Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler to receive Distinguished Service Award
Cazenovia College will host its 193rd Commencement ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 19. Alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, parents, friends and neighbors of the College community will join together to celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2018.
City of Syracuse Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens will serve as the speaker for the College’s 193rd Commencement.
Owens has worked for more than 30 years in the fields of housing, community development, human services and government. In January 2018, she was appointed to deputy mayor of the City of Syracuse by Mayor Ben Walsh. In this capacity she oversees city programs and services that address quality of life in the Syracuse community, including neighborhood and business development, parks and recreation, as well as the police and fire departments. Owens also serves as chief of staff to the mayor.
Owens’ involvement in the community also includes serving on the executive committee of the Greater Syracuse HOPE Initiative, the Consensus Commission on Local Government Modernization, and the I-81 Community Stakeholder Committee. In 2015, Owens received “The Kathy” award from the Gifford and Allyn Foundations, which recognized her commitment to establishing sound community-impacting advocacy for community residents and their families.
Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler will receive the Distinguished Service Award which recognizes individuals whose contributions to the college and the greater community have helped to improve the quality of life for others.
Wheeler is completing his 22nd year as a teacher at Cazenovia High School where he also serves as the Social Studies Department leader and coaches the girls cross country, indoor track and spring track teams. Now a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, he was mobilized and deployed to Iraq in 2006, served as the officer in charge of the Marine Corps History Division Detachment and is currently the officer in charge of the Reserve Detachment at the Marine Corps’ Office of Legislative Affairs in the Pentagon.
In addition to being a dedicated teacher, coach, mayor and Marine Corps officer, Wheeler has been a good friend to Cazenovia College. With his support, the relationship between the village and college is as constructive and strong as ever, which greatly enhances the vitality of the community and the region.
Additional details for 2018 Commencement are available online at cazenovia.edu/commencement.
