M E M O R A N D U M TO: Members of the Board of Trustees May 7, 2014 FROM: SUBJECT: Nancy L. Zimpher, Chancellor Appointment of Distinguished Professors Action Requested The proposed resolution appoints the faculty members listed below to the rank of Distinguished Professor 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 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 Professor at the State University of New York campus indicated, effective May 7, 2014: Professor Phillip McCallion, University at Albany Professor Georges Dicker, SUNY College at Brockport Professor Margarita L. Dubocovich, University at Buffalo Professor Jerold C. Frakes, University at Buffalo Professor Aidong Zhang, University at Buffalo Board Resolution -2­ May 7, 2014 Professor Christopher A. McRoberts, SUNY College at Cortland Professor M. Mahmood Hussain, Downstate Medical Center Professor Jose-Manuel Alonso, SUNY College of Optometry Professor Vitaly Citovsky, Stony Brook University Professor Robert Harvey, Stony Brook University Professor Kenneth Kaushansky, Stony Brook University Background Appointment to the rank of Distinguished Professor 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. It must be of such quality that students and scholars on other campuses of the State University could and would wish to benefit by lectures and seminars or other appropriate presentations the faculty members might bring to them. The contributions of these scholars far exceed those mentioned in this resolution. Several important characteristics are omitted for brevity's sake. The candidates are also considered superlative teachers, setting the highest academic standards for their students. Beyond their scholarship, the candidates have contributed meaningfully and consistently in several notable areas, including extensive and superior service to the profession; leadership and ongoing participation on influential disciplinary committees; membership on prestigious editorial boards; service as reviewer or consultant on regulatory, advisory, and award-making bodies; and status as an invited presenter at conferences and symposia. The following encapsulates their disciplinary accomplishments: Professor Phillip McCallion – Dr. McCallion is in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar and Mentor and is Co-Director of the Center for Excellence in Aging and Community Wellness. Professor McCallion's research centers on system design to create aging prepared communities, foster the evaluation of the implementation of non-pharmacological interventions for persons with dementia and of psycho-educational interventions for family caregivers, and increase the reach of palliative care programs. As part of these agendas, Professor McCallion has a strong emphasis on standing up widespread use of evidence-based interventions, collaboration with state and local agencies, building community capacity and realizing effective, sustainable community-clinical linkages. Professor McCallion's research has been supported by grants and awards from numerous federal, state, local, private, and international sources. He has over 100 publications on interventions with older adults with chronic conditions, caregivers of frail elderly, persons with Alzheimer's disease, and persons with Board Resolution -3-May 7, 2014 intellectual/developmental disabilities. Dr. McCallion has also written on management issues for the providers of human services. Professor Georges Dicker – Dr. Dicker has taught philosophy at the College at Brockport since 1970. He is the author of books on John Dewey, perceptual knowledge, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant; four of these were published by Oxford University Press, the leading English-language publisher in philosophy. Professor Dicker’s books are distinctive in that they are accessible to undergraduate students, and yet sufficiently rigorous and insightful to be indispensable to, and regularly praised by, expert scholars. Dr. Dicker has also published over 40 articles and reviews, and he has made roughly 100 paper presentations in ten Western countries and guest-taught in Taiwan. He has held a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship-in-Residence at Brown University and he was selected for participation in four N.E.H./Council for Philosophical Studies summer institutes. He has been highly active in university service for over three decades and has served as Chair of the Philosophy Department since 1994. Professor Margarita L. Dubocovich – Dr. Dubocovich, of the University at Buffalo, is the world’s foremost authority on the brain hormone melatonin and the regulation of melatonin receptors, Professor Dubocovich has significantly broadened the scientific understanding of melatonin’s impact on circadian rhythms, sleep disorders, and depression. Credited with discovering melatonin receptor subtypes, which revolutionized the field, she also pioneered the pharmacology of melatonin receptors agonist and antagonist agents. The owner or co-owner of three patents related to agents developed for her research, since 1985 she has received continuous funding support from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and major pharmaceutical companies including Glaxo, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company. Dr. Dubocovich is also an ardent educator, with the goal of building a culturally and intellectually diverse and academically inclusive community of undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty. She has received numerous international honors, including the 2005 Award for Outstanding Scientific Contributions from the Latin-American Congress of Pharmacology, the 2011 Aaron B. Lerner Pioneer Award, and the 2012 PhARMA Foundation Award in Excellence in Pharmacology and Toxicology. Professor Jerold C. Frakes – Dr. Frakes, of the University at Buffalo, is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of Early Yiddish and for his work on Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intercultural relations as revealed in their respective literary traditions. Within the last year alone, he has won four major fellowships: a Guggenheim, a National Humanities Center Fellowship (declined), Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, and a research fellowship in Paris (declined). External reviewers note that he is “in a class of his own, ‘performing heroic scholarship, without any peer’ in the U.S. in his pioneering publications on Yiddish literature, and is ‘perhaps the most Board Resolution -4-May 7, 2014 important figure in medieval Germanic Studies in the broadest sense.’” He reads in every language pertinent to his broad range of scholarship and has published in, or translated from German, Yiddish, and French as well as English. In 2011, he published three books—a monograph, an edited collection on Latin and German medieval perceptions of the “Muslim Other,” and a “cultural history of Litvak Jewry”—all seminal contributions that continue to build his legacy to Yiddish studies and comparative literary scholarship. Professor Aidong Zhang – Dr. Zhang, of the University at Buffalo, is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Dr. Zhang is an internationally recognized authority in the fields of multimedia and bioinformatics. Credited with major conceptual and practical advances in the fields of databases, multimedia, and bioinformatics, Professor Zhang has also had a major impact on these fields through the patented algorithms she has developed with her team. Her stature and reputation can be further gauged by her editorship in major journals, including the most prestigious journal in her field, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering. Instrumental in forging new research directions in the Information Retrieval (IR) community, Dr. Zhang has pioneered novel techniques for semantic clustering and querying that are now widely accepted as the standard in image database design. She has received a number of awards and honors, and has attracted continuous external funding for two decades with federal grants totaling more than $12 million, including a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation and funding from the National Institutes of Health. Professor Christopher A. McRoberts – Dr. McRoberts, of SUNY Cortland, is a worldwide authority on the Triassic Period, focusing on bivalves and the end-Triassic mass extinction event. A field paleontologist specializing in the taxonomy and paleoecology of bivalves, Dr. McRoberts’ geological expeditions have taken him to Nevada, Oregon, Alaska, Texas and multiple regions of Western Europe. His prolific and innovative research on the timeframe for defining the global Triassic-Jurassic boundary has impacted the geoscientific study of other periods of global change. Professor McRoberts has been recognized through numerous prestigious international appointments, including Secretary General for the International Union of Geological Sciences Commission on Triassic Stratigraphy; Co-leader of the International Geological Correlation 458 Project; Chair of the Northeast Section of the Paleontological Society; and two Research Associate posts, at the American Museum of Natural History and at Binghamton University. