Tim Seil was hired as Hilbert’s Athletic Director in December of 2021. He has described his time at Hilbert as “outstanding”. 

Before coming to Hilbert Tim worked as the Assistant Director of Athletic facilities at Canisius College. He also teaches at the college in the Kinesiology and Sports management programs 

“I’ve learned a lot. As you mentioned, this is my first AD job,” he said. “Kara Reabum and Rob deGrandpre have done a really good job of helping me navigate certain problems and questions.” 

 Hilbert’s campus size had a role to play in making the job easier, Seil said, noting how everything is in reasonable distance and what an advantage it is being able to know everyone. 

“I’m able to walk across campus in two minutes to go have a conversation with somebody,” Seil said. “It’s a lot better to have this conversation face to face rather than over e-mail, right? So those types of things have been great you don’t get lost in the shuffle here you feel like I pretty much know everybody on campus including the professors.” 

“I think it’s something that still kind of keeps me connected to actually engaging with the students on a different level than I would normally do on a daily basis.” 

When the decision came to leave his previous job at Canisus to come to Hilbert one of the driving factors was having his family in the right position along with being in a position to succeed, Seil said. 

“I knew that I wanted to be in athletics long term,” he said.”But I also wanted to be in the right position for my family and I knew that I wanted a position close to home. I saw (college president) Dr. (Michael) Brophy’s vision and I was like ok I think I can succeed here.” 

A big part of Brophy’s vision for the athletic department was the start of three new sports programs to Hilbert: football, track and field and women’s ice hockey.

Seil said how proud he is of the sports being implemented successfully under his tenure. 

“I’m proud of the fact that we started those three new sports and added over 120 new student athletes,” he said. “Being able to give more opportunities to students and helping grow enrollment here at Hilbert’s been important. The next thing I want to accomplish is getting a field and track.” 

Football, being one of the more eye-catching additions of the three new sports, came under a lot of attention and scrutiny from within the college community. Hilbert Football went winless in the regular in its inaugural season, with the majority of the losses coming by large margins, but did have two wins in exhibition matches against junior varsity teams. And head coach Jim Kubiak left at the end of the season.

Seil said struggles are to be expected when implementing brand new programs. 

“We struggled in year one,” Seil said. “Anytime you add any sports program it takes time to develop, you need established people, athletes, and culture. I know that it can be done but it’s going to take time.”

“Last year we were a younger team, the two JV teams we did play St. John Fisher and Brockport we beat them, so I know that it can be done, it is just going to take time.” 

Seil also applauded the job that new Head Football Coach Ted Egger has done so far this season in leading the program 

“I think Coach Egger and his staff have done a really good job getting these athletes prepared, having structure so they can succeed,” Seil said. 

The annual Kangaro Encounter event was held at Hilbert College on September 21st, 2023.

During the event, inside a temporarily fenced area the student body and faculty of Hilbert College had the chance to engage several kangaroos varying in age, color, and size. Between 11:00am and 3:00pm, the entire campus was able to engage with this animal along with several others as well in a very proactive way, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert women’s soccer started their AMCC campaign with a decisive 5-2 win over Carlow this afternoon. Five first half goals, including a Chloe Champagne hat trick, propelled the Hawks over the Celtics.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Gabrielle Avallone got the Hawks on the board just over a minute into the contest. The ball found her at the top of the box, and she made no mistake putting the ball into the top corner of the net. The goals kept coming for the Hawks as Champagne only needed 4:32 to complete her hat trick. Her first goal came after Avallone played her through on goal and she calmly placed the ball in the bottom of the net just before the seven-minute mark. Less than two minutes later, Champagne found herself uncovered on the back post where she finished a tap-in after a perfect pass from Grace Zabawa. Just under three minutes after that tally, Champagne made it a 4-0 game with a shot over the Carlow goalkeeper for her third of the game.

