Excellence in Teaching: Roger StumpWhen Department of Geography and Planning chair Christopher J. Smith speaks of his colleague Roger Stump, words like "unique," "creative," and "good citizen" readily spring to his lips.
While Stump is a highly successful teacher, researcher, and writer, as well as "a wonderful colleague," according to Smith, he also "creatively links research to service and to teaching. He is a very good synthesizer in that way."
One example of Stump�s ability to synthesize is his involvement in putting together a set of statistical and other data about the Capital Region and metropolitan New York City. Supported by an Innovation Fund for Teaching internal grant, these multimedia digital archives include maps, satellite images, photographs, text, and other information.
Stump is designing the archives to incorporate active learning into a variety of introductory and advanced courses dealing with urban geography and planning. Most of the archives will also be publicly available through the Worldwide Web, with raw data available for Albany graduate student analysis in the department�s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab.
The shared "virtual" learning environment will also extend beyond any particular course or program, and, through use of computer mapping, remote sensing, GIS, and other spatial technologies, will facilitate the integration of technical fields into non-technical courses � and further students� understanding of the field.
Stump joined the Albany faculty in 1982 and remains, according to Smith, "a well-respected professional and a very, very popular teacher. Roger places teaching on an equal status with research. He teaches across the spectrum: introductory-level classes in cultural geography, graduate and undergraduate statistics classes, and the most sophisticated graduate-level courses."
A recipient of both the SUNY Chancellor and University awards for excellence in teaching, Stump has taught a number of seminar courses in the honors program, as well as General Education Program writing-intensive courses. He is "enormously popular with students because he is very able, very thorough, and very clear," said Smith. "Roger�s trademarks � professionalism, skill, and great attention to detail � rub off on students."
Contributing to Stump�s power to influence students, added the department chair, is that "he has made a name for himself. He is a unique person within our discipline. He is one of the few people doing serious work on distribution and change in religious patterns."
Stump�s work largely focuses on what he refers to as "the geography of religion," or the study of religious change from a geographical perspective. His interests in cultural geography and religion, said Smith, "are rather esoteric, and his work is very solid and creative." Stump has had quite a few articles published recently, and he is now working on a book, The Boundaries of Faith: Geographical Perspectives on Religious Fundamentalism, to be published by Rowman and Littlefield in the spring of 2000.
An example of his intellectual versatility is his journal article "The Bebop Revolution: Place and Innovation in Popular Culture," which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Cultural Geography.
Since 1983, Stump�s research in a number of areas has attracted support from several entities, including SUNY�s Research Foundation, the government of Quebec, and the National Science Foundation.
In his nearly 16 years at Albany, he has served his students and colleagues in numerous ways. He is the 1998-99 University Senate chair and has served the Senate in a variety of other capacities. He chaired the Department of Geography and Planning from 1990-92 and currently directs the department�s M.A. program in geography. Last spring, he completed a one-year term as faculty representative to the University Council.
In short, Smith concluded, Roger Stump is "a good, professional citizen of the University and the department. We can always rely on him."
by Carol Olechowski
Harvy Lipman, an adjunct professor in the Journalism Program in the Department of English and current writer for the Times Union, was recently chosen as "Best Newspaper Reporter" by Metroland magazine. Lipman�s name, according to Metroland, was attached to some of the "hardest-hitting" stories of the year on such topics as school aid policies, malls fighting their tax assessments, campaign finance law violations, and abuses of power at Capital District OTB.
At the University, he has helped advance the Journalism Program by introducing a course on computer-assisted journalism. "His experiences as editor and broadcast journalist make him an invaluable edition to the journalism program," said Carolyn Yalkut, Journalism Program director.
"He really exposes students to the nuts and bolts of news writing. The students are fortunate to have someone who is an accomplished journalist teaching in our classes."
The division nominating committee and the American Psychology Association (APA) have elected V. Mark Durand as an association fellow. Durand, a member of the Department of Psychology, was awarded fellow status based, in part, on evaluated evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions in the field of psychology.
