By GREGORY ZELLER //
Farmingdale State College has its first-ever Distinguished Professor.
Department of History, Politics and Geography Professor Robert Saunders has been awarded the prestigious rank by the State University of New York Board of Trustees – the first Farmingdale State professor so honored.
The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon SUNY faculty who’ve achieved “national or international prominence” and a “distinguished reputation” within their chosen field via research, scholarship and/or artistic performance, according to FSC – “only the most exceptional educators in the SUNY system,” summed up Farmingdale State President John Nader, and Saunders certainly qualifies.
“His intellectual rigor and outstanding work serve as an example for the best of what Farmingdale State College has to offer its students,” Nader added. “We are immensely proud of Dr. Saunders’ accomplishment.”
John Nader: Proud president.
An internationally recognized researcher in the field of nation branding, Saunders – who joined the Farmingdale State faculty way back in 2006 – is a leading scholar of popular geopolitics, with a particular affinity for Russia, Central Asia and the Nordic regions.
He’s known primarily for research into the effects of popular culture and mass media on nationalism and religious identity.
Published often in Political Geography, Nations and Nationalism, Millennium: The Journal of International Studies and other highly regarded academic journals, Saunders – who earned a PhD in global affairs from Rutgers University and history degrees from Stony Brook University and the University of Florida – has held visiting researcher positions at the University of Leeds in England, Aarhus University in Denmark and Sweden’s Malmö University.
In 2016, the six-time book author was awarded SUNY’s prestigious Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, but this latest accolade is the biggest feather in his cap – and a tremendous honor for the college he’s called home for more than 16 years, according to Farmingdale State Provost Laura Joseph.
“His work and dedication continue to elevate the status and stature of a Farmingdale education,” Joseph, also FSC’s vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement. “We congratulate him on this remarkable achievement.”
