“I have full confidence in this community to meet the challenges ahead in the coming year … Take heart in the knowledge that we approach these challenges with a set of strengths and recent achievements that few other institutions enjoy. We can do this – together.”
– President Donald P. Christian, State of the College Address, Aug. 24, 2018
2018 at SUNY New Paltz was a year rich with student and alumni successes, outstanding professional attainment for members of the faculty and staff, and sustained excellence for our campus community. Please join us in looking back at some of the most noteworthy stories from the past year at SUNY New Paltz. Simply scroll down to view photos and stories in chronological order, or browse by month using the menu at the top of the page.
Thank you for another great year!
January
Sun Hee Kil, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, served as associate sound designer for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
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Jamie Seward became the winningest Women's Basketball Coach in New Paltz history and notched his 200th victory. Jamie Seward assumed the role of SUNY New Paltz Women's Basketball Coach in 2005 and has turned the team into a perennial SUNY Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contender, with 11 out of 12 winning seasons.
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The college ranked number 45 out of 1,363 U.S. colleges and universities in the 2017 edition of the Social Mobility Index (SMI), placing it in the top three percent nationwide in this measurement of schools' backgrounds - climb the socioeconomic ladder.
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The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) extended its accreditation of the SUNY New Paltz School of Business; this reaccreditation keeps New Paltz in the top 5% of schools of business worldwide.
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The Office of Academic Advising at SUNY New Paltz rolled out a new service designed to meet the needs of students seeking quick and easy answers to common questions about the advising and registration culture at New Paltz.
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The School of Education at SUNY New Paltz celebrated a new partnership with the Mid-Hudson School Study Council and the Goshen Central School District, designed to recruit and train candidates for supervisory positions and principalships in local districts.
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Members of the SUNY New Paltz community of scholars, educators and learners extended a favorite tradition at the College at the annual Celebration of Faculty Authors on Feb. 13 at the Sojourner Truth Library.
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A new documentary short film from the SUNY New Paltz Department of Digital Media & Journalism was awarded a Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Award of Excellence, and received an exclusive screening at the BEA Festival of Media Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, in April. The award-winning film was titled "Hanna Barbera at the Norman Rockwell Museum."
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David C. Richardson, associate professor of biology at SUNY New Paltz, discussed his research on the warming temperatures of lakes in the Northeast U.S. and Southeast Canada on the nationally-syndicated radio program, “The Academic Minute,” on Feb. 12.
Read MoreMarch
The School of Science & Engineering was awarded a 2018 Manufacturing Champion Award by the Council of Industry, the leading manufacturing association of the Hudson Valley.
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Associate Professor Tom Meyer, who also serves as the director for the Hudson Valley Writing Project, traveled to Dharamsala, India, earlier this year to work with the Science for Monks program, which brings Buddhist monastics together with experts in Western science and other disciplines.
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The SUNY New Paltz School of Fine & Performing Arts hosted a week-long series of events merging art, graphic design, digital fabrication and technology as part of the third annual New Paltz Design Week.
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The SUNY New Paltz community and special guests gathered on March 15, for an open house and ribbon-cutting to celebrate the $1.5 million expansion and full renovation of the Speech-Language and Hearing Center. The enhanced facility will support enrollment growth in communication disorders programs and enable students, faculty and staff to better serve their clients.
Read MoreApril
State Assemblymember Kevin Cahill ’77 (Political Science) returned to campus to discuss a carbon tax in New York at a SUNY New Paltz forum. The event emphasized student advocacy work and furthered the College’s longstanding relationship with alumnus Cahill.
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The Department of Digital Media & Journalism hosted a two-day “Animation and Design Celebration” on April 13 and 14, giving SUNY New Paltz students and community members a rare chance to speak with working professionals in all areas of this discipline, from designers to executives.
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The AACSB-accredited School of Business at SUNY New Paltz proudly announced a new Bachelor of Science program in Business Analytics, the first undergraduate program of its kind in the SUNY system and only the second in New York.
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The characters in the SUNY New Paltz production of “Avenue Q,” which opened in April at McKenna Theatre, have a lot in common with those in other plays: they are complex, expressive, charismatic figures, who confront real-world problems with a compelling mix of humor and vulnerability. Unlike most other characters who take the stage at New Paltz, however, many of the stars of “Avenue Q” were puppets.
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SUNY New Paltz retained a STARS Silver Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in recognition of the College’s efforts to implement sustainable practices at all levels of campus life.
