Deirdre Courtney-Batson

Class Year: 1972
Voice Part: Alto 1
Major: History
Current City: Katonah, NY
Job: Senior Adj. Asst. Prof of History, Pace University

Deirdre is a Senior Adjunct Professor of history at Pace University. After graduating from Cornell, she earned an M.A. in History from the University of Toronto, then returned to Cornell where she continued to sing with the Chorus while pursuing further graduate studies. One of her proudest Cornell Chorus memories is singing at her sister’s 1979 graduation - the first time the Chorus joined the Glee Club to perform at a Cornell commencement. She and her husband, glee clubber Phil Batson (ENG ’70, PhD. ’76) moved to Katonah in 1983. In addition to teaching at Pace, Deirdre researches, writes and lectures on local history and is also heavily involved in municipal planning, having served for years on the Town of Bedford Planning Board. In 2023 she received the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation Distinguished Citizen Planner award in recognition of this work. She also volunteers for her Cornell Class as a class officer and reunion co-chair.