M E M O R A N D U M


							November 22, 2011


To:	Members of the Board of Trustees 	

From:	Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor 

Subject:  Appointment of Distinguished Service Professor


Action Requested

      The proposed resolution appoints the faculty member listed below to the rank of Distinguished Service Professor at Westchester Community College.

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 SUNY Board of Trustees, Chancellor Zimpher  and the State University’s executive leadership wish to extend SUNY’s highest tribute to the Community Colleges in recognition of the extraordinary contributions and achievements of faculty in this sector; and

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

Resolved that the faculty member listed be, and hereby is, appointed as a Distinguished Service Professor as an honorific distinction at the campus indicated, effective November 22, 2011: 


      Professor Louis M. Rotando, Westchester Community College                     


Background

      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.
      
      To be considered appropriate, 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 following encapsulates Professor Rotando’s accomplishments.

Louis M. Rotando – Professor Rotando has been teaching full-time at Westchester Community College (WCC) for over 45 years, and has been the Chair of the Mathematics Department for over 30 years.  He is known for his innovation in the teaching of mathematics, his enlightened leadership of his more than 100 faculty members, and his unflagging support for students.  His promotion of student excellence is reflected in the success of students in International Mathematics Modeling competitions, where WCC has continually placed among colleges considered to be Ivy League schools.  He is the author of a textbook, “Finite Mathematics in Business, Social Science and the Liberal Arts.”  He has been awarded a full-year fellowship from the National Science Foundation and is the recipient of several VEA grants and two Title VI grants.  He holds the Joseph and Sophia Abeles Endowed Chair in Mathematics and two Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence, as well as the WCC Foundation Award for Excellence in Scholarship.  

      It is my pleasure to present Professor Rotando to the Board of Trustees for its approval.  A copy of the President’s letter of support is attached.  The letter highlights his service and major career achievements, and provides the campus rationale for recommending his appointment.  The full dossier is available in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
      
      
Attachments



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Board Resolution	                                                                  November 22, 2011