GENESEO, N.Y. - The State University of New York Board of Trustees has awarded two SUNY Geneseo faculty members with distinguished professorships. Lynette Bosch, professor and chair of the Department of Art History, has been named a SUNY Distinguished Professor, conferred upon individuals who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within a chosen field. Receiving a Distinguished Teaching Professorship is Christopher Leary, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics.
The distinguished rank constitutes the highest system honor conferred upon instructional faculty at state-operated campuses. All distinguished faculty in active service within SUNY are also members of the SUNY Distinguished Academy.
The distinguished teaching professorship recognizes and honors mastery of teaching. For this prestigious tribute to be conferred, candidates must have demonstrated consistently superior mastery of teaching, outstanding service to students, and commitment to their ongoing intellectual growth, scholarship and professional growth, and adherence to rigorous academic standards and requirements.
Bosch has the distinction of being a renowned scholar in three fields of expertise: Renaissance art; Spanish manuscript illumination; and contemporary Latin America art, especially Cuban. The board said she uniquely weaves archival material with contemporary critical theory. Her scholarly and creative output spans nearly the entire range of possibilities, including books, peer-reviewed articles, encyclopedia articles, book reviews, conference presentations, exhibition catalogs, curatorial work, conference organizing, and speaking invitations.
Bosch’s “Art, Liturgy, and Legend in Renaissance Toledo”(Penn State Press, 2000) won the prestigious Eleanor Tufts Book Award, an international prize from the American Society of Hispanic Art Scholars. One of the unique contributions of the monograph is that it illustrates the transnational nature of the Renaissance by comparing Spanish manuscript production to developments in Italy and northern Europe. The book has been hailed as a “landmark in the study of later 15-century Spanish art that also impacts the study of late medieval and early Renaissance art.” Professor Bosch’s scholarship extends to offering a variety of research and presentation opportunities to her undergraduate students including exhibitions, symposia, and study abroad programs.
The board said Leary is a gifted and innovative teacher who inspires his students to love mathematics and to become better thinkers, using a variety of methods to challenge, engage, and motivate his students to become active and independent learners. Many have gone on to receive important academic honors and to enroll in prestigious graduate programs. He mentors students both within and outside of his classes, and has made significant contributions to undergraduate research, including obtaining an NSF grant for Undergraduate Biomathematical Research (2004-2009) and creating a program in biomathematics.
Leary teaches a wide range of courses in mathematical logic as well as in biomathematics. His published work has made important contributions in both of these fields, including his textbook, now in its second edition, in mathematical logic. He was recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995 and the Clarence F. Stephens Distinguished Teaching Award of the Seaway Section of the Mathematical Association of American in 2009.
“The SUNY distinguished professor rankings are the highest honors our Board of Trustees has the opportunity to convey to faculty, making them a tremendous point of pride for us all," said SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. "These individuals are leaders and innovators in their field, serving as excellent mentors for our students while advancing groundbreaking research and discovery in New York and around the globe. Congratulations to all of the faculty receiving this distinction.”
“The SUNY distinguished faculty are truly the best of the best,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Through innovative instruction, unique research opportunities, and engaging applied learning opportunities, they deliver a top quality higher education for our students that is second to none. Many thanks and congratulations to this most recent class of distinguished faculty.”
Bosch and Leary are among 29 SUNY faculty named this year to distinguished ranks. They are among 53 Geneseo faculty members who have received the rank since 1973.
Since the program’s inception in 1963, SUNY has appointed 1,062 faculty to distinguished ranks: 371 distinguished professorships; 310 distinguished service professorships; 376 distinguished teaching professorships; and five distinguished librarian professorships.
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