Peter C. Chabora ‘62

For Peter Chabora ’62, a major influence in his life was his mother, Anne E. (Jirovec) Chabora CRT ’33, BS ’58.

“Having been dealt three sons, she had ample experience in what would become her career of 35 years in special education,” he says. “It was she who drove me to then Paterson State College for an entrance exam and an eventual academic career in ecology. Her influence also careened my two younger brothers into teaching and academic careers.”

Chabora says he “came alive academically” during his years at the University (Paterson State College), mentored by a newly established science faculty guiding their first group of biology majors/chemistry minors. "Their teaching program and support led to my career teaching university ecology and biology,” he adds.

After graduate school at Cornell University and then research at Oxford University, Chabora accepted a position in biology and ecology teaching and research at Queens College, CUNY. Upon becoming professor, he was elected Biology Department chair and then subsequently appointed executive officer of biology at the CUNY Graduate School, where he served three terms and was elected chair of the Doctoral Faculty Policy Committee. He had sabbatical appointments at University Claude Bernard, Lyon, France; CNRS at Gif-sur-Yvette, France (twice); Leiden University, Netherlands; and conducted research for 25 years for one to six months at INRA, Guadeloupe, FWI.

Chabora also served several professional organizations. He was elected secretary of the American Society of Naturalists, was a member of the board for 12 years and elected secretary of the Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Entomological Society.

Following his administrative appointments, he returned to Queens College to teach introductory biology for 24 years along with various specialized and honors courses. In 1990, he garnered the Queens College President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. “When I retired in 2017, I just could not believe that I had been teaching university ecology and biology for 54 years,” he says.

Reflecting on how he could give back to the institution that nurtured him with a strong start, Chabora thought of “my daughter, a special education teacher influenced by her grandma, and the passion of both these women for their special children,” he says. “This year, I established the Anne E. Chabora CRT '33 Scholarship in Special Education, which I will fund annually. I have named WP as a partial beneficiary of my retirement fund to endow this scholarship so it can be awarded in perpetuity.”

For Chabora, William Paterson—and biology—transformed his life. He has since transformed countless lives as an educator, and that legacy will live on in his support for students at William Paterson University.