Susan MacLaury ’68, Ph.D., LSW, an Emmy- and Oscar-winning documentary producer with decades of experience in social work and higher education, urged the Class of 2022 to take risks in life and learn from setbacks.
MacLaury shared how persistent failures in a logic class taught by Professor of Philosophy Emeritus Robert Schwager, and his patient efforts to work with her despite a string of Fs, inspired her to become a teacher who strived to engage, understand and really know her students as people.
“I hope you will take the risks that life presents, enjoy your successes when they result, but also embrace and learn from your failures, as they may prove to be your greatest teachers,” she said.
In recognition of her stellar professional and humanitarian efforts, President Erik J. Bitterbaum hooded MacLaury as an honorary doctor of humane letters during the morning ceremony on May 14 at Park Center Alumni Arena.
Hers was one of two honorary doctorates awarded that day. The second went to former CIA officer and national security expert John Sipher, whose late father, Roger E. Sipher, was a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of history at Cortland.
MacLaury, a national leader in the fields of health, education and social action, graduated from SUNY Cortland with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1968. She went on to earn several advanced degrees, including a master’s in human sexuality from New York University in 1973, a Ph.D. in school health from New York University in 1982 and a master’s in social work administration from Hunter College in 1986.
Directing programs for teenage girls at Educational Alliance, Grand Street Settlement and the New Jersey chapter for the Prevention of Child Abuse from 1978 to 1993, MacLaury made a positive impact in the lives of many. She also trained middle and high school teachers in New York and New Jersey to run advisory groups for those in need.
Her book, Student Advisories in Grades 5-12: A Facilitator’s Guide, is in its second printing and has helped countless teachers better understand their students and create meaningful group experiences.
From 1994 to 2014, MacLaury served as an associate professor of health education at Kean University.
In 2005, she learned about suffering children in war-torn northern Uganda and teamed up with her husband, Albie Hecht, a producer of television shows and films including “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Dora the Explorer,” to create a documentary. The resulting film, 2007’s “War/Dance,” was nominated for a best documentary feature Oscar and won Emmys for best documentary and outstanding cinematography.
As co-founder and executive director of the non-profit media company Shine Global, MacLaury produced a number of other films about vitally important topics, including 2012’s “Inocente,” a documentary about a homeless and undocumented teenage artist who followed her dreams. The film won the 2013 Academy Award for best documentary — short subject.
MacLaury has since produced award-winning documentaries on subjects such as children in Uganda preparing for a national music competition in the face of terroristic insurgency; and a profile of a homeless and undocumented teenage artist.
Shine Global is committed to outreach and engagement beyond the screening of its films. The organization has partnered with the African Medical and Research Foundation to aid people in Uganda and with The Harvest of Hope Foundation to support migrant farm workers in Florida and around the country. MacLaury has worked to create U.S. standards-based curricula for her films to help teachers who use them as teaching tools in the classroom.