Envisioning the Potential in All Students

ENVISIONING the Potential in All Students

Educator donates $2 million in recognition of his Oswego education, in support of future teachers

Frank Maraviglia ’58 was young when his father died, and he and his brother, Raymond ’61, became wards of the state.

He moved from one school to another and then finally to the Barker Boys School near Lockport, N.Y. The school featured a vocational program funded by a National Youth Administration grant, a depression-era federal agency supporting training for young people without a job or in need of training, according to a 2016 Union-Sun & Journal column about the school.

“I went to school in Barker, which I am very proud of,” said the 93-year-old Jamesville, N.Y., resident. “That particular school had its own aircraft and its own airfield, its own machine shop and its own dormitory.”

His early education set him on a path that led him to a successful career as an educator at the high school and college level. In December, he gave SUNY Oswego a $2 million gift in recognition of the exceptional education he earned at the university that helped him achieve a fulfilling life as an educator.

Those early educational experiences also inspired him to see the value and potential in all students, especially those earmarked for industrial arts programs.

When he graduated from SUNY Oswego in 1958, he became an industrial arts teacher at a high school on Long Island. He applied experiential credits earned during his service in the U.S. Army to finish his bachelor’s in under three years, so he was able to complete a master’s degree at Hofstra University with the remaining tuition credits from the G.I. Bill.

“I wanted to be a teacher, and I wanted to be a good one,” he said. “At that time, there was a bias against people taking shop, so I changed the word from shop to laboratory. I got the students who were in industrial arts to participate in activities. I like to think I raised them up to be equal to any other student.”

Maraviglia tried to provide opportunities for each student to showcase their unique talents, even if it wasn’t tied to the coursework. For example, he created a basketball team for his students so they could gain the recognition of their peers. He also recalled allowing a young man, who struggled as a student, to bring his guitar into a class party.

“That right there changed his whole complexion as an individual,” he said. “From then on, he was recognized by the rest of the students. I gave him a chance to shine, and it helped him.”

As Maraviglia reflected on his life’s work as an educator first at the high school level and then as a tenured professor of landscape architecture for 35 years at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., he said he always tried to focus on the students.

“If you emphasize the student, they can do more than what they think they can do,” he said. “That to me is what teaching is all about. The instructor is really just a catalyst to bring out their potential. I believe in the students.”

He said he hopes his gift to SUNY Oswego will reinforce that message across generations.

“Years from now, I want them to remember, that given a chance, a student will be able to materialize a lot more than what they think,” he said. “I want to try to provoke students to be more creative than what they’ve been doing. I want them to recognize their potential. I want them to shine by themselves.”

His gift established the Maraviglia Education Enrichment Fund in the university’s highly regarded School of Education, which will support scholarship and engagement opportunities for students as well as innovative academic programming from the faculty.

A comprehensive photo depicting the Maraviglia Atrium in Park and Wilber halls

In recognition of the gift, the School of Education’s main entrance between Wilber and Park halls will be named the Maraviglia Atrium. The SUNY Board of Trustees approved the naming at its full board meeting on Dec. 5, 2023.

“Mr. Maraviglia’s generosity will make an enormous impact on the lives of our students and help produce more qualified teachers to address the teacher shortage in our K-12 school system and contribute immensely to the talent development needed to further advance economic development in Central New York,” said SUNY Oswego President Peter Nwosu. “We are deeply grateful for this transformative gift.”

The additional resources will enable the School of Education to develop more opportunities for students to learn and explore their field of teaching.

Frank Maraviglia and his wife Gloria on their wedding day.

“The Maraviglia Education Enrichment Fund will infuse additional resources into the School of Education that will expand access and opportunities for experiential learning to more students,” said Oswego Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Scott Furlong. “His generous donation offers the school a fantastic opportunity to invest in innovative programming and academic experiences.”

Expanding creativity and innovative thinking were driving factors in Maraviglia’s teaching and his work as a consultant to such companies as IBM, AT&T and GE. A co-founder of the consulting firm Creativity Unlimited, he advised numerous global companies on employing creative problem-solving to advance their businesses.

“What I like about creativity and creative problem-solving is you’re always thinking about opportunities,” Maraviglia said. “There’s always more than one way to solve a problem. Possibility is more than the sum of its parts.”

Maraviglia said he is honored to have his name in such an awe-inspiring space on campus, and he believes his late wife, Gloria, (pictured above with Frank on their wedding day) would “think well of what we’re doing here at Oswego.”

“If you look up my name, you’ll see that it means ‘to wonder,’” Maraviglia said. “My hope is that in this atrium, students will wonder about and dream about their future. I am very humbled by the particular spot that will carry my name. But what’s important in all of this are the students. I believe in the students.”

School of Education Dean Laura Spenceley said Maraviglia’s gift will impact future teachers in perpetuity, and those teachers will inspire the next generation of students.

“It is fitting that the atrium in the School of Education, which will now be known as the Maraviglia Atrium, will carry the name of one of our distinguished alumni who spent so much of his career inspiring others through his own teaching,” Spenceley said. “Mr. Maraviglia’s gift will support all students in the school and enable us to deliver high-impact experiences that will prepare them well to be leaders in their own classrooms.”

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