CAMPUS
news & notes
COLLEGE NEWS
Newly Published “New York Amish: Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State,” Cornell University Press by Department of Anthropology Chair Dr. Karen M. JohnsonWeiner, highlights the daily existence and diversity of Amish communities in New York State. Dr. Johnson-Weiner draws on 25 years of experience observing, participating, interviewing and conducting archival research to emphasize the contributions of New York’s Amish to the state’s rich cultural heritage. Assistant Professor of history Dr. Shiho Imai’s “Creating the Nisei Market: Race and Citizenship in Hawaii’s Japanese American Consumer Culture,” University of Hawaii Press is a fascinating glimpse into an often-overlooked aspect of U.S. history by exploring how different groups within Japanese American society (in particular the press and merchants) staked a claim to whiteness on the basis of hue and culture. Dr. Imai is the 2010 recipient of the St. Lawrence County Branch of the American Association of University Women Research Award. “The Appeal of Insurance,” University of Toronto Press, edited in part by Dr. Geoffrey W. Clark, a professor of history, is a collection of essays for those interested in history and economics. The essays examine the history of insurance as a process of negotiation between the embedded social, legal and cultural norms out of which the practice grew. This book measures how far the industry’s influence has reached, as it became an agent of discipline and control over public and private matters. Nancy C. Eldblom, a former SUNY Potsdam librarian, along with Anne M. Johnson, published their first book “Plants of St. Lawrence County, NY: An Annotated Checklist of Vascular Flora.” Mark Campbell, associate professor of Music Education at SUNY Potsdam along with Linda K. Thompson, former assistant professor at The Crane School of Music, have released “Issues of Identity in Music Education: Narrative and Practices,” the third book in a series edited by Thompson.
DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS
Geology Professor Wins National Award for Earth Science Teaching Dr. Michael C. Rygel, an assistant professor of geology at SUNY Potsdam, was recently honored with the 2010 Biggs Award for Excellence in Earth Science Teaching from The Geological Society of America. This national award is given to one professor in the nation annually to recognize innovative work in earth science education. STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
SUNY Potsdam Students Look Toward a Greener Future Four students and two advisers from SUNY Potsdam attended the second annual Adirondack Youth Climate Summit at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, NY. The summit hosted 23 high schools and seven colleges from around the Adirondack North Country. Representing SUNY Potsdam were students Adrianne Traub, Kyle Rizzo, Krystal White and Zachary Gioia, along with Resident Director R.J. Mattimore and Assistant Professor Dr. Stacy Rosenberg. COLLEGE NEWS
CPS Welcomes Amy Flack as New Executive Director The performing arts organization in residence at SUNY Potsdam, Community Performance Series, announces Amy Flack as its new executive director beginning February 2011. “We look forward to Amy’s leadership as CPS continues its vital role in bringing outstanding artists and outreach opportunities to our area and seeks to broaden its offerings and extend its reach,”
said Crane School of Music Dean Michael Sitton. Flack is the former executive director of the Thousand Island Performing Arts Fund at the Clayton Opera House. DEVELOPMENT & AWARDS
Two Professors Earn National Endowment for the Arts Funding Two SUNY Potsdam faculty members were recently recognized for their work by being awarded funding through the National Endowment for the Arts. Dr. James Allen Hall, an assistant professor in the Department of English and Communication, has been named a 2011 Creative Writing Fellow by the NEA. He was one of only 42 poets chosen out of 1,063 applicants nationwide, and will receive a $25,000 grant to support his work. Dr. Gregory Wanamaker, a professor of composition at Crane, was awarded a 2011 NEA Access to Artistic Excellence Grant. The $10,000 award will go to the Syracusebased Society for New Music, which will commission the composer to write a new work in collaboration with visual artist Carrie Mae Weems. w w w. p o t s d a m . e d u /p e o p l e
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