Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Contact: Kim Cretors, 706/542-1168, kcretors@franklin.uga.edu

UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences honors faculty for teaching, research, advising and service to the college

Athens, Ga. – The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia awarded honors for excellence in teaching, research, advising and service to the college at its annual faculty awards luncheon on April 29.

“I’m proud to say the faculty of the Franklin College continue to be recognized, both at the college level and the university level, as highly productive and outstanding members of the University of Georgia community,” said Dean Garnett S. Stokes.  “The college takes pride in the many accomplishments of its faculty and staff.”

The General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship was awarded to David Haas (Hugh Hodgson School of Music) and Susan Roberts (Lamar Dodd School of Art). This award is for faculty members who have demonstrated that they are gifted, dedicated and superior teachers. Haas and Roberts will receive $7,850 a year for three years.

Also awarded were the General Sandy Beaver Teaching Awards to Leonard Ball, Jr. (Hugh Hodgson School of Music), Tina Harris (speech communication), Walter Potter (computer science), David Saltz (theatre and film studies), and Jill Smith (statistics). Each winner receives a cash award of $2,800.

The General Sandy Beaver professorship and awards were established in 1978 by trustees of Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville. The endowment honors Gen. Sandy Beaver, a 1903 UGA graduate who was president of Riverside for 56 years. The awards annually honor faculty members in arts and sciences who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to high-quality instruction. Faculty members of all ranks, but particularly those engaged in undergraduate teaching, are eligible.

The M.G. Michael Award, which is given to stimulate and promote research in the arts and sciences, was given to Linda Renzulli (sociology), Sunkoo Yuh (Lamar Dodd School of Art), and David Zerkel (Hugh Hodgson School of Music)

The Michael Award was established in 1944 by LeRoy Michael of Athens to stimulate new initiatives in scholarship in all areas of the arts and sciences. Its primary purpose is to encourage the development of a new idea or project during the year following the award. While the award is not given in recognition of previous research accomplishments, it does require that recipients be proficient researchers. The awardees received $3,000 each.

Franklin College Outstanding Advisor Awards were also given at the luncheon to Cordelia Bowlus (New College Advising Office), professional advisor, and Mario Erasmo (classics), faculty advisor. The award was established in 1989 by the dean’s office to recognize outstanding academic advising in the college. Students nominate their advisor in one of two categories, professional advisor or faculty advisory. The nominations are read by a subcommittee of the Dean’s Student Advisory Board, which then chooses a recipient from each category.

First-year Outstanding Instructor Awards were given to E.M. Beck (sociology), Marcus Fechheimer (cellular biology), Kenneth Honerkamp (religion), and Janice Simon (Lamar Dodd School of Art).

The Franklin College and the Honors Program offer awards each year to outstanding first-year seminar instructors on the basis of participation in the program, quality and innovativeness of the seminars, and evaluations, if available.  The awardees receive a $1,000 support account for research and travel.

Also recognized were Franklin College faculty members who received University-level awards.  They include:

Mitos Andaya (Hugh Hodgson School of Music; Russell Teaching Award); Wei-Jun Cai (marine sciences; Creative Research Medal); George Contini (theatre and film studies; Russell Teaching Award); James Coverdill (sociology; Meigs Professor); Jonathon Crystal (psychology; Creative Research Medal); Christine Franklin (statistics; Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor); James Hamrick (plant biology; Regents Professor); Catherine Jones (romance languages; Meigs Professor); Samantha B. Joye (marine sciences; Creative Research Medal); Sidney Kushner (genetics; Distinguished Research Professor); Charles Kutal (chemistry; Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor); Patricia Richards (sociology and women’s studies; Russell Teaching Award); Sarah Spence (classics; Albert Christ-Janer Award); Phillip C. Stancil (physics and astronomy; Creative Research Medal); Bi-Cheng Wang (biochemistry and molecular biology; Creative Research Award); Juergen Wiegel (microbiology; Distinguished Research Professor).

Faculty members named to endowed professorships during FY2008 were honored as well. They are Michael W.W. Adams (biochemistry; Georgia Power Professor in Biotechnology); J. Michael Pierce (biochemistry; inaugural George E. and Sarah F. Peters Mudter Professor in Cancer Research); Bala Sarasvati (dance; inaugural Jane Willson Professor in the Arts); Susan Wessler (plant biology; inaugural University of Georgia Foundation Chair in Biology).

Endowed professorships in the Franklin College provide crucial support for the work of outstanding faculty members across disciplines.  Some of these positions were established generations ago and have a long tradition of distinguished holders, while others are newly created with the generous support of current donors to the College.  In all cases, the Franklin College is grateful – both to those donors whose providence created the positions and to the faculty who hold these named positions, whose work makes the donors and the College proud.

Faculty members who have played an important role in the Franklin College's efforts to connect with alumni and friends and build private support for the people and programs throughout the college were recognized also.  Those members include Bruce Burch (Music Business Program, Terry College of Business), Daniel G. Colley (microbiology and Center for Emerging and Tropical Global Diseases), Chris Cuomo (Institute for Women’s Studies), Steve Dancz (Music Business Program, Hugh Hodgson School of Music), Don DeMaria (Washington Semester Program), Tim Hollibaugh (marine sciences), Tom Mote (geography), Hugh Ruppersburg (English), and Marshall Shepherd (geography).

Faculty members can speak first hand about the excitement of the classroom and the laboratory, and provide potential donors with a glimpse of the intellectual vitality of the college.  While many faculty members have provided outstanding assistance in reaching out to donors to their departments and programs, several have gone above and beyond, to represent the Franklin College as a whole to a broad spectrum of alumni and friends. 

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at UGA is the oldest and largest college on campus. With more than 650 faculty members and 16,000 students – and 30 departments and 29 programs and centers – the Franklin College spans disciplines from anthropology to women’s studies, and includes the Lamar Dodd School of Art and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.  The Franklin College reaches nearly all UGA students, whether through such core classes as English and mathematics; advanced courses such as music theory and simulation physics; study abroad opportunities throughout the world; or through the advising office. The generosity of alumni and friends has established important endowment support for students, faculty members and programs throughout the Franklin College. For more information, visit www.franklin.uga.edu.

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