Old Westbury, NY - April 18, 2014 - Susan Ramirez, a senior at SUNY College at Old Westbury, was one of only 274 students across the state recently honored by SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher with the 2014 Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

A resident of Brentwood, New York, Ramirez studies as part of the Honors College at Old Westbury and will graduate this May with a degree in Biological Sciences.

“Students honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence truly embody the power of SUNY,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “As proven leaders and role models, scholar athletes, creative artists, and civic volunteers, each student is recognized not just for academic achievement, but also for the profound impact they have on college campuses and local communities across New York State.”

In addition to being a high-achiever academically, Ramirez has demonstrated leadership and involvement both on and off campus.  Having actively conducted research alongside faculty member Manya Dhar-Mascareno into signaling indicators that may serve as early alerts for those with prostate cancer, Ramirez has presented her findings at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students and is a co-author on a paper being prepared for inclusion in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.

The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence was created in 1997 to recognize students who have best demonstrated, and have been recognized for, the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in the areas of leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement.

Each year, campus presidents establish a selection committee, which reviews exemplary students. Nominees are then forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office and are subject to a second round of review. Finalists are then recommended to the Chancellor to become recipients of the award. Each recipient receives a framed certificate and medallion, which is traditionally worn at commencement.

About SUNY College at Old Westbury
Located on the historic North Shore of New York’s Long Island, SUNY College at Old Westbury is a selective public liberal arts college with more than 4,300 students studying in more than 40 undergraduate degree opportunities in its liberal arts and professional programs and 15 graduate programs in business, education and mental health counseling.  On the College’s 604-acre campus, students and faculty participate in an environment that demands academic excellence, fosters intercultural understanding, and endeavors to stimulate a passion for learning and a commitment to building a more just and sustainable world. For more information on SUNY College at Old Westbury, visit www.oldwestbury.edu.

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 463,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs, and more than 1.8 million NYS citizens in professional development and personal enrichment programs, on 64 college and university campuses. There are nearly 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.