Usually, when an academic is awarded the laurels of Distinguished Professor, he or she is on the cusp of retirement. “They might be already dead,” notes Dr. Gerald Sorin with a chuckle. The honoree must at least have reached the level of Full Professor, which typically takes decades, as well as received consistent good evaluations from students. Having published plenty of books and articles is a help, and as Sorin says, “You have to be a good soldier.” The nomination is submitted by a campus-level committee, but in a system like SUNY, the final decision is made at the state level.

Sorin was awarded his Distinguished Professorship in American and Jewish Studies way back in 1994, when Alice Chandler was still president of SUNY New Paltz; he delights in recounting Chandler’s admission that “

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