As with athletes, entertainers, scientists, and others, students deserve recognition when they go above and beyond typical studies and schoolwork. And SUNY did just that yesterday during the 2016 Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence, held at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.
The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997 as a way to recognize students who have best demonstrated the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in other areas, such as leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement. This year, 248 students were selected from across New York to be recognized for their accomplishments.
During her opening remarks at the ceremony, Chancellor Zimpher remarked that “This award is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to stand-out SUNY students whose achievements reflect their own impressive hard work as well as the support of their families and friends, and SUNY’s world-class faculty and staff. The 248 students we honor with this year’s award have excelled academically, become role models on campus, and established themselves as leaders in the community.”
To be one of 248 out of nearly 460,000 students is indeed quite a select group. These students from different campuses got a chance to share their stories with each other throughout the day, comparing accomplishments and experiences. Many also shared with the attendees how they were able to achieve so much in their time at college and why they Stand With SUNY.
When asked what it means to be named a Chancellor’s Award winner, Marc Cohen, the Student Assembly Chief of Staff from the University at Albany, said “These last four years have been the best of my life. I received a world-class education from some of the greatest educators in the world, and had the chance to engage in unbelievable extracurricular opportunities. Being chosen to represent the University at Albany and SUNY as a Chancellor’s Award winner means that I have lived up to the ideals and values of the greatest system of higher education in the world, and that feeling is tough to beat!”
Toward the end of the ceremony, Chanceller Zimpher reminded the award winners that “You, today’s awardees, will be among SUNY’s future all-star alums. You will inspire those who come after you. You will join the ranks of SUNY graduates who change the world—who have made their communities and the world a better place through their work, their research, their advocacy, and their art.”
Congratulations to all winners for this achievement.
How do students receive these awards?
Each year, SUNY campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews the accomplishments of exemplary students. Members of the committees look over academic performance, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and more. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office for a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award. Once named, each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion that they receive at the awards reception, which is traditionally worn during their commencement ceremonies.
students become more active on campus and study harder