Faculty & Staff

Our dedicated faculty and staff are at the very heart of what makes SUNY Potsdam unique.

SUNY Potsdam faculty and staff members are published authors, well-known researchers, accomplished artists and inspiring mentors. Like our students, they are a friendly, caring group from a range of backgrounds - always ready to discuss a challenge or assist with a project.

Dedicated to teaching, learning and service, SUNY Potsdam faculty are not just active in the classroom, but outside it, too. Many of our students say they learn as much through friendship and interaction with their professors and with staff members as they do in classroom studies.

Campus Contact Information:

IT Service Desk

(315) 267-4444

Human Resources

(315) 267-4816

Registrar's Office

(315) 267-2154

Crane Candlelight Concert to be Broadcast on Mountain Lake PBS and North Country Public Radio

November 22, 2024

SUNY Potsdam History Students Complete Fellowships to Research American Revolution

November 20, 2024

Blueline Literary Magazine at SUNY Potsdam Celebrates 45 Years

November 18, 2024

Events

Nov

Women's Basketball vs. Clarkson

Nov

ee

Nov

History Association

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Leader of the Pack

As Dr. Karen Davis stands at the front of the classroom discussing her lifelong dedication to the examination of animal behavior, she draws on one anecdote after another as a researcher, zookeeper, and Wolf Curator. With a master’s degree in neuroscience and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology, her students benefit from her extensive education, research, and life experience.

Unearthing Clues from Another Time

Last month, Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron and her students spent four weeks excavating artifacts from Heaven Hill Farm, a historic farmstead in the heart of the Adirondacks. The immersive hands-on experience allowed students like Sebastian Herrera ’25 and Leia’lani Dibble ’26 to use trowels and other tools to uncover food remains, shells, bone, ceramics and glass, and reveal signs of everyday life on the farm over the past 200 years.

Tiny Bugs, Big Trouble

The emerald ash borer is decimating northeast forests, but Dr. Jessica Pearson and her student team are getting a step ahead of the threat.

The Wild Connection

Jada West ’24 is working with a team of SUNY Potsdam researchers and students to unlock the secrets of pervasive and spreading tick-borne diseases with a goal of providing better information for the public.

‘The Right Time for Me’

As the first graduate of SUNY Potsdam's dual degree program with the Kyiv National Economics University, Stephanie Bulakh '24 brought big dreams with her, as she seeks to use her degree to help build a brighter future for her war-torn country.

“Some of the Most Amazing Places in the World”

This spring, 11 students joined Dr. Page Quinton, Dr. Mike Rygel and Dr. Christian Schrader on an amazing journey to explore significant geological sites of west Texas and southwestern New Mexico. They plied acres of ground in search of clues and fossilized life forms, climbed 2,000 feet in elevation and hiked 10 miles roundtrip along the way—bringing to life topics discussed in their classes back home.

Fabric of Learning

Weaving together academic research and applied learning experiences, Emily Bailey ’24 and Annabelle Kahle ’26 have been immersing themselves in unique hands-on research projects through the Presidential Scholars Program—examining the history of homespun garment manufacturing and using historical tools to create costumes that their ancestors would have worn.

A Deferred Dream Within Reach

No stranger to challenges, Theresa Adams ’24 draws from a deep well of lived experience to help remote First Nations people get the health care they need.

Liza’s Life in Lines

Liza Paige ’12, a Potsdam native and adjunct instructor of art at SUNY Potsdam, is hard at work on her next project—an interactive optical illusion drawn entirely in outlines, with props chosen to help replicate the feeling of a college dormitory dwelling. The “2D Dorm Room” is an immersive art experience that will be revealed in the Lougheed Learning Commons in time for the 2024 LoKo Arts Festival starting May 1.

‘Human-First Approach’

A standout hockey player in her youth, Olivia Cook ’24 went on to achieve great success as a Division I athlete and make a significant impact in both her Mohawk community of Akwesasne and in remote First Nation communities throughout Canada. Now, she’s a leader at SUNY Potsdam as head coach of the women’s hockey team where she mentors student-athletes, while simultaneously completing her degree in public health.

A March to Remember

Dr. Ed Portugal recently returned from a trip to the southwest where he completed his 11th Bataan Memorial Death March—an intensive 26.2-mile trek to honor the more than 60,000 Filipino and American soldiers who were forced to march to confinement camps during World War II.

'The Gold Standard'

Ever since the inception of SUNY Potsdam’s public health program (formerly community health), internships have been strategically integrated into the curriculum. The culminating capstone experience has allowed students to take the skills they’ve learned in the classroom, apply them in a real-world setting, and then fluidly transition to full-time jobs immediately after receiving their degrees. This semester, nine students are in the field gaining real-world training at sites ranging from Canton-Potsdam Hospital to the Canadian Ministry of Health.

Breaking the Mold

In a world with rising education costs, Dr. Michael Rygel and Dr. Page Quinton are at the forefront of reducing financial burdens, while also elevating the academic experience for their students. They recently completed an OER textbook on sedimentary geology, full of photos and illustrations from their own research with SUNY Potsdam students and alumni, which is now part of the curriculum in Rygel’s 300-level course.

Dr. Tim Yip talks about the Music Business program at Crane, and the types of careers that students can pursue after graduation.