Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 26th at 430pm –

Sunday, November 30th, 2014

THE LIBRARY WILL BE

CLOSED FOR

 THANKSGIVING

The Library will reopen at 0830 on

Monday, December 1st, 2014

New additions to the Oral History Project Digital Collection

Since 2010 the Stephen B. Luce Library has been collecting interviews with alumni, faculty, staff, and anyone else with memories of their time at SUNY Maritime. To date, over 70 interviews have been conducted. Also included in the collection are audio recordings of recent commencement ceremonies and archival radio recordings related to the school.

We recently added several recordings to our Oral History Project page. These selected recordings have been uploaded to the Internet Archive to facilitate streaming. Additional recordings are available in the Stephen B. Luce Library for listening in the library.

If you would like to share your own memories of SUNY Maritime with future generations, please contact Mona Ramonetti to schedule an interview appointment.

Dr. Maryellen Keefe’s Lecture on her new biography “Casual Affairs”

On Tuesday October 21^st, author and SUNY Maritime Professor Maryellen Keefe gave a presentation and lecture on the life and stories of New Yorker writer Sally Benson, the subject of her new biography Casual Affairs: The Life and Fiction of Sally Benson. Dr. Keefe, a humanities professor at Maritime, told stories about Benson’s private pursuits and her life as a career woman and brought to life the spirit of Benson’s works, whose character-driven stories were retold in the well-known film “Meet Me in St. Louis.” 

Most exciting about the book talk for several of us audience members was a glimpse into Dr. Keefe’s research process for the book, which began as she was researching her dissertation. For Casual Affairs, Dr. Keefe was able to interview several generations of Benson’s family and was provided with access to their family papers.

Casual Affairs is available through SUNY Press at a cost of $29.95.

Farewell to Library Director Shafeek Fazal

We would like you to join us in bidding farewell to Library Director Shafeek Fazal, who has been with us at SUNY Maritime’s Stephen B. Luce Library for more than ten years running. Over the years, Mr. Fazal has been a wonderful mentor and friend to all here at Luce Library, offering much needed guidance and welcome advice to many early- and mid-career librarians.  

 

To celebrate Mr. Fazal’s long tenure, the library hosted a party on October 21st for SUNY Maritime faculty and staff. Many came to bid their farewells to Mr. Fazal, as well as to swap stories about how the college has changed throughout the years. Mr. Fazal also spoke fondly of his times at the college and of the many noteworthy events and accomplishments that have been made under his leadership while providing library services at Maritime.

Mr. Fazal will remain close by within the SUNY system at SUNY Stonybrook and promises to stay in touch with the all the students, faculty and staff he has come to know here at Maritime. We wish him best of luck in all his future endeavors.

Columbus Day

Saturday, October 11 –

Monday, October 13, 2014

THE LIBRARY WILL BE

CLOSED

IN HONOR OF

 COLUMBUS DAY

The Library will reopen at 0830 on

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Upcoming Library Lecture Series: Maryellen Keefe, PhD, Tuesday, October 21st, 2014 @ 13:30

Library Lecture Series, Celebrating 140th Anniversary of Maritime College presents:

Casual Affairs: The Life and Fiction of Sally Benson 

With Author Sister Maryellen Keefe, PhD Associate Professor of English at SUNY Maritime

Tuesday, October 21st, 2014 @ 13:30, Stephen B. Luce Library

Sister Maryellen Keefe entered the classroom as an Ursuline nun, teaching at various East coast academies before ultimately pursuing her doctorate in English Literature at the University of Delaware. A New York City native, Dr. Keefe has never been one to follow a traditional path while fulfilling dual roles as both a sister and faculty member of the Humanities department at SUNY Maritime College. In addition to receiving numerous National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships, she is advisor of the Newman Club, a Catholic ministry organization, and serves on the Faculty Senate. Outside of her tireless work in and out of the college, Keefe is a published and highly praised author of both children’s and adult nonfiction titles. 

Dr. Maryellen Keefe’s new book Casual Affairs: The Life and Fiction of Sally Benson is Casual Affairs: The Life and Fiction of Sally Benson is a critical biography of the New Yorker writer whose stories were retold in the well-known film and musical Meet Me In St. Louis. Keefe’s vivid retelling of Benson’s life traces her feats and successes as she navigated the delicate balance between family life as a wife and mother and her role as a career woman, while indulging in several “quiet little affairs.” Drawing on family papers and interviews with Benson’s family members, Keefe’s meticulously researched biography presents us with a portrait of an honest and masterful storyteller who, like her contemporary, Dorothy Parker, is full of wit in her deprecating portrayals of middle class Americans from the Jazz Age well into the 1940s.

