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SUNY-ESF Feinstone Award Celebrates STEM Education
SYRACUSE — The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) will recognize the importance of STEM education during its 2013 Feinstone Environmental Awards dinner Oct. 17.
STEM education – science, technology, engineering, math – works to promote an interest in those critical subjects early in students' academic careers.
Larry Leatherman, president of the Milton J. Rubentstein Museum of Science and Technology (MOST), will receive the Feinstone Award in recognition of his leadership at the MOST and in the advancement of science education in Central New York. The event will also feature remarks by Emmy-nominated actor, director and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr.
As museum president, Leatherman is leading the MOST through a major revitalization project and an $8.9 million capital campaign. He is committed to moving forward and making the museum's vision a reality: to be a pre-eminent center of science and technology, providing both education and entertainment for all ages. Prior to taking the helm at The MOST, Leatherman served on the MOST board for 10 years and was instrumental in helping to bring the Bristol IMAX' Omnitheater to Syracuse.
Leatherman has also served on the boards of the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse Stage, the ESF College Foundation, Inc., and the Syracuse International Film & Video Festival.
Prior to coming to the MOST, Leatherman was senior director, operations of Americas, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company when he retired in 2005. In 2003, he was honored on the Manufacturing Association of Central New York's Wall of Fame.
The Feinstone Award will be presented during a dinner at the Gateway Center on the ESF campus. The awards program is expected to begin at 8:30 p.m.
The event will also feature remarks by Begley, an Emmy-nominated actor, director and environmentalist. Perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the long-running television series St. Elsewhere, he has also co-starred in Woody Allen's Whatever Works and a number of Christopher Guest films including A Mighty Wind and Best in Show.
Begley is an environmental leader in the Hollywood community and beyond. He serves on the boards of Green Wish, the Coalition for Clean Air, The Thoreau Institute and the advisory board of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Master of ceremonies for the event will be David Eichorn, a meteorologist with more than 30 years' experience. Eichorn was formerly with WSYR-TV Syracuse for 20 years specializing in lake effect snowstorms and atmospheric patterns which produce them. He now holds adjunct positions at ESF, SUNY Oswego and Onondaga Community College, teaching introductory meteorology, advanced forecasting, and broadcast meteorology.
The Feinstone Awards program was established by Sol Feinstone, a widely known historian and author who was a 1915 graduate of ESF. His goal was to reward people and organizations that exemplified his belief that the best insurance for a free society lay in people's desire to do voluntarily the things that need to be done for the good of all.
The program recognizes leaders who care for the environment, encourage volunteerism and add to society's understanding of environmental issues and their solutions. The Feinstone program has made more than 100 awards, honoring people from across the United States for their significant contributions to protecting the environment and promoting the spirit of volunteerism.