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S.
Stewart Gordon, the first Harpur College dean and executive vice-president
of SUNY-Binghamton, died on January 10, 2000, at age 87.
Gordon was a graduate of Westminster College of Missouri, and received his PhD in English from the University of Chicago, where he served as assistant dean of students. He came to Harpur from SUNY headquarters at Albany, where he had been assistant to the executive dean for four-year and professional colleges.
Gordon assumed the newly created post of Dean of Harpur College on September 14, 1955. Second in command to President Bartle, Gordon was responsible for curriculum and faculty and student affairs.
During his tenure as dean, Gordon adopted a policy of retaining and hiring faculty who combined outstanding teaching ability with first-rate researching skills. This set the stage for Harpur College to later establish its graduate program. In 1967, Gordon stepped down from his post as dean and went on to serve the University in a variety of capacities, including vice president for academic affairs, executive vice president and on several occasions, acting president. He retired in 1976 but continued to maintain close ties with Harpur College and the University. "As first dean of Harpur, Stewart Gordon was instrumental in developing the strong academic foundation that has established the College as the intellectual heartbeat of the University," said Dean Polachek. "His dedication and vision inspired all of us who followed in his footsteps."
Clifford Myers, 70, professor emeritus of chemistry, died Tuesday, January 11, 2000, at Lourdes Hospital following a battle with cancer.
Myers graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1951 with a BS in Chemistry and a BA in Mathematics. He earned his MS and PhD in chemistry from Purdue University and held research and teaching positions at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana, Lynchburg College and Alfred University.
Myers joined the faculty in Harpur College in 1963 as an associate professor of chemistry, becoming a full professor in 1978. His specialty was high temperature chemistry.
Throughout his career, Myers played an active part in all-university, school and departmental committee assignments, serving as fellow of the College-in-the-Woods, NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative and on the Faculty Senate. Myers retired in 1995.
Dean Solomon Polachek takes great pride in announcing the recipients of the Dean's Research Semester Awards for 2000-2001. David Brackett (Music), Michael Kohler (Comparative Literature), Omowunmi Sadik (Chemistry) and Nancy Appelbaum (History) will be released from their major teaching obligations for one semester to concentrate on a research project or creative endeavor during the next academic year.
The Research Semester Award program is conducted annually as part of Harpur College's ongoing efforts to encourage and maintain an active research faculty. Junior faculty members who have a minimum of two years of full-time service are eligible to apply. This year, twelve faculty members submitted applications, which were then reviewed by division-based panels of senior faculty. Their recommendations were forwarded to Dean Polachek for his endorsement. "The proposals were all outstanding," said Dean Polachek. "And several of the panels had difficulty in making a final choice. The Research Semester program is a significant opportunity for faculty development, enriching both individual careers and Harpur College."
Recipients and their proposed field of research include:
Harpur College is well known for its rich research-oriented tradition. But it also has an equally rich tradition of finding new and better ways to share those ideas in the classroom. It's even more gratifying when those efforts are recognized by one's peers, as psychology professors Heather Macalister and David Payne and graduate teaching assistant Tali Ditman found out at the 1999 Northeastern Teachers of Psychology Conference.
In a poster session contest, Macalister and Ditman, with support from Payne, shared a detailed explanation of a lab course in general psychology. Fellow educators were so impressed that they awarded Macalister, Payne and Ditman first place, making them eligible to present the poster at the 2000 American Psychological Association's conference to be held in Washington, DC.
"The Northeastern Teachers of Psychology society is affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA)," said Macalister. "And its main purpose is to promote excellence in the teaching of psychology by encouraging research and reflection on teaching and learning. Through annual conferences, the society offers teachers a venue to share teaching techniques with one another. The poster contest held at the most recent conference allowed us to show how we developed a one-credit optional supplement to a General Psychology course which we believe could be effectively implemented in other large universities and smaller colleges."
Macalister, Payne and Ditman used a combination of photos and graphics on four panels to illustrate the topic. They also supplied a two-page summary of the program listing useful guidebooks, websites and resources available. "We were surprised but very excited to have won," said Macalister. "By placing first, we are now eligible to attend the APA conference in summer and present the material again. The conference is the world‘s largest meeting of psychologists and features workshops, films and invited addresses. It will be our first APA conference and is going to be a real honor for us as teachers to present our poster as representatives of Binghamton University."