Despite the scoreline, the Celtics never gave up in this one, forcing three straight saves from Hilbert goalkeeper, Jordan Brown after the Hawks’ flurry of goals. Just before the half, it would be Carlow’s turn to add to the scoreboard. Two goals in 15 seconds cut the Hawks’ lead in half just two minutes before the break. However, Zabawa would find herself through on goal after some impressive dribbling. She made no mistake and restored the Hawks lead back to three.

The second half of this one was a defensive battle, led by the goalkeepers, with neither team finding the back of the net. This wouldn’t be for a lack of effort, as Brown made five second half saves to keep her team ahead. Her counterpart in the Celtics goal, Lyndsey Szekely, made eight second half saves of her own in an effort to keep Carlow in the game.

GAME NOTES

• Champagne buried three first-half goals.
• Avallone and Zabawa each tallied a goal and an assist.
• Brown made eight saves in the winning effort.
• Evin Stauffer fired five shots on net.
• Isabelle Hilbert saw her first collegiate action in the win.

UP NEXT

The Hawks will look to build off their victory as they head to SUNY Brockport for a matchup with the 7-1 Golden Eagles on Monday. The game is set to kickoff at 2 PM on their new turf.

HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Hawks Men’s Soccer team earned their first win of the season today at home vs Bryant and Stratton. The visiting Bobcats outshot the Hawks in the one, however excellent goalkeeping and finishing brought Hilbert the 4-1 victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The action started early in this one as the Bobcats struck first just over six minutes in. Jason Clohesy found Aidan Byk at the top of the box for a perfectly placed shot to the right of Hilbert goalkeeper, Logan Peck, for the 1-0 lead. The Hawks picked up the pressure after the early deficit, and eventually got the equalizer from Jason Vullo. Andrew Herstek‘s first of three assists in the game set up the Hawks’ first of the game. Herstek played Vullo through on goal behind the Bryant and Stratton defense and the striker made no mistake, finding the back of the net for his first of the season. Despite chances on both ends, the score remained knotted at one when the whistle blew for halftime.

The Hawks brought the offense in the second 45 of the match. Herstek found the head of Cam Murdie on a corner kick for the 2-1 Hilbert lead three minutes into the half. The header would be the first career goal for the Hawks freshman. The playmaking continued for Herstek as he found Jacob Donner for his first career goal on another well delivered corner kick for the Hawks’ third goal of the match. After a skillful run down the right of the pitch, Murdie found Carter Burke in the box for a calm finish in the bottom of the net for the Hawks’ fourth goal. The Bobcats had some late-game pressure in the Hilbert end, but Peck was perfect in the final 83 minutes of this one, saving the final six shots sent his way.

GAME NOTES

• Donner, Murdie scored their first collegiate goals.
• Herstek picked up his first three career assists.
• Burke and Vullo each added to career goal totals.

UP NEXT

The Hawks will take on Carlow at home this Saturday to begin conference play. The AMCC opener will kick off at Hawk Field at 3:15 PM, following the Women’s game at 1.

Editor’s Note: This article was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Hilbert College Golf team set another program record this season shooting a 322, beating their previous record of 323 set a few weeks ago.  

The Hawks finished in first place for the second time this season with Delhi (A) finishing in second place (324) and Canton finishing in third place (327).  

Adam Szlamczynski of SUNY Canton took the individual honors for the tournament shooting a 72 (E). Noah Tyler of SUNY Delhi took second shooting a 78 (+6).    

Michael Petrus and Reese Chase took third in a three-way tie with Elmira’s Christian Babcock. All three golfers shot a 79 (+7). The Hawks also had two golfers finish in the top 10, Matthew Whalen and Gabe Prohaska finish T9. Both shot an 82 (+10).   

