On Jan. 1, Associate Professor Roderick Macdonald will be a trumpeter in a live television broadcast of Beethoven's 9th Symphony from London and seen across Europe. He will perform with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the world's oldest classical orchestra.

Emily VanDette (English) has received a $1,500 grant from the COPC Service Learning Incentive program to support her interest in benefiting the Dunkirk community through a poetry correspondence program.  The goal of the COPC awards program is to create sustainable, cooperative efforts that benefit the City of Dunkirk by tapping the abundant resources of SUNY Fredonia.

With the exception of a few offices, college buildings will be closed, and heat reduced, beginning on the close of business Wednesday, Dec. 24, and will reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Employees will be asked to use their leave credits, but those who choose to work may do so.

The live television call-in show “Talk to Santa” will be presented on Dec. 16, 17 and 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m. each evening, on Time Warner Ch. 5 in Brocton, Cassadaga, Fredonia and Stockton, and Ch. 19 in Dunkirk, Silver Creek, Forestville and Hanover. For the three nights, children and their families can tune in watch Santa and his assistant, Elf Holly.

The University policy on extraordinary weather requires that normal operations continue to the extent possible. Essential college services (i.e.: Heating/Plumbing, Electrical, Automotive, Grounds, University Police, and Food and Health Services) must be maintained in spite of severe weather. When cancellation of classes has been declared, the President will notify the Director of Public Relations to facilitate announcements on radio stations in Dunkirk, Fredonia, Buffalo, and Jamestown

The Dec. 6 matinee of “A Christmas Carol” raised $3,025.75 for the Tim Jensen Class of 1990 Scholarship fund. In the spirit of the Christmas season, the Department of Theatre and Dance at the State University of New York at Fredonia donated the proceeds from its Saturday matinee in memory of a former student and visiting artist.

James Thomas Stevens, associate professor of English and director of American Indian Studies at SUNY Fredonia, will appear as a featured poet at City Lore, a center for urban culture in New York City, on Friday, Dec. 12.

Spoke Folk, a local not for profit volunteer organization that works throughout the Dunkirk/Fredonia community to promote the use of bicycles as means of primary transportation, has announced the launch of an online forum created by a SIFE Team at SUNY Fredonia.

The fall Phonathon, conducted by the University Advancement division and coordinated by Director of Development Timothy Murphy, brought in over $64,000 in pledges from SUNY Fredonia alumni to support the efforts of the Fredonia College Foundation in providing scholarship and program support to the university. “Considering the current economic conditions, I am pleased with the outcome of this semester’s Phonathon. Our student callers are great ambassadors for Fredonia,” stated Mr. Murphy.

Five SUNY Fredonia School of Business students earned first place in an international business simulation competition, in which they competed against more than 1,000 teams from more than 70 participating colleges and universities worldwide.

The Chautauqua County Rural Ministry (CCRM) Nominating Committee has selected Dr. Richard Goodman as the recipient of the 2008 Prophet’s Hoe Award. Dr. Goodman is currently serving as the Campus Liaison for the SUNY Fredonia/Dunkirk Community Outreach Partnerships Center (COPC) and he is a Research Associate for the Center for Rural Regional Development and Government Center (CRRDG).

From work done last spring semester with Dr. Emily VanDette (English), three students collaborated on a piece that was published this month in a Special Issue of the journal, Paper on Language and Literature. Gary Baier, Kyle Georger, and Owen Reilly wrote the article, "From Here to Fredonia," describing the journeys taken by their fellow students. 

SUNY Fredonia’s Center for Rural Regional Development and Governance (CRRDG) has established an advisory board that includes both SUNY Fredonia faculty and staff, as well as community leaders. Center Director Chuck Cornell said the creation of the board will further SUNY Fredonia’s vision of providing “greater support for the region's economic and educational development.”

On Thursday, Dec. 11, students taking an honors seminar in American History from Dr. James Hurtgen will present a 25-page "Memo to the President-Elect," based on research they conducted throughout the fall semester.  Their presentation will take place from 9:30 to 10:50 in the English Reading Room, 127 Fenton Hall. All are welcome to listen and participate in the discussion after.

The Ninth Campus-Wide Donation Drive held Dec. 5 produced an abundance of goods to benefit the local agencies of the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton CYO. Sixty students and five faculty/staff volunteers collected a total of 25 boxes of toys, 40 boxes of food, and 60 (40-gallon) bags of clothing.

Over 300 high school students and chaperones from 11 schools attended the semi-annual Drama Dance Day hosted by the SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance. After a welcome and information on admissions from Associate Professor Ted Sharon, some of the students attended workshops including Stage Combat with Professor Sharon, Computer Technology with Associate Professor Todd Profitt, Jazz Dance with Assistant Professor Samantha Kenney, and Costume Silhouette/Rendering with Assistant Professor Dixon Reynolds.

SUNY Fredonia employees have surpassed the campus goal for the 12th year in a row for the State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA).  The appeal, which began in September, brought in $51,117 in cash and pledges as of Dec. 2, surpassing its goal of $45,000.

Dr. John Liontas of the Department of Language, Learning and Leadership at SUNY Fredonia delivered a keynote address in Taiwan at the International Conference on Multimedia Language Education recently, where he was also honored with an award. Sponsors of the conference were the Asian-Pacific Association for Multimedia Assisted Language Learning (APAMALL) and Republic of China Multimedia English Learning and Instruction Association (ROCELIA).  

SUNY Fredonia senior Ciara O’Neill-Mendoza of Vestal, N.Y., has been selected as the recipient for the October 2008 Student of the Month. The Department of Resident Life’s Student of the Month Committee members Cate Shrum, Jennifer Cinque and Allison Adams chose O’Neill-Mendoza following her nomination by Dr. David Herman, Vice President for Student Affairs.

The DFT Communications Pops Series will present “Christmas with the Four Freshmen” on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. in Rockefeller Arts Center’s King Concert Hall. Now in their 60th year of performance, The Four Freshmen remain a vibrant musical force on the American Jazz and pop scene, bringing their unique brand of vocal harmony to audiences worldwide.