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The Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz announced a new Summer Theatre Camp for elementary, middle and high school students, that would create unique opportunities for young performers to develop professional skills in acting, voice, movement, improvisation, theatre design, playwriting and production.
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Members of the SUNY New Paltz community joined with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, other senior state officials, and energy leaders on April 25, 2018, to cut the ceremonial ribbon on a new solar energy system, the latest addition to New Paltz’s sustainability infrastructure.
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The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at SUNY New Paltz hosted a timely panel titled “Contested Memory: Global Monuments, Memorials, and the Making of History,” which explored how communities use memorials to create identity, perform citizenship, define belonging and produce social power.
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Members of the SUNY New Paltz University Police Department (UPD) traveled to the state capital of Albany, N.Y., on April 2 for a ceremony recognizing the UPD’s accreditation by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
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State University of New York Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson presented 249 SUNY students from across the state with the 2018 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, at an April 10 ceremony in Albany, N.Y., including 5 from SUNY New Paltz.
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The Office of Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion welcomed long-time equality advocate Randy Florke to campus for a conversation about his experiences in the gay civil rights movement.
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Reem Ahmed ’17 (Accounting) of Queens, N.Y., was named the valedictorian of the SUNY New Paltz Class of 2018, and addressed peer students from the Schools of Business, Education, Fine & Performing Arts and Science & Engineering, and assembled guests, at the Sunday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 20, 2018.
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As Class of 2018 salutatorian, Julia Friedman ’17 (Communication Disorders) of Centerport, N.Y., served as student speaker at the Saturday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 19, as she walked the stage with fellow College of Liberal Arts & Sciences graduates.
Read MoreMay
An award from the Dyson Foundation allowed the Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC) at SUNY New Paltz to purchase 3D metal printing, wax printing and continuous-build equipment.
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Students and faculty of diverse majors gathered at venues all over the SUNY New Paltz campus on May 4 to celebrate thesis and capstone work produced throughout the 2017-18 academic year.
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The College welcomed 25 women to campus on April 11, 2018 for the fourth Annual Women’s Leadership Summit, sponsored by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
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Dozens of business owners, executives and professionals gathered with business students and faculty at SUNY New Paltz for the inaugural Hudson Valley Venture Hub Leaders’ Forum, marking the debut of a new strategic initiative aimed at increasing the odds of success for start-ups and creating professional and educational opportunities throughout the region.
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Victory Media, the leading publication and resource for U.S. service members entering the civilian workforce, named SUNY New Paltz a Military Friendly® School for the 2018-19 academic year.
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Members of the SUNY New Paltz Class of 2018 extended a cherished tradition at the College, passing a few final hours as undergraduate students to share memories and a champagne with friends at the annual Senior Toast.
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The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at SUNY New Paltz celebrated its 50th year of service to students and the campus community at their biennial conference on May 5, 2018.
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Hundreds of SUNY New Paltz’s newest graduate alumni celebrated with friends, family and faculty mentors as the College opened Commencement weekend with the Graduate Commencement Ceremony on May 18, 2018.
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The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences graduates in the SUNY New Paltz Class of 2018 joined in a tradition linking them to generations of alumni at the Saturday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 19, 2018.
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The newest alumni of the SUNY New Paltz Schools of Business, Education, Fine & Performing Arts and Science & Engineering were recognized before an audience of families, friends, faculty mentors and professional colleagues at the Sunday Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony, on May 20, 2018.
Read MoreJune
SUNY New Paltz scholarship recipients met with donors, alumni and Foundation Board members at the 2018 Scholarship and Tower Society Reception this spring, celebrating the College community’s strong philanthropic investment in the future successes of students.
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PianoSummer at SUNY New Paltz returned for its 2018 season from July 9 – 27, with a series of marquee classical music performances given by some of the most adored and prestigious musicians working in the world today.
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The Economics Department and the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department co-hosted the 27th annual conference of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE), June 19-21 on the SUNY New Paltz campus.
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The Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz released its 20th discussion brief, "Tests are Turning our Kids into Zeroes: A Focus on Failing," a critical analysis of New York State’s testing program in grades 3–8.
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2018 saw the retirement of several long-time SUNY New Paltz staff members, including Richard Bodenshatz, Mary Kastner '71 (Art Education), Theresa Monroe and Chris DeLape '78g.
