Alumni Profiles is an ongoing series highlighting successful graduates who, with a SUNY education, achieved interesting and influential careers.
Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier is a musician, serviceman, and family man. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from SUNY Potsdam in 1975, and went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in music from Truman State University. He also later completed a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.
Col. Palmatier was appointed ninth leader and commander of the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own,” in August 2011. He previously served as commander and conductor of the U.S. Army Field Band, making him the first officer to command both of the Army’s top premier bands. He is currently the senior military musician in the Department of Defense.
Among his accomplishments, Col. Palmatier has led the White House Herald Trumpets, performing at every ceremony the President of the United States attended and has conducted performances at five Presidential Inaugurations. He was the first Army Band officer to earn both the Parachutist and Air Assault Badges, and earned the right to wear a combat patch for service in El Salvador and Iraq.
His support for his alma mater has been unwavering, as he has returned to campus to lead masterclasses and conduct at The Crane School of Music, as well as for the Crane Youth Music camp and was honored with the 2010 Minerva Award by the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association.
Col. Palmatier has also generously established the Band Guest Artist Fund at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music to provide financial support for Crane’s band program in order to raise the program’s national profile. He and his wife, Shirley, are campaign leadership donors for Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which aims to raise $27 million to support the SUNY Potsdam student experience by the College’s bicentennial in 2016.
Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to recognize the role that SUNY plays in maximizing Energy Smart New York every single day of the year; after all, 97% of the state’s population is within 20 miles of a SUNY campus. As an economic driver in New York State, SUNY capitalizes on the opportunity to profoundly affect New Yorkers by instating smart, and sometimes bold, environmental goals.
Today we focus on a recent national intercampus achievement and groundbreaking systemwide initiative that both focus on the environment. And to kick off our highlighting of SUNY’s eco-friendly push, our Generation SUNY team spoke to SUNY ESF faculty expert Dr. Elizabeth Folta on how SUNY students can maximize (or minimize!) their impact throughout the year with our brand-new video series, Interview With A. Check it out after the jump!
In addition to our regular Alumni Profile series, we hear about great things our graduates are doing around the country. Why not share them?
An endowment by SUNY Geneseo alumni Jack and Carol Kramer, both 1976 Geneseo graduates, made a keynote speech by a former New York Times science reporter at the school’s annual GREAT Day possible.
SUNY Plattsburgh alumnus Chris Marchitelli, Vice President of Litepanels, Inc., donated $70,000 in lighting to help upgrade the Albert R. Montanaro Television Studios, home of the PSTV college TV station and a training ground for communication students.
Five SUNY Geneseo alumni artists are scheduled to perform this week during the Geneseo Dance Ensemble’s “Dancing Past to Present: Celebrating 45 Years.”
Rosemary Cardamone Crane, a SUNY Oswego alumna who has built a career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, will join in recognizing more than 100 academic achievers at the college this week.
Zeigler, who curates the Apollo moon samples, spoke with students about the importance of the missions in an event titled “What We Have Learned Since the Apollo Missions”. He brought with him moon samples from the collection, some of which were billions of years old.
“We haven’t been there in about 40 years. Our understanding of the moon has evolved a lot since then, so I think going back to the moon would be a very important step as NASA goes out into the solar system to explore again,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler also noted to YNN that it is important to note humans’ technology abilities when we went to the moon. For example, we hold in our hand today more computing power in smartphones and tablets than the entire NASA rocket was capable of when we were making trips to the moon.
SUNY has an extensive relationship through alumni, students, and joint projects with NASA. Zeigler’s trip to the North Country last week was one of many outreach efforts that our supportive alumni embark on every day.
As the nation gears up to celebrate Earth Day on April 22, SUNY is once again recognized for its outstanding commitment to environmental conservation. The Princeton Review, in collaboration with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), this week salutes eight SUNY campuses among the 230 most environmentally responsible “green colleges” in the United States and Canada.
“SUNY’s commitment to an energy-smart New York and to sustainability throughout our system is a critical component of our strategic plan, one that our campuses have widely embraced and consistently shown leadership on,” said SUNY Chancellor Zimpher. “Congratulations to the eight SUNY campuses listed in the 2013 Guide to Green Colleges. This recognition is much deserved and highly commendable.”
The eight campuses named show due diligence in their environmental efforts day after day: Continue reading →
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Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier is a musician, serviceman, and family man. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from SUNY Potsdam in 1975, and went on to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in music from Truman State University. He also later completed a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.
