SU Announces Eight Retiring Faculty Members
Professors Geraldine Rossi, Ph.D., of the Education Department; Wavie Gibson Jr., Ph.D., of the English Department; Dean Burroughs of the Physical Education Department; Ben Greene, Ph.D., of the Economics and Finance Department; and Thomas Horseman of the Mathematics and Computer Sciences Department retired this summer.
Professors Ed Shaffer, Ph.D., of the Chemistry Department and Roland Frank, Ph.D., of the Education Department, retired in January.
In addition, SU announces the retirement of Psychology professor Dr. Kathleen Fox from the University in September after 28 years.
SU President Janet Dudley-Eshbach credits these professors with contributing to the University’s nationally recognized status.
"These faculty members exemplify some of SU's best and brightest educators, researchers and mentors,” she said. “As experts in their fields, they have enriched the University and their respective disciplines with insight and knowledge. Just as importantly, they have nurtured generations of our students who have benefited from their expertise."
Rossi received her undergraduate degree from Indiana State University and her Master of the Arts in mathematics and doctorate in math education from Indiana University. The Clinton, IN, native taught at SU for 31 years. The Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics recognized her as the state’s Outstanding College Professor of 1995. She also served as interim dean for SU’s Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies and chair of the Education Department.
Gibson joined the University in 1977 and taught courses devoted to modern language. The Eufaula, AL, native was appointed director of developmental studies at SU in 1984 and was instrumental in founding the University’s annual Eastern Shore Writing Project Summer Institute, which still continues. Gibson is a graduate of Morgan State College and earned his Master of Education from SU and doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Burroughs has taught at SU since 1973. He received his Master of Arts in physical education and administration at Appalachian University in Boone, NC. As coach of SU’s men’s tennis team for 21 seasons, culminating in 1994, he posted 20 winning seasons and five consecutive Eastern States Athletic Conference championships from 1989-1993.
He received the U.S. Tennis Association’s Service of the Year Award in 1992 and helped SU become the host site for several national championship games. Burroughs also chaired SU’s Physical Education Department from 1994-2000.
A faculty member at SU since 1978, Greene helped keep the community informed about economic matters through his role in the SU Speakers Bureau. In addition to his tenure at SU, Green taught at Connecticut College, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and Boston College. The Severna Park, MD, native earned his Bachelor of Arts at Western Maryland College and his Master of Arts and doctorate at Boston College.
Horseman began teaching at SU in 1982 after receiving his education from Capitol Institute of Technology, Montgomery College, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and SU. The Salisbury native earned his Master of Science at Clemson University.
With Dr. Donald Cathcart, Horseman developed a course for prospective middle school teachers of mathematics and science in 1995, focusing on the problem-solving processes used in those subjects. A chapter based on the course was published in the 1997 Albion publication Teaching and Learning Mathematic Modeling: Innovation, Investigation, Applications. Horseman was internship coordinator for the Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences for the past 15 years.
Shaffer taught at SU for 35 ½ years, from 1967-2002. He earned his doctorate at the University of Delaware after receiving his undergraduate education from SU. His teaching specialties included general and organic chemistry. His research interests included organic synthesis using the Grignard and Witting reactions.
Frank began teaching at SU in 1988. A doctoral graduate of Michigan State University, he was appointed director of SU’s Center of Economic Education in 1997. As the center’s director, he helped educate area teachers by coordinating workshops in social studies instruction and serving as a speaker at local education conferences. He also served as the first full-time director of Grants and Sponsored Research at SU.
Fox completed her undergraduate studies at State University College in Cortland, New York, and received her Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1974. Prior to coming at SU, the Elmont, N.Y., native taught at Holy Angels Academy in Buffalo, N.Y., and State University College at Fredonia, N.Y.
While at SU, she served on the Maryland Advisory Committee for the State Office for Children and Youth under Gov. Harry Hughes. She also served on the University System of Maryland Council of University Faculty from 1988-1996, chairing the council from 1993-1994.
For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.