Kudos

John Cummings, retired director of human resources, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the State University Human Resources Association (SUHRA) on Oct. 6. Cummings was nominated for the award by his friends at Binghamton University, in recognition of his more than 40 years of service to SUNY.

Tracy Lord, senior counselor at the University Counseling Center, co-authored with H.B. Sullivan and M.C. McHugh, “Creeps and Casanovas: Experiences, explanations, and effects of street harassment” in Victims of sexual assault and abuse: Resources and responses for individuals and families: Vol. 1 Incidence and psychological dimensions (pp.237-258), edited by M.A. Paludi and F. L. Denmark and published by Praeger, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, Calif.

The following recently taught Lyceum courses: Jerry Aronson, professor emeritus, philosophy: “Fractal Geometry, Chaos and Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics,” Oct. 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16; Gladys Walling, professor emerita, physical education: “Two Ancient Lands,” Nov. 9; Al Carpenter, professor emeritus, English: “A Cold War Slant on Death of a Salesman and The Crucible,” Oct. 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17; and Richard Naslund, professor, geological sciences: “The Geology of Chile and an Eyewitness Account of the 2010 Mega Earthquake,” Nov. 17.

Qi Wang, assistant professor of marketing in the School of Management, is a finalist for the 2010 Marketing Science Institute (MSI) H. Paul Root Award, one of the most prestigious accolades in marketing research.  Each year, members of the Journal of Marketing editorial review board give the award in recognition of a paper that has made a significant contribution to the advancement of marketing. Wang is the author of “Survival in Markets with Network Effects: Product Compatibility and Order-of-Entry Effects”, published earlier this year in the Journal of Marketing.  MSI and the American Marketing Association, co-sponsors of the award, will make a presentation at the association’s Winter Marketing Educators’ Conference, to be held Feb. 18-20, 2011, in Austin, Texas.

Denis O’Hearn, professor of sociology, had a book launched July 15 at the European Parliament Offices in Rome by the vice-president of the European Parliament, Roberta Angelilli. Il diario di Bobby Sands. Storia di un ragazzo irlandese is a translation by Italian journalist Silvia Calamati of a book by O’Hearn and Laurence McKeown, Irish playright and former hunger striker. The book, aimed at young readers, explains how someone becomes involved in social movement and protest, using the life story of the Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. O’Hearn’s full-length biography of Bobby Sands, Nothing but an Unfinished Song: Bobby Sands, the Irish Hunger Striker Who Ignited a Generation, was published by Nation Books in 1996. Last year in the American Journal of Sociology, O’Hearn’s article “Repression and solidary cultures of resistance” analyzed for academic audiences how Sands and other Irish political prisoners built and maintained the “blanket protest” in Irish prisons during the late 1970s, a protest that led to the Irish hunger strikes of 1908-81.

The Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life celebrated a quarter century since its founding with a Gala 25th Anniversary Dinner held in October in the historic Gotham Hall in New York City. Close to 600 guests largely comprised of alumni spanning the years 1985 to 2010 and parents of students past and present attended the dinner. Honored at the dinner were Lori and Marc Ben Ezra, both of the year 1987 (their daughter Ilana will be a freshman at Binghamton University next year), who represented the years 1985-1990; Steven Katz ‘91, who represented 1990-1995; Naomi ‘97 and Ari ‘95 Rosenfeld, representing the years 1995-2000; Stacy ‘01 and Stuart ‘00 Mayer, representing the years 2000-2005; and Meeka and David Natanov, both ‘05, representing the alumni of the last five years. Rabbi Aaron Slonim announced the founding an endowment fund to help ensure financial stability for Chabad into the future and the launching of an interactive alumni website that would help strengthen the ties of Chabad of Binghamton graduates. The event included video presentations that introduced the award presentations to honorees, a presentation by the current Chabad student executive board, personal reflections by the honorees and greetings from Rabbi and Rivky Slonim, Barry Newman, president of Chabad’s board of trustees, Brian Rose, vice president of student affairs at Binghamton University and George Rohr, chairman of the Chabad on Campus International Board of Trustees.