Hamilton College President Eugene M. Tobin announced two recent faculty promotions. Ann Silversmith, an associate professor of physics, has been promoted to full professor, and men's soccer coach Perry Nizzi was promoted from assistant to associate professor of physical education.
Promotions to full professor are made by the college president with recommendations from the vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, the senior members of a department and the committee on appointments. In addition to recommendations from the VPAA/DOF, senior members of a department and the committee on appointments, the college also solicits peer review letters from a group of external scholars who are experts in the candidate's field.
Silversmith joined the Hamilton faculty in 1989 with a Ph.D. from the Australian National University, and a master's from the University of Wisconsin. Her research is in the area of laser spectroscopy of solids, and her current project involves the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of rare-earth based sol-gel glasses. She is working on the development of new laser materials that would be useful in the solid state laser industry.
Silversmith has since returned to the Australian National University as a visiting fellow, where she researched the spectroscopy of rare earth doped glass. Her research has been funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Research Corporation, and National Science Foundation. Previously she was a visiting scientist at the IBM Almaden Research Center. Silversmith's papers have appeared in the Journal of Noncrystallized Solids and the Journal of Luminescence. She has published several papers with Hamilton students and is conducting summer science research with two rising juniors at Hamilton.
Nizzi, who is entering his fourth year as the head coach of the Hamilton College men's soccer program, led the Continentals to a 12-2-0 finish for the 2001 season. The team qualified for its first-ever UCAA League Championships and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Nizzi came to Hamilton from a successful soccer program at Herkimer County Community College where he guided the Generals to National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championships from 1994-1996. Under his leadership, the Generals established a national collegiate record for the longest winning streak in any sport with 97 consecutive wins. He was named regional coach of the year eight times, the NJCAA National Coach of the Year three times, and the NSCAA National Coach of the Year twice. In 1997-98, he was a Chancellor's finalist for excellence in teaching, and in 1999 he received the National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association award for outstanding contributions in the field of intercollegiate soccer. In 1997 Nizzi was inducted to the Rome Sports Hall of Fame and in 2001 into the Utica Sports Hall of Fame.
A native of Rome, NY, he graduated from Rome Free Academy, where he earned high school All-American honors. Nizzi was an All-American selection at Mohawk Valley Community College, then received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from SUNY-Cortland.
Hamilton College is a highly selective, residential liberal arts college of 1,700 students located in Central New York. The college is known for the rigor of its academic programs, especially its emphasis on oral and written communication.
