Charles Freeman, professor and chair of SUNY Geneseo’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, is among faculty members the State University of New York Board of Trustees has named to a distinguished professorship.
The board appointed Freeman Distinguished Teaching Professor of Physics. The distinguished rank recognizes and honors mastery of teaching. Candidates must have demonstrated consistently superior mastery of teaching, outstanding service to students, and commitment to their ongoing intellectual growth, and adherence to rigorous academic standards and requirements.
“Each year it is an honor to review the collective work of SUNY’s outstanding faculty, and to recognize the sheer academic strength within our walls that inspires our students,” said SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. “The standards of our distinguished ranks are rigorous, with high demands set for leadership and innovation. Congratulations to all of today’s honorees, who have led our students by excellent example, created new research opportunities, and challenged those around them reach higher levels of achievement.”
The board described Freeman as a passionate teacher who brings innovation, rigor and excitement to the physics classroom, noting that his pedagogy is student-centered, inquiry-based and inclusive of all students.
“SUNY faculty achieving the distinguished ranks provide an additional spark that inspires groundbreaking research, innovation, and discovery while also setting a higher standard for teaching and learning,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to all of the faculty receiving this honorable distinction.”
Freeman has been on the Geneseo faculty since 1997. He received a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2013 and has been recognized with a teaching award from Geneseo’s Teaching and Learning Center. In addition, he has garnered considerable praise for his role as director of Geneseo’s Pelletron Accelerator Lab, which has supported collaborations with undergraduate, graduate, and faculty researchers at other institutions. Freeman has trained students to use the Pelletron accelerator, which positions them to gain skills in a wide range of areas. His collaborators credit him with laying the foundation for important advances in the area of plasma physics, and he has served as co-principal investigator in a number of projects totaling $4.2 million in Department of Energy funding.
“Professor Freeman’s appointment as Distinguished Teaching Professor is well-deserved and reflects the high value he places on his teaching,” said SUNY Geneseo President Denise A. Battles. “Charlie brings great enthusiasm and commitment to the classroom and laboratory to ensure that physics instruction is innovative and highly effective. Geneseo is very fortunate to have him as a member of our faculty.”
Freeman is among 21 SUNY faculty members named this year to distinguished ranks. He is among 54 Geneseo faculty members who have received the rank since 1973.
Since the program’s inception in 1963, SUNY has appointed 1,083 faculty to distinguished ranks: 382 distinguished professorships; 317 distinguished service professorships; 379 distinguished teaching professorships; and five distinguished librarian professorships.
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