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Albertiana, the official journal of the Subcommission on Triassic Stratigraphy. A strong advocate for undergraduate research, Dr. McRoberts often collaborates with his students in the field and in professional publications. Professor M. Mahmood Hussain – Dr. Hussain, of Downstate Medical Center, is an internationally renowned expert and leader in lipid biology and cardiovascular disease. He is one of SUNY Downstate’s most accomplished Board Resolution -5-May 7, 2014 scientists. Throughout his long and productive scientific career, he has paved many important new inroads into the molecular and cellular biology of how the hepatic and small intestinal cells participate in lipid metabolism to find better treatments for high cholesterol. The significance of his work is reflected in numerous institutional, national and international awards, being speaker and organizer for international conferences, over two decades of continuous extramural support by many national agencies including the NIH – bringing millions of dollars to the campus – and having published more than 150 articles, with several cited more than 100 times. He serves on numerous national and international grant review committees, on editorial boards of several scientific journals, including as Editor-in-Chief of Nutrition and Metabolism (Lond). Professor Jose-Manuel Alonso – Dr. Alonso, of the SUNY College of Optometry, is a visual neuroscientist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of how visual information is processed in the primary visual cortex, the area of the brain with the most detailed representation of visual space. A large body of Professor Alonso’s work has been devoted to understanding the functional role of the connections from thalamus to visual cortex, which provides the main entrance of visual information to the brain. He also made contributions to understanding how receptive fields are constructed in the primary visual cortex, the role of neuronal synchrony in sensory processing, and the role of spatial attention and alertness in visual cortical function. More recently, his work has revealed pronounced asymmetries in the processing of darks and lights in the visual cortex, which could potentially explain a wide range of visual phenomena including an almost four-century-old puzzle dating back to Galileo. Professor Vitaly Citovsky – Dr. Citovsky, of Stony Brook University, has made several major contributions to the field of plant-pathogen interactions with a focus on transport of nucleic acids using plant viruses and Agrobacterium as models. Dr. Citovsky was first to describe how plant viral cell-to-cell movement proteins form complexes with viral genomes and how Agrobacterium exports bacterial effectors and DNA into plant cells. These studies have had a major impact in the plant biotechnology industry that is based on the efficient transfer of genes and corresponding traits from any organism into crop plants. Professor Citovsky’s research also contributes substantially in areas beyond plant-pathogen interactions. For instance, he also studies the composition and biochemical activities of a plant histone demethylase gene repressor complex. Dr. Citovsky found that unlike similar complexes in animal systems, in plants this includes a histone deubiquitinase activity. Research in his laboratory also pioneered the production of autoluminescent plants by reconstituting a bacterial multigene biochemical pathway for autoluminescence within plant chloroplasts. Professor Citovsky has multiple editorial responsibilities, is an enthusiastic mentor, has maintained a well-funded program, and has published over 170 articles in high impact journals. Board Resolution -6-May 7, 2014 Professor Robert Harvey – Dr. Harvey, of Stony Brook University, is a pre­eminent presence in the field of cultural and literary studies. He is widely known in the United States and Europe as a distinguished practitioner of such studies. His several books and numerous articles are recognized as ground-breaking, original contributions to a field he has created virtually single-handedly. His most recent book, Witnessness: Beckett, Levi, Dante and the Foundations of Responsibility, has revolutionized the understanding of what it means to be a witness of historically and personally significant events. Another sign of Professor Harvey’s stellar international standing is found in his recent appointment as Program Director at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris: a position reserved only for the most prominent scholars and critics of our time. At Stony Brook, Dr. Harvey has been the moving force behind the creation of an immensely promising new department, Cultural Analysis and Theory, which provides an innovative interdisciplinary approach to literature and affiliated fields. Professor Kenneth Kaushansky – Dr. Kaushansky, of Stony Brook University, is a leading hematologist whose seminal contributions to hematopoiesis have been recognized by his election to membership in the most prestigious scientific and medical institutions including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Society of Hematology, Dr. Kaushansky has been a major driver in transforming medicine such that the treatment of patients can truly harness findings in the laboratory. He has been a prominent advocate and mentor of young physicians and researchers considering careers that bridge the clinic and laboratory. Dr. Kaushansky has brought a palpable sense of optimism and self-confidence to the faculty and students of the School of Medicine. In his two-plus years as Dean and Vice-President, Dr. Kaushansky has catalyzed transformative changes in basic and translational research, curriculum development, and the delivery of superb clinical medicine. He is an extraordinary scientist who has made lasting contributions to the basic biomedical sciences, is a clinician of the highest integrity, and is a wonderful role model in his capacity as outstanding physician-scientist, mentor and teacher. It is my pleasure to present the faculty members named in this resolution to the Board of Trustees for its approval. A copy of the President’s letter for each professor is attached. The letter highlights the individual’s major career achievements, and provides the campus rationale for recommending appointment. Complete dossiers are available in the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Attachments University at llhaffalo The State University ofNew York Office of the President March 13, 2014 Dr. Elizabeth Bringsjord Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs S-504 SUNY System Administration SUNY Plaza, 353 Broadway Albany, NY 12246 Dear Dr. Bringsjord: Itis my pleasure to forward and endorse the dossier of Dr. Margarita Dubocovich, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology in the University at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for appointment to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor. Publishing seminal and groundbreaking research findings in the study of melatonin and brain neurotransmitters, Professor Dubocovich is considered by her peers to be the world's foremost authority on the brain hormone melatonin and the regulation of melatonin receptors. Credited with discovering melatonin receptor subtypes, Dr. Dubocovich revolutionized her field and pioneered the pharmacology of melatonin receptor agonist and antagonist agents while broadening the scientific understanding of melatonin's impact on circadian rhythms, sleep disorders, and depression. As a dedicated educator, Professor Dubocovich has sought to build an academically inclusive university community that is both culturally and intellectually diverse. Professor Dubocovich earned her Ph.D from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1976, also serving as an instructor of pharmacology at the university from 1973-76. Soon after receiving her degree, Dr. Dubocovichjoined the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Kent, England as a pharmacologist and in 1977 relocated to the Department of Biology at Synthelabo in Paris, France as a project leader. After three years in Paris, Dr. Dubocovich joined the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Colorado Health Science Center where she rose from a research associate to become an associate professor. In 1991, Dr. Dubocovich was named Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry at the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Professor Dubocovich served in this capacity until joining the faculty at the University at Buffalo in 2008 