Transforming Ideas into Scholarly Works

The Honors College has received a total of 67 donated books by 31 faculty members across 16 different departments.

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 10, 2018) – A panel of 17 faculty and staff members recently shared insight and advice with students in the Honors College about getting their academic work published.

The event, held in the Standish Room at the Science Library, gave faculty an opportunity to talk about their personal experiences, including how they come up with ideas, how they execute book projects and the paths they followed to get to the final work.

“The goal was to enlighten students regarding the seemingly mysterious or enigmatic process of bringing scholarly books into existence,” said Hui-Ching Chang, Honors College dean.

Jeffrey Berman, distinguished teaching professor of English, shared the influence of tragedy in his work.

“Most of my writing and most of my teachings have been efforts to come to terms with these dark tragedies,” said Berman, the author of Dying in Character: Memoirs on the End of Life.

“It’s important for students to see the kind of research their professors are engaged in and be inspired by them. For students to read their professors’ books — that’s what higher education is all about,” he added.

Angie Chung, associate professor of Sociology discussed her research and interest in Asian immigrant studies. She’s the author of Saving Face: The Emotional Costs of the Asian Immigrant Family Myth.

“This was a chance to reflect on my personal engagement and what it meant to me and why I got into the field,” Chung said.

James Stellar, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, also participated as a contributing author. He applauded the contributors to his blogs, who provided the groundwork for his book linking education to neuroscience.

Among others, Trudi Jacobson, UAlbany’s head of information literacy, spoke about the multiple perspectives embraced as she edited her book, Metaliteracy in Practice. Ed Schwarzschild, associate professor of English, spoke about working as an undercover TSA employee to gain first-hand experience in writing his novel, Responsible Men.

Honors College student moderators: Mirren Galway (left), Brian Yu and Chamberlain Harris.

Inspiring Students:

Zanai Osmani, a sophomore, said the event was eye opening. As active reader, learning about the background stories that went into creating these books put things into perspective for her.

“People think that books are just books—that people just publish them but there’s so much that goes into it,” said Osmani, who’s studying Human Biology.

“It’s nice to know the inside of what happened in going into a book, and the struggles. There’s actually so much controversy,” she added.

Sam Quetchenbach, a sophomore Honors College student studying Political Science, appreciated that at a research university, “we have an interdisciplinary panel of professors talking about the research they do.”

Students, faculty and staff from various disciplines were in attendance, as well as two co-directors of SUNY Press.

The Honors College has received a total of 67 donated books by 31 faculty members across 16 different departments, including four books from President Havidán Rodríguez.

These books are on display in Steinmetz Hall for honors students to enjoy.

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