About George L. McDermott

The trail system at the Hoxie Gorge Nature Preserve is named in honor of George L. McDermott, distinguished service professor emeritus of geography.

McDermott joined the State University of New York College at Cortland faculty in 1951 and was the founding chair of the Geography Department, which he headed from 1964 to 1969.

He was instrumental in the university’s acquisition of the Hoxie Gorge property and oversaw its development and preservation.

He also chaired the Hoxie Gorge Committee from its inception in 1965 to the mid-1980s. McDermott, who received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1978, retired from SUNY Cortland in 1988.