Highlighting the achievements, accolades, and honors of our Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty and students

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences honors one of its full time faculty and one of its part time faculty with the Teacher of the Year Award each academic year.

For the academic year 2009-2010, Reynolds Scott-Childress, Associate Professor of History, was named the full-time Teacher of the Year.  Joan Perisse, Adjunct of English, was named the part-time Teacher of the Year.

Scott-Childress is regarded as a remarkably innovative, demanding teacher who brings American History to life for his students.  "If teaching is about creating the right chemistry in the classroom, Rennie (Reynolds Scott-Childress) is an alchemist who has learned to make gold," said one member of Scott-Childress's recently created "Teaching Circle."  In this "Teaching Circle", five faculty members observe one another in the classroom and discuss topics related to pedagogy.  "His pedagogical approach encourages - indeed demands - that his students take direct responsibility for their own education and that of their peers," one peer said.

Joan Perisse is a dedicated teacher of Composition.  "She deserves enormous credit for her work over the years with many of our EOP students, and for her highly innovative use of technology," one peer said.  Perisse is specifically recognized for her work on the "Peer Critiquing Computer Project."  Freshman Composition students at SUNY New Paltz, Marist College, and Mount Saint Mary College use the "Peer Critiquing Computer Project" exchange and critique essays via an Internet program called Webboard.  Perisse is also responsible for The College Initiative, a magazine written for and by students at SUNY New Paltz and Marist College, where she also teaches.

In honor of their achievements, Scott-Childress and Perisse's names will be added to the Teacher of the Year plaque located in the Jacobson Faculty Tower lobby.  Both recipients will also receive $1,000 to be used for professional development.  In addition, recipients each year give a talk or lead a workshop on pedagogy for interested faculty in the Teaching and Learning Center.

Past Recipient List

• Reynolds Scott-Childress, History; Joan Perisse, English (2009-2010)
• John Sharp, Geography; Suzanne Kelly, Women Studies (2008-2009)
• Pauline Uchmanowicz, English; John Palenscar, History (2007-2008)
• Susan Lewis, History; Jenica Shapiro, English (2006-2007)
• Joel Lefkowictz, Political Science; Larry Carr, English (2005-2006)
• Andy Evans, History (2004-2005)
• Peter D. G. Brown, Foreign Languages (2000)
• Michael Gayle, Psychology (1999)
• Patricia Mullins, Communication Disorder (1997-1998)
• Nancy Kassop, Political Science; Peri Rainbow, Women Studies (1996-1997)
• Phyllis R. Freeman, Psychology; Leena Karkala, English (1995-1996)

Awards

The New York State Archives and the Archives Partnership Trust have selected Laurence Hauptman, Distinguished  Professor Emeritus of History, to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for Services in Support of New York State History and Archives.  The award was presented to Dr. Hauptman at a luncheon ceremony at the Cultural Education Center in Albany on October 25, 2011.  This award recognizes Dr. Hauptman's long career as the most productive and one of the best known historians of New York State active today.  It honors his scholarly achievements and work promoting awareness and documenting the legal rights of aboriginal peoples around the nation.  The award is also in appreciation for the work he has done with the New York State Archives as an active member of their advisory committee for over twenty years and the keen appreciation he has of the value of archives around the country and of archivists' work.  "We are pleased and honored to recognize Larry Hauptman and his work and contributions to the New York State Archives and to archives around the state and the country," said State Arvhivist Christine Ward.  "His distinguished career as a historian, a researcher, a teacher and an advocate for American Indians is one that cannot be praised enough.  We are delighted to present this award to him."

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is proud to present its first Excellence in Scholarship Award to Jason Wrench, Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Media.  The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding achievement in research, scholarship, or creative activity by a member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty. 

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is proud to present its first Excellence in Service Award to Gregory Bray, Lecturer, Department of Communication and Media.  The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding achievement in service activities by a member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty. 

At the Business History Conference annual meeting held in St. Louis, Missouri, March 31-April 2, 2011, the Hagley Prize was awarded to Susan Ingalls Lewis, Associate Professor of History, for her book, Unexceptional Women: Female Proprietors in Mid-Nineteeth-Century Albany, New York, 1830-1885 (Ohio State University Press, 2009). The Hagley Prize is awarded jointly by the Hagley Museum and Library and the Business History Conference to the best book in business history written in English and published during the two years prior to the award.

Jonathan Raskin, Professor of Psychology and Counseling, received the 2010 George Kelly Award, given by the Constructivist Psychology Network (CPN) for outstanding scholarly contribution to constructivist psychology. Professor Raskin, who has been at SUNY New Paltz since 1996 and serves as director of the Counseling Graduate Program, has published more than 30 journal articles and co-edited 5 books exploring theoretical and applied aspects of constructivist psychology and counseling. In addition to his scholarly work, Professor Raskin serves as managing editor for the Journal of Constructivist Psychology. He is also licensed as a psychologist in New York, where he maintains a small private practice. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, Professor Raskin is a past recipient of the State University of New York’s Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Constructivist psychology assumes that people never know the world independent of a perspective or framework. Thus, it studies how people construct meaningful ways to understand themselves and their world. Professor Raskin is internationally recognized for his work in this area.

Zachary Keck, a Political Science student at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at State University of New York in New Paltz, is the winner of the inaugural Foreign Affairs Student Essay Contest sponsored by Foreign Affairs, a magazine published by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a non-profit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs through the free exchange of ideas. Mr. Keck will receive a prize of $500 and will be honored at a “Back to School” event and reception at the offices of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on October 15th. Read Mr. Keck's essay