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CORNING, N.Y. -- Dr. Gregg Caruso of SUNY Corning Community College was conferred the rank of SUNY Distinguished Faculty Professor by the State University of New York (SUNY) System. The SUNY Distinguished Professorship is the State University’s highest academic rank and is conferred solely by the State University Board of Trustees.

The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon faculty having achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within the individual’s chosen field through significant contributions to the research and scholarship, or through artistic performance or achievement in the fine and performing arts.

“Congratulations to Dr. Gregg Caruso on receiving the State University's highest academic rank and becoming the first faculty member from SUNY CCC to achieve this incredible accolade,” said SUNY CCC President Dr. William Mullaney. “It is a tremendous accomplishment for Dr. Caruso, an excellent teacher and prolific scholar, who has proven time and again to be invaluable in furthering the College's mission to empower our students and elevate our community."

Dr. Caruso, professor of philosophy at SUNY CCC, is an expert in the philosophy of action, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy, particularly as they relate to justice and ethics. Co-director of the Justice Without Retribution Network at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Caruso engages in a range of fields, considering free will, moral responsibility, and criminal punishment in the contexts of philosophy (of the mind, of morals, of politics, etc.) and psychology (of law, of morals, of cognition, etc.).

His work across six books, five edited collections, and 40 articles attempt not to rebalance the scales of justice but to restore individuals to participation in the moral community and acceptance of the norms they have flouted.

His 2020 book Rejecting Retributivism: Free Will, Punishment, and Criminal Justice received the 2022 American Philosophical Association’s (APA) Joseph B. Gittler Award for outstanding scholarly contribution. In 2023, Dr. Caruso was featured in the documentary Free Will? A Documentary directed by Mike Walsh.

In 2015, Dr. Caruso received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.

About the SUNY Distinguished Professorship
The rank of SUNY Distinguished Professor was created by the SUNY Board of Trustees in 1963 with the first faculty member promoted to the rank in 1964. SUNY’s Distinguished faculty include Nobel Laureates, National Academy members, a Fields Medalist, a Dirac Medalist, and National Medal of Technology and Innovation winners.