John Cottone Named Interim Dean of Professional Studies at SUNY Cortland

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CORTLAND, NY (05/21/2008)(readMedia)-- John Cottone, the chair of the Kinesiology Department who has been a member of the SUNY Cortland faculty since 1985, will become the interim dean of the School of Professional Studies effective July 1.

He will replace Roy Olsson, Jr., who has accepted a new position at Grand Valley State College in Michigan. A national search for a full-time dean will be conducted during the 2008-09 academic year.

Cottone will serve as interim dean until June 30, 2009. He has been the Athletic Training Program director for the past 23 years. He was interim director of the Physical Education Department, when it also included sport management, athletic training and kinesiology, in both 1997-98 and in Spring 2000. Cottone has served as chair of the Exercise Science and Sport Studies Department, now known as the Kinesiology Department, since its inception in 2001.

A 2007 recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, Cottone has served on more than 30 committees, many of which address critical components of the College’s mission. These include the College Curriculum Review Committee, Faculty Senate and Student Health Advisory Committee. His leadership led to his appointment as chair of the Educational Policy Committee and of the Curriculum Task Force. He also shared his expertise in health and safety as a member of the Emergency Squad Advisory Board and the Automated External Defibrillator Task Force.

Since receiving his doctorate in education from Syracuse University, Cottone has been a manuscript reviewer for Human Kinetics, a publishing company. He has also written articles for several athletic training journals and presented papers at athletic conferences throughout the northeast.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., he grew up in West Babylon, N.Y. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Castleton State College in Vermont, where he was a standout lacrosse player and an inductee into the Castleton State Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned a master’s degree in physical education and athletic training from Indiana State University and an Ed.D. from Syracuse University.

Cottone began his professional career as an assistant professor of physical education and the athletic trainer at Castleton State College. In 1985, he joined SUNY Cortland as an assistant professor of physical education and the head athletic trainer. He was promoted to associate professor in 2000.

He resides in Virgil, N.Y., with his wife Brenda, and their two children, Nicole, a junior at Nazareth College, and Caitlin, a junior at Cortland High School.

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