Faculty and Staff Saluted for Distinguished Teaching, Scholarship, and Service at Annual Awards Banquet

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

Read more Commencement coverage

President Daniel H. Weiss, Wendy L. Hill, provost and dean of the faculty, and Edward W. Ahart ’69, chair of the Board of Trustees, presented awards and citations.

President Daniel Weiss announces the award winners.

Hill announced appointments to several endowed chairs. James Ferri, professor and head of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named the James T. Marcus ’50 Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; D.C. Jackson, professor of history, has been appointed as the Cornelia F. Hugel Professor of History; and Eric Ziolkowski, Dana Professor of Religious Studies, has been named the Helen H.P. Manson Professor of the English Bible.

Weiss recognized Thomas Bruggink, professor of economics; James Lennertz, associate professor of government and law; Anthony Novaco, Marshall R. Metzgar Professor of Physics; and Chester Salwach, associate professor of mathematics, who are retiring and have been elected to emeritus status. He also recognized Hugh Harris, who is retiring as director of public safety.

Read about the retiring faculty
Read Harris’ citation

Ahart announced that Linda Assante Carrasco ’90 was elected to the board. She 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 Andrew Dougherty, associate professor of physics; John Nestor, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Michael O’Neill, associate professor of English; and Andrea Smith, associate professor of anthropology and sociology. An endowed fund established by Walter A. Scott ’59 and his wife, Kate, provides for four annual awards.

Gary Gordon, professor of mathematics, 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.

Faculty, staff, alumni, and family members enjoy dinner prior to the awards ceremony.

Lennertz is the recipient of the award named after him, 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 Lennertz for his exceptional teaching, devotion to students, and extraordinary ability to challenge students to realize their full intellectual potential.

Markus Dubischar, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, 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 its 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 B. Vincent Viscomi Engineering Prize for Excellence in Mentoring and Teaching was awarded to Jeffrey Helm, associate professor of mechanical engineering. Viscomi, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, taught at the College for 41 years, including 14 as head of civil engineering.

Qin Lu, associate professor of mathematics, 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.

David Sunderlin, assistant professor of geology and environmental geosciences, 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 Crawford, who taught in the Department of Mathematics from 1957 to 2003.

Mary Armstrong, associate professor of English and women’s and gender studies, received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for excellence in teaching and outstanding contributions to campus life.

Lee Upton, professor of English and writer-in-residence, received the Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Award for superior teaching and scholarly contribution to her discipline.

Lisa Gabel, assistant professor of psychology, and Caroline Lee, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology, 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 2013-14 academic year.

Also recognized were this year’s Jones Faculty Lecturers, Kira Lawrence, associate professor of geology and environmental geosciences, and Jennifer Rossmann, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Nandini Sikand, assistant professor of film and media studies, received the John T. McCartney Excellence in Diversity Education Award.

Armstrong and Sunderlin are the recipients of Student Government Superior Teaching Awards.

Erica D’Agostino, dean of academic advising, and Grace Reynolds, director of residence life, 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.

Bruce McCutcheon, director of athletics, and Harris are the recipients 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 positions as director of admissions, vice president for college relations and development, and executive assistant to the president.

Trustee Barbara Levy ’77 is the inaugural recipient of the The Daniel H. Weiss Award for Leadership and Vision. Established by Michael LeWitt ’70 and Lynne LeWitt P’13, the award is to be presented annually to a Lafayette-related individual or group of individuals who have demonstrated leadership and vision.

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 Deborah Bastinelli, secretary for the Chemistry and Physics Departments; Patricia Curto, procurement services specialist; Rebecca Rosenbauer, director of engineering computing; and Rocco Vonelli, mechanical trades in plant operations.  Rosenbauer received her award last night. The others will receive theirs at events later in the year.

Julio Piazza, head coach of track and field, received the Maroon Club Athletic Staff Achievement Award.  The award is given to a full-time athletics department staff member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the College and its athletics program.

Five faculty members and four administrators were honored for 25 years of service to Lafayette: Jonathan Bailey, assistant supervisor for plant operations; Donald Brinker, assistant supervisor for plant operations; William Hornfeck, professor of electrical and computer engineering; Linda Jroski, procurement manager; Javad Tavakoli, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering; Erol Ulucakli, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Upton; Tina Werkheiser, programmer/analyst for Information Technology Services; and Ziolkowski.

Six 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 McDonald, professor of foreign languages and literatures, who joined the faculty in 1964; Robert Weiner, Jones Professor of History (1969); Rado Pribic, Williams Professor of Languages (1971); Jerome Heavey, professor of economics (1973); Novaco (1973); and Howard Schneiderman, professor of anthropology and sociology (1973).

Alan Childs, professor of psychology, received the Daniel L. Golden ’34 Faculty Service Award in recognition of distinguished service to Lafayette through the Alumni Association and alumni activities.

A number of faculty promotions will take effect with the 2013-14 academic year. The following have been promoted to associate professor with tenure: Steven Belletto (English), Gabel (psychology), Alessandro Giovannelli (philosophy), Jennifer Kelly (music), Lee (anthropology and sociology), Xiaoyan Li (computer science), Manuel Ospina-Giraldo (biology), Karina Skvirsky (art), Sunderlin (geology and environmental geosciences), and Jennifer Talarico (psychology).  Angelika von Wahl, associate professor of international affairs, has been granted tenure. Ethan Berkove (mathematics), Paul Cefalu (English), Chawne Kimber (mathematics), Robert Kurt (biology), and Chip Nataro (chemistry) have been promoted to full professor.