Press Release:
Genesee Community College 2009 Commencement Speaker Announced
Genesee Community College Professor Ruth E. Andes will serve as 2009 commencement speaker. Commencement is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 17 in the Batavia Campus Gymnasium.
Andes, PhD, professor of sociology and a member of Genesee's faculty since 1970, retires in June. She is the most-honored SUNY award recipient at Genesee Community College. She is also believed to have received more SUNY-wide academic honors than any faculty member in the entire 64-college State University of New York.
She was the first-ever recipient of the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching at Genesee (1973) and the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service (2004). In 2006, the State University of New York conferred the rare title of "Distinguished Professor" on Dr. Andes. At that time, she was one of only three community college professors in the SUNY system to have received that honor.
This will be the first time in the College's history that a member of the faculty has addressed graduates during the commencement ceremony.
Andes has taught a variety of sociology and human services courses at Genesee for almost 40 years. She lives in Elba.
