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Office of University Relations
Connecticut
State University Board of Trustees appoints CCSU’s Dr. Norton Mezvinsky
as CSU Professor
NEW
BRITAIN -- December 13, 2002 -- Dr. Norton Mezvinsky, Professor of History
at Central Connecticut State University, and a distinguished scholar and
teacher, was today awarded the title of Connecticut State University
Professor by the CSU Board of Trustees.
A formal presentation of the honor will be made at CCSU campus at a
future date.
CCSU
President Richard L. Judd made the nomination upon the recommendation of
the university’s history department and an all-faculty committee led by
Dr. Felton Best. Dr. Judd
said: “Norton Mezvinsky is consumed with excellence in teaching,
research and scholarship, ever mindful of his responsibilities to
contribute to the larger good of his fellow human beings.
Professor Mezvinsky’s work as a consultant in Arab/Israeli peace
negotiations over many years has had a profound effect.
The insight of those many years of labor provide his students with
‘living’ history. Professor Mezvinsky is one of those rare,
extraordinary, and erudite professors who make the profession of teaching
the calling that it truly is.”
The
title was established by the CSU system’s four universities: Central,
Eastern, Southern and Western. “It
is a signal honor, reserved for faculty members who fulfill the highest
ideals of outstanding teaching, scholarly achievement and public
service,” said Lawrence D. McHugh, chair of the CSU Board of Trustees.
On
learning of the honor, Dr. Mezvinsky, who joined the CCSU faculty in 1968,
said: “To be so honored by
my peers is a most humbling experience for me.
In becoming a CSU Professor I feel a great responsibility to
contribute in the future, as I have attempted to do in the past 35 years
at CCSU, with my teaching, research and writing.”
One
of his colleagues, Dr. Katherine Hermes, associate professor of history at
CCSU, said: “Norton
Mezvinsky is everything that a CSU Professor stands for. He is a renowned
scholar whose work challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths,
and thus it acts as a catalyst for change in the real world. He demands of
his students open minds and generates a love of learning. His lectures in
history are legendary for their compelling stories and dramatic delivery
alike. Most of all, Professor Mezvinsky has made academic freedom his most
cherished principle, and he believes it extends to those who think like
him and those who think differently. As his colleague, I admire him
tremendously for maintaining the highest standards of scholarly inquiry
while never neglecting the students who study with him. “
A
longtime colleague of Dr. Mezvinsky’s, Dr. Tareq Ismael, professor of
political science, University of Calgary, secretary general of the
International Association of Middle East Studies and president of the
International Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, noted:
“Norton Mezvinsky is a distinguished scholar with a superlative
and well-deserved world-wide reputation. He has made outstanding
contributions in two fields of history: American and Middle Eastern. His
most recent noteworthy publications are concerned with Zionism, Jewish
fundamentalism in Israel and other aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Norton Mezvinsky additionally is the ultimate teacher, a renowned lecturer
and a leading human rights campaigner. Fearless in his pursuit of the
truth, Norton Mezvinsky adheres to the historical method and bases his
conclusions and interpretations upon the facts.”
The
CSU Board resolution noted that Dr. Mezvinsky has served CCSU “since
1966 as a professor in the History Department and greatly assisted in the
growth and development of the Department’s curriculum and programs.
Professor Mezvinsky has contributed to numerous books on the Middle
East, and he has published articles in professional journals on the same
topic. Professor Mezvinsky, a
prolific writer and scholar, has lectured throughout the United States and
abroad, and he is recognized by his colleagues for his professional
excellence.”
To
attain the designation of CSU Professor, a faculty member must be
nominated through a committee procedure which is advisory to the
University President, receive the recommendations of the University
President and CSU Chancellor, and receive approval of the Board of
Trustees.
Mezvinsky
is the fifth CCSU professor to receive this honor, the others being the
late Dr. Stanislaus Blejwas, history professor and holder of CCSU’s
endowed chair of Polish and Polish American Studies; Dr. Barry Leeds,
English professor and noted expert in 20th-century American fiction; Dr.
Michael Cipriano, art professor emeritus of national stature in
contemporary art; and Dr. Martha Wallach, modern languages professor and
internationally recognized scholar in German literature. Mezvinsky, a native of Ames, Iowa, earned his B.A. at the University of Iowa and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Following post-doctoral studies at Harvard University, Dr. Mezvinsky began his academic career at the University of Michigan. Dr. Mezvinsky is widely published and his most recent work -- Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel co-authored with the late Israel Shahak -- appears in English, Arabic and Turkish editions. Czech and Hebrew editions are planned, as well as an updated English-language second edition. |
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