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. In 2012, Dr. Dubocovich was appointed as the Senior Associate Dean for Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement at UB's School of Medicine. Consistently publishing her research in top ranked journals, Dr. Dubocovich has published 121 papers, 11 invited reviews, and six book chapters and has an impressive H-Index of 6o. From the beginning of her research career in the 1970s, Professor Dubocovich has been a pioneer in her investigations into understanding the regulation of neuronal activation and the role of prostaglandins in nerve function and cyclic AMP on neurotransmitter receptor activity. She soon focused her interests on neurotransmitter regulation in regions of the brain such as the pineal gland, cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. Professor Dubocovich's early work laid the foundation for a life-long pursuit of understanding the correlation ofbrain factors and neurotransmitter receptors and physiological function and contributed to an early study of the antidepressant drug imipramine and its actions in binding receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain to affect neurotransmitter (serotonin) 501 Capen Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1600 Tel: (716) 645-2901 Fax: (716) 645-3728 Web: www.buffalo.edu SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Margarita L. Dubocovich action that was published in the journal Science and has been cited more than 360 times. This research led to Dr. Dubocovich's seminal work published in Nature in 1983, describing the role of melatonin on neurotransmitter regulation in the retina of the eye and was the beginning of a career­defining quest to understand melatonin in physiological function. Dr. Russell Reiter, Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, emphasizes the critical importance ofthis research, writing that Professor Dubocovich "practically 'invented' the field of membrane receptors for this indoleamine [melatonin]." Professor Dubocovich's further research into her landmark characterizations of the retinal melatonin receptor published in the flagship Journal ofPharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (1985) and premier journal Proceedings ofthe National Academy ofSciences USA (1987) contribvted greatly to our understanding of how melatonin plays an important role in the sleep-wake cycle or 24 hour circadian rhythm. Dr. James Barrett, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at Drexel University College of Medicine, lauds the impact of these studies writing Professor Dubocovich's "work on melatonin in the central nervous system, its role in circadian rhythms and sleep brought both national and international recognition." In 1990, Dr. Dubocovich published a pioneering study in Trends in Neurosciences on the novel melatonin receptor antagonist Luzindole, allowing her to discover the mechanisms regulated by melatonin in target tissues, including the relationship of melatonin to depression. Dr. Solomon Snyder, a renowned Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine-who is also the recipient of the National Medal of Science for Biological Sciences and the prestigious Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research­describes Dr. Dubocovich as "the world's leading authority on how melatonin acts via its receptors and her discoveries have laid the groundwork for developing therapeutic agents ... Margarita's discovery of melatonin receptors some 25 years ago was a most important event in the field of melatonin/pineal research ... She was a pioneer in characterizing Luzindole, the first melatonin receptor antagonist." Pursuing her interest in melatonin research throughout the 1990s, Dr. Dubocovich discovered novel roles for melatonin in species for such behaviors as hibernation and vision, while cementing the concept of day night variations in the regulation of monoamines and their metabolites such as melatonin. Continuing to break new ground, Professor Dubocovich's publication in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences in 1995 was the first study to present the concept of multiple receptor subtypes within the melatonin receptor class (subtypes 1 and 2), introducing a seminal change in the approach to melatonin research by introducing complexity and layered regulation in biological processes and bringing the melatonin research community into a new era of study. In the late 1990s, Dr. Dubocovich published research exploring the relationship of melatonin and light on shifting circadian rhythms and the impact of melatonin on sleep disorders. Her 2005 study published in Cancer Research found that melatonin was important in inhibiting human breast cancer growth. Continuing her innovation in the laboratory, Professor Dubocovich's 2012 study published in Pineal Research used genetic deletion of melatonin receptor subtypes to alter methamphetamine (a psycho-stimulant that can induct alertness, energy, and euphoria)-induced movement during day and night periods demonstrating for the first time that the melatonin system had been related to methamphetamine effects on behavior. She also recently submitted a National Institutes of Health grant proposing to identify environmental circadian disrupters that might increase the risk of diabetes and metabolic disorders through disrupted melatonin signaling in the pancreas. The impact of Dr. Dubocovich's research on her field cannot be understated as it is widely praised by her peers. Dr. Paul Hollenberg, the Maurice H. Seevers Collegiate Professor and Chair of SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Margarita L. Dubocovich Pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School elaborates of the significance of Professor Dubocovich's research writing that the: "Publications from her laboratory alone have made a major impact on the field ... and she has demonstrated an outstanding level of productivity over the full time of her career in science.,over the years she has made numerous seminal observations and important contributions to our understanding of melatonin." The importance of Professor Dubocovich's research on the role of melatonin in the central nervous system and on dopamine and serotonin receptors is further evidenced by the continuous funding support she has received since 1985 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), pharmaceutical companies such as Glaxo, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, and other sources. She is also the owner or co-owner of three patents related to agents developed for her research. AB a mentor, Professor Dubocovich has advised more than a dozen Ph.D. and Master's students and served as a postdoctoral mentor to 34 postdoctoral fellows and four visiting scholars. In addition to her formal teaching and research, Professor Dubocovich has sought to create new educational opportunities throughout her career, including in her roles as Director for Education and Diversity for the Biology with X -ray Free Electron Lasers (BioXFEL) Center and ABsociate Dean for Inclusion and Cultural Eullancement at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB. In 2007, Dr. Dubocovich instituted the CLIMB (Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Bioscience) Program at Northwestern University to support and promote the development of talented students from all backgrounds to become leaders in the biosciences. Upon her arrival at UB in 2008, Dr. Dubocovich successfully initiated CLIMB programs in the UB School of Medicine and also created specialized programs for undergraduates (CLIMB UP) and graduates and post-doctoral fellows (CLIMB Next Step). In addition, Dr. Dubocovich received a $2.1 million NIH grant in 2012 to support her initiative for maximizing student development enabling access to cutting-edge biomedical and behavioral science, with the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented students in biomedical and behavioral research by broadening their opportunities to earn doctorates and increase their participation in academic and research activities. Also noteworthy is Dr. Dubocovich's iSEED (Institute ofStrategic Eullancement of Educational Diversity) program, a university consortium of departments with the goal of building a culturally and intellectually diverse and academically inclusive community of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty. Dr. Russell Reiter extols Professor Dubocovich' s efforts to promote diversity and inclusiveness "AB a particularly outstanding example of her commitment to the future of biomedical scientists, she has worked aggressively and effectively in many areas, but especially in the promotion of minorities and the under-represented ethnic groups in the 'CLIMB' program." Recognized for her excellent research and service record, Professor Dubocovich has received numerous national and international honors including the