Tom Shevory
Tom Shevory
Professor, politics
B.A., M.A., Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Ph.D., University of Iowa
Whether he’s teaching about the relationship of rap music to political change, the effects of technology on music, or environmentalist views on politics, Tom Shevory generates the kind of enthusiastic discourse that spills out after class into hallways, the campus, and the wider community.
And it’s not just talk. Thanks to a now-completed National Science Foundation grant and a partnership with EcoVillage -- one of the nation’s most successful communities run entirely on environmental principles -- Shevory’s students created sustainable living solutions, from building photovoltaic systems to designing structures from alternative materials.
Today Shevory is codirector of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, which he runs with film professor Patricia Zimmermann. In this spirit of collaboration, several dozen students from across the College help organize festival events each year, including films, lectures, and digital art exhibitions, as well as workshops with screenwriters, filmmakers, political activists, and artists. “FLEFF is one of the premier environmental film festivals in North America,” he says. “It showcases Ithaca College as a national center for thinking differently.”
Communicating his passionate engagement with the world is what Professor Shevory cares about most -- and judging by the demand for his classes, he succeeds wildly. “I love teaching. To see students become so enthusiastic about ideas, about books, about political life is tremendously rewarding,” he says. “To see their spark, their excitement -- it’s really something.”