SUNY trustees name English faculty member to rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor

NEW PALTZ — Jan Zlotnik Schmidt, a professor of English at the State University of New York at New Paltz and coordinator of the college’s composition program, has been appointed to the highest rank that can be achieved by a SUNY educator, that of Distinguished Teaching Professor.

Schmidt received her appointment at a public ceremony on April 29 in Albany, where all living faculty who have received the designation since its establishment as a university-wide honor in 1973 received a commemorative medallion.

“A passionate and gifted teacher, professor Schmidt brings out the best in her students through her unstinted attention to their writing and through her boundless confidence in their intellectual and creative potential,” said College President Steven Poskanzer.

Schmidt’s areas of specialization include writing, literature of the Holocaust, multi-ethnic literature and autobiography. She is an active poet and composition theorist, publishing steadily in these areas, participating in community forums for poetry, and regularly leading workshops and retreats on the teaching of writing. In addition, Schmidt has published two volumes of poetry, co-edited two collections of women/teachers’ memoirs and collaborated on two editions of the successful student textbook, “Legacies,” with a third due to be published in August.

Schmidt, who came to New Paltz in 1985, has served as the original chair of the Writing Board and as the director of the Teaching Assistant program. She has promoted writing as a means of instruction in all disciplines and facilitated conversations about student learning in numerous venues.

Distinguished Teaching Professors are SUNY’s best educators and mentors. The hallmarks of their professional contributions are demonstrated through their mastery of teaching, their on-going commitment to scholarship, their adherence to academic excellence, and their generous and significant service to students.

Note to editors: A photograph of Jan Zlotnik Schmidt is available on the SUNY New Paltz Web site at www.newpaltz.edu/news/images/schmidt.html.