Political Science Professor Nancy Kassop named SUNY Distinguished Professor

Nancy Kassop, professor in the Department of Political Science & International Relations at SUNY New Paltz, has earned the title of SUNY Distinguished Professor, becoming one of just 22 New Paltz faculty members who have attained this highest academic rank in the State University system.

The Distinguished Professorship is conferred solely by the State University Board of Trustees as a means of honoring individuals who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within a chosen field.

Kassop is a nationally recognized authority on the U.S. presidency whose work is often solicited for collections of leading articles in that field. Her research focuses on the intersection of the law and the presidency. She is one of a handful of experts on the role and function of the office of the Counsel to the President as a member of the White House staff.

An in-demand public intellectual committed to advancing civic engagement, Kassop has served for the last 20 years as an invited scholar on two elite interview projects: the White House Transition Project and the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.

Throughout her career in academia, Kassop has leveraged her connections and expertise to create opportunities for future generations of scholars. She has a well-established track record of mentoring junior colleagues, particularly women, in roles including her past presidency of the Presidents and Executive Politics section of the American Political Science Association (APSA).

She also organizes an annual three-day trip during spring break to Washington, D.C., for New Paltz students to meet with government officials and think tank scholars and to network extensively with New Paltz alumni in the area.

Kassop has earned local recognition as a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities (2019), the SUNY New Paltz Alumni Association’s Heritage Award (2022), and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Teacher of the Year Award (1997).

 

The rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor was created by the SUNY Board of Trustees in 1963. Since then, more than 1,100 faculty have received honors for Distinguished Professorship, Distinguished Teaching Professorship, Distinguished Service Professorship, and Distinguished Librarian.

As members of the Distinguished Academy, these exceptional faculty function as role models and devote appropriate service to University-wide activities, both ceremonial and professional, such as offering lectures and seminars, informing curricular reform, improving the overall academic experience of students, mentoring junior faculty, and leading inquiry into issues of importance to SUNY and society.

Visit https://www.suny.edu/distinguished-academy/ for more information.