Award for Outstanding Scientific Contributions from the Latin-American Congress of Pharmacology (2005), the 2011 Aaron B. Lerner Pioneer Award in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions to Melatonin Research, the 2012 PhARMA (Pharmaceutical ABsociate Research Manufacturers ABsociation) Foundation Award in Excellence in Pharmacology and Toxicology, as well as the 2011 Distinguished Postdoctoral Mentor Award from the University at Buffalo Postdoctoral ABsociation and the 2013 Dean's Award from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for her extraordinary service to the school. Dr. Dubocovich also received high recognition from the City of Buffalo when she was presented with the 2011 Recognition Award for Hispanics in the Medical and Health Care Fields. SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Margarita L. Dubocovich A tireless contributor to service at her university and to her professional societies, Dr. Dubocovich has been invited to speak at more than 90 national and international symposia, serving as the Editor of Proceedings of the IUPHAR Symposium, contributing 36 chapters to symposia proceedings, and publishing 264 abstracts. Professor Dubocovich also serves on the editorial board of the Journal ofPineal Research, and has served in an editorial capacity in numerous other journals including Pharmacology Communications and Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology as well as being sought out as an ad hoc reviewer for many journals in neuropharmacology, drug research, physiology, visual science, and pharmacology. Succinctly describing the impact of her scholarship, teaching, and service, Dr. Elizabeth VanBockstael, Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at the Drexel University College of Medicine, praises Dr. Dubocovich as "a faculty member who has consistently devoted her life to professional excellence, sustained a high caliber research program and created mentorship programs that will have an enduring legacy." Indeed, the broad scope of Professor Dubocovich's service and scholarly impact will be felt within the UB community, and the academic community more broadly, for many years to come. I enthusiastically support and recommend her nomination for SUNY Distinguished Professor. Sincerely, fwUk-J:4A· Satish K. Tripathl President University at llhaffalo The State University of New York Office of the President March 13, 2014 Dr. Elizabeth Bringsjord Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs S-504 SUNY System Administration SUNY Plaza, 353 Broadway Albany, NY 12246 Dear Dr. Bringsjord: It is my pleasure to forward and endorse the dossier of Dr. Jerold C. Frakes, Professor in the University at Buffalo Department of English, for appointment to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor. Renowned internationally for his groundbreaking scholarly contributions to the field of Early Yiddish, Professor Frakes has been described by his peers as "one of the world's leading specialists in Yiddish studies," as being "in a class of his own in North America," and "perhaps the most important figure in medieval Germanic Studies in the broadest sense and certainly the leading scholar in the world for Old Yiddish Studies" for his pioneering work. His peers around the world concur that he has transformed the field itself, challenging its leading scholars on the many long-held beliefs-and even ideologically-based bias-regarding the origins and evolution of Yiddish. As one remarkable index of his stature and impact, in 2013 alone Professor Frakes was honored with four preeminent national and international fellowships, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute Fellowship. A member of the University at Buffalo's Department of English since 2006, Professor Frakes graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Ph.D. in Germanic philology in 1982 before accepting a position as a professor of German at the University of Southern California later that same year, teaching in both the German and Comparative Literature departments. A remarkably versatile and productive scholar, Professor Frakes' work has been of exceptional importance in a number of interlinking fields, all broadly contributing to the field of medieval comparative literary studies. Literate in multiple languages, Professor Frakes writes in culturally and historically rich detail about most of the Western and Central European world during the medieval period, and has published groundbreaking scholarship on Early Yiddish literature-a field that has been defined in critical ways by his scholarship during the late 2oth century. Dr. Seth Wolitz, the Gale Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Texas, Austin, describes Professor Frakes' critical contributions in terms of his unmatched capacity "to understand the realities of Jewish and Muslim intercultural relations with the Germanic Christian world and the uniqueness ofthis experience for all the cultures involved, with their inevitable differences," while also depicting "the development of new relationships culturally reflected in the various literatures of the medieval period." Professor Frakes' deep scholarly impact is illustrated through the 15 books he has published as a result of his prolific research and translation work. Professor Frakes published his first book in 1987, The Fate ofFortune in the Early Middle Ages: The Boethian Tradition and his second in 1989, The Politics ofInterpretation: Alterity and Ideology in Old Yiddish Studies; in addition to these two 501 Capen Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1600 Tel: {716) 645-2901 Fax: (716) 645-3728 Web: www.buffalo.edu SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Jerold C. Frakes monographs, Professor Frakes published a translation and revised edition of Walter Berschin's Griechisch-lateinisches Mittelalter (Greek Letters and the Latin Middle Ages) in 1988. Aside from publishing an influential feminist cultural study of German Medieval literature in 1994 (Bridges and Doom: Gender, Property and Power in Medieval German Women's Epics) and Vernacular and Latin Literacy Discourses ofthe Muslim Other in Medieval Germany in 2011, Professor Frakes has made his primary scholarly focus on Early Yiddish for more than two decades-a field in which he is entirely self-taught. In his 1989 published Politics ofInterpretation, Professor Frakes argues that Yiddish is a language distinct in its own right, not a dialect of German, pointing out the ideological basis for arguments rejecting this idea-in particular the anti-Semitism of nineteenth-and early twentieth­century Germanic scholars. This seminal work has been roundly praised for its bravery, its "forthright scholarly honesty," and its "theoretically pioneering" scholarship. Professor Frakes' compilation of Yiddish texts for language learners in Jerusalem ofLithuania: A Cultural History ofLitvak Jewry also received praise as "an essential text," which leads readers, as described by Dr. Seth Wolitz: "Through the history of Jewish Vilna as a microcosm of Eastern Europe and a lesson in reading a world as an anthropological experience ... This volume alone stands for me as proof of the ethical richness of this scholar who ... understands and explains [both] the culture he himself had to learn [and] the joy of meeting a new vision of the world." Professor Frakes furthered what one of his contemporaries calls his " major and lasting service" to Yiddish scholarship with several additional projects, including publishing an annotated and critically updated edition in 2004 of Max Weinreich's 1923 treatise on Yiddish linguistics; editing and commenting on all known Yiddish manuscripts from 1100 to 1750; updating and revising all Yiddish­related entries in the Encyclopedia Judaica; translating and updating Dr. Jean Baumgarten's seminal critical study Introduction a Ia literature Yiddish ancienne (Introduction to Old Yiddish Literature); and editing a collection of essays on pre-modern Christian scholarship on Yiddish (The Cultural Study ofYiddish in Early Modern Europe, 2007). Dr. Jean Baumgarten, Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Ecole Des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and considered one of the foremost authorities on Old Yiddish literature in Europe, regards Professor Frakes as "prolific" and a "remarkable translator" and "one of the best researchers in the field of Old Yiddish literature and the history of Ashkenazi Jewry." Dr. Baumgarten elaborates further stating: "All his publications show a deep knowledge of languages, a real understanding of the classical texts of the Jewish tradition and of many aspects of European literatures, always well integrated into a broad cultural context. He is also an exceptional teacher, who knows how to transmit in a clear way his deep knowledge." From providing an authoritative edition of manuscripts in Yiddish to translating