Professors receive SUNY Networks of Excellence awards

Barbara Chorzempa, associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies, and Andrew Frank, assistant professor of art, at the State University of New York at New Paltz, have each received $3,000 SUNY Networks of Excellence planning grants. Frank received hers for her project, “Educational Space as a Flexible Sensitive Sustainable System.” Chorzempa received hers for the project “Southern Tier Energy Production: Powering Up Middle School Writers to Learn About their Communities.”

Chorzempa’s project, described as a transformative research initiative that will target middle school students’ research-based learning and writing, addressing energy production and smart buildings, was one of 19 awarded funding last week by the Research Foundation for SUNY.

As part of the project, Chorzempa, along with colleagues Kathleen Magiera and Jennifer Moon Ro, of SUNY Fredonia, and Mary Kay Szwejbka, of Jamestown Community College, will partner with middle school social studies teachers to combine their expertise in teaching inquiry-based strategies to middle school students to enrich their writing in the content areas. According to Chorzempa, the group hopes to use strategies aligned with the New York State Common Core Learning Standards to help prepare students for college and career readiness and grow students’ interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related subject areas.

“We are extremely pleased and honored to be part of this important collaborative effort,” said Michael S. Rosenberg, dean of the School of Education. “This project is an excellent illustration of how multiple stakeholders—colleges, school districts, and regional agencies—can work together to enhance learning outcomes and promote community participation among middle school students.”

Frank’s project promotes moving toward sustainable building across the SUNY campuses and proposes to investigate and learn from what other SUNY institutions are doing in terms of adaptable, environmentally and socially sensitive, sustainable, and technologically enhanced educational buildings and practices. 

“Our goal for this stage is to visit sustainable solutions in the built environment and to establish collaborative partnerships with faculty and staff who have related interests and expertise across SUNY campuses,” said Frank. 

To learn more about SUNY 4E Network of Excellence, which fosters collaborative research in the areas of energy, the environment, economics and education, click here.