Faculty/Staff Achievements Roundup: CAPE staff earns regional and statewide recognition for leadership and service
This is part of a regular series highlighting the honors and achievements of Buffalo State University faculty and staff. The roundup is compiled from the previous months’ submissions to the Daily Bulletin and department newsletters.
The staff of Buffalo State’s Career and Professional Education Center (CAPE) was recently recognized for its outstanding contributions to the career services profession at the state and regional levels.
At the 50th Annual SUNY Career Development Organization (CDO) Conference, Buffalo State’s CAPE office received the Excellence in Alumni Programming Award. This honor recognizes the office’s commitment to serving alumni through innovative, interactive, and engaging programming designed to meet their diverse career development needs. In addition, Maureen Pernick Huber, CAPE associate director; Cate Vivacqua, senior career counselor; and Lynn Rogers, assistant director for employer engagement, presented “Strong Foundations, Scalable Systems: Career Services in Action.” Rogers, SUNY CDO treasurer, was also presented with the Golden Legacy Award in recognition of her exceptional fiscal stewardship, process optimization efforts, and successful management of organizational resources that strengthened the association's long-term sustainability.
In June, the Western New York Association of College Career Centers (WNYACCC Inc.) held its annual end-of-year professional development meeting, where CAPE staff members were again recognized for their leadership and service to the profession. Rogers received the Building Bridges Award for her leadership of Teacher Recruitment Days (TRD), a signature program that connects hundreds of students with recruiters seeking to address educator shortages across New York State and throughout the nation. The meeting also marked new leadership appointments within WNYACCC. Vivacqua assumed the role of president, while Huber began her second term as secretary of the organization.
“It is rewarding to see CAPE’s contributions recognized at both the state and regional levels,” said Scott Goodman, associate vice president for Academic Affairs. “The dedication and leadership of our staff help to strengthen the career services profession while also creating top-notch programming that empowers Buffalo State students and alumni throughout their career journeys.”
In addition to CAPE’s recent recognition, here are some other recent outstanding achievements by Buffalo State faculty and staff members:
Valentin Brimkov, SUNY Distinguished Professor of mathematics, edited the Springer volume Combinatorial Image Analysis, part of the highly regarded Lecture Notes in Computer Science series. The book features revised and selected papers from the 23rd International Workshop on Combinatorial Image Analysis, held in Szeged, Hungary, an international meeting co-chaired by Brimkov. This is his 20th edited book produced while at Buffalo State University and his 15th volume with the major international publisher Springer.
Laurie Buonanno, Frederick G. Floss, and Byron W. Brown, all professors of business, economics, and public administration (along with Lisa Parshall, fellow of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government of SUNY and distinguished professor of political science at Daemen University) co-edited Governing New York State Through Crises, which was recently published by SUNY Press. This volume takes a fresh approach to the study of New York State politics and government through an examination of governance in times of crises.
Kim Chinquee, associate professor, completed the Ironman Musselman 70.3 in Geneva, NY. This event consists of a 1.2 mile swim in Seneca Lake, a 56-mile bike rolling ride in the Finger Lakes Region, and a 13.1-mile rolling run. In 2024, out of more than 120 IRONMAN 70.3 series events that took place globally, Musselman received the Ironman Global Athletes' Choice Awards (along with IRONMAN Kalmar-Sweden), receiving top honors in Overall Satisfaction. This is Chinquee's fourth Ironman Musselman finish, her fifth Ironman, so far, in all. Along with being a triathlete, she is a Level Three USA Triathlon Certified Official, a Level One World Triathlon Certified Official, and a Certified Ironman Official, serving at events both nationally and internationally. Her most recent role as an official was July 19, 2026, at Ironman Lake Placid 140.6.
Daniel Cunningham, professor emeritus of mathematics, recently received a positive review of his book Mathematical Logic: An Introduction in ACM SIGACT News, the official quarterly print and digital newsletter published by the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory, which serves as the premier forum and community hub for professionals and researchers in theoretical computer science.
John Draeger, professor of philosophy, delivered the keynote address at the Teaching in Higher Education Conference at Caldwell University. The session was entitled, “Calibrating for Curiosity: Nine Ways to Nourish a Nimble Classroom.”
Clemon George, assistant professor of health, hospitality, nutrition, and dietetics, had his article entitled “Factors associated with contraceptive use among reproductive-age women during a pandemic: Evidence from a small developing state” published in PLOS Global Public Health.
Rick Fleming, professor and chair of the Music Department, was recognized with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s IDEA Award, which recognizes and uplifts individuals and organizations in the community who love any and all genres of orchestral music and embody the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity and access (IDEA) while promoting, supporting, and/or practicing this artform.
Ilya Grinberg, chair and SUNY distinguished teaching professor of engineering technology, has been elevated to American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Fellow grade. According to ASEE, “Each year, up to one-tenth of one percent of ASEE’s members are selected for induction into the ASEE Academy of Fellows—one of the Society’s highest honors. Election to Fellow status recognizes exceptional and sustained contributions to engineering education, the profession, and ASEE itself. These distinguished members have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, scholarship, and service, earning the respect of their peers and advancing ASEE’s mission to promote excellence in engineering education worldwide.”
Andrea Nikischer, associate professor and program coordinator of adult education, presented Flexible Course Design for Complex Chronic Conditions at the 2026 SUNY OTTER Institute as part of the Institute’s First-Hand Disability Perspectives program. The session examined how Long COVID and other complex chronic conditions challenge traditional assumptions about participation, attendance, and performance, and introduced the concepts of variable (fluid) disability and the academic accommodation gap, as well as shared evidence-based strategies for designing more flexible and accessible learning environments.
Ken Orosz, professor and chair of History and Social Studies Education, was awarded the inaugural Prix pour services distingués by the French Colonial Historical Society in recognition of more than 25 years of service, including terms as webmaster, Vice President, President, and editor of the peer-reviewed journal French Colonial History, and multiple stints on the organizing and program committees for the society’s annual meetings. The FCHS is an international bilingual organization devoted to the study of all aspects of the history of French colonialism and the legacies of French imperialism. The society’s Executive Board established the prize, which will be awarded every three years, to recognize longtime members who have provided extraordinary service to the society.
Joseph Riggie, head of information management at E. H. Butler Library, was awarded the SUNY Librarians Association (SUNYLA) Mentor Award at the annual SUNYLA Conference in Brockport in June. The award “honors and encourages the efforts and dedication of individuals in the library field who have demonstrated exceptional commitment with mentoring members of SUNYLA. It acknowledges support a SUNYLA member received to expand their knowledge and expertise within the library and information field.” Riggie was recognized for his dedication to assisting librarians across the state with systems support, resource sharing, and administration of the SUNY shared library services platform Alma/Primo. Additionally, he has mentored many colleagues and library science students regionally through his service in the Western New York Library Resources Council.
Pictured: Cate Vivacqua, CAPE senior career counselor (left); Maureen Pernick Huber, CAPE associate director (center); and Lynn Rogers, CAPE assistant director for employer engagement.
Photo courtesy of CAPE.