“Finally a biographer capable of bringing the brilliant and outrageous Sally Benson to life! And what a life it was for a woman, who began a long career writing for the New Yorker in 1929 and Hollywood in the forties. Keefe’s vivid account…is also the story of a generation of young women eager to balance work and family.” —Susan Goodman, author of Republic of Words: The Atlantic Monthly and Its Writers, 1857–1925 

Robert McMillan Lecture

On September 24, 2014, the Stephen B. Luce library welcomed Robert McMillan to kick off its Library Lecture Series.  McMillan is the former chairman of the Panama Canal  Commission, former board member of the American Medical Association, co-host of PBS's Face-Off, and author.  He has penned numerous columns for The New York Times, Newsday, Florida's Charlotte Sun, among others.  His latest book is Global Passage: Transformation of Panama and the Panama Canal.
McMillan profiled many of his experiences as the former chairman, along with providing the audience with some insight into his career outside of the Panama Canal affairs.

The well attended lecture culminated in a wonderful exchange of questions and ideas between McMillan and his audience.  

140th Anniversary of Maritime College

USS St.Mary's On June 20, 1874 Congress passed the “Marine Schools Act” to provide a training ship to setup a nautical school and on December 10, 1874 the USS St. Mary’s was delivered and the New York Nautical School (now SUNY Maritime College) was founded.  This year marks the 140th anniversary of Maritime College and the Luce Librarians have dug deep into the archives to mount an exhibit reflecting the past years.

Documents, images, and videos showcase the founding of the College, the training ships and activities onboard, Fort Schuyler, the superintendents and presidents, alumni and much more.  Take a few minutes to visit the Library’s foyer area to browse the physical exhibit and watch the digital shows on the screens.  Go online to the Library’s web portal to experience more on our 140th Anniversary (http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/140Anniversary.html)

 Fort Schuyler   View the 140th Anniversary slideshow, and then experience more of Maritime’s history with related shows on the training ships, Fort Schuyler, Superintendents and Presidents, and a bibliography of readings.  Also watch several silent videos with footage on the St. Mary’s in 1905, Fort Schuyler reconstruction ca. 1935, cadets at the Academy ca. 1940, and much more.  Enjoy!

Stephen B. Luce Library

 

Upcoming Library Lecture Series: Robert, McMillan. September 24th, 2014 @ 1500

Library Lecture Series, Celebrating 140^th Anniversary of Maritime College presents:

 Global Passage: Transformation of Panama and the Panama Canal

With Author Robert McMillan, former Panama Canal Commission Chairman

Wednesday, September 24, 2014 @ 15:00, Stephen B. Luce Library

 

Robert McMillan is former chairman of the Panama Canal as well as a widely published author. Since being confirmed to the post of United States Senator in 1989, Mr. McMillan has served as a member of the board of the American Medical Association and Madison National Bank, and has founded the Long Island Housing Partnership to facilitate the development of more choice in affordable housing. He has written widely about news and policy issues, the Panama Canal, and other topics, and is a co-host and political commentator on the PBS show Face Off, as well as news outlets such as The New York Times and Newsday. His latest book “Global Passage: Transformations of Panama and the Panama Canal” profiles the challenges and evolution of democracy in Panama and the future of the Panama Canal with its multibillion dollar expansion plans.

 

 

Robert McMillan’s new book Global Passage: Transformation of Panama and the Panama Canal is a brilliantly researched account of the history of the Panama Canal and its multibillion dollar plans for future expansion. As former Chairman of the Panama Canal Commission, McMillan gives us an insider’s look into the canal’s impact on democracy in Panama, the role of the Chinese on the canal’s development, and the possibility of a brand new competing canal being built in Nicaragua.

“McMillan, an American, takes a personal approach to history in this book about the evolution of the Panama Canal, published in concert with the canal's 2014 centennial. As a member of the canal's board in the late 1980s and as the chairman in the 1990s, McMillan developed a thorough understanding of the canal's role in both the Panamanian politics and in global commerce, which he explains in clear, well-developed prose” – Kirkus Reviews

 

Remembering 9/11

As we reflect back 13 years ago on this tragic day, The Stephen B. Luce Library is repeating its “Remembering 9/11” exhibit and slideshow.  The physical exhibit showcases a few personal reflections on what happened on September 11, 2001. On display are memorabilia donated by Maritime’s own Major General Robert Wolf (Admissions) and Prof. Michael Gray (GBAT Department) who were first responders to the 9/11 tragedy. Also on display are the personal photographs of Captain Robert Pouch, then the Director of Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of NY, who was a first responder on the rescue efforts by the maritime community in the New York Harbor.

 

The physical and digital exhibits are on display in the Library’s foyer area and at the Information Desk, and an online slideshow is available via the Library’s web portal: http://www.sunymaritime.edu/stephenblucelibrary/911show.html

 

     Stephen B. Luce Library