Team results: 

1. Hilbert – 322 (+34)  

2. Delhi (A) – 324 (+36)  

3. Canton – 327 (+39)  

4. Elmira (A) – 333 (+45)  

5. Oswego – 336 (+48)  

6. Delhi (B) – 339 (+51) 

 7. Hobart – 345 (+57)  

8. Russell Sage – 348 (+60)  

9. Elmira (B) – 385 (+97)  

10. Wells – 409 (+121) 

Hilbert results: 

79 – Michael Petrus (+7) 

79 – Reese Chase (+7) 

82- Matthew Whelan (+10) 

82- Gabe Prohaska (+10) 

84 – Nikko Lazzara (+12) 

The Hawks travel to Keuka College on September 27th.

Editor’s Note: This article was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

(HAMBURG, New York) Hilbert College took the 10th spot among Regional Colleges in the North for Top Performers on Social Mobility for the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Colleges rankings.

“Hilbert College is dedicated to delivering an outstanding education experience to all our students and this recognition is a testament to our efforts,” said Hilbert President Dr. Michael S. Brophy. “Because of strategic investments in line with our foundational values, we’re able to offer more resources, more programs, and more opportunities for growth to a diverse student population. I am proud that our programs have been recognized as some of the best in the country.”

This year, the U.S. News rankings assessed more than a thousand U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality. According to the U.S. News methodology, social mobility measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants – typically from households earning less than $50,000 annually. U.S. News published a distinct social mobility ranking for all ranked schools. The social mobility ranking was computed by aggregating the two ranking factors assessing graduation rates of Pell-awarded students. The U.S. News full methodology can be found here: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-us-news-calculated-the-rankings.

Hilbert’s Pell-eligible population and opportunity programs, such as Say Yes and Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), continue to grow to their highest levels. Hilbert’s 12-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, along with service leaning and internship requirements, provide the support and experiential opportunities to lead to success after graduation for Hilbert students. Ranking as the No. 10 Top Performer in Social Mobility among Regional Colleges, aligns with Hilbert’s mission and vision as a Catholic, Franciscan college providing access for a diverse student population, including a large percentage of first-generation students.

Editor’s Note: This story was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert MARCOM department.

HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert men’s soccer found themselves in a battle this afternoon at home. The visiting Blue Devils from Fredonia squeaked out a 2-1 win in the final minutes after a tightly contested match.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Hawks had an ideal start in this one as Jason Vullo found himself in on goal just over 30 seconds in. He was hauled down in the box giving his team an early penalty kick opportunity. Carter Burke stepped up for the Hawks and found the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage less than a minute in. Following the goal, Fredonia turned up the pressure with a flurry of free-kick and corner kick attempts toward Logan Peck‘s goal. The Hilbert goalkeeper turned away four shots until the Blue Devils were awarded a penalty kick of their own. Camron Walsh stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards out to knot the game at one just before the half ended.

The second half saw much of the play in the Hawks end. The defensive unit of Reese Tomporowski, Jacob Donner, Cam Murdie, and Chris Smith gave the Hawks life in this one with a number of blocks and 50/50 ball wins. However, another Walsh strike in the 85th minute would be enough for the Blue Devils to get the win.

GAME NOTES

• Peck made nine saves in a full 90 minutes of action.
• Burke scored his third of the season from the spot.

UP NEXT

The Hawks return home looking for their first win of the season in a matchup with Bryant & Stratton. The Bobcats come into town Tuesday, September 19th for a 4 PM kickoff.

Editor’s Note: This article was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

ALFRED, N.Y. – The hosting Saxons scored their goals in pairs tonight in their 4-0 win over the Hilbert College Hawks. The Hawks had chances early but weren’t able to get on the board in this one.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Goalkeeper Austin Boies was tested early on in the contest, making two saves inside the first ten minutes. The Hawks responded with pressure of their own by way of Jason Vullo and Cam Murdie shots on target. However, it was Alfred who would get on the board first in this one. Gavin Culley put his squad up 1-0 just inside the 15-minute mark. After another Vullo shot, the Saxons came right back down to double their lead with a Noam Sokolovsky strike just five minutes after the Culley goal. Boies was challenged three more times before the first 45 was up, and he was equal to the task each time to keep it a 2-0 game.

