SUNY Canton Honors Convocation Named for Retired Applied Psychology Faculty Member

SUNY Canton Provost Peggy De Cooke has announced that the 2026 Honors Convocation Celebration will be named in honor of Associate Professor Emerita Christina H. Lesyk, who retired in 2025 from the Applied Psychology program. 

“We’ve chosen to honor Christina in recognition of her decades of service, leadership, and advocacy in social work education and professional practice,” De Cooke said. “Her legacy is defined by her distinguished career at SUNY Canton and her commitment to strengthening careers in the service of others.”

Honors Convocation is an annual student awards ceremony designed to recognize the top students in each academic discipline and students who have made significant civic achievements during their studies. It will be held at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, in the Roos House Convocation, Athletic and Recreation Center. Each year, the ceremony is named in honor of an emeritus SUNY Canton faculty member.

Throughout her career, Lesyk demonstrated an unwavering commitment to student success and shared governance with the broader mission of strengthening the social work profession.

“Guiding human service students at SUNY Canton to make a positive difference for those who suffer is one of the most truly rewarding endeavors I have ever done,” Lesyk said.  “I thank SUNY Canton for the opportunity to do so and look forward to continuing teaching future change makers."

She served two terms as chair of the Academic Standards Committee and an elected representative for her school. Her campus leadership included service as Applied Psychology curriculum, practicum, and minor coordinator; addiction training treatment program coordinator; Constitution Week chair; and Scholarly Activities Celebration chair. She also contributed her leadership as a member of the institutional review board and the steering committee. She continues to teach as an adjunct instructor following retirement.

As a former board secretary for the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Lesyk played an instrumental role in the historic merger of the state and city chapters creating the largest chapter in the United States. As a state-level social work representative, she also spent many years advocating with legislators in Albany and Washington, D.C., on behalf of clients and the social work field.

In recognition of her exemplary service, Lesyk received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Service in 2023 and was also the recipient of the student-nominated Stellar Advisor Award.

Lesyk earned a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies from Columbia University/Barnard College and a Master of Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work. In addition to being a licensed master social worker, she is a human services board-certified practitioner, a published author and an emerging artist based in California.