Nov. 02, 2005 

NYIT Honors Four with Presidential Excellence Award

Old Westbury, N.Y., Oct. 25, 2005: Dr. Luis Navia of Westbury, N.Y., Gail Feinzig of Plainview, N.Y., Stan Silverman of Brightwaters, N.Y., and Renise Rosen of Wantagh, N.Y., were recently named New York Institute of Technology’s (NYIT) 2005 Presidential Excellence Award winners. The honorees were recognized at the school’s convocation ceremony last month for their extraordinary dedication and commitment to the college and its students.

Presenters described the four recipients as inspiring, hard-working and invaluable. Each recipient was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation as they accepted their awards. While each winner shares similar traits, they were recognized for their own unique contribution to the NYIT family.

Dr. Luis Navia
Dr. Luis Navia, professor of philosophy and chair of the department of social sciences, received NYIT’s Presidential Outstanding Achievement in Full-Time Teaching honor. The award recognizes Navia’s commitment to teaching in the classroom, where he has inspired thousands of students during his 38 years at the school.

“In a world that is shaped by science and technology, Dr. Navia, a teacher of philosophy and ethics, instills in our students an understanding of what it means to be a virtuous person, how to develop a deeply held sense of self, and how to behave honorably,” said social science Professor King Cheek. “The 400 students he teaches each year also touch others. In this sense, Dr. Navia’s life is immortal because we never know where his influence stops.”

Navia and his wife, Alicia, have four daughters.

Gail Feinzig
Gail Feinzig, English professor, received NYIT’s Presidential Outstanding Achievement in Adjunct Teaching honor. The award recognizes Feinzig’s continued devotion to teaching. She has been a member of the English department for over 20 years. Feinzig supports her students outside the classroom as well, attending NYIT sporting events and theatre productions.

“Gail is inspiring, enthusiastic and dedicated to her students,” said Elaine Brown, an associate professor of English. “Countless students have told me over the years how much they gained from her classes. They want to take as many of her courses as they can.”

Feinzig and her husband, Michael, have one son.

Stan Silverman
Stan Silverman, professor of education and professional services and director of NYIT’s Technology Based Learning System, received the Presidential Scholarship and Creative Expression honor. The award recognizes Silverman’s accomplishments in technology.

Mechanical engineering Professor Herb Fox presented the award to Silverman, saying “He has developed the sort of funding program - at the millions-of-dollars level - that I have always envisioned for the college. It is strong, technology-based, continuous and brings great credit and visibility to NYIT.”

Silverman, a 20-year veteran of NYIT, and his wife, Gene, have two children.

Renise Rosen
Renise Rosen, assistant registrar, received the Presidential Outstanding Achievement in Service honor. The award recognizes Rosen’s commitment and distinguished service to the college. She joined NYIT as an evening student and part-time secretary in the fine arts department almost 40 years ago. Rosen rose through the ranks to her current position and is considered the backbone of the registrar department.

Her former supervisor, Arthur Lambert, who retired from NYIT a few years ago, presented Rosen with the award. “She is a rock, totally unflappable, hard-working, dedicated and loyal. The personal successes I enjoyed at NYIT were a result of having some fantastic people working next to me and, Renise, you top that list,” Lambert said.

Rosen and her husband, Lenny, have two daughters.

About NYIT
NYIT is the college of choice for more than 14,000 students currently enrolled in more than 100 courses of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees from eight schools, including engineering, architecture, business, communication arts and medicine. A private, independent college, NYIT embraces an educational philosophy of career-oriented, professional education for all qualified students, and supports applications-oriented research to benefit the greater global community. Students attend classes at NYIT’s Manhattan and Long Island campuses, as well as online and in a number of programs throughout the world. To date, more than 66,000 alumni have earned degrees at NYIT. For additional information, visit www.nyit.edu.

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Contact: Jason Selss, media relations manager, 516.686.7481 or jselss@nyit.edu.