NEW PALTZ — Recipients of the 1995 Hudson Valley Study Center Research Grants will report on the progress of their projects at the State University of New York at New Paltz on Monday, April 15. The grants are given annually to encourage new study of the region’s multi-faceted cultural and natural heritage.
Rikki Asher, David Jaffee, Jo Margaret Mano, and Simin Mozayeni, all faculty members at SUNY New Paltz, collectively received more than $5,000 for research projects related to the study of the Hudson Valley last year.
Asher’s grant project, “The Sojourner Truth Mural: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Curriculum and Instruction in Art Education,” involved a class project in which students researched the life and local connections of Sojourner Truth. The resulting mural now hangs in the College’s Sojourner Truth Library.
Jaffee’s research, “Socio-Economic Transition and Governmental Response in the Hudson Valley,” focused on the creation of a database containing economic, social, labor market and demographic information of the region to be used by local and regional policymakers as they chart changes and plan for future development.
Mano’s project, “Hudson Valley Cartography: 1776-1800,” involved the study of rare maps and archival sources related to the Hudson Valley with a focus on the exceptional Robert Erskine-Simeon DeWitt Collection of Revolutionary War field sketches and finished maps.
Mozayeni’s study, “State and Local Government Economic Policies and the Growth of Small Businesses,” centered on the development of an economic database for 167 municipalities in seven counties — Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
The purpose of the Hudson Valley Study Center, founded in 1994, is to promote the scholarly exploration and preservation of the Hudson Valley, to foster an understanding of the many forces that affect its present and its future, and to encourage a sense of regional beauty. Neil Larson is its director. The program will begin at 7 p.m. in LC 102. A reception will follow the presentations.
