Thomas Begley, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences and a researcher at the UAlbany Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, won an Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Acclaimed jazz musician and Grammy award nominee Don Byron, a visiting associate professor in the Department of Music, was named a Guggenheim Fellow for 2007. He will use the award to write a chamber opera, with singers accompanied by an augmented version of the Bang On A Can All-Stars, a new musical group with whom he has worked.

Edward Schwarzschild, associate professor in the Department of English with a joint appointment in the New York State Writers Institute, was named a Fulbright Teaching Fellow for the 2007-08 academic year. He will use the fellowship to teach courses in contemporary literature and American writing and visual arts to students at the University of Zaragoza in Spain.

Gilbert Valverde, associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, was named a Fulbright Senior Specialist. The award affords him residency at Catholic University of Uruguay, where he is sharing his expertise and assisting in the development of research agendas and degree programs in educational policy and evaluation.

English Professor Jeffrey Berman and Sue Faerman of the Department of Public Administration and Policy were appointed to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.