Faculty and staff awards, honors and publications

SUNY New Paltz congratulates faculty and staff on their notable awards, honors and publications.

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GERALD BENJAMIN (The Benjamin Center) has received a $100,000 grant from the Regional Planning Association for his project, “The Value of Preserving Land in the Mid-Hudson Valley Region.”

NATALIE CARTWRIGHT (Mathematics) has received a $115,473 grant from the Air Force Office of Science Research for her project, “Electromagnetic Beam Propagation Through the Dispersive Material.”

SARAH ELIA (English as a Second Language) was elected President of the New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (NYS TESOL). Based at Teachers College, Columbia University, the organization is comprised of members working in varying areas of TESOL instruction throughout New York State – from k-12 to adult education – as well as TESOL students. Elia becomes the first SUNY New Paltz faculty member to hold this position, and will serve a two year term.

TOM MEYER (Secondary Education) has received a $3,500 grant from the National Writing Project Corporation for his project titled “Courageous Writers: Hyde Park.”

NKEIRU OKOYE (Music) has received a $15,000 grant from Opera America to go toward the development of We’ve Got Our Eye on You, an original opera that enjoyed a premier workshop performance at SUNY New Paltz in March. The grant will support the production of a high-profile workshop performance in New York City, featuring professional singers, with a tentative opening date of February 2018.

REYNOLDS SCOTT-CHILDRESS (History) has been appointed as the new Alderman representing the City of Kingston’s 3rd Ward on its Common Council. The appointment was announced by Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, who said that “Rennie shares my vision for what the city has in store for the next 10 years; he’s going to do a really great job representing his neighbors.”

JAMES SCHIFFER (English) will give a lecture at the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, N.Y., focusing on Shakespeare’s sonnets, their enduring value and their complex visions of love. The lecture marks the launch of a Sonnet-Writing Competition the Library will be hosting this spring. More information is available online: http://albertwisnerlibrary.org/content/enduring-love-shakespeares-sonnets-407.

KT TOBIN (The Benjamin Center) has received a $66,451 grant from the New World Foundation for her project, “What is the True Cost of Quality Living in the Mid-Hudson Region?”

REVA WOLF (Art History) spoke at a symposium titled “Complementary Modernisms in China and the U.S.,” held at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, one of the foremost schools of art and history in China. Wolf’s talk, titled “Cosmic Jokes and Tangerine Flake: Translating Andy Warhol’s POPism,” was given in collaboration with Kou Huaiyu of Beijing, the translator of Andy Warhol and Pat Hackett’s book POPism: The Warhol ‘60s.