M E M O R A N D U M


							December 17, 2012


TO:		Members of the Board of Trustees 	

FROM:	Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor 

SUBJECT:  	Appointment of Distinguished Teaching Professors


Action Requested

      The proposed resolution appoints the faculty members listed below to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor as an honorific distinction at the State University of New York campus indicated.  

Resolution
	
      I recommend that the Board of Trustees adopt the following resolution:

Whereas the State University of New York Board of Trustees has proudly established a historic tradition of acknowledging and honoring extraordinary faculty achievement through appointment to Distinguished Faculty Rank; and

Whereas the appointment to Distinguished Faculty Rank at the state-operated campuses is both a system-wide distinction and a promotion in rank; and

Whereas the appointment to the Distinguished Faculty Rank at Community Colleges is both a system-wide distinction and a campus honorific distinction, and 

Whereas the SUNY Board of Trustees has the authority to bestow system-wide distinctions; now, therefore, be it,

Resolved that each faculty member listed below be, and hereby is, appointed to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor as an honorific distinction at the State University of New York campus indicated, effective December 5, 2012: 



Professor Joanna B. Chrzanowski, Jefferson Community College 
Professor Elizabeth Gaffney, Westchester Community College
      
Background

      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, to be eligible for nomination, 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, ten 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 following encapsulates their accomplishments:
      
Joanna B. Chrzanowski – In her 32-year career at Jefferson Community College, Dr. Chrzanowski’s focus has always been on teaching.  She cares intensely about students and their success as writers, future professionals, and people.  Her teaching is imbued with the constructivist principles and manifests itself in student-centered and active learning, resulting in student-generated knowledge.  Her teaching innovations have kept her instruction vibrant.  From the traditional classroom and computer lab to hybrid and online courses, learning communities and college success classes, Phi Theta Kappa students, SUNY and New York State have recognized Dr. Chrzanowski for her excellence in teaching.  Her numerous curricular innovations at the course and program levels along with founding and restructuring the English Department, including creation of two English Concentrations: Creative Writing and Literature, are her crowning achievements.  Although she has vast stores of energy to give to her students and the College, Dr. Chrzanowski extends the same guidance and enthusiasm in mentoring her young colleagues, volunteering in the community, presenting at conferences, and developing instructional materials.  

Elizabeth Gaffney – Dr. Gaffney is a Professor of English, and she has been a member of the faculty for over twenty years and is a key member of her department, which describes her as a superb teacher, an excellent poet and a fine scholar.  She is noted for her widely published poetry and her dynamism in the teaching of literature.  She employs the latest technology available in her classes and brings students to unimagined literary experiences.  As a holder of the Abeles Endowed Chair in Global Studies, she creates experiences students do not easily forget.  She has developed new courses in “Images of Women in Literature” and “Reading and Writing Poetry.”  A favored teacher of courses in the College’s Honors Program, her innovations include immersion in collaborative teaching and the development of learning communities.  She shares a course with a Psychology Professor, “Literature and Psychology.”  Professor Gaffney has been awarded two Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence, one in Teaching and the second in Scholarship and Creative Activities.  She has been honored by the Westchester Community College Foundation with its Award for Excellence in Teaching.  A supporter of student activities, she mentors students preparing for the Beacon Conference and serves as Faculty Advisor to a number of student organizations.  She has also been advisor for several scholarly student publications.  She is often a featured speaker at workshops, conferences and professional meetings.  Her dedication to her work, her students and the College makes her an extraordinary role model.

      It is my pleasure to present the faculty members named in this resolution to the Board for its approval.  A copy of the President’s letter is attached.  The letter highlights the individual’s teaching and major career achievements, and provides the campus rationale for recommending appointment.  The full dossier is available in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.
      

Attachments



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Board Resolution		December 17, 2012