Professor Carrol Coates hopes
that his latest translation project, General Sun, My Brother will
reach two audiences: younger Haitians who have probably heard of the author,
Jacques Stephen Alexis, but cannot easily read the original French text,
Compère Général Soleil. Coates also hopes to
attract English-speaking readers interested in exploring Haiti, which has
an exceptional history of literature and culture dating from its independence
in 1804.
"Although published in 1955 in Paris, this is the first complete English translation of the novel," said Coates. "An important reason that Alexis has been neglected is that he was an avowed communist. This novel, which takes a critical view of the first U.S. invasion and occupation of Haiti (1915-1934) and of the continued American manipulation of Haitian affairs, would probably have made it suspect during the McCarthy era."
Set in the late thirties, the novel describes the social reality of the majority of Haitian workers and peasants as seen through the eyes of laborer Hilarion Hilarius. It describes the hardship brought on by natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods as well as the circumstances and political events leading up to a strike by sugarcane workers, both Dominican and Haitian. The strike becomes the pretext needed by President Trujillo for an act of "ethnic cleansing." Termed the "Dominican Vespers," as many as 20,000 or more Haitian workers, women and children were massacred when the Dominican army and police moved in at the beginning of October 1937.
"I have been thinking of translating this novel for some years because Alexis is an important Haitian writer who is well-known internationally but has never been made available to English-speaking readers," said Coates. "Besides, General Sun is a gripping story that gives an intimate view into the daily life of the common people of Haiti -- their religion, their proverbs and games, and their own Kreyòl language."
The manner is which Alexis details the struggle between popular movements and dictatorial or capitalist governments of the 1930s was also another reason for Coates' interest. By his own admission, as little as he was drawn to history as a student, Coates has become increasingly fascinated with the chasm that separates the common people from the elites who wield power across world. In particular, Coates has a continued interest in U.S. foreign policies in the Caribbean and the Americas. "A consummate irony is that my translation of Alexis' story of the 1937 massacre, behind which lay governmental corruption on both sides of the border, has appeared at a moment when history is very close to being repeated. The Dominican government is once again expelling thousands of Haitian workers, with rumors of violence and police brutality."
Coates has a longstanding interest in Haiti and has translated a number of works by Haitian authors, including The Festival of the Greasy Pole by René Depestre (published in 1990) and Dignity, Jean-Bertrand Aristide's account of his exile during the Cédras junta period (1991-1994). He is a frequent speaker on the topic of Haitian culture at universities, clubs and colloquia around the country. Coates is currently translating a West African novel by Ivory Coast author, Ahmadou Kourouma, Awaiting the Vote of the Savage Beasts.
"With General Sun, My Brother, I will consider that my work has had some success if I get any evidence that Haitians, who do not read French, are enabled to deepen their contact with their own roots by reading in English the work of an important Haitian. The novel has important cultural and historical insights that are still relevant for Americans and other observers of the troubled political scene in Haiti," said Coates.
Ewa Mackiewicz-Wolfe paid homage
to fellow Polish countryman Frederic Francois Chopin during the 150th anniversary
of his death by playing four remembrance concerts with one more yet to come
in spring 2000.
Originally planned as a single concert with Stephen Stalker, cello, in the Anderson Center Chamber Hall, word soon got out among fellow Chopin music lovers that Mackiewicz-Wolfe was planning this remembrance event. Izabella Kobus-Salkin, a renowned mezzo-soprano, who also organizes and produces concerts, was arranging similar Chopin tributes and invited Mackiewicz-Wolfe to participate in a series of concerts in the United States.
The first event was held in September at the Polish embassy in New York City. Hosted by the Polish Singers Alliance of America (PSAA), an organization formed to preserve Polish culture in the United States, the event featured Chopin's music performed by a host of Polish artists. The Chopin tribute series then returned to New York City, where at a PSAA-hosted event in November, Mackiewicz-Wolfe performed before a standing-room only audience at the French embassy. In addition to this series, Mackiewicz-Wolfe was invited to perform a recital for the Chopin -- Son of Poland concert series at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts in Hamilton, Ontario.
