State University of New York Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher has announced system-wide recipients of the 2014-15 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, which recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate or professional level.
Adjunct instructor and Fredonia alumna Grace Gerrity of the Department of Business Administration and adjunct instructor Dr. Susan McGee of the Department of English, also a Fredonia alumna, have been named this year’s recipients of the honor, which was initiated in 2014.
Ms. Gerrity earned her B.S. in Communication from Fredonia in 1991, and M.B.A. from Hofstra University. She has been teaching in the Department of Business Administration at Fredonia for over 17 years, including courses in Marketing Foundations, Business Communications and Introduction to Marketing. A resident of Forestville, Ms. Gerrity is Director of Corporate Marketing Services for Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc., one of the largest dental product manufacturers in the world. An employee with Ivoclar Vivadent for 19 years, she and her 15-member team are responsible for advertising, public relations, marketing communications, video production, new media, social media and large scale events.
Dr. McGee has been teaching at Fredonia since 2007, offering courses for the departments of English, and Theatre and Dance, as well as the Women’s and Gender Studies, and American Studies programs. Courses include Novels and Tales, English Composition, Survey of American Literature, Women Writers, Theories of Gender, Epic and Romance, Frontiers in America Literature, African American Literature and Culture, Introduction to the Performing Arts and Modern Drama. She earned a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance, B.A. in Secondary Education, English, and M.A. in English, all from Fredonia. She earned her Ph.D. in General Literature and Rhetoric from SUNY Binghamton. Dr. McGee is a resident of Dunkirk.
“Adjunct teachers across the SUNY campuses provide consistently excellent instruction and are a key component of our faculty as we seek to increase access, completion, and success among students,” said Chancellor Zimpher. “Those honored with this year’s award have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to their students and an exceptional commitment to quality teaching. Congratulations, and thank you, to all of the honorees."
The Chancellor's Awards for Excellence are presented annually in seven categories: Faculty Service, Librarianship, Professional Service, Scholarship and Creative Activities, Teaching, Classified Service, and Adjunct Teaching. They are system-level honors conferred to acknowledge and provide system-wide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement and to encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellence. Individuals selected for this honor are role models within the SUNY community. In acknowledgment of their selection, recipients are given recognition for the particular award received in the college catalog. A certificate and a Chancellor's Excellence medallion are also bestowed to commemorate selection.
The two award recipients will be recognized at the all-campus meeting in August.
