Cream of the Crop

Ten UAlbany Scholars Earn SUNY’s Highest Award

Ten UAlbany students won the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor the State University of New York bestows on its students. This year, 256 students from 64 campuses won the award, which will be handed out at a ceremony Wednesday, April 5, at the Empire State Plaza.

"It is my honor to celebrate the achievements of students who have surpassed SUNY’s highest standards of academic excellence and leadership both on and off campus," said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. "Every student we recognize has demonstrated a strong commitment to their degree program, home campus, greater community, and much more. Congratulations to all of the students receiving this year’s award.”

Award winners were nominated based on their integration of academic excellence with other aspects of their lives including leadership, campus involvement, community service, arts (creative or performing), athletics, and/or career achievement.

Mathew Boll of Lynbrook, N.Y.
Major: Chemistry (Forensic); Minor: Biology

Boll has been recognized by UAlbany for his excellence in research and academics on several occasions and is a founding member of the UAlbany Undergraduate Chemistry Club. He not only has a passion for chemistry but also for firefighting. Boll has been serving his home town with the Lynbrook Fire Department since 2013.

David Bunn of Amityville, N.Y.
Major: Biology

Bunn is a member of the Honors College, Phi Beta Kappa—the nation’s oldest academic honor society—and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. David has sat on committees to help direct change at UAlbany, such as in the residence halls as a member of the Residential Life Advisory Board and as a member of the Biology Department’s Graduate Recruitment Committee to help diversify its graduate program.

He plans to attend medical school, and has been accepted to Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Weill Cornell Medicine.