He is known internationally for his research and published texts in the fields of autism, sleep disorders, and behavior and developmental problems in children. The fellowship begins Jan. 1, 1999.
Felix Wu has recently accepted the position of director of the Academic Computing Center. "As interim director, Felix was instrumental in bringing about the positive changes that have taken place in academic computing over the past year," said Judy L. Genshaft, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
"He will continue to provide leadership in this area and make service to faculty, staff, and students a priority," she said. Wu began his new position at the start of this academic year.
Kathleen E. Kendall of the Department of Communication has announced the publication of a new research paper. Titled "Communication Patterns in Presidential Primaries 1912-2000: Knowing the Rules of the Game," the paper was published by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University. It is part of a larger study that is to be published in a forthcoming book, Communication in the Presidential Primaries.
University to Memorialize Professor Grenander
A memorial service will be held for the late Professor M.E. Grenander at the University at Albany Friday, Oct. 30. The service is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall on the University�s Uptown Campus.
Grenander, who passed away May 29, was a Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of English. She taught at Albany for 41 years, retiring in 1989. An author of countless books and articles, she was also an authority on noted short-story writer and Hearst columnist Ambrose Bierce.
Grenander�s late husband, internationally known physicist James Corbett, Ph.D., was also a Distinguished Service Professor at Albany. Corbett died in 1994. Grenander memorialized him later that year with a $500,000 gift to the University at Albany, establishing one of the first privately endowed named professorships in the entire State University of New York system: The James W. Corbett Distinguished Service Professorship in physics. She regarded the tribute as "a lasting memorial" to her husband, who had taught at the University for more than 20 years.
In addition to the professorship, the longtime East Berne resident established the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives in the University Libraries with a contribution of $250,000. Her generosity made her the first individual to donate more than $1 million to the University.
For information about the memorial service, call 442-5300.
Obtiuary: Glenn W.S. Humphreys, Former Chemistry Professor
Glenn W.S. Humphreys, a chemistry professor at Albany from 1958 through his retirement in 1975, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Homewood Retirement Center in Williamsport, Md.
Humphreys was born on Aug. 17, 1914, in Du Bois, Pa. He received both his bachelor of science and master of science degrees from St. Bonaventure University and did postgraduate doctoral studies at the University of Chicago, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Humphreys later became an assistant professor at The College of St. Rose in Albany and professor and chairman of the science and chemistry department at Siena College before joining the Albany faculty.
Humphreys was a life member of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was the founder and regional chairman of the Northeast Region of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul.
His death, at age 84, was preceded by his wife�s, on July 23. Their daughter, Mary Anne Burke, commented on her father�s career at Albany by saying, "My father was proud of his long association with [the University]. He spent many happy years on the faculty serving in the chemistry and science divisions."
Rita Biswas, associate professor in the School of Business, participated in a debate with labor leader Ed Bloch on Sept. 27 on the topic "Who�s to Run the World�s Business: Two Views on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment." The event was held at the Guilderland Public Library.
Zacek Presents Paper in Prague
Joseph F. Zacek of the Department of History presented an invited paper, The International Significance of Franti�ek Palacký: A Transatlantic View," at an international scholarly conference in Prague, the Czech Republic, this summer.
The conference was organized by the Historical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in connection with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Palacký (1798-1876), who is often called "The Father of the Czech Nation." Zacek, who is considered a leading authority on Palacký, was presented with the medal of the Academy for his contributions to the advancement of Czech culture.
Selections from his numerous publications on Palacký were also featured in an exhibit at the National Library in Prague.
New Faculty: Amy Lehman, Department of Theatre
Amy Lehman joined the faculty of the Department of Theatre this fall, bringing with her a wealth of both teaching and practical experience in theater.
Langdon Brown, department chair, calls Lehman a welcome addition. "She brings a passion for the history of theater, and she has a penetrating understanding of how theater research can be applied to the intellectual advancement of the field," he said. "And she has an artist�s appreciation for the application of theater research to theatrical production."
