September 5, 2007

BCC President Dr. Laurence Spraggs Announces Professor
Doug Garnar Has Been Appointed As A Distinguished Service Professor

-Award Is Highest Any SUNY Faculty Member Can Receive-

(TOWN OF DICKINSON, NY) Broome Community College President Dr. Laurence Spraggs today announced that Professor Douglas Garnar has been appointed as a Distinguished Service Professor.

The Distinguished Service Professor (DSP) award is the highest any SUNY faculty member can receive. The award can only be conferred by the State University Board of Trustees, which did so at their May 31, 2007 meeting.

Professor Garnar was one of twelve professors state-wide who was approved to receive the Distinguished Service Professor Award. Professor Garnar is the first member of the BCC faculty to ever receive this award.

“I am deeply appreciative of this award but it is important to note that unlike those who receive a similar award for original research or teaching, the Service Award requires the recipient to work with people on campus, in the local community and perhaps at the state or national level,” said Doug Garnar. “Those who receive this award must always remember it is not just recognition for them but also those individuals, who encouraged, supported, sustained and validated the various Service projects done over a long career.  Put another way, I stand on the stout shoulders of those on campus and in the community who encouraged, supported, sustained and validated my efforts over a long career.  I can not take sole credit for those projects attributed to me over the years.  Rather, I must acknowledge the role of countless partners.  Perhaps being a catalyst working with others was my one contribution.  I must thank the various community boards I served on, my local Community for trusting me to a school board trustee and numerous people on campus ranging from Presidents, Vice Presidents, Deans, my fellow Chairs and most of all my fellow faculty in assisting/sustaining me over a 36 year career.”

“The Distinguished Service Professorship recognizes extraordinary service far beyond the University or College,” said Dr. Laurence Spraggs. “Professor Garnar's extraordinary record of service to his campus and community, and his involvement in regional, statewide, national, and international issues and initiatives has grown directly from his scholarly and teaching interests. Professor Garnar is a truly dedicated member of the College’s faculty, always putting the interest of the students first. We are honored to have him among the ranks of BCC’s finest.”

The SUNY Board of Trustees conferred a total of 28 awards at their May 31, 2007 meeting. Of the 28 awards, only three recipients were from Community Colleges.

Trained as an historian, Professor Garnar has a long-standing interest in democracy and civil society. In the 1980s, as chair of the History and Social Sciences Department, Professor Garnar successfully implemented, as part of the campus' General Education reforms, a world history requirement, one of the first such requirements in the State University system.

Professor Garnar's many years of service to the local community have clearly been an extension of his scholarly and teaching interests. He served on the school board in Greene, New York, from 1979 to 1988, and as president of that board in 1987-1988. He also served as facilitator for the Greene Central Schools AIDS Advisory committee from 1994 to 1995. He instituted the OWLS program and also has been responsible for the existence and growth of our presence in Tioga County at the Owego site.

Professor Garnar has played a central role for over thirty years in establishing traditions in campus governance, and in such areas as Convocation Day, the Common Hour, and the Civic Education Fund at Broome Community College.   

Candidates for the Distinguished Service Professorship must have held the rank of full professor for five years, must have at least three years of full-time service at the nominating institution, and must have completed at least ten years of full-time service in the State University of New York.  In addition a DSP must demonstrate substantial distinguished service both at the local campus level and/or local community or regional level; and at the state-wide and/or nation-wide and /or international level and exceed the work generally considered to be part of a candidate’s basic professional work.