NEW PALTZ — The School of Business Selection Committee at the State University of New York at New Paltz is pleased to announce the 2005 School of Business Hall of Fame inductees. This is the School of Business’ highest honor.
The three inductees – Thomas D. Weddell, Business Person of the Year; Vincent Cozzolino, Alumni of the Year (’83); and Robert Miniger, recipient of the 2005 Dean’s Award for Excellence – will be recognized at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony beginning at 5:30 p.m. on May 5 at the Hillside Manor in Kingston.
“The Hall of Fame provides us with the opportunity to recognize the great achievements of our volunteer business leaders and alumni,” said Hadi Salavitabar, the dean of the School of Business. “We are very fortunate to have such dedicated people as members of our School of Business family working to improve our educational programs.”
Thomas D. Weddell is a business development consultant and industry-recognized Certified Public Accountant with more than 26 years of experience. He is a 1974 graduate of Cornwall High School, a 1976 graduate of Orange County Community College, earning an associate’s degree in accounting, and a 1978 graduate of SUNY Albany, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Weddell is a member of the SUNY New Paltz Business Advisory Council and has been serving as the Managing Partner of Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell, LLP, CPAs, since July 1996. He started with the firm in September, 1978 and became a partner in January, 1984. His dedication to his clients and his outstanding mentoring ability to his team led Weddell to become a partner in the firm six years after he was hired.
Vincent Cozzolino is the vice president of eServer Product and Quality Engineering Operations at IBM. Cozzolino is a member of the SUNY New Paltz Business Advisory Council, the chair of the SUNY New Paltz Engineering Advisory Council, and also participates in several community-related activities. He assisted the New Paltz School District in bringing computers into its schools, and has also worked for nearly 10 years as an avid coach and administratively assists the New Paltz Baseball Association, managing teams of 8- to 15-year-olds.
Cozzolino has two bachelor degrees from SUNY New Paltz: one in physics and the other in electrical engineering. He has completed advanced coursework toward a master’s in physics. He holds two U.S. patents: one on a unique testing process for advanced printed circuit boards and the other on a packaging design.
Robert Miniger is the vice president of Human Resources of the New Hampton-based Balchem Corporation. In this position, he also serves as vice president of BCP Ingredients, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Balchem.
Miniger serves as the chair of the SUNY New Paltz Business Advisory Council’s Internship Subcommittee. He was instrumental in creating the Internship Practicum course and has also been crucial in bringing a new, internship-tracking software, E-recruiting, to the college. Originally from Erie, Pa., Miniger holds bachelor’s degree in science from Pennsylvania State University of University Park, Pa.
The Presenting Sponsor for the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is Key Bank.
Corporate Sponsors include: Central Hudson Energy Group; IBM Corporation; and Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell, LLP. Company Sponsors include M&T Bank and Ulster Savings Bank.
The School of Business is committed to excellent teaching, integrated curriculum, teamwork and practical application of business concepts, all of which are demonstrated through the school’s continuous improvement efforts. It offers quality instruction leading to Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting, finance, general business, international business, management and marketing. The M.B.A. program offers seven separate concentrations: accounting (CPA Track); accounting (Non-CPA Track); finance; information and knowledge management (I.K.M); international business; management; and marketing.
Note to Editors: Photographs of the honorees may be downloaded from the SUNY New Paltz Web site at www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/weddell.html; www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/cozzolino.html; www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/miniger.html.
