Faculty and Staff Saluted for Distinguished Teaching, Scholarship, and Service

Outstanding professors and other members of the Lafayette community were honored tonight for distinguished teaching, scholarly research, and service to the College at Lafayette’s annual pre-Commencement awards dinner.

President Daniel H. Weiss, Wendy L. Hill, provost and dean of the faculty, and Alan R. Griffith ’64, chair of the Board of Trustees, presented awards and citations.

Weiss recognized Stephen Lammers, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of the English Bible; Ronald Robbins, associate dean of the College; and Edmond J. Seifried, professor of economics, who are retiring and have been elected to emeritus status. He also recognized Glenn Airgood, who is retiring as director of the Office of Public Information, and Gary A. Evans ’57, who is retiring as executive assistant to the President.

Griffith recognized retiring trustees S. Robert Beane ’58 and George F. Rubin ’64, who have been elected to emeritus status. Also leaving the board is Douglas Marvin ’69,who is concluding a five-year term as alumni trustee.

Griffith announced that Mary Stengel Austen ’86, Donald E. Morel ’79, and S. Kent Rockwell ’66 were elected to the board. Each will begin a five-year term July 1.

The evening featured the awarding of prizes in recognition of exceptional teaching, scholarship, and service to Lafayette. The awards are funded through designated gifts to the endowment.

Marquis Distinguished Teaching Awards for distinctive and extraordinary teaching went to Suzanne R. Westfall, professor of English; Rexford A. Ahene, professor of economics; Chawne M. Kimber, associate professor of mathematics; and Stephen J. Kurtz, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.An endowed fund established by Walter A. Scott ’59 and his wife, Kate, provides for four annual awards.

D.C. Jackson, professor of history, 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.

Ronald J. “Bud” Martin ’66, professor of chemical engineering, is the recipient of the Delta Upsilon Distinguished Mentoring and Teaching Award. The award was established in 2000 by alumni of the Lafayette chapter of Delta Upsilon fraternity on the 115th anniversary of the fraternity’s founding. It 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.

The inaugural B. Vincent Viscomi Engineering Prize for Excellence in Mentoring and Teaching was awarded to David Brandes, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. Viscomi, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, taught at the College for 41 years, including 14 as head of civil engineering.

Chun Wai Liew, associate professor of computer science, received 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.

Robert I. Weiner, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of History, is 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.

Ethan J. Berkove, associate professor of mathematics,received the James P. Crawford Award. 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.

Michelle Geoffrion-Vinci, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for excellence in teaching and outstanding contributions to campus life.

Susan Averett, Dana Professor and head of economics and business, received Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Award for superior teaching and scholarly contribution to her discipline.

William C. Bissell, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology, and Jamila Bookwala, associate professor of psychology, 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 2009-10 academic year.

Also recognized were this year’s Jones Faculty Lecturers, Yvonne Gindt, associate professor of chemistry, and James Ferri, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

John P. Colatch, director of religious life and College chaplain, received the Office of Intercultural Development’s Excellence in Diversity Education Award.

W. Mark Crain, professor of political economy, and John Shaw, associate professor of psychology, are the recipients of Student Government Superior Teaching Awards.

The recipients of the Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes sustained, distinguished performance by members of the support staff, plant operations, public safety, and administrative staff, are Emily Schneider, executive assistant to the provost; Richard Fisher, custodian; and secretaries Susan Castelleti (Skillman Library), Kelly Deemer (Office of Student Life Programs), Phyllis Hale (Development and College Relations), and Billie Weiss (Counseling Center). Schneider received her award this evening. The others will receive theirs at events later in the year.

Ellis Finger, director of the Williams Center for the Arts, is the recipient of the Gary A. Evans Administrative Prize, presented to an administrator or staff member who has provided a high level of service to the College, its alumni, or students over a substantial period of time. The award was established by an alumnus in tribute to the extraordinary service of Gary A. Evans ’57 to Lafayette over more than three decades, including service as director of admissions, vice president for college relations and development, and executive assistant to the president.

Frank Benginia, registrar, and Kevin Worthen, dean of students,received the Cyrus S. Fleck Jr. ’52 Administrator of the Year Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the campus community. Cy Fleck, for whom the award, instituted in 2002, is named, served Lafayette as an administrator for more than four decades, including 32 years as registrar.

One faculty member and two administrators were honored for 25 years of service to Lafayette. They are Bradley C. Antanaitis, associate professor of physics; Richard A. Kendrick, technical director for the Williams Center for the Arts; and Robert A. Nourse, senior planned giving officer.

W. Mark Crain, William E. Simon Professor of Political Economy, received the Daniel L. Golden ’34 Faculty Service Award in recognition of distinguished service to Lafayette through the Alumni Association and alumni activities.

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 without regard to rank.

Honored were Edward R. McDonald, professor of foreign languages and literatures, who joined the faculty in 1964; Stephen E. Lammers, Helen H.P. Manson Professor of the English Bible in the Department of Religious Studies (1969); Robert I. Weiner, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of History (1969); Rado Pribic, Oliver Edwin Williams Professor of Languages (1971); Jerome F. Heavey, professor of economics (1974); Anthony D. Novaco, Marshall R. Metzgar Professor of Physics (1974); and Howard G. Schneiderman, professor of anthropology and sociology (1974).

A number of faculty promotions will take effect with the 2009-10 academic year. The following faculty members have been promoted to associate professor with tenure: Bill Bissell, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology; Katalin Fabian, assistant professor of government and law; Andy Kortyna, assistant professor of physics; and Steve Kurtz, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. Steve Nesbit, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been promoted to full professor. Michael O’Neill, associate professor of English, and Mary A. Armstrong, associate professor of English, have been granted tenure.