foundational work in English and updating a vast array of entries in the authoritative encyclopedia of Jewish Studies, Professor Frakes' record of intellectual service to a field that was largely seen as dying after World War II is highly impressive for its broad impact and the philological, historical, and theoretical knowledge and scholarly acumen it requires. Professor Frakes' peers unanimously attest to the lasting importance of his series of publications, attributing his work as defining the state of the field of Old Yiddish study. The significance of this cumulative work, and of Professor Frakes' understanding of the broadly intercultural context for early Yiddish, was recognized in 2013 when he received four SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Jerold C. Frakes prestigious fellowships to complete his current book-length monograph, "Cultural Revolution in Ashkenaz: The emergence ofEarly Yiddish Literature." These accolades included the aforementioned John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and the Harvard University Radcliffe Fellowship as well as two fellowships he subsequently declined from the National Humanities Center and Ecole Des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Professor Frakes was also awarded a research fellowship at the Simon Dubnow Institute at the University of Leipzig (2010), and received a Research Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (2011-02) as well as a two-year Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship at Free University in Berlin (1997-1998). Describing Professor Frakes' contributions to Yiddish Studies as "stellar and lasting," Professor Dov Ber Kerler, the Cohn Chair in Yiddish Studies at the University of Indiana, declares Professor Frakes as having "superb scholarly and cultural versatility" and anticipates that the current book project for which he has received multiple honors will result in an "intellectually and culturally stimulating major work of lasting importance to late medieval and early modern European studies, to the study of Europe's pre­modern minority cultures," and to Jewish and comparative literature more broadly. Professor Frakes has an equally impressive record for teaching and mentorship. Dr. Paul Mendes-Flohr, the Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Modern Jewish History and Thought at the University of Chicago, who observed Professor Frakes in the classroom while both were Alexander von Humboldt Fellows at the Free University in Berlin, has high regard for Professor Frakes' teaching methods, remarking that he is an "exceedingly conscientious and caring teacher" as well as a "person of impeccable intellectual and moral integrity, qualities that are manifest in both his written work and teaching." SUNY Distinguished Professor Bruce Jackson, the James Agee Professor ofAmerican Culture in the University at Buffalo Department of English, elaborates further on Professor Frakes' effectiveness as a teacher, mentor, and "superb colleague," commenting that "I am in awe at how much he knows and how well he uses it." Given his extraordinary expertise and the importance of his scholarship, Professor Frakes is a remarkable resource and valued mentor to younger colleagues in the field. While the rigorous work in language skills necessary to pursue studies in Germanic or Yiddish early literatures has resulted in relatively few graduate students in the United States currently engaged in this field, Professor Frakes is widely regarded for his generous mentorship of younger members of his profession. Speaking to this impact, Dr. Mark Caplan, the Zelda and Myer TandetnikAssistant Professor of Yiddish Literature, Language, and Culture at Johns Hopldns University, praises Professor Frakes' "tireless, patient, and generous men to ring of younger scholars," noting that he takes a "genuine interest in younger scholars" and is "unfailingly encouraging, supportive, solicitous, and ldnd." Professor Frakes' record of service to his field includes more than 40 published review essays and book reviews. He has also been highly sought for his scholarly excellence and expertise, having been invited to give lectures more than a dozen times since 1995. Seeking to provide service to his university, Professor Frakes has served in numerous roles at the departmental and university levels as a member ofsearch committees, tenure committees, and undergraduate and graduate studies committees. A former interim chair of the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California, Professor Frakes has also diligently served his professional community as a member of numerous national organizations including the American Comparative Literature Association, German Studies Association, Modern Language Association and American Association of Professors ofYiddish where he served on the National Board of Directors (2000-2005) and as Vice President (2003-2005). Professor Frakes has also served as an editor or on the editorial boards of numerous publications such as Encyclopaedia Judaica, Yiddish, and Modern Jewish Studies. SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Jerold C. Frakes With an exemplary quality of scholarship that has boldly challenged conventional thought and helped define its scholarly direction into the 21'1 century, Professor Jerold Frakes' translation work and research have had a profound international impact on the field of comparative literature study­particularly early Yiddish. Placing perspective on Professor Frakes' importance and impact on Yiddish Studies, Dr. Daniel Heller-Roazen, the Arthur W. Marks '19 Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University, concludes that Professor Frakes is "a unique figure in early modern European literary studies" because of his "rare and impressive mix of erudition, intellectual energy, and-not least-scholarly courage." Together with his colleagues at the University at Buffalo and nationwide, I wholeheartedly agree with this characterization of Professor Frakes' scholarly impact and strongly recommend his nomination for promotion to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor. Sincerely, fJ;t /(.~r..JL: Satlsh K. Tripathi President University at Buffalo The State University of New York Office of the President March 13, 2014 Dr. Elizabeth Bringsjord Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs S-504 SUNY System Administration SUNY Plaza, 353 Broadway Albany, NY 12246 Dear Dr. Bringsjord: Itis my pleasure to forward and endorse the dossier of Dr. Aidong Zhang, Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the University at Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, for appointment to the rank ofSUNY Distinguished Professor. A Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Professor Zhang is renowned internationally as an authority in the fields of databases, multimedia, and bioinformatics, performing high impact research in a wide range of fields from bioinformatics and geographic systems (GIS) to digital libraries and nanomaterials informatics. Instrumental in forging new research directions in the Information Retrieval (IR) community, Professor Zhang has pioneered novel techniques for semantic clustering and querying that are now widely accepted as the standard in image database design. As a prolific researcher, Professor Zhang has attracted continuous external funding for two decades with grants totaling more than $12 million from competitive federal agency programs such as the National Science Foundation (including a prestigious CAREER Award) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). After receiving her doctorate in computer science from Purdue University in 1994, Dr. Zhang joined the UB faculty as an Assistant Professor that same year. Professor Zhang rose to the rank of tenured full Professor in 2002, making several prominent research contributions early in her career, including new multimedia indexing and clustering algorithms that have been patented for applications in biomedical, geographical systems, and digital library systems. Among her sustained contributions to her fields of expertise, Dr. Zhang was the first to propose a wavelet-based approach to clustering multi-dimensional data for hierarchical indexing to enable organization of high dimensional heterogeneous datasets, garnering broad recognition from her peers as one of the top clustering algorithms. Dr. M. Tamer Oszu, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, praises Dr. Zhang's research and its impact, stating: "Dr. Zhang's work (in multimedia data management) is exceptionally good and deep ... Her body of research in gene expression data analysis has produced highly innovative algorithms ... and has set a new direction in the field ... She has compiled an exceptional record of scholarship through her publications, most of which have appeared in first -rate avenues." Indeed, Professor Zhang's numerous collaborations