Albany - The State University of New
York Board of Trustees today appointed 11 faculty members from six SUNY
campuses to Distinguished Professorship, a tenured University ranking that is
conferred for consistently extraordinary accomplishment.
“The
Distinguished Professorship recognizes and rewards SUNY’s most preeminent
faculty, reflecting the SUNY System’s pride in faculty accomplishment by
promoting professors to a rank that is unachievable at the campus level,” said
SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan. “I commend each of today’s recipients for this
hard-earned recognition.”
“The
talent, dedication and accomplishments of the faculty we honor today serve as
models for others to aspire to and well reflect the high quality of the
research and teaching available at the State University of New York,” said Board
Chairman Thomas F. Egan. “The achievements of these professors serve as an
inspiration to us all.”
“It is the faculty who are the basis of quality in any
university,” said SUNY Provost Risa I. Palm. “It is a pleasure to
recognize the accomplishments of the new SUNY Distinguished Professors.
Each of these individuals represent outstanding accomplishment, and we are very
proud to honor each of them with this designation.”
Recipients are nominated for
this honor by their respective campus presidents for having achieved national
or international prominence and an established reputation in their field of
expertise. The recipients of this honor
are:
Timothy
Baroni, a professor of Biological
Sciences at SUNY Cortland, is known both nationally and internationally as a
leader in the field of tropical mycology. He has made significant
contributions to the area of systematics and biogeography of the
mushroom-forming fungi. He is one of the world’s leading experts on the
diversity and systems of microfungi.
Stephen
Cole, a professor of Sociology at SUNY University at
Stony Brook, is an internationally respected sociologist whose work is marked
by extraordinary depth and breadth. He has made seminal contributions to the
sociology of science and to understanding the dynamics of social stratification
by race and gender.
Colin
Drury, a professor of Industrial and
Systems Engineering at the State University at Buffalo, is universally regarded as one of the foremost
experts in the field of ergonomics, the study and design of “systems of people
and machines.” He has developed methodologies and tools that have led to
substantially reduced lower back injuries in the work place and has reduced the
chance for human error in aviation accidents and injuries.
Alberto
Rey, a professor of Art at SUNY
Fredonia, has achieved a national and international reputation as an artist.
His paintings are included in major collections such as the Museo del Barrio,
the Brooklyn Museum, and the Galeria Nina Menocal in Mexico City.
He has provided original and significant contributions to both American Art and
Cuban American Art.
George
Lee, a professor of Engineering at
the University of Buffalo, is a pioneer in the fields of earthquake engineering
research and structural engineering. He has helped to build cross-national
bridges in the field of earthquake research worldwide. People around the world
have reaped the benefits of his research.
Mark
Lenzenweger, a professor of
Psychology at Binghamton University, is a renowned researcher in the area of personality
disorder. His finding that personality disorder features show substantial
variability over time strikes at the heart of prior assumptions. He has made
substantial contributions to understanding schizophrenia.
David
Mark, a professor of Geography at the
University at Buffalo, is consistently named as one of the most productive,
creative and integrative academics in Geography. His work in spatial cognition
revolutionized the Geographic Information Science (GIS) field. He has achieved
unparalleled recognition in this area.
Makau
Mutua, a professor of Law at the
University at Buffalo, is a world renowned scholar and activist. He has
made enormous impact in the area of human rights law. His impact is truly
global in scope, shaping human rights study and political practice throughout
the world.
Thomas
O’Connor, a professor of Romance
Languages and Literature at Binghamton University, has achieved national and international recognition
for excellence in the field of Spanish Golden Age studies. He has been a major
force in furthering and enriching the study of Spanish classical theatre. He
casts new literary and historical light on the period.
Stephen
David Ross, a professor of Philosophy
and Comparative Literature at Binghamton University, is an unusually talented philosopher with an
international reputation. He emphasizes complexity over reductive simplifications
and a celebration of diversity over unification. He brings a unified
metaphysical and epistemological conception of human beings and the work they
do.
Qasim
Zaidi, a professor of Vision Science
at the State College of Optometry, is a leader in the field of vision science.
He has made seminal contributions to scientific work in color constancy and 3-D
perception. He is also an expert in the field of visual perception.
The State University of New
York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States,
educating more than 417,500 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs
on 64 campuses.
