national certification from The Arbor Day Foundation. They did — and later received news that the University was recognized as a 2024 Tree Campus “for its dedication to enhancing community well-being through tree education, investment, and engagement.” At an end-of-term celebration, students unveiled the Tree Guide to community members — and reflected on their months of hard work. “What surprised [students] most was their ability to pull off something this complex, this big, this public, in a single semester,” says Watkins, noting that students have expressed how work on the project helped them appreciate plant life on a deeper level. “You really can’t miss plants on this campus anymore.” Academics Natural Sciences and Mathematics Research Third Century News and Updates Faculty & Staff Student Department of Biology Photo by Mark DiOrio

Patti Rizzo ’26 Receives Goldwater Scholarship mniedt@colgate.edu Tue, 04/01/2025 - 08:14 Patti Rizzo ’26, a chemistry and applied math double major from Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., has been named as a recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship.  The Goldwater Scholarship Program identifies and supports college sophomores and juniors on their way to becoming research leaders in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. “Receiving the Barry Goldwater Scholarship is an honor,” Rizzo says. “It will provide the support, resources, and encouragement I need to explore new scientific ideas and work toward achieving my long-term career goal of continuing research at the graduate level.” During her sophomore year at Colgate, Rizzo joined the lab of Visiting Assistant Professor Shanmuka Shivashankara working on theoretical high-energy physics. This experience led to a co-authorship on a peer-reviewed paper — an achievement that she credits for giving her the desire to pursue a career in research. “Applying my knowledge of coding and matrices to create a deeper understanding of the behavior of subatomic particles and seeing these fundamental concepts contribute to higher-level research made me see how interconnected research and my passion for math could be,” Rizzo states. Following this experience, Rizzo completed a summer research opportunity, working under Assistant Professor of Chemistry Eric Muller on polymer analyses. Polymer blends are chains of different molecules that can come together to form patterns on a very small scale. But how can we see the arrangement of polymers in these nanostructures? Rizzo wanted to know. So she used infrared scattering scanning nearfield optical microscopy, IR s-SNOM, in a new way to take pictures of the nanostructures. The method allowed her to dig down and see how different pieces of polymer interacted with each other and with light. The information in her snapshots could aid in the design of electronic devices. Rizzo will continue this work with Muller this fall. In addition to pursuing research, Rizzo is the president of the Colgate Chemistry Club and tutors high school students with Colgate High School Tutors. She aims to inspire young girls to be curious and pursue science. She is also an oboist in the Colgate University Orchestra. Rizzo is currently studying abroad in Cardiff Wales, and she recently accepted a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates position at the Northwestern University Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, an interdisciplinary program focused on multi-functional nanoscale material structures. To learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship or other nationally competitive awards, reach out to Meghan Niedt, mniedt@colgate.edu, in the Office of National Fellowships and Scholarships to schedule an appointment. Academics Natural Sciences and Mathematics News and Updates Student onfs Department of Chemistry Department of Mathematics Patti Rizzo ’26