with faculty from diverse disciplines such as geography, pharmaceutical sciences, nanomaterials, medicine, and management have contributed greatly to her impressive and voluminous body of work, which includes 70 peer-reviewed journal papers, 150 conference papers and two monographs. Many of Dr. Zhang's publications have appeared in the most prestigious and high impact journals in her field such as ACMMultimedia Systems, IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, IEEE 501 Capen Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1600 Tel: {716) 645-2901 Fax: (716) 645-3728 Web: www.buffalo.edu SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Aidong Zhang Multimedia, and Bioinformatics. AI; previously noted, Dr. Zhang's research has garnered more than $12 million dollars in grants over her 20 year career-an impressive sum which illustrates the sustained excellence and board impact of her work. Dr. Vipin Kumar, the William Norris Professor and Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, is exceedingly admiring of Professor Zhang's record of research and funding support writing "Dr. Zhang has built an impeccable record of research funding even in an era of declining funding and increased competition ... This is a testimony to the importance and timeliness of her current research agenda as well as the quality of her research." The impact of Dr. Zhang's work is further confirmed by how often her research has been drawn upon by her colleagues. According to Google Scholar, Dr. Zhang's papers have attracted ne~rly 5,500 citations by other researchers including one paper with more than 700 citations and 10 others with at least 100 citations leading to an impressive H -Index of 34. Elaborating on Professor Zhang's prominence in her field, Dr. Pierre Baldi, Chancellor's Professor and Director ofthe Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of California, Irvine, holds her scholarly achievements in high regard, remarldng that "there is no question that Dr. Zhang is a scholar who has been very productive in strategic areas of research and has achieved international prominence and a distinguished reputation through significant contributions to her field." Dr. Cathy H. Wu, the Edward G. Jefferson Chair of Bioinformatics & Computational Biology at the University of Delaware, adds: "Dr. Zhang has a great vision in building research community and fostering interdisciplinary research collaborations ... The quality and quantity of her research scholarship is truly impressive...Dr. Aidong Zhang has demonstrated research excellence and leadership with great impact and significant contributions to the field and to our research community." Dr. Zhang's international prominence and impact have put her in strong demand as a speaker. In the past ten years alone, she has been invited to give more than two dozen lectures at venues around the world from Washington, D.C. to Canada, China, and Japan. Many of Dr. Zhang's most significant publications have also appeared in the proceedings of highly selective conferences such has ACM International Conference on Knowledge Discovery (ACM KDD), IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM), ACM Conference on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Biomedicine (ACM BMB), and IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM). Dr. Z. Meral Ozsoyoglu, the Andrew R. Jennings Professor of Computing at Case Western University, offers valuable context for Dr. Zhang's academic reputation and the impact of her research accomplishments thusly: "Dr. Zhang has achieved national and international prominence and a distinguished reputation due to her nonstop and extremely large numbers of high quality, in-depth and highly original research contributions. Her research in multimedia databases, graph databases and graph mining, clustering algorithms, indexing algorithms, protein-protein interaction networks modularizationjreliability/ function prediction/function module detection research, feature­based analysis of gene expression data, genomic data analysis are all first-class: very high­quality, insightful, and original...an achievement only a few researchers can attain as mastering three different disciplines and contributing to them in fundamental ways is inherently difficult." Professor Zhang's more recent research has established a new direction of enquiry in Bioinformatics by introducing interactive mining of gene expression data. The techniques she developed utilize information theoretic metrics to enable efficient search and analysis of genomic and proteomic data. Dr. Timothy Murphy, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Medicine in UB's School of SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Aidong Zhang Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center, illuminates the signal importance of Dr. Zhang's development of novel technologies in order to effectively mine large databases of clinical information and gene expression data stating it has helped advance the field by providing investigators with critical tools. He writes, "Dr. Zhang is an internationally recognized leader in the area of data mining, bioinformatics, health informatics and related flelds. These disciplines have emerged as being critically important in the biomedical sciences and clinical research. The methods that Dr. Zhang has developed to mine large data bases have had an important impact in the field of health care informatics." Intimately engaged in her global professional community, Dr. Zhang has maintained a high profile through her numerous leadership roles. The founding chair of the ACM Special Interest Group in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Biomedical Informatics, Professor Zhang has also served as the Steering Committee Chair ofACM BCB (2011-12) and as an IEEE Executive Technical Committee member for the Society for Computational Life Sciences. Active in ensuring the quality of peer-reviewed publications in her fleld, Professor Zhang has served as an editorial board member for several prestigious journals such as IEEE Transactions ofKnowledge and Data Engineering, ACM Multimedia Systems, and the International Journal ofDistributed and Parallel Databases as well as Editor-in-Chief ofACM SIGMOD Digital Symposium. She also served as a member of the SUNY Research Council in 2012-2013. Recognized and honored for her sustained excellence throughout her career, Professor Zhang has been lauded with many accolades, including being named a UB Distinguished Professor in 2012, the 2010 Inventor of the Year by the Niagara Frontier Intellectual Property Law Association, a Fellow of the aforementioned IEEE in 2009, a Best Teacher Award from the UB Department of Computer Science and Engineering in 2004, an Exceptional Scholar Achievement Award from UB in 2003, a SUNY Chancellor's Research Recognition Award in 2002, and the aforementioned NSF CAREER Award from 1998-2002, and was recognized among the Top 100 Innovators of Upstate New York in 2001. Professor Zhang has exceled in her role as a mentor as well, successfully shepherding the academic careers of many students and seeking new avenues to increase student opportunities­particularly for women studying in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Dr. Zhang has been an advisor to 23 successful Ph.D. students, each of whom have been placed in top-tier companies (such as Google, Cisco, Oracle and Microsoft) or in academia (Johns Hopkins University, Indiana University, Michigan University, and the University of Alabama). Through Dr. Zhang's leadership as a role model for women in STEM fields-particularly for women in computer science and engineering, which is a discipline with an especially low representation ofwomen-she has initiated a special program to support female and minority graduate students to participate in ACM BCB conferences. Dr. Jiawei Han, the Abel Bliss Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign expressed admiration for Professor Zhang's efforts to provide opportunities for women and minorities writing "She is surely an excellent role model for women in the discipline of computer science given not only her high success in scholarly activities but also her leadership in the academic community." In a highly productive career spanning two decades, Professor Zhang's work has had far­reaching impact in the fields of databases, multimedia, and bioinformatics and across multiple disciplines, combining her passion for teaching, research, and service. She has also overseen a signiflcant expansion of student enrollment and the improving stature and reputation of the Department of Computer Sciences and Engineering during her tenure as department chair. Perhaps best summing up Dr. Zhang's overall excellence is Dr. Paras Prasad, SUNY Distinguished Professor in SUNY Distinguished Professor Nomination Dr. Aidong Zhang the UB Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Medicine, who