Farmingdale State College State University of New York
Distinguished Professor
Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Director, Center for Social Science Research
President, Miriam K. Deitsch, Ph.D. Counseling and Consulting Associates
Dr. Miriam Deitsch has been a member of the Farmingdale State College Community since 1977. She is the first woman to be promoted to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professor. Earning her Ph.D. from New York University, she has served the campus for thirty-four years in many capacities, currently as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and as Director of the Center for Social Science Research, which Dr. Deitsch founded in 2004. Service to others and improvement of the human condition form the basis of Dr. Deitsch’s personal philosophy.
She serves on the Advisory Board of the Long Island Educational Opportunity Center where she was honored for twenty-five years of exemplary service at its recognition ceremony in May 2008. She also performs service on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, where in 2007 she was awarded their highest honor, the James W. Dowling Award for stimulating public support to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular disease and stroke. Her contributions as the longest tenured member of the Advisory Board of the Veterinary Science Technology program at Suffolk Community College have been honored as well. Dr. Deitsch’s many other achievements and contributions have been recognized throughout the years: in 1997 she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching from the State University of New York; in 2000 the American Heart Association honored her with the Volunteer of the Year Award; in 2002 she was promoted by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York to the highest rank the State University confers, Distinguished Teaching Professor; and in 2003 the Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women named her Woman of the Year in Education.
At the State University of New York at Farmingdale, Dr. Deitsch has mentored thousands of students while serving as Chairperson of the Department of College Studies/Pathways and the Undeclared Major Program, two programs she designed to meet special needs of students, and as Chairperson of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Her Pathways and Undeclared Major students have moved on to outstanding, productive, and engaged lives. Dr. Deitsch cherishes all of her experiences chairing these programs for twenty-eight years. As Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department for the past five years, Dr. Deitsch works with talented faculty and students from all curricula in the College. Her own scholarship includes publication of her Silver Story Book Series (for which Dr. Deitsch holds a registered trademark), a series of books aimed at the senior population. However, being with students still tops the list of Dr. Deitsch’s favorite activities.
As the Director of the Social Science Research Center, Dr. Deitsch encourages and implements multidisciplinary social science research to benefit the residents and organizations of Long Island, and, more broadly, the state, the nation, and the world. The Center opened in 2004 with a mission to engage in community service, foster ethics in scientific and social advances, and focus on a triennial research theme, which is currently alternative energy. The Center for Social Science Research has been addressing the critical areas of energy independence, energy education, and green alternative energy sources. Dr. Deitsch serves as liaison to Congressman Israel for the Next Generation Energy Security Task Force and worked with the New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) in planning the October 15, 2007 New York State Green Building Summit at Farmingdale State College featuring Governor Spitzer and Congressman Israel. More recently, Dr. Deitsch accepted the appointment as co-chair of the Community Outreach Committee of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center of SUNY Stony Brook and has served on the Planning and Scientific Advisory Committees of the Center’s Advanced Energy Conferences. In her role as Director of the Center for Social Science Research, Dr. Deitsch also oversees research projects and mentors students at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, where students are recognized for their outstanding scholarship and research by Intel, Siemens, and local, state, national, and world competitions. She is also a member of Farmingdale’s Institutional Review Board whose mission is to protect human subjects, and she is engaged in research concerning the correlates of volunteerism.
As President of Miriam K. Deitsch, Ph.D., Counseling and Consulting Associates, founded in 1974, Dr. Deitsch’s primary focus is helping people make effective life decisions and providing support with career and educational issues, particularly career trauma resolution in these critical economic times. In her work as a counseling psychologist she seeks to encourage her patients and clients to be strong, empowered self-advocates. Dr. Deitsch also volunteers as a member of the Medical Reserve Corps of Nassau County and is trained to assist people in emergency situations.
Dr. Deitsch has three children in whom she takes great pride—Deborah, an attorney, Matthew, an entrepreneur, and Richard, a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated. Shayna, Matthew, Corinne, and Jacob are her four grandchildren who add immeasurable joy to a rich and full life.
