By Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart

SUNY Broome is always looking towards the future. Faculty and staff work daily to ensure that the College is prepared to support the students of today, tomorrow, and decades from now. Usually, our collective focus on the future is quietly evolving and advancing behind the scenes, but on June 22, 2023, the campus community made preparing for the future a celebration, via a Time Capsule Ceremony, to commemorate a unique moment in the College’s 75 year history. 

Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College, gathered in front of the Darwin R. Wales Center to view a selection of the over 100 pieces of SUNY Broome memorabilia that will be preserved for the Hornets of 2073. 

The campus community spent the 2021/2022 academic year celebrating SUNY Broome’s 75th anniversary with events ranging from campus wide picnics, to specialty lectures and gallery exhibits, to a joint 75th birthday party with our sister school, Binghamton University. The final diamond anniversary activity to mark this momentous occasion was to prepare a collection of mementos from the College’s 75 year history to preserve for 50 years. 

After heeding a call to action, the campus community went into their homes and offices and collected everything from an acceptance letter to join the first class of New York State Institute of Applied Arts & Sciences at Binghamton, to yearbooks, to photographs, to a variety of SUNY Broome swag. 

Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

Special guest speakers included Donna Lupardo, New York State Assemblywoman for District 123, Jason Garnar, County Executive, Mike Marinaccio, Town of Dickinson Supervisor, and Doug Garnar, SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Each presenter offered a contribution to be placed in the time capsule to illustrate their connection to SUNY Broome.   

“The members of our community in 2073 will be looking for clues about what life was like in 1946-2023. These items will provide context about the cultural traditions of our region and will serve as a beautiful reminder of the value of SUNY Broome,” said Lupardo. 

As one of Dr. Kevin E. Drumm’s final campus events as the College’s 7th President, he took a moment to share his hope for the future of SUNY Broome.

“While of course I probably won’t be present at the unearthing of this capsule in 2073, some of you will be around, and my sincere hope is that the recipients of this lovingly curated collection of history will cherish its contents and will appreciate the foundation of this institution of higher learning, that works daily to provide our learning community with accessible, inclusive, and diverse educational experiences,” shared Dr. Drumm. 

Special thanks to the Time Capsule Committee for their commitment to the preservation of the history of SUNY Broome. Committee members included: 

  • Dr. Francis Battisti 
  • Ashley Blackwell 
  • Silvia Briga
  • Elisabeth Costanzo Stewart
  • Justine Dadamio 
  • Doug Garnar 
  • Dave Ligeikis
  • Erin Merritt
  • Robin Petrus
  • Jamie L Smith
  • Robin Valashinas
  • Cathy Williams
  • Jesse Wells

This event would not have been possible without Connor Culverwell (LAAA ’21,) who served as the “Time Capsule intern.” Culverwell was instrumental in the curation of this collection of historical artifacts. Connor will be continuing his graduate studies in Information and Library Science at the University at Buffalo. 

To view the contents of SUNY Broome’s Time Capsule, please visit the SUNY Broome Time Capsule Content Book.

The Time Capsule committee was comprised of faculty and staff from across campus.
Photo Credit: Matt Ebbers

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