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SYRACUSE, N.Y., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Professor George Curry of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) was named 2008 New York Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Curry, the Kennedy Distinguished Faculty Chair in Landscape Architecture at ESF, was selected for the award from among nearly 300 top professors in the United States. He is a licensed landscape architect and a specialist in urban design and historic preservation.
Curry joins other honorees today (Nov. 20, 2008) at an awards luncheon in Washington, D.C.
"The job of teaching has been a wonderful way to spend my life," said Curry, "and to be honored for that is quite exceptional."
Curry has taught at ESF for more than 30 years. He founded the program's Off-Campus Study Abroad Program for fifth-year LA students. His involvement in cultural landscape preservation research with the National Park Service and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has been a major professional focus.
Curry has been instrumental in revitalizing a number of neighborhoods, including Syracuse's Armory Square. By the early 1980s, Armory Square had suffered through decades of decline although its buildings continued to be architecturally impressive. In partnership with a local real estate developer, Curry worked to establish a mix of retail, office and residential space in the neighborhood. Armory Square is now a thriving downtown district, with restored buildings filled with restaurants, specialty shops, an art house, pubs, and residential living. The neighborhood is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Curry has also played a vital planning and design role in revitalizing other areas in Syracuse, helping to develop the city of Syracuse Comprehensive Plan by completing five Component Plans through an ESF Urban Design Studio.
"This is well-deserved recognition for a lifetime of teaching," said Richard Hawks, chair of ESF's landscape architecture program. "Teaching is George's passion. His commitment to ESF, the students and the program is inspirational to the faculty."
Curry has received several honors. In 2007 he was named Landscape Architecture Educator of the Year by DesignIntelligence magazine. He was recognized as a State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor and has been honored by groups as varied as ESF students and the SUNY Research Foundation.
SOURCE SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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