Lehman holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University (1996) and a B.A. from Wells College (summa cum laude, 1983) in theater. She has had a varied career as both teacher and actress. She was a lecturer in the theater department at Albany from 1993 to 1996, and has also worked in drama deparments at Indiana University, as an associate instructor and faculty assistant, at Sweet Briar College as a visiting instructor, and as a teaching assistant at Wells College.
Lehman has directed full productions, among them The Duchess of Malfi, Siren�s Song, and Little Miss Fresno. She has also starred in productions of Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest, and A Midsummer Night�s Dream.
She has made a mark as theater scholar as well. She had a piece on a longtime University faculty member, "Jim Leonard: A Brief Biography," published in the Fall 1988 Indiana Theatre Journal, and her essay "The Commodification of Innocence: Esther at the Court of Louis XIV" was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Theatre Research in Seattle.
Lehman�s academic honors included membership in Phi Beta Kappa, a "Distinction in the Special Field of Theatre" from Wells College (1983) and Wells� Dean Prize for Dramatic Expression. She was given an NEH stipend for its Summer Seminar for College Teachers in 1997, received the Hubert C. Heffner Award in 1992 and the Foster Harmon Scholarship in 1989-90 and 1991-92, all from Indiana University, and was named Henry Wells Scholar in 1979-83 by Wells College.
She trained in London, England, with the faculty of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1983-84 in acting, Shakespeare, improvisation, voice, movement, fencing and the "Alexander technique," earning a Certificate of Proficiency in Stage Combat from the British Society of Fight Directors in 1984. She is a member of both the American Society for Theatre Research and the Modern Language Association.
Her teaching schedule at Albany includes courses in theater history and dramatic literature. "I certainly hope to become a better teacher as well as contribute to the growth of the theater department," she said. "In addition, I have some theater history scholarship and research I would like to begin publishing."
by April Sherman
New Faculty: Thomas Daniels, Department of Geography and Planning
Thomas Daniels, a scholarly and hands-on expert in agricultural and resource economics, entered the Department of Geography and Planning this fall.
"He brings three things to the department," said Chair Christopher Smith. "He was hired as the senior planner, and brings leadership in that regard. He also brings his professional experience as a planner � before he came here he was the director of the Agricultural Preserve Board of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania for nine years and was involved in small town planning.
"The third thing is a very strong research record. He has had five books published and several articles printed in the discipline�s leading journal."
Daniels holds a Ph.D. from Oregon State University in agricultural and resource economics (1984), as well as an M.S. from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (1977) and a B.A. from Harvard University (1976). Before his work with Lancaster County�s Agricultural Preserve Board, he was an associate professor in regional and community planning at Kansas State University (1987-1989), an assistant professor of regional and community planning at Iowa State University, and an assistant director of the Iowa Regents Semester-in-London Program.
His published works include the books Holding Our Ground: Protecting America�s Farm and Farmland, Rural Planning and Development in the United States, and The Small Town Planning Handbook, and journal articles in the Journal of the American Planning Association (1997), the Journal of Rural Studies, Small Town, and Governing Magazine.
Daniels has been involved with many professional associations, among them the editorial board of the Journal of the American Planning Association (1992-1998). He has also served as co-editor of the Association�s Rural Division Newsletter (1987-1991), president of the Pennsylvania Farmland Preservation Association (1998), and member of the Working Group Advisory Committee to the American Farmland Trust (1994).
He said that his job involves teaching "Rural and Small Town Planning" and "Metropolitan Regional Planning." Beginning in January, he will be direct the University�s master�s program in planning. "I hope to see the master�s program in planning grow in the number of students in it, and to have it work with Capital Region planners as well as planners throughout New York to improve planning in New York State," he said.
by April Sherman
Correction: Add PAD to Marschke
The September 30 "New Faces" story on Gerald Marschke omitted the fact that he is also on the faculty of the Department of Public Administration & Policy (PAD). Update Regrets the omission.
