Kevin Conley accepting the Distinguished Alumni Award with SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum
Associate Professor Kevin Conley is the recent recipient of SUNY Cortland Alumni Association’s most prestigious honor, a Distinguished Alumni Award. Conley, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health education from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, was recognized for myriad achievements throughout his professional career.
During his 30-year tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, Conley has held numerous leadership positions. He began his career as an athletic trainer with the Pitt football team, became director of the SHRS Athletic Training program, then chair of the Department of the Sports Medicine and Nutrition (SMN) and currently holds a concurrent role as SHRS associate dean of Undergraduate Studies.
Conley helped prepare and execute the move of the academic programs in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine from the School of Education to SHRS, where they merged with the program of Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition to create the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition. He supported Pitt’s transition to an accelerated Dietitian Nutritionist program, one of the nation’s early adopters of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Future Education Model Accreditation Standards, signaling its place as one of the finest academic programs of its kind in the United States. Conley also encouraged the development of the department’s newest program—Sports Science, poised to become one of the strongest programs in the country for training future leaders in human sports performance science.
Throughout his time with SHRS, Conley contributed to building Pitt’s reputation as a sports medicine powerhouse, with his previous students supporting some of the world’s most elite athletes, from professional sports to the current Olympic Games.
“Kevin Conley was such a huge mentor and just a wonderful human...he's always been a huge inspiration,” says Ashley Koto, who earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Pitt in 2006 and is supporting USA Gymnastics at the Olympics in Paris this summer.
In each of his roles, Conley has had a profound impact as both mentor and leader. “Kevin has demonstrated considerable aptitude and a profound allegiance to the academic and professional mission of the university and school,” states Kathy Kelly, associate professor and associate dean of Academic Outreach and Advising at SHRS. “He has had an unwavering commitment to the success of the hundreds of students he has taught and mentored, and to the professional development of the faculty he has worked with for more than 30 years.”
“The most rewarding part of my journey has always been witnessing the success of our students, both professionally and personally,” expresses Conley. “For me, I have been the grateful recipient of good fortune on both ends. I had wonderful people in my life who taught me how to be a professional, and I have been surrounded by hundreds of amazing students over the past 32 years who have taught and continue to teach me how to be a better teacher and role model.”
Conley has served in multiple other leadership roles such as the dean’s leadership council, elected positions on the University Faculty Assembly and Faculty Senate, and the Provost’s Advisory Council on Undergraduate Research. Currently, he is one of five faculty representatives to be a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Leaders Network.
Conley's professional service extends beyond the classroom and includes decades of work with the Special Olympics. For 26 years, Conley has helped coordinate an annual Special Olympics Basketball Tournament at Pitt’s facilities in which his athletic training students volunteer as first responders. He has also served as a member of the medical staff for Team USA at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, in 2011 and as medical director for Team USA at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea, in 2013. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Pennsylvania where he is a member of the Health and Fitness Advisory Committee.
“Much of what I have accomplished to this point in my career is rooted in the work ethic, attention to detail and servant leadership I learned at SUNY Cortland, and receiving a Distinguished Alumnus Award, while a great honor personally, is a fitting opportunity to pay tribute and say thank you to those who helped me get to where I am today,” states Conley.