The Second half started off with back-and-forth action that included another Vullo shot, and three more Boies stops. The score stayed at 2-0 until two quick Saxon strikes 30 minutes in doubled the lead and put the game out of reach.

GAME NOTES

• Vullo tallied three shots on net.
• Boies made seven saves in his first 90-minute effort of the season.
• Murdie fired his first shot on net of the season.

UP NEXT

The Hawks will look to get in the win column when they head home for a matchup with Fredonia on Saturday at Hawk Field. The Blue Devils come into town for a 1 PM kickoff.

Editor’s note: This article was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

HAMBURG, N.Y.  – Hilbert College Volleyball came to play tonight as they battled against a once-beaten Lycoming College Warriors in front of a large and encouraging crowd in the Hafner Recreation Center.

The Hawks found success hitting over Lycoming’s hands above the net, but the visitors escaped with a 3-2 win, improving to 7-1 on the season while the Hawks steadied themselves at 3-4 overall.

THE BASICS

Final score:  Lycoming 25, 24, 19, 25, 15  |  Hilbert 12, 26, 25, 21, 9
Location: Hafner Recreation Center | Hamburg
Records: Hilbert 3-4, Lycoming 7-1

HOW IT HAPPENED –  

Hilbert, playing in their first 5-set match of the season, collected 48 kills, 44 assists, 59 digs, four solo blocks and six block assists without committing any ball handling errors.

Maria Spinelli (2 solo blocks) and Michaela Rice each recorded double digit kills, posting 12 and 10 respectively.  Rice also chipped in 12 digs, collected the team’s first double double of the year.

Katie Kociszewski added eight kills, two service aces, two solo blocks and was a helper on two additional blocks at the net. 

Natalie Ruhlmann was very involved leading with 19 digs but touched the ball after almost every Warrior serve, and Jessee Jonathan was credited with 35 of the team’s 44 assists.  

• The opening set was played at a slow but comfortable pace for both teams as they traded points until 9-all.  Lycoming went on a 10-1 run and put the first match in their favor.
• The second set started out the same, but Hilbert pulled ahead by four points and maintained that lead until 22-17.  But Lycoming knotted the set at 24-24 only to fall behind again in the 26-24 Hilbert win.
• Lycoming jumped out to a 12-7 advantage, forcing a Hilbert timeout.  Ruhlmann served the hosts back in the game at 12-all and Kociszewski recorded two service aces in her five-point run to lift Hilbert 21-17.  Kara Valvo pulled another point from the service line as Hilbert went up 2-1 in sets.
• Set four mirrored the first three sets with both teams trading serves.   Lycoming stacked seven points together as they stretched a one-point set to a 22-17 margin.  Four different Hawks recorded four consecutive kills to pull within one (22-21) but Lycoming toughed it out to force the fifth set.
• With the score tied at 7-7, Lycoming’s 8th point forced a bench shift and that seemed to be the difference.  The Warriors held a 12-7 lead before winning the match 15-9. 

UP NEXT
The Hawks will travel to the North Country Classic this weekend.  Hilbert will play two matches at SUNY Canton (Plattsburgh State) on Friday and then played two more matches at SUNY Poly (Northern Vermont University – Johnson) on Saturday.

Editor’s Note: This article was shared with The Scribe by the Hilbert Athletics Department.

by David Anderson

Fellow Hawks, here is some food for thought: We need fundamental restructuring of remote-learning curriculum to ensure disability rights and success; and greater success for all students.

The way more students are learning is evolving. Millions of students are taking advantage of the evolution of remote-learning, or E-Learning, opportunities as they advance their lives as contributing citizens. I am one of them. As a returning student. I am also disabled. (I didn’t use to be.)

