On April 24 at the annual Heron Awards banquet, Cynthia Fults Burke '87 was presented with the Heron Award for her commitment to William Smith College and its athletics programs. In addition, the William Smith College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) honored three supporters of Heron athletics with appreciation awards.
Burke, a native of Weedsport, N.Y., who now resides in Westfield, N.J., played field hockey, lacrosse and club ice hockey while at William Smith. She has served on the Heron Society Board of Directors since 2005. Burke also served as the co-chair of the Fund for HWS Athletics during the capital campaign helping to raise funds for the renovation of Boswell Field, Elliott Varsity House and Bristol Field House. She most recently supported the installation of a new Astroturf12 surface on McCooey Field. Burke has supported William Smith Athletics through her commitment as a Heron Society member and to other important William Smith Athletics projects.
The SAAC Community Member Appreciation Award was given to Dana Newman. As the owner of Dana's Time Out, Newman has hosted numerous William Smith alumnae and Hobart alumni events. She also runs concession stands at various HWS sporting events. Dana's Time Out also supports William Smith Athletics on the field by being a member of the Heron Society Corporate Alliance Program. Without the support of her business and other Corporate Alliance Partners, the Herons would not have the gear, equipment or facilities that they have today.
Professor Scott McKinney was presented with the SAAC Faculty Appreciation Award. Even though he is known around campus as a professor, he has been so much more to the William Smith Tennis Team. Countless times, he has filled in as a doubles partner for almost everyone on the team, evening out the numbers when an extra player was needed. His cheers became an extremely familiar sound to the tennis team, as he has even traveled all the way up to St. Lawrence to support the Herons against one of their biggest rivals. Professor McKinney is committed not only to the Heron tennis program, but to William Smith Athletics. He has also served as the NCAA Faculty Representative and as an advocate for student-athletes on the Committee on Athletics. His role as a liaison between academics and athletics has been invaluable to the William Smith Athletics Department as well as Heron student-athletes.
The SAAC Staff Appreciation Award was given to Bob Murphy, the vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions. He began working at the Colleges in 2004 as the Director of the Salisbury Center for Career Services. Through his hard work at Career Services, Murphy helped a remarkable number of students discover their career paths, fine tune their resumes, obtain internships, and successfully interview for the job of their choice. He accepted his current position at admissions in 2009 where he travels extensively and meets with prospective students. However, Murphy continues to meet with current students regarding internships, scholarship opportunities, and career choices. Murphy has labored above and beyond the call of duty with his strong investment in the interests of current and perspective students as well as with his hard work and dedication to William Smith student-athletes.
