Baruch College Celebrates Faculty Achievements at 2026 Convocation
September 28, 2026
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Linda Essig (right) honored four professors with Presidential Excellence Awards for their exceptional contributions in scholarship, teaching, and service. Award winners are (from left): Jennifer Whiting, David Jones, Lin Peng, and Zachary Calamari.
Baruch College celebrated faculty achievements, career milestones, and distinguished teaching at its annual Faculty Convocation held on September 24.
In her remarks, Linda Essig, PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed new and returning faculty members, calling them “the intellectual heart and soul of the College.”
“Your contributions to our College community allow individual members to grow and excel while advancing our collective success,” she said. “As leaders in your fields of study, you open new worlds to our students while you motivate and inspire each other. Your dedication enriches the academic disciplines of this institution and drives our interdisciplinary initiatives, providing our students with a competitive edge as they embark on their own professional journeys.”
Presidential Excellence Award Winners
A tradition at this event is presenting the Presidential Excellence Awards recognizing faculty for their scholarship, service, and teaching. Each honoree was nominated by their peers or students and selected by faculty committees.
- Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Scholarship: Lin Peng, professor and David Krell Chair of Finance, Bert W. Wasserman Department of Economics and Finance, Zicklin School of Business.
- Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Service: David Jones, professor, Department of Political Science, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences.
- Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching (Part-Time): Jennifer Whiting, adjunct lecturer, Department of English, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences.
- Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Teaching (Full-Time): Zachary Calamari, associate professor, Department of Natural Sciences, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences.
Welcoming New Faculty Members
Provost Essig welcomed 47 new full-time faculty members representing a range of disciplines across Baruch’s three schools: Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and Zicklin School of Business.
View the 2026 Faculty Convocation Program to learn more about the new professors who joined the Baruch community and those who reached career milestones.
Baruch and CUNY’s Role in Economic Mobility
Robert Courtney Smith, a professor in the Marxe School’s Department of Sociology, delivered the keynote address, “Universities, the Social Contract, and Immigration.”
In his speech, Smith highlighted the role of Baruch and the CUNY system in advancing economic mobility, citing examples from his research on Mexicans in New York.
Smith, who has taught at Baruch for more than 20 years, received the Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Scholarship in 2025.