SUNY Geneseo students and faculty recently had a GREAT Day

A day of student presentations and academic success, celebrated its 20th anniversary this year

Photo courtesy of Sunygeneseo/Instagram

SUNY Geneseo celebrated its 20th annual GREAT Day this past Wednesday, April22, 2026. GREAT Day is Geneseo’s acronym for “Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement, & Talent. Its mission is to help foster academic excellence, to encourage professional development, and to build connections within the community,” as per SUNY Geneseo’s official website. 

This day celebrates the academic successes and professional achievements from SUNY Geneseo’s own students, and mimics many aspects of professional conferences, which  prepares students for further opportunities to present, conduct, and develop original research and projects in their academic and professional careers. Classes are not held on GREAT Day, giving all students and faculty the opportunity to attend sessions and presentations throughout the day.

Current professor of Latin at SUNY Geneseo and long-time Geneseo community member Wes Kennison commented  on the importance he sees in GREAT Day to The Lamron. Professor Kennison explained, “One of the unexpected benefits of participating in GREAT DAY is that you get to practice presenting in that format before you have to do it someday in the big leagues. You get to work out the bumps of editing your presentation, surviving technology surprises, handling live questions, managing time and pacing, etc,” noting that, “the first time [he] gave a paper at an academic conference… [he] did 20 things wrong” with no GREAT Day to help him prepare. 

This year’s GREAT Day opened with a much-needed coffee station in the lobby of the Erwin administrative building and the first session of concurrent poster presentations by students in buildings Milne, Bailey, and Welles, as per Geneseo’s online schedule of the day. In Geneseo’s Milne Library lobby, at 10 a.m., a performance from Geneseo’s Chamber Singers directed by Dr. Gerard Floriano greeted eager participants and attendees of GREAT Day, as documented on SUNY Geneseo’s webpage dedicated to its choral ensembles and the 2026 GREAT Day online schedule. 

After the Chamber Singers’ artful performance, SUNY Geneseo Provost Dr. Mary Toale gave some opening remarks in the Milne Library lobby. Commenting that GREAT Day “gives witness to the extraordinaryness of this place,” she recognized faculty who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the day run smoothly, as well as the large number of students—“21 percent,” of whom, she noted, participated in the day—presenting their hard work. 

Dr. Toale expressed her love for the Geneseo community in coming together to “share each other’s joy” in this “day we look forward to all year.” Finally, the provost took a moment to recognize one student, Zachary Mogavero, in Geneseo’s LIVES program, which gives opportunities to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities, as per the college’s official website. Zachary created the artwork for this year’s 20th anniversary GREAT Day posters, and he can often be seen using his artistic abilities to brighten up campus. 

SUNY Geneseo’s president, Dr. Melinda Treadwell, also spoke of her warm feelings towards GREAT Day, which she shared exclusively with The Lamron. President Treadwell noted that this level of student success, recognition, and passion for learning is extraordinary, and that she is “honored to be a part of it.” 

Sessions of student presentations were held in buildings across campus, including the MacVittie College Union, Bailey Hall, Milne Library, Welles Hall, and Newton Hall. Posters covered all different areas of study, from STEM subjects, to social sciences, to liberal arts and humanities. Presentation sessions took place from 8:45 a.m.-10 a.m., 10:45 a.m.-12 p.m., and 12 p.m.-1:10 p.m., with students’ posters also available to view throughout the day. Dr. Jennifer D. Roberts also delivered the keynote address at 1:15 p.m., and President Treadwell ended the day with closing remarks at 4:30 p.m., according to the online schedule of this year’s GREAT Day. 

Dr. Roberts, “an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health at the University of Maryland College Park,” as per Geneseo’s official website, centered her address around her work in “antiracism, historical research, and scientific discovery,” and included remarks on topics such as “issues of nature, environmental justice, antiracism, and mental health,” as also documented online by Geneseo. 

The collaboration of countless students, faculty, and community members ensured the success of this year’s celebration. Among the many students who presented their hard work at the 20th GREAT Day, everyone had the opportunity to learn something and to connect with others.