Ron Knapp
Board Member
Ron taught in the Department of Geography at SUNY New Paltz from 1968 until 2001 and is now active in alumni development issues at the college and is a full-time author specializing in the cultural and historical geography of China since 1965 as well as in the United States more recently.
He is the author or editor of more than twenty books on Chinese architecture, bridges, symbolism, and the history of China’s frontier settlement. His books about the USA include The Gunks: Ridge and Valley Towns Through Time (2015), a then-and-now book with Mohonk Preserve volunteer photographers, America’s Covered Bridges: From Practical Crossing to Nostalgic Icon (2014) and Theodore Burr and the Bridging of Early America: The Man, Fellow Bridge Builders, and Their Forgotten Timber Spans (2023).
He has been hiking the Mohonk trails and carriage roads since arriving in New Paltz in 1968 and is especially interested in the human impact on the Shawangunk Ridge
Ron has served on the Preserve’s Board of Directors since 1987. He was elected President in 2005 and served in that position until 2014. He currently serves on the Executive, Land Management & Facilities, and Marketing & Communications Committees.