" Chopin is perhaps one of the greatest composers of piano music," said Mackiewicz-Wolfe. "During his relatively short but remarkable lifetime, he composed an extensive amount of unique pieces that earned him the nickname 'Poet of the Piano'. The 150th anniversary of his death allows us to reflect on the legacy he left us and the impact he has had on the many composers who followed him."
Although Chopin spent the second part of his life in Paris, his compositions reflect the feelings and experiences of the Polish nation. During the 1830s, Poland had revolted against its Prussian, Austrian and Russian rulers and as a result, Warsaw was put under harsh military rule. As a vocal critic of the three powers' involvement, Chopin became an exile, visiting Poland only occasionally before dying of tuberculosis at age 39. "Chopin's compositions reflect his love of his homeland through the rhythms and characteristics of Polish folk music," said Mackiewicz-Wolfe. "As a fellow Pole, these influences are particularly enjoyable for me to play as is the drama he infuses into his work."
Mackiewicz-Wolfe was the winner of the International Competition of Renaissance and Baroque Music and the General Composition for Young Pianists in Warsaw. She has recorded for Polish radio and made appearance on Polish television. She joined the Harpur College Music Department in 1984 as adjunct lecturer and has performed concerts and recitals with symphony concerts throughout Germany, Poland, Eastern Europe and the Northeastern United States. Last year, together with violinist Magdalena Suchecka-Richter, she conducted a four-week tour of Poland performing at international festivals of chamber music in Gdansk, Poznan, Bydgoszcz and Lubostron. Mackiewicz-Wolfe's next Chopin remembrance concert will take place in April 2000 at the Polish consulate in Montreal, Canada.
Andrew Light, assistant professor
of philosophy and environmental studies, has been elected vice president/president-elect
of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, making him the youngest person
yet to hold this office.
The Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) is an independent international organization that fosters, supports and facilitates philosophically significant considerations of technology. This includes encouraging those with philosophical training or philosophical interests to think and write more extensively on technological issues while also promoting public appreciation for the moral, political and other philosophical dimensions of technology. "Many philosophers don't talk much about the actual world but focus instead on fairly abstract conceptual issues," said Light. "The SPT tries to get people to think about things like the moral impacts of new computer technologies on human interactions. For instance, is it a good thing that so much of our interaction now is mediated by e-mail, the web, and other internet technologies?"
Light has only been associated with SPT since 1993 and suggested that his election was partly due to a growing desire by the membership for 'new blood' in the organization. "The Society was founded in 1975 at a conference at the University of Delaware and most of the past presidents were people who had been part of that initial meeting," he said. "When my election was announced at a meeting in Boston in late December, the immediate past-president said that the torch had now been passed to the next generation."
As vice president, Light will be called upon to organize and coordinate SPT's next international conference, which will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June 2001. He will also be upgrading the society's publications, both in print and on the web. "One of my major focuses, however, will be to increase the public profile of the field," he said. "We were fortunate to have had an article appear in the New York Times last April about philosophy of technology which was a huge coup for the field. We need to build on that so more newspapers will call on a philosopher to comment when they write stories about new technologies. We all know that this century will without doubt be the technological century. The question is whether our creation of new technologies will be done in a responsible way. I want the SPT to be at the center of these kinds of discussions as they unfold in public forums."
When his term as VP ends, Light will assume the role of President and handle the day to day operations of the group. He will also lead public outreach programs and act as spokesperson for the organization. "My involvement with the organization allows me to create heightened visibility for Harpur College and Binghamton University," said Light. "We will be seen as an institution that supports and promotes this sort of exciting interdisciplinary work. I hope to eventually bring a philosophy of technology conference to the campus, or at least a series of speakers. I also hope that being president will give me an advantage in seeking grant money to support interdisciplinary work on technological issues here at Binghamton."
Light has published a number of significant papers in the field of philosophy of technology, which have received widespread attention. He recently completed editing a major book, Technology and the Good Life?, which is being published in September 2000 by the University of Chicago Press. He also served as Book Review editor for the past four years for one of the main journals in the field, Research in Philosophy and Technology. In other areas, Light has coordinated five international conferences in the last four years, most recently a gala conference on environmental ethics at Oxford University. He has also created a new journal, Philosophy and Geography. Light plans to use these skills to further the work of the SPT.
Last updated 1/16/00. Written by Gail Glover, Harpur College Public Relations Specialist.