SUNY Oneonta science students and faculty can look forward to newly renovated lab spaces and classrooms in the Janet R. Perna Science building. A significant gift from Dr. Robert “Bob” Vitkus ’74 will provide funding for the renovation. According to Dr. Tracy Allen, Dean of the School of Sciences, the renovation will enhance and improve the tangible spaces where scientific discovery and teaching happens:

“The School of Sciences and the Department of Biology are grateful for the generous gift from Dr. Robert Vitkus. By design, the Perna Science building rehabilitation will promote academic excellence and strengthen student engagement. Our faculty have worked closely with the designers to imagine multipurpose, shared spaces that enable faculty and students to exchange ideas, solve problems, and ask questions about the living world. The laboratories will provide opportunities for experiential learning and for students to conduct research side by side with their faculty mentors—core values of the School of Sciences. Dr. Vitkus will leave an enduring mark on this building, but importantly, on the bright futures of students who will discover and explore science within these walls.”

Dr. Robert Vitkus ’74 was a successful oral surgeon and an avid fly fisherman with a love of the outdoors. Bob graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 1974 as a biology major and Georgetown Dental School in 1978 before completing his residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

During his lifetime, Bob was instrumental to many who were interested in entering the field of science or medicine, acting as a mentor and champion of their successes. Bob’s estate gift to the SUNY Oneonta Foundation leaves a fitting legacy that will enhance the lab and classroom spaces where this important discovery begins.