Dennis O’Keefe Memorial Lecture
to focus on maps of the Hudson River

Jo Margaret Mano, associate professor of Geography at the State University of New York at New Paltz, will deliver the third annual Dennis O’Keefe Memorial Lecture sponsored by the Friends of Sojourner Truth Library at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in Lecture Center 102. Her topic will be “A Passion for Maps: Celebrating the Hudson.”

This presentation will explore the messages and mysteries of maps and their makers, using examples that reveal different facets of the history of the Hudson River Valley. Mano will illustrate her journey through the centuries with both well-known and rarely seen cartographic discoveries.

Mano earned her B.A. from New Paltz, and M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University, and began teaching at New Paltz in 1980. Her research and publications focus on historic cartography and urban planning. She serves as executive director of the Middle States Division of the Association of American Geographers.

Dennis O’Keefe, a beloved member of the college and local community, graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1973. He died on August 28, 2006, at the age of 55. He zealously pursued a multitude of interests. The history of New Paltz – particularly as it related to the history of the college – was an interest that led him, as a member of the staff of Sojourner Truth Library, to perform valuable service in arranging and organizing the college history collection in the library. O’Keefe also had a deep and wide ranging interest in maps and cartography.

Refreshments, provided by Sodexo Food Services, will be available after the lecture. Both the lecture and the reception are free and open to the public.

The Friends of the Sojourner Truth Library is an association of faculty, students, alumni and community members dedicated to promoting and enhancing the library as a shared resource. Membership in the Friends group includes borrowing privileges and access to campus parking.

For further information, contact Rosemary Stephens at (845) 257-3719 or visit the library Web site at http://lib.newpaltz.edu.