lauds her value to the university: "Her willingness to cross disciplines to collaborate and her scientific talent for identifying and solving problems that span multiple disciplines is remarkable. Aidong is an invaluable asset to our research in particular and UB in general, a most wonderful collaborator." Professor Zhang's excellent record of scholarship and service has indeed been a tremendous asset to the University at Buffalo and SUNY, and the impact of her dedication on her field worldwide has been exceptional. I give her nomination to the rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor my full and wholehearted recommendation. Sincerely, _A'J;Iv k-~~- Satish K. Tripathi President Cprtland President's Office February 27, 2014 Dr. Elizabeth Bringsjord Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost State University of New York System Administration State University Plaza Albany, New York 12246 Dear Dr. Bringsjord, On behalf of SUNY Cortland, I am very pleased to place the name of Dr. Christopher A. McRoberts in nomination for the rank of Distinguished Professor. Dr. McRoberts received a B.S. in Geology from the University of Wyoming, and an M.S. in Geology from the University of Montana. His Ph.D. in Geology was awarded by Syracuse University. Dr. McRoberts came to SUNY Cortland as an Assistant Professor of Geology, in 1997. In 2003, he was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 2006, he achieved the rank of full Professor. He is a noted authority on the Triassic Period. EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF EXCELLENCE IN SCHOLARSHIP Research/Publications Dr. McRoberts has established a reputation worldwide as a highly acclaimed invertebrate paleontologist of the Triassic Period with a specialization in the taxonomy and paleoecology of bivalves and the mass extinction event of the end-Triassic period. Dr. McRoberts, a field paleontologist, is deeply committed to his discipline. He is a prolific and innovative researcher who has earned the respect of his colleagues throughout the world. He is a noted scholar who has published 53 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters, four monographs and published governmental reports, and ten book reviews. His articles have appeared in the most highly coveted journals in his field including Science, Journal ofPaleontology, Geology, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology &Palaeoecology to mention a few. In addition, he has published 42scientific abstracts and has served as co-editor for a special volume of a prominent paleontology journal. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Albertiana, the seminal journal of the Triassic Period. Dr. Jozsef Palfy, ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary, comments on Dr. McRoberts' research: Prof. McRoberts has made several very important scientific contributions. He has been a prolific author of basic, descriptive taxonomic work on Triassic bivalves from not only the US, but also Canada, Mexico, and as far afield as Italy and even Tibet, describing several Miller Building, Room 408 • P.O. Box 2000 • Cortland, NY 13045-0900 Phone: (607) 753-2201 • Fax: (607) 753-5993 • E-mail: president@cortland.edu new species. He is acontributor to the new, updated edition of the bivalve volume of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, the standard reference work of systematic paleontology. He is well known and widely cited for his research related to the Triassic-Jurassic boundary events, documenting the extinction pattern of latest Triassic bivalves worldwide. (...) Most of the above research results have been published in key international journals, as documented by the nominee's impressive list of publications. That all this work has been well received by the international community is evidenced by more than 400 citations registered in the Web of Science database. Another proof of recognition is the repeated success in obtaining external grants to fund his research program, including grants from the highly competitive scheme of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Martin Aberhan, Head Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology, Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany makes this observation regarding Dr. McRoberts' research: "During his more than 20 year research career McRoberts has established himself as one of the leading international authorities of the Triassic system. (...) Supplemented by chemostratigraphic methods, McRoberts significantly advanced our knowledge of Triassic biochronology." Invited Presentations Dr. McRoberts has been a frequently invited guest lecturer, keynote speaker and symposia chair/leader around the world. Recent guestlectures include the Annual Meeting of the Science Teachers Association of New York; the University of Montana; the Paleontological Research Institute Summer Symposium, Stanford University, Binghamton University, San Diego State University, University of British Columbia, and Colgate University. In addition, hehas chaired sessions of scientific symposia in Palermo, Italy; Goisern, Austria; Tata, Hungary; Chaohu, China; Florence, Italy; and Vancouver, Canada, as well as domestically. In 2009, in his capacity as aworld expert on the Triassic Period, Dr. McRoberts was interviewed on "Animal Planet" for a television segment on "Animal Armageddon." Grants Dr. McRoberts has successfully obtained several significant grants totaling over$331,000. These include substantial grants from the National Science Foundation (three grants), the Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society, International Geological Correlation Programme, UNESCO, and the Alaska Division of Geology and Natural Resources. Another $134,442 in grants is anticipated. In addition to supporting his excellent work, this funding has had a positive indirect impact on the College, including the acquisition of sophisticated equipment and direct support of our students. In addition, Dr. McRoberts has received a number of internal Faculty Research grants for travel and exploration at various site locations. Of additional importance is Dr. McRoberts' advocacy for funding of undergraduate and graduate research. He currently chairs the Undergraduate Research Council at SUNY Cortland and has been successful in obtaining funding to support student travel and participation at professional conferences. Honors Dr. McRoberts is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. He received the SUNY Cortland Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award in 2003 and 2006, as well as the Outstanding Achievement in Research Award, in 2005. He is a member of Sigma Gamma Epsilon honorary, and he is an active member of significant professional organizations in his field, including the Paleontological Society, Palaeontological Association, Geological Society of America, and National Center for Science Education. In recognition of his strong reputation in the field, Dr. McRoberts served on the prestigious Paleontological Society Medal Selection Committee from 2005 to 2009. In 2011 he received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Reputation in the Field External recommenders for Dr. McRoberts span the globe, including Italy, British Columbia, England, Hungary, and the United States. Despite the physical distance, Dr. McRoberts' colleagues are unanimous in their praise of Dr. McRoberts as a respected authority in the field. Dr. Marco Balini, Chairman, Subcommission on Triassic Stratigraphy, Milan, Italy, states: Prof. McRoberts is one of the very few specialists on the Triassic invertebrates of the United States. Within this very small group of paleontologists, he is undoubtedly the one with the widest and most diversified experience. I also emphasize that Prof. McRoberts is a field paleontologist and many of his papers include accurate description of localities and stratigraphic sections from Nevada, Oregon, Alaska, Texas and multiple localities in Western Europe, carefully sampled with a bed-by-bed approach. In this respect, Prof. McRoberts' contribution to the knowledge of the marine Triassic of western US is outstanding and he might be considered as the third mostimportant US specialist of the last 60 years, after Norman Silberling and George Stanley. Referring to Dr. McRoberts' major contributions to research on the mass extinction at the close of the Triassic Period, Dr. David J. Bottjer, Professor of Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Environmental Studies, University of Southern California, comments: Chris was one of the early pioneers in spearheading our understanding of this. He has done critical work on the environmental causes and paleontological effects of this crisis. His work has led to his collaboration with others in organizing significant research programs and publications towards the elucidation of this mysterious time of environmental