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The Andean Archeology Anthropology Faculty Support Fund made it possible for Binghamton to hire BrieAnna Langlie, assistant professor of anthropology, in 2017.

Investing in faculty with a passion for teaching and research

  • Thanks to that faculty support, Langlie was able to establish a paleoethnobotanical lab in Science 1 called the Laboratory of Ancient Food and Farming. She’s also starting a project to examine how people, plants and animals in the Colca Valley in Peru responded to climate change in the years 1100-1450, with an eye to how modern communities at the same location are responding to current climate change
  • In addition, she’s involved in the development of a Binghamton University Seed Library, and as a community-engaged teaching fellow, she hopes to start an Indigenous foods teaching garden linked to the teaching and research components of this project. She plans to integrate this work into her existing curriculum and involve community partners locally and abroad.
  • Distinguished Professor Emeritus William H. Isbell and his wife, Judy U. Siggins, established the faculty support fund by making one of the largest gifts ever by a faculty member to support Binghamton. 

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The idea for TRUST came from Bennett Doughty, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice, and program director of the Binghamton University Opioid Overdose Prevention Program.

Collaborating across disciplines, applying expertise to improve communities

  • Support for The Rural and Underserved Service Track (TRUST) is strengthening the development of healthcare professionals dedicated to caring for rural, underserved populations through interprofessional teamwork.
  • TRUST is a collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College of Community and Public Affairs, SUNY Upstate Medical University and the community.
  • Each year, students from each discipline are admitted to the cocurricular program. TRUST Scholars provide direct patient care in free clinics, promote health literacy and cultural competency, and participate in community education and outreach.

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Getty Foundation grant recipient Professor Nancy Um.

Driving international scholarship, building Binghamton’s reputation

  • A prestigious Connecting Art Histories grant from the Getty Foundation aims to ensure art history flourishes as a global discipline. Recipient Nancy Um, professor of art history and associate dean for faculty development and inclusion at Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, is principal investigator for Indian Ocean Exchanges, a research, fellowship and travel program that will support emerging art historians based around the Indian Ocean rim in East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South and Southeast Asia. 
  • With the grant, the project team will bring 15 scholars from one end of the Indian Ocean to another, starting at Doha in Qatar around spring 2022. During their travels, Um and the others will visit museums and archaeological sites off the beaten path, viewing collections not currently on display. They will also receive mentorship for their research and guidance for their future professional development.
  • Getty is the only major foundation that supports art history and conservation on a fully international basis. It has played a part in shaping Um’s career trajectory: In 2004-05, she received a postdoctoral fellowship through the foundation that gave her the opportunity to write her first book, The Merchant Houses of Mocha: Trade and Architecture in an Indian Ocean Port. She also participated in the Getty Research Institute’s Scholars in Residence Program, with a fellowship in 2013-14.

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George Meindl, instructor in the environmental studies program.

Growing Bee Campus USA and a more sustainable world

  • Binghamton is now one of only five universities in New York state certified as a Bee Campus USA affiliate by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on pollinator conservation
  • Binghamton Fund donors who gave to Harpur College of Arts and Sciences or to Campus Enhancement are fostering this initiative. 
  • In addition to the pollinator garden, located north of the fountain in front of the library tower and near the Harpur College monolith, George Meindl, instructor in the environmental studies program, and students are creating additional pollinator habitat on campus, raising awareness for the importance of native pollinator conservation and increasing hands-on learning opportunities for students to engage in pollination biology. Meindl also manages an apiary on campus where students can get hands-on experience with beekeeping.