The second annual meeting of the SUNY Distinguished Academy will be held, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Twenty-nine SUNY faculty will be inducted into the Distinguished Academy. They will be honored for their promotion to the distinguished rank – the highest system honor conferred upon SUNY faculty.
Also being recognized on this occasion as the Distinguished Academy Honorary Inductee is Richard Gambino of Stony Brook University for his extensive work in Engineering. All distinguished faculty in active service within SUNY are also members of the SUNY Distinguished Academy, established last March. These active members have undertaken a strong set of initiatives to work on in the coming year, and they will gather at this meeting to strategize on a plan for accomplishing these goals.
“In bestowing our highest faculty honor, we proudly recognize the extraordinary achievements of these individuals and thank them for their continued commitment to excellence,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “I look forward to working more closely with this group as they join the SUNY Distinguished Academy.”
The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon individuals who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within a chosen field. This distinction is attained through significant contributions to the research literature or through artistic performance or achievement in the case of the arts. The candidates’ work must be of such character that the individuals’ presence will tend to elevate the standards of scholarship of colleagues both within and beyond these persons’ academic fields. The SUNY Faculty receiving this rank are:
- Paresh Dandona, Pharmacology and Toxicolgy at University at Buffalo
- Ken A. Dill, Chemistry at Stony Brook University
- Eugene Feinberg, Applied Math and Statistics at Stony Brook University
- Francis M. Gasparini, Physics at University at Buffalo
- Maria Hepel, Chemistry at SUNY Potsdam
- Leo N. Hopkins, Neurosurgery at University at Buffalo
- David A. Kofke, Chemical and Biological Engineering at University at Buffalo
- Peter Rogerson, Geography at University at Buffalo
- Edward Steinfeld, Architecture at University at Buffalo
- M. Stanley Whittingham, Chemistry at Binghamton University
The Distinguished Service Professorship honors and recognizes extraordinary service. Candidates must have demonstrated substantial distinguished service not only at the campus and the State University, but also at the community, regional and state levels. Further, many candidates for appointment have rendered influential service contributing at the national and international levels. Service must exceed the work generally considered to be a part of a candidate’s basic professional work and should include service that exceeds that for which professors are normally compensated. It must also extend over multiple years and, very importantly, must involve the application of intellectual skills drawing from the candidate’s scholarly and research interests to issues of public concern. The SUNY Faculty receiving this rank are:
- Lynn Anderson, Recreation, Parks and Leisure at SUNY Cortland
- Bill Baker, Biology at Rockland Community College
- Hassaram Bakhru, Nanoscience Constellation at University at Albany
- Francis Battisti, Psychology and Human Services at Broome Community College
- Jack Croxton, Psychology at SUNY Fredonia
- Linda House, Communicative Disorders and Sciences at SUNY Geneseo
- Steven R. Keeler, Humanities and Communication at Cayuga Community College
- Judith LaRosa, Community Health Sciences at Downstate Medical Center
- Lauren Lieberman, Kinesiology, Sports Studies & PE at The College at Brockport
- Mary Beth Orrange, Math at Erie Community College
- Raymond E. Petersen, Political Science at Jefferson Community College
- Ruth Weinstock, Medicine at Upstate Medical University
The Distinguished Teaching Professorship recognizes and honors mastery of teaching. For this prestigious tribute to be conferred, candidates must have demonstrated consistently superior mastery of teaching, outstanding service to students, and commitment to their ongoing intellectual growth, scholarship and professional growth, and adherence to rigorous academic standards and requirements. Further, a faculty member must have attained and held the rank of full professor for five years, have completed at least three years of full-time teaching on the nominating campus, 10 years of full-time teaching in the System, and must have regularly carried a full-time teaching load as defined by the campus at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional level. The SUNY Faculty receiving this rank are:
- Joanna B. Chrzanowski, English at Jefferson Community College
- Elizabeth Gaffney, English at Westchester Community College
- Martin Lecker, Business at Rockland Community College
- Beth McCoy, English at SUNY Geneseo
- Julie Newell, Music at SUNY Fredonia
- Joseph Sprague, Natural Sciences at SUNY Cobleskill
- George Vas, Neurology at Downstate Medical Center
Since the program’s inception in 1963, SUNY has appointed 942 faculty to distinguished ranks, as follows, including these most recent appointments: 312 Distinguished Professorships; 284 Distinguished Service Professorships; 341 Distinguished Teaching Professorships; and 5 Distinguished Librarian Professorships. For more information about the program, read the SUNY Distinguished Ranks Faculty Awards Program history.