President's Report Masthead
December 31, 2013

Tagg promoted to distinguished professor

John Tagg, professor of art history and of comparative literature, has been promoted to the rank of distinguished professor – the highest academic rank in the SUNY system, conferred by the SUNY Board of Trustees upon those who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within their chosen field.

A member of Binghamton’s faculty since 1986, when he came to campus as chair of the Art History program, Tagg remains as excited now as he was then about his discipline, the challenges of shaping and re-shaping the department, and the work he does with students.

“Professor Tagg is one of the world’s most distinguished historians of photography and modern art who draws attention for his insights from a global audience,” President Harvey Stenger said.  “His contributions to the field of art history have had a profound impact on how photography is thought about and on the substantive role photography holds in the modern world.”

Tagg considers his appointment to the distinguished professor rank an honor, but he also credits his colleagues for their role in his success. “It’s a very touching honor for me because it speaks to all of the support across the campus and across the world, but it also speaks to what we have in the department,” he said. “It’s not just having colleagues who are supportive and affirmative, but it’s that we’ve created a context; this is an unmatched context for teaching and research that we have here in this department.”

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