Justin Behrend, associate professor of history, is among those participating in Teachers Day March 11 on campus. The college is hosting 50 area high school history teachers this year, who will hear presentations from history department faculty members.
GENESEO, N.Y. – SUNY Geneseo’s Department of History is hosting its third annual Teachers Day March 11 when 50 area high school history teachers from a dozen area school districts will hear Geneseo faculty members review scholarly trends in U.S. and global history and areas covered by the New York State Common Core curriculum.
The event is again made possible by a gift from Joe and Elaine Bucci, 1967 and 1966 Geneseo alumni, respectively. Both have education in their backgrounds and support higher education as a vital component to the success of the state and nation. The Buccis both recently received Geneseo’s Medal of Distinction, the college’s highest honor recognizing exceptional professional achievement and contributions to society.
“We are tremendously grateful to the Buccis for their generous support of this program and their ongoing support of the history department,” said Joe Cope, chair of the department. “They have both done classroom teaching and know the difference good teaching can make on student success.”
Those attending Teachers Day represent school districts in Livingston, Monroe, Genesee, Steuben and Wyoming Counties. Many of the attendees are Geneseo alumni.
"When we started this program, we thought that we had a great opportunity for history faculty to make connections to educators in local communities," said Cope. "The positive feedback that we have received from participants over the past several years really underscores the extent to which this program is addressing the needs of social studies teachers in our area."
Among events during the day-long session will be a keynote address by Tze-Ki Hon, professor of history, who will address “Six Things New Yorkers Should Know About East Asian History.”
Two Geneseo faculty members will conduct Teachers Day workshops during the day:
- Kathleen Mapes, associate professor of history, will conduct sessions on the recent history of the United States.
- Megan Brankley Abbas, assistant professor of history, will conduct sessions focusing the history of the Islamic world.
Also involved in coordinating this year’s program from the history department faculty were Michael Oberg, Distinguished Professor History, and Justin Behrend, associate professor of history.
The department plans to conduct a similar Teachers Day program in May at Geneseo’s developing Red Hook educational platform for non-traditional educational opportunities in Brooklyn.
Media Contact:
David Irwin
Director of Media Relations
(585) 245-5516
Irwin@geneseo.edu