STORIES

Calendar

Achievements

Briefly Noted

Credits

Archives

Chairs Are New to Chico

Historian and photographer bring nationally recognized publications and accomplishments to their departments

History Chair James Matray came to CSU, Chico from New Mexico State University, where he was a faculty member in the History Department for 22 years. Matray is one of the nation's leading experts on Korea in the post-World War II era. He has received research grants from the Harry Truman Library Foundation, MacArthur Memorial Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Matray is the author of several books, including The Reluctant Crusade: American Foreign Policy in Korea, 1941 - 1950; Japan's Emergence as a Global Power; and East Asia and the United States: An Encyclopedia of Relations Since 1784. Matray received his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia. "quot;I love my new job and feel very lucky to be surrounded by terrific new colleagues," Matray said. His wife, Karin, is director of staff development for public schools in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and plans to join him in the near future.

Art and Art History Chair Tom Patton has had his photography exhibited in the permanent collections of several museums, as well as featured in more than 200 shows at small galleries and major museums, such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Patton's work ranges from realistic landscapes and urban scapes to whimsical digitized images shot in the studio. In 2001, Patton received the James Phelan Award in Photography for his series Icons and Artifacts, which includes the piece adorning his office, "quot;Olive Loaf." He received a National Endowment of the Arts grant in 1991. Prior to coming to CSU, Chico, Patton was at the University of Missouri, St. Louis for 19 years, where he was chair of the Art and Art History Department. Patton received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Mexico and his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. His wife, Nancy, has an M.F.A. in printmaking and is teaching basic drawing at CSU, Chico this semester.

The university also has five faculty members who are new chairs of their departments: Byron Jackson, Political Science; Shekhar Misra, Finance and Marketing; Brooke Moore, Philosophy; Tony Waters, Sociology; and Bruce Yoakum, Construction Management.

Lisa Kirk