Read MoreJuly
The Institute for Disaster Mental Health (IDMH) at SUNY New Paltz, in partnership with the Center for International Programs, led a group of students and faculty to work in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to repair and restore homes and infrastructure that were damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
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The Hudson Valley Writing Project (HVWP) at SUNY New Paltz added a new program, “Rise Up and Write,” to its annual series of summer writing workshops for children and young adults.
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Kirsten Walsh ’18 (Theatre Arts – Design and Technology), of Tannersville, N.Y., was named among the prize winners at the 2018 United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Design Expo, for costume designs for SUNY New Paltz’s October 2017 staging of "To Kill a Mockingbird."
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For most SUNY New Paltz students (and parents!), the Orientation program is the first step into the living and learning communities at the College. The college hosts five first-year Orientation groups each summer throughout July. Follow on Instagram using #nporientation.
Read MoreAugust
Nearly 1,200 first-year students and roughly 900 transfer students joined the SUNY New Paltz community this fall, as the College welcomed one of the largest and most diverse incoming classes in its history.
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One of the happiest traditions at SUNY New Paltz continued on Thursday, Aug. 23, as more than 2,000 new first-year and transfer students and their families arrived at campus for Move-In Day.
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The SUNY New Paltz community gathered on Aug. 24, 2018, for the fall Convocation tradition, welcoming an historic incoming class of more than 2,000 new first-year and transfer students.
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The fall 2018 semester saw the continuation of an unprecedented run of physical additions and improvements to the SUNY New Paltz campus, as Facilities Management staff collaborated with contractors and other partners to enhance the College’s modern living and learning spaces.
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Forbes published the 2018 edition of its "America's Top Colleges" feature, and SUNY New Paltz appeared as the number 332 college in the nation, out of 650 evaluated institutions.
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The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz invited community members to a public reception on Saturday, Sept. 15, to celebrate the opening of two new exhibitions: "Community and Continuity: Native American Art of New York" and "Timothy Greenfield-Sanders: The Trans List."
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Sierra Magazine published its annual “Cool Schools Rankings” of the eco-friendliest colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada, and for the third consecutive year SUNY New Paltz was been named inside the top 200.
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SUNY New Paltz proudly announced the appointment of new full-time faculty members.
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SUNY New Paltz launched a new online resource for community members interested in learning more about the origins of campus buildings, their names and their namesakes.
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SUNY New Paltz’s mechanical engineering program, which launched in 2014, earned Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation for the first time, while programs in computer and electrical engineering saw their ABET accreditation affirmed and extended.
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Assistant Professor of Art History Keely Heuer was the latest SUNY New Paltz faculty member to share her research and insight with national radio audiences on the syndicated program, “The Academic Minute.”
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SUNY New Paltz’s Archaeological Field School at Historic Huguenot Street literally broke new ground this year, thanks to a partnership with the Department of Geology and the use of advanced radar equipment.
Read MoreSeptember
SUNY New Paltz celebrated 50 years of study abroad at the College as part of Alumni Reunion Weekend on Oct. 13, 2018. Alumni had the opportunity to share and reconnect with former and current staff, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Louis Saraceno, the first study abroad faculty director, during an afternoon reception.
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SUNY New Paltz proudly announced the opening of a second room on campus, Humanities 308, where new mothers can privately and comfortably express breast milk or nurse their children.
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Assistant Professor Kiersten Greene appeared on the Sept. 12 edition of WAMC’s syndicated program, “The Academic Minute,” to talk about the rapid pace of technological change in k-12 classrooms, and the importance of helping teachers keep up with the trend.
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This fall, honorees received their award at the All-Class Heritage Dinner and Lantern Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. The dinner began at 5:00 p.m. and was part of the Alumni Reunion schedule of events.
The event honored Bruce Orenstein ’68 (Secondary Education 7-12; Social Studies) and Sandra (Schwartz) Orenstein ’67 (Elementary Education K-6; Psychology), Everton H. Henriques ’78 ’83g (Chemistry) and Jeannie Irvine ’78 (Mathematics), Giancarlo Traverso, professor emeritus, Gail Gallerie, former Executive Assistant to the President 1969 - 2003, Marc Warren ’68 (Elementary Education; Psychology) and Dennis Rinsler ’68 (Elementary Education; Psychology), and Patricia (Gisin) King ’60 (Elementary Education; Political Science) and Rosemarie (Mainberger) McBride ’60 (Elementary Education; Biology) ’68g (Secondary Education; Biology).
