4 become faculty emeriti

Ellen Whale, Carolyn Enns, Suzette Astley, and Steve DeVries retired and became faculty emeriti in May 2018.

Ellen Whale, professor of kinesiology
Years taught: 40

Notable for pioneering the establishment of varsity women’s sports at Cornell.

Whale was a successful coach, athletic director, and the heart of the physical education teaching program. In addition to coaching and establishing varsity women’s sports, she was the first female athletic director of the combined men’s and women’s athletics program. She designed and directed Cornell’s first faculty and staff Wellness Works program, which received the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Award.

Carolyn Enns, professor of psychology
Years taught: 31

Notable as a nationally recognized scholar on feminist psychotherapy.

While participating in multiple national work groups and committees on undergraduate education in psychology, Enns’ spirit never wandered far from the Hilltop, and she brought the fruits of those national efforts to Cornell to guide the development and implementation of the psychology major as it exists today.

Suzette Astley, professor of psychology
Years taught: 36

Notable for being a guiding force in the psychology department.

An experimental psychologist who believes knowledge requires firsthand experience with concepts, Astley incorporated experiential learning in her courses and included students in her scholarly work on categorization and associative learning. Her vision and grant-writing resulted in the creation of Cornell’s Rise Up program for first-generation students, and she served as its faculty director.

Steven DeVries, professor of kinesiology
Years taught: 37

Notable for leading the restructure of the physical education department to kinesiology.

DeVries was a leader through the department’s complete curricular restructure from physical education to kinesiology. His expertise in sports psychology has provided distinctive learning pathways for students that is not often available at a small liberal arts college. As a wrestling coach for 18 years, his teams earned 10 Midwest Conference championships, 66 Midwest Conference individual champions, 20 NCAA Division III All-Americans, and one national champion.