This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Members of the Lafayette community were honored for distinguished teaching, scholarly research, and service to the College at Lafayette’s annual trustee-faculty dinner Friday, May 20.
Lafayette President Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55; Provost June Schlueter; and Alan R. Griffith ’64, chair of the Board of Trustees, presented awards and citations.
Retiring members of the administration and faculty were honored, including Rothkopf, who will conclude his service as the College’s 15th president next month after 12 years in the position, during which he has led a far-reaching transformation of Lafayette.
At the 170th Commencement Saturday the College conferred honorary degrees upon Rothkopf and Barbara S. Rothkopf, First Lady of Lafayette, in recognition of their contributions to Lafayette. Barbara Rothkopf received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. (Read the honorary degree citations and President Rothkopf’s farewell remarks.)
Three other administrators also were honored Friday night, Cyrus S. Fleck Jr. ’52, special assistant to the president and former registrar; James J. Klein, director of computing services; and Philip G. Schroeder, assistant to the president and administrative secretary to the Board of Trustees, as were four faculty members who have been elected to emeritus status, Brenda J. Latka, associate professor of mathematics; William E. Melin, professor of music; Michael A. Paolino, Charles A. Dana Professor of Mechanical Engineering; and B. Vincent Viscomi, Simon Cameron Long Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Schlueter announced that Ismail I. Jouny, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been appointed to an endowed chair. Jouny will be Charles A. Dana Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering effective with the 2005-06 academic year.
The evening featured the awarding of prizes in recognition of exceptional teaching, scholarship, and service to Lafayette. The prizes are funded through designated gifts to the endowment.
Fleck received the Administrator of the Year Award, and Rothkopf announced the award will be named in honor of Fleck, whose service to Lafayette spans four decades, including 32 years as registrar.
Recipients of Student Government Superior Teaching Awards were Alan W. Childs, professor of psychology, and Andrew M. Smith, assistant professor of English.
Wendy L. Hill, William C. ’67 and Pamela H. Rappolt Professor in Neuroscience, was the recipient of the James E. Lennertz Prize for Exceptional Teaching and Mentoring. Established by Leslie F. Muhlfelder ’81, the College’s vice president for human resources and general counsel, the award honors Lafayette faculty member James E. Lennertz, associate professor of government and law, for his exceptional teaching, devotion to students, and extraordinary ability to challenge students to realize their full intellectual potential.
Marquis Distinguished Teaching Awards for distinctive and extraordinary teaching went to Susan A. Basow, Charles A. Dana Professor of Psychology; James M. DeVault, associate professor of economics and business; Gary P. Gordon, professor of mathematics; and Roxanne Lalande, professor of French in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. An endowed fund established by Walter A. Scott ’59 and his wife, Kate, provides for four annual awards.
Eric J. Ziolkowski, Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies, received the Mary Louise Van Artsdalen Prize for outstanding scholarly achievement. The award was established by Dr. Ervin R. Van Artsdalen ’35 in memory of his wife.
David A. Veshosky, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and chair of the A.B. Engineering program, was the recipient of the Delta Upsilon Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award. Established in 2000 by alumni of the Lafayette chapter of Delta Upsilon fraternity on the 115th anniversary of the fraternity’s founding, the award recognizes members of the faculty for distinctive and extraordinary teaching through mentoring, which may include advising, undergraduate research, independent study, or any of the many one-on-one mentoring activities that take place in a student-centered learning environment.
Robert A. Kurt, assistant professor of biology, was the recipient of the Carl R. and Ingeborg Beidleman Research Award recognizing excellence in applied research or scholarship. The prize was established by Carl R. Beidleman ’54, professor emeritus of finance at Lehigh University, and his wife, Ingeborg.
Faculty administrators of the College Writing Programreceived the James P. Crawford Award. They are Patricia A. Donahue, professor of English, director of CWP; William J. Carpenter, assistant professor of English, assistant director; Bianca M. Falbo, assistant professor of English, assistant director; and Mary Elizabeth Seetch, coordinator of CWP. Established by Jonathan Bernon ’84, the prize rewards a faculty member who has demonstrated a high standard of classroom instruction. The award honors the late James P. Crawford, who taught in the Department of Mathematics from 1957 to 2003.
Leonard A. Van Gulick, Matthew Baird Professor of Mechanical Engineering and chair of the B.S. Engineering/A.B. International Studies program, received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for excellence in teaching and outstanding contributions to campus life.
Clifford A. Reiter, professor of mathematics, received the Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Award for superior teaching and scholarly contribution to his discipline.
Paul A. Cefalu, assistant professor of English, and Scott R. Hummel, associate professor of mechanical engineering, received Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecture Awards in recognition of excellence in teaching and scholarship. Each will deliver a featured lecture during the 2005-06 academic year.
Also recognized were this year’s Jones Faculty Lecturers, Michelle C. Geoffrion-Vinci, associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Joshua A. Sanborn, associate professor of history,
Five faculty members received Joseph Johnson Hardy Memorial Fund Awards. The award was established in 1923 by Harry S. Gay 1882 in memory of Professor Hardy, who taught mathematics and astronomy at Lafayette from 1870 to 1915. The income from this fund is divided annually among the five members of the faculty who have achieved the longest continuous service to Lafayette.
Honored were Edward R. McDonald, professor of German in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, who joined the faculty in 1964; B. Vincent Viscomi, Simon Cameron Long Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering (1964); Shyamal K. Majumdar, Gideon R. Jr. and Alice L. Kreider Professor of Biology (1969); Robert I. Weiner, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of History (1969), and Stephen E. Lammers, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of Religious Studies (1969).
Nine members of the faculty and administration were honored for 25 years of service to Lafayette. They are Nancy L. Ball, director of sponsored programs; Rose Marie L. Bukics, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of Economics and Business; Alan W. Childs, professor of psychology; John E. Leone, college relations; Edward J. Kerns, Eugene H. Clapp II Professor of Art and director of the Williams Visual Arts Building; George E. Panichas, James Renwick Hogg Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy; Lorenzo Traldi, Marshall R. Metzgar Professor of Mathematics; Carolynn Van Dyke, Francis A. March Professor of English; and James Woolley, Frank Lee and Edna M. Smith Professor of English.