May 10, 2021
Alfred State College recognized over 880 May 2021 graduates during a virtual commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 8.
Dr. Skip Sullivan, president, presided over the event, which was held virtually on Microsoft Teams. SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Dr. Aniko Constantine served as the grand marshal.
At the beginning of the ceremony, Alfred State Voices sang the national anthem, followed by an invocation given by Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Title IX Investigator Desmond Davis.
President Sullivan then provided welcoming remarks, in which he encouraged graduates to become servant leaders.
“The philosophy of a servant leader calls upon us to highly value others and work to enable others to grow and perform at their best,” he said. “Dream big and enlist the support of others to help make big ideas come true. At this time more than ever, we should be working together, respecting each other, and making changes for a better tomorrow. I’m counting on your generation to make a positive impact on society.”
After Sullivan’s speech, the college then presented a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree to Alan Hunt, a 1979 graduate of Alfred State’s computer information systems program. Today, Hunt is the executive vice president of construction at Armada Hoffler, a vertically integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust that has four decades of experience developing, building, acquiring, and managing high-quality office, retail, and multifamily properties located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.
Another major component of the ceremony was the presentation of the Paul B. Orvis Award for Excellence to five graduating students. This award honors Paul B. Orvis, a former president of Alfred State and State University of New York dean for two-year colleges. Recipients must meet the criteria of service, leadership, character, and scholarship.
Receiving the award were Larry Knoll, automotive service technician, Darien Center (School of Applied Technology associate degree recipient); Trevor Sax, mechanical engineering technology, Geneva (School of Architecture, Management and Engineering Technology baccalaureate degree recipient); Ashley Herbert, architectural technology, Rochester (School of Architecture, Management and Engineering Technology associate degree recipient); Ruth Crowley, forensic science technology, Penfield (School of Arts and Sciences baccalaureate degree recipient); and Sarah Lovell, veterinary technology, Newark (School of Arts and Sciences associate degree recipient).
This year’s ceremony also featured a student speaker from each of the three schools. Providing remarks were Courtney DeRusha, masonry, Corning; Katherine Frascella, nursing, Franklinville; and Caleb Boyce-Wright, architecture, Buffalo.
Following the conferment of degrees and the induction of alumni, Dr. Earl Packard, assistant professor in the Mathematics and Physics Department and member of the Alfred State Quartet, sang the alma mater. Following President Sullivan’s concluding remarks was the drawing for a 2016 Chevrolet Cruze Limited to be given away to a graduate.
Former Alfred State College First Lady Mary Huntington drew the winner of the vehicle, which was Damian Cole, welding technology, Endicott.