My disability relates to physical limitations, which occurred later in life, following fifty-plus years of complete physical capability. During those productive years I fully exploited my body’s capabilities as a tool’. My exploitation was demonstrated in my livelihood as a tradesman and in my other fulfilling activities that were also physically reliant, like rock climbing and Martial Arts. My mind was not excluded as an exploited tool either. I also pursued higher education, two separate times, via both the traditional classroom format during the mid-late 1980s and the remote-learning, online format in the late 2000s. Both of those pursuits had certain physical demands too, but they were prior to my disability.

So, once I became disabled, realizing I was not capable in the same way, I knew continued education would allow me the opportunity to remain productive, bringing us to the present day. I am again pursuing higher education, and again, through a remote-learning format.  Although, this time I am negotiating the added challenges that arise when disabled. To my surprise, my disability revealed the shortcoming of disability rights regarding the remote-learning curriculum structure that has been adapted from the traditional classroom structure.

My new perspective has unveiled that when a disability is a factor, traditional curriculum structuring is not supportive of disability rights when adapted to remote-learning programs, which are typically condensed. As a couple of my instructors put it, the courses are virtually twice the material in half the time. This prompts a re-evaluation of curriculum structure to match the evolution of how we learn, thus ensuring not just disability rights, but equally important, success, and for all remote learning students too.

This is not just a personal concern but, on a greater scale, a social concern to support the success of disabled, and all other remote, students. To empower everyone to become actively participating informed citizens we are given the right to education. To empower those with a disability we have also established a protected right to equal access to education without taking greater risk to personal health, as established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). So, why is this a social concern, you might ask?

The number of students this issue impacts is staggering. According to an article published by Forbes, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), reports the number of students enrolled in at least one online course, as of 2021, is up 75 percent, which has seen annual growth since before the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in 2018. The reported numbers are as follows:

• Public colleges enrolled about 8.5 million online students.
• Another 2.7 million remote learners attended private schools.
• 1.9 million at nonprofit institutions,
• And nearly 800,000 at for-profit schools.

Now factor the number of disabled students, which is suggestive of greater numbers than reported because students with disabilities, in data gathered by the NCES in 2022, “among students who responded that they did have a disability while attending college, (out of those roughly 14 million enrollees) only about one-third of students (37 percent) informed their college,” That means that at least 5.1 million disabled students are enrolled in an online program. Indicating that many disabled students are not recognized to begin with, and/or not being provided appropriate consideration of disability challenges.

These kinds of numbers confirm that this is a social concern. And heaven forbid, perhaps your concern as a disabled student one day. Because life happens!

Reluctancy to reform remote learning because of financial resources should not be a concern for institutions. Latest studies indicate that the E-learning market is projected to hit $848 billion by 2030. That should appeal to the bean-counters.

This social concern beckons the values of Catholic Social Teaching and Hilbert’s Franciscan mission to act in earnest compassion to ensure the dignity and success of vulnerable disabled students. In adherence to these values of compassion and service, strong advocacy of the Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2023, reform to communication policies regarding asynchronous instruction, a disclosure of available financial resources and options prior to, and throughout, enrollment, expanded inclusion of assistive/adaptive technology with mentored instruction, and course material alternatives like video and audio are warranted.

I present this food for thought because, despite my challenges, through personal dedication, I have still managed to accomplish academic success. I garnered induction into Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society, albeit at great risk to my personal health and well-being because of the current structure. This is my reason for bringing reform of current remote-learning format to attention. If the curriculum is reverse engineered to ensure the rights of disabled remote students, then it can be applied to traditional students, so all students have a better chance at success.

With consideration to my experience in both traditional and remote learning programs, and my insight into disability needs and rights, a re-evaluation of remote learning restructuring is worthy of everyone’s consideration. As a community, we can exemplify Catholic Social Teaching and Hilbert’s Franciscan mission, which I am humbly proud to represent, we can promote the rights and success of all students – forget the labels.

*Let’s face it, “successful learners are successful citizens!” [me, 2023]