To the SUNY Cortland Community, With great sadness I report the loss of a dear friend and colleague, Dr. Larry Ashley. Larry passed away on Saturday following a brief illness. Lawrence officially retired in 2012 after more than 38 years of service to SUNY Cortland. He was designated professor emeritus of philosophy. A strong proponent of interdisciplinary education, Dr. Ashley joined the SUNY Cortland faculty as an instructor in 1972. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1973 and to professor in 2001. As chair of the Philosophy Department from 1996 to 2000, Dr. Ashley coordinated Modern Western Thought, a longstanding required course, Modern Western Thought. He was one of the originators of the general education requirement for multiculturalism in the curriculum. Additionally, he taught courses in the history of philosophy, logic, cinema, multicultural education, interdisciplinary education and technology in education. Dr. Ashley was a pioneer of educational initiatives related to technology and the use of Internet resources to teach issues in gender, race and class. As SUNY Cortland's United University Professions (UUP) chapter president from 2001 to 2009, Dr. Ashley served on the union's Statewide Grievance Committee. He also co-chaired the local Clean Up Rosen Brothers (CURB) community project, which won a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lead a cleanup of the Cortland toxic waste site. Dr. Ashley received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He earned a doctoral degree in philosophy from Duke University. On June 12, the Philosophy Department will host a gathering of family, friends and colleagues to remember and celebrate the life of Larry Ashley. Details are forthcoming. Please join me as the campus extends sincere condolences to the Ashley family. Larry will be deeply missed. Erik J. Bitterbaum President