crisis. In short, he has over time become a leader with an international reputation in the field of mass extinction research. As a result of his cutting edge research in the areas of bivalves and the Triassic Period, Dr. McRoberts has received important professional recognition including appointments and elections as a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History (considered one of the most important museums in the world by scientists in the field), as the Secretary General for the International Union of Geological Sciences Commission on Triassic Stratigraphy, as Co-leader of the International Geological Correlation 458 Project, and as Chair of the Northeast Section of the Paleontological Society. Since 2013 he has served as Editor-in-Chief of Albertiana, the international journal of Triassic research. Dr. David Jablonski, William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Service Professor at The University of Chicago, makes the following observation regarding Dr. McRoberts* prestigious international posts: 'Theseare genuinely significant positions: they involve the international bodies that formally define, and choose specific locations that permanently typify, the boundaries between major geologic intervals. The rest of stratigraphy, and all of the paleontology around those temporal boundaries, hinges on reaching aconsensus and rigorously pinpointing time horizons." EVIDENCE OF LEADERSHIP IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH As acomprehensive college, SUNY Cortland is well known for its emphasis on teaching and learning. Dr. McRoberts has used his extensive research program in creative ways to the maximum benefit of the students at this institution. He involves students directly in his work, including international field work, providing them with critical pre-professional training needed for advanced workand graduate training in paleontology. He regularly incorporates his research findings into his traditional classrooms, affording the students in his classes the opportunity to receive the most current scientific data. He also serves as a mentor for geology majors. Further, Dr. McRoberts has been a campus leader and advocate for faculty research and the involvement of undergraduate and graduate students in that research. Indeed, he has been instrumental in shaping the campus commitment to the importance of faculty scholarship and direct student involvement in investigative processes across all disciplines. It should also be noted that, in addition to his extensive research program and substantial teaching load, Dr. McRoberts provides outstanding leadership on a number of important campus-wide committees. Examples are the President's Leadership Coalition for Student Engagement, QuantitativeSkills Committee, College Research Committee (chair), President's Task Force to Promote and Expand Research and Scholarship Through External Funding at SUNY Cortland, and the Undergraduate Research Council, which he also chairs. He was also Chair of the Geology Department. Summary Dr. McRoberts is a prolific scholar who has earned an outstanding international reputation in the field of paleontology. Dr. Hugo Bucher, Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, states: Within the Paleontology community, Dr. McRoberts is unanimously acknowledged as a world class expert on Triassic bivalves and on the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction. He is a hard core paleontologist exploring the great evolutionary radiation of bivalves that followed the end-Permian extinction. His expertise is firmly rooted in a very robust taxonomic and stratigraphic background, with strong emphasis on paleobiology and paleoecology. (...) In addition to his major commitments within SUNY at Cortland, Dr. McRoberts has also been actively serving the international Triassic research community during the last ten years. He has promoted Triassic studies in organizing and chairing a large number of sessions on these research topics. Dr. Thomas R. Waller, Curator and Research Scientist Emeritus, Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, states: "I continue to be impressed by McRoberts' productivity, not only because of the inherent difficulties of studying the Triassic, but also because of his teaching responsibilities. His published contributions and ongoing research have earned him an outstanding reputation both nationally and internationally. In my opinion, he clearly deserves the honor of being designated Distinguished Professor." Istrongly concur. Moreover, Iam confident that Dr. McRoberts exceeds the criteria for this prestigious award. For the reasons mentioned above, Iam proud to recommend Dr. Christopher A. McRoberts for the rank of Distinguished Professor. Yours truly, ErikJ. Bitterbaum President March 6, 2014 Dr. Elizabeth Bringsjord Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor State University of New York State University Plaza Albany, New York 12246 Dear Dr. Bringsjord: It is with great pleasure that I am submitting the nomination of Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD for promotion to the rank of Distinguished Professor. Prior to making this recommendation, a nominating committee consisting of the College’s academic leadership was established. It was clear at the onset that one name rose above all others for consideration. Dr. Jose-Manuel Alonso’s scholarly contributions and intellectual leadership have advanced the field of visual neuroscience and raised the scholarly profile of the College of Optometry. Dr. Alonso was recruited to the College as an Associate Professor in 2002, after spending three years as a faculty member at the University of Connecticut. He was awarded tenure in 2004, recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2006 and promoted to Professor in 2007. During his time at the College, Dr. Alonzo has developed a national and international reputation as an outstanding neuroscientist contributing seminal work that supports our understanding of how visual information is processed by the brain. The impact of his work is evidenced by his: . Prolific record of publication (> 70 articles) in many of the most significant peer-reviewed scholarly journals, including Nature, Science, Neuroscience, Journal of Neurophysiology, Nature Neuroscience and Neuron. . Numerous presentations at professional conferences (> 100), along with many invited talks globally. . Enthusiastic support for his promotion to Distinguished Professor by some of the world’s leading scientists including winners of McArthur Awards, a Nobel-Laureate, and Howard Hughes Fellow, along with formal external recognition as a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, a Revson Fellowship, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship. . History of extensive collaboration with leading scientists and laboratories both within the US and internationally. . Success at obtaining continual and extensive extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health. . Success in attracting and educating graduate students and post-docs who to assume significant academic posts at universities world-wide and who continue contribute meaningful research to the field of neuroscience. . Leadership and engagement within the College of Optometry community. Most recently, Dr. Alonso’s work was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and broadly reported on internationally in the popular media when he and his team solved a 400 year old paradox first identified by Galileo. While Dr. Alonso is an exceptional intellect and researcher, he is also an extraordinary colleague and member of both the College community and the extended community of his peers. He is open, collaborative and, most importantly, makes those around him better. In closing, I would like to highlight a comment written by Dr. Thorsten Weisel, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine, (Dr. Alonzo’s post-doc advisor) to Dr. Qasim Zaidi, Chair of the Distinguished Professor Nominating Committee: “…Jose-Manuel is a gifted researcher with a natural instinct for asking the right research questions and having superior skills and inventiveness in reaching answers. The focus of his investigations has from the very beginning been on the mammalian visual system and he is now, through the high quality and excellence of his research and his amazing productivity, recognized internationally as a true leader in his field.” As President of the State University of New York College of Optometry, I could not agree with Dr. Weisel more. Dr. Jose-Manuel Alonso is a gifted researcher, collaborator and mentor whose efforts and impact are deserving of promotion to Distinguished Professor. On behalf of the entire SUNY College of Optometry community, I strongly endorse Dr. Jose-Manuel Alonso’s nomination for promotion to the rank of Distinguished Professor of the State University of New York. Respectfully,