CAZENOVIA — Cazenovia College announces that John Robert (Bob) Greene, Paul J. Schupf Professor of History and Humanities, will retire effective January 2023.

Greene is currently the longest serving faculty member with over 42 years of service at Cazenovia College. He began as a part-time instructor at Cazenovia in September of 1979 while also serving as a manager of the campus radio station, WITC-FM. 

In 1984, Greene became a full-time faculty member and was tenured in 1987. He was named Distinguished Faculty Member in 1993, awarded the college’s first endowed chair, the Paul J. Schupf Chair in History and Humanities, in 2000, and received the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 2020.

Serving several terms as chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, Greene also introduced the Wheler Conference on World Affairs, the Washburn Teaching and Research Fellow and was the founder of the Social Science and History majors.

“I feel that I accomplished a great deal at Cazenovia but what was most rewarding was advising students,” noted Greene in the announcement. “I enjoyed serving as mentor to many students while they were at Cazenovia and even as they moved on to graduate schools and employment. I will miss that connection with students.”

As the College Archivist, Greene authored “Generations of Excellence,” a comprehensive history of Cazenovia College. Additionally, Greene is a leading scholar of American presidency, editing or writing 20 books including works on Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush. He has also published or presented over 150 book chapters, scholarly articles, conference lectures and reviews.

In addition to his work at the college, Greene enjoyed a 17-year run as a regular panelist on WCNY’s “The Ivory Tower” program. He was also often invited by print and broadcast media to provide his perspective on regional and national political matters.

“Dr. Greene’s scholarly contributions and teaching have been noteworthy for the entirety of his impressive tenure,” added David Bergh, president of Cazenovia College. “His work and reputation have raised the profile of the college and he will be greatly missed.”

In 2002, Greene and his family endowed a scholarship in his daughter’s name, the Mary Rose Greene Scholarship, which has been awarded annually to an outstanding junior or senior student pursuing a degree in social sciences or in history.