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The U.S. News & World Report has once again placed SUNY New Paltz in the top tier of universities in the North region, with the College earning the No. 10 position among public universities and No. 41 among all universities in the publication’s 2019 rankings.
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The Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz has the 10th best Bachelor of Arts degree program in Theatre Arts anywhere in the United States, according to a ranking from the theatre profession publication, OnStage Blog.
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SUNY New Paltz’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program began offering students the ability to work in multiple media and disciplines, while preserving the option to concentrate in a single area. They also added MFA in Photography.
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The MBA in Accounting program at SUNY New Paltz was one of just two New York State graduate programs named in a new ranking of the most affordable master's degree programs in accounting for the 2018-19 academic year.
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An agreement between SUNY New Paltz and the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM), Middletown, N.Y., campus will create new opportunities for students to complete a dual undergraduate/medical school program in just seven years.
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More than 60 SUNY New Paltz students participated in a series of workshops, trainings and other events as the first cohort of Stepping into Diversity, a new, grant-funded program designed to empower students as leaders and facilitators of conversation about identity and inclusion.
Read MoreOctober
SUNY New Paltz was selected as one of the first U.S. colleges and universities to participate in a new, two-year program designed to promote excellence in academic advising and improve the experiences of both student advisees and faculty and staff advisors.
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The Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz released its 21st discussion brief, “Going … Going … Gone: Tax Lien Auctions, Hidden Costs, and Missed Opportunities for the City of Poughkeepsie,” authored by Senior Research Associate Joshua Simons ’08 (Political Science).
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For seven-straight seasons the State University of New York at New Paltz tennis team came up one game short of carrying the State University of New York Athletic (SUNYAC) championship trophy back home. This year, the Hawks made sure to take the hardware with them, defeating No. 2 seeded SUNY Oneonta to clinch the program's fifth ever conference title.
Read MoreNovember
It was with great sadness that we mourned the passing of Professor of Sociology Peter Kaufman on Nov. 19. He was 51.Kaufman joined the SUNY New Paltz faculty in 1999 after earning his Ph.D. in Sociology from Stony Brook University. He received continuing appointment in 2006 and was promoted to professor in 2014.
Kaufman was a dedicated writer and scholar. He published frequently and shared his interest in writing with students over many years, teaching a number of writing intensive courses and coordinating the College’s annual Celebration of Writing Day.
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The 2018 get-out-the-vote effort at SUNY New Paltz saw the registration of more than 1,000 first-time and change-of-address voters, with student organizations and faculty and staff volunteers leading a grassroots charge to encourage student engagement with the democratic process.
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Assistant Professor Nadia Sablin was a 2018 winner of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, one of the highest honors available to scholars, scientists and creative artists in the United States.
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The Ashokan Reservoir is not only a gorgeous Hudson Valley landmark; it’s also the primary source of water for the SUNY New Paltz campus. The aqueduct that delivers that water is undergoing repairs, which means it’s never been more important for the campus community to embrace wise water use. Be part of the Slow the Flow effort and learn how you can help preserve this precious resource.
Read MoreDecember
Senior Engineering students presented original designs & prototypes, including an automated guitar tuner, a “magic” deck of radio-frequency-enabled cards, and “Synesthesia,” a wearable headset and app designed to help the hearing-impaired monitor peripheral sounds. Mark your calendar to see the final projects at the annual Engineering EXPO on May 10, 2019.
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The U.S. Green Building Council awarded LEED Gold ratings to both the Wooster Hall and Bevier Hall renovation projects, certifying SUNY New Paltz’s efforts to redesign these buildings with a focus on efficiency and sustainability.
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Classified staff from across campus gathered for some well-deserved R&R at the 33nd annual Appreciation & Recognition Holiday Luncheon on Dec. 15.
The festive meal is a long-standing tradition at SUNY New Paltz, as staff and supervisors take a few moments to enjoy one another’s company, and pay tribute to the contributions each staff member makes to the College’s core educational mission.
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The School of Education at SUNY New Paltz invited faculty, friends and family members to a Dec. 20 ceremony honoring students who successfully completed all student teaching requirements this fall.
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It takes a village: Campus community members decorated more than 500 gingerbread houses to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, through Dining Services by Sodexo’s first-ever “Decorate to Donate” campaign.
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