SUNY Canton Professor Receives Distinguished Faculty Award

Related Media

SUNY Canton History Professor Raymond G. Krisciunas is the 2013 recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award.

CANTON, NY (04/25/2013)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Canton College Council has awarded a faculty member who has invested deeply in making the College a better place to work, learn and be successful.

The College Council selected Professor Raymond G. Krisciunas as the 2013 recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award. Krisciunas teaches History in the School of Business and Liberal Arts.

He will receive his award and be a guest of honor at the Nancy R. Auster Honors Convocation at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 1, in the SUNY Canton Convocation Athletic and Recreation Center, nicknamed Roos House.

Many of his peer faculty members endorsed or nominated him for the award. He's enriched students' experiences by providing an evolving awareness of world events, according to Associate Professor Patrick K. LaPierre, who also teaches history.

"Ray's knowledge ranges widely," LaPierre said. "His broad focus stems from a genuine interest and concern about the human community."

Krisciunas is consistently changing his courses to meet current academic trends and adapt to the needs of his students. Numerous students commented that his courses are always interesting and informative.

For several semesters, he helped develop and present at the Liberal Arts Academic Film Festival. Students could participate in film showings that included topical themes encouraging rhetoric. Subjects included "Coming of Age" and "Resistance."

Krisciunas has received numerous awards and has traveled the world to present and gather topics for his research. He received a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute Award on the topic of "Rethinking Europe/Rethinking World History," which later became the foundation to develop a World History course at SUNY Canton.

He spent time in Argentina, Brazil and Chile on a State University of New York grant presenting on "Learning about the Americas."

He served two 3-year terms as a senator in SUNY's Faculty Assembly, served twice on the SUNY Faculty Senate Executive Committee representing SUNY Colleges of Technology chaired the SUNY Faculty Senate Student Life Committee and served on several standing committees for SUNY's governing body for faculty. He has also served as the vice president for academics in SUNY Canton's chapter of the United University Professions union.

At SUNY Canton, Krisciunas served on the Faculty Affairs Committee, Liberal Arts Committee and the Library Committee. He has been the department chair for History, Political Science and Economics and the Chair for Social Sciences. Krisciunas received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Connecticut and continued with his doctoral studies in History at Indiana University. He also spent four years in a research position at the University of Kiel (German, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel).

Ray and his wife Diana have two sons, Gintas and Linas. He said his family played a critical role in his successful career.

About Honors Convocation

Honors Convocation is an annual formal ceremony recognizing students' academic, civic, and overall achievement. More than 100 students receive awards and are presented scholarships at the event. The College's distinguished faculty award is bestowed, as are the Outstanding Graduate Awards for the year. Each year the ceremony is named after the most dedicated and revered retired faculty members from the College.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton offers a variety of career-driven bachelor's degrees in addition to its associate and certificate programs. In the past year, the College added two new bachelor's degrees and expanded its facilities with a new athletic center, nicknamed Roos House, and the Grasse River Suites Residence Hall. The College's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to their academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers flexible and convenient online courses and programs. The College's 14 athletic teams compete as provisional members of the NCAA Division III as well as the USCAA.

-www.canton.edu-