Distinguished
professor of pediatrics dies at 77
Floyd
W. Denny Jr. died Oct. 17 at the age of 77.
The alumni distinguished professor of pediatrics at the School
of Medicine, Denny was born and raised in Hartsville, S.C. In
high school, he won varsity letters in basketball, football and
tennis. After high school, Denny was awarded a scholarship to
Wofford College. In 1943, he entered the Vanderbilt University
School of Medicine and subsequently held faculty positions in
pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, Vanderbilt University,
Case Western Reserve University and Carolina, where he was chair
of the Department of Pediatrics for 21 years.
"He
took a small department of six faculty in 1960 and built one of
the leading departments in the country," said Alan Stiles, professor
and chair of pediatrics here. "Dr. Denny was recognized as one
of the giants of pediatrics. His career spanned five decades,
remaining active in our teaching program until 12 months ago when
declining health forced him to stop work."
As an investigator, Denny's numerous publications focused on three
areas. His pioneering work in streptococcal infections and their
consequences included studies of the epidemiology, pathogenesis
and prevention of rheumatic fever. During active service in the
U.S. Army, Denny was a key member of the Streptococcal Disease
Laboratory at Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. While there, he
was lead author of a now famous 1950 report in the Journal of
the American Medical Association, "Prevention of Rheumatic Fever:
Treatment of the Preceding Streptococcal Infection." This landmark
paper was the first report of successful rheumatic fever prevention
by effective treatment of streptococcal infections. It was also
the basis for the 1950 Lasker Award to members of the laboratory.
"Prevention
of rheumatic fever has saved the lives of countless children and
adults, and has spared millions the debilitating effects of acquired
heart disease," said Judson J. Van Wyk, Kenan professor emeritus
of pediatrics.
Van Wyk pointed to his colleague's second area of research: defining
the role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in respiratory infections. "His
studies, in collaboration with long time colleague Wallace Clyde,
identified M. pneumoniae as the most frequent cause of pneumonia
in older children and young adults."
Floyd Denny's third area of research was the epidemiology of respiratory
infections in children. He helped inaugurate long-term surveillance
studies of respiratory infections in a day care center and in
private practice. The findings added important new knowledge to
the understanding of seasonal variation and susceptibility to
respiratory syndromes caused by the most common microbial agents.
Denny also played an important role in fashioning the North Carolina
Area Health Education Center (AHEC) network that links the medical
schools with local communities.
During his tenure as chair of pediatrics, Denny influenced the
development of more than 300 pediatric residents and fellows.
Many of these trainees now occupy academic positions in departments
of pediatrics across the country.
Among his many awards and recognitions, Denny received the Outstanding
Civilian Service Award by the Surgeon General of the Army; the
Distinguished Physician Award of the Pediatric Infectious Disease
Society; and the John Howland Award from the American Pediatrics
Society, its highest honor. The governor awarded Denny the North
Carolina Medal of Science, and in 1988, the Board of Governors
of the UNC system awarded him the O. Max Gardner Award, which
recognizes a faculty member who is judged to have made the greatest
contribution to the welfare of humanity.
Denny was married for 54 years to Barbara H. Denny, who died Sept.
30, 2000.
He is survived by three children: Zoe Ulshen of Carrboro; Mark
Denny and his wife Susan of Pacific Grove, Calif.; and Tim Denny
and his wife Susan of Athens, Ga. Four grandchildren also survive
him.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Psychology
professor Gil named senior associate dean
Karen M. Gil, professor of psychology, has been appointed senior
associate dean of undergraduate education in the College of Arts
and Sciences, effective Nov. 1.
Gil, a member of the Carolina faculty since 1995, will oversee
a range of academic programs, scholarships and services for undergraduates,
including Academic Advising and Academic Services, First Year
Seminars, the Honors Program, the Office of Undergraduate Research
and the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
She will serve on the college's senior administrative team, under
the direction of Dean Risa Palm.
"Karen
Gil represents the best ideals for Chapel Hill faculty: outstanding
teaching, a research profile that has been recognized with major
national grants and awards, and outstanding commitment to service,"
Palm said. "I look forward to having her fresh ideas, her expertise
and her leadership as we continue our course of innovation and
excellence in undergraduate education."
Gil has authored numerous publications on health psychology, acute
and chronic pain, stress and coping, and childhood medical illness.
She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and
the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
She received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from West Virginia
University in 1985 and a B.A. in psychology, with highest honors,
from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1978.
She was a faculty member at Duke University from 1985 to 1995.
Gil replaces Bernadette Gray-Little, who was recently appointed
executive associate provost for the University.
Three
professors appointed to department chairs
Three
professors began five-year terms as department chairs on July
1, 2001. They are:
* James Ketch, Department of Music;
* Harold C. Pillsbury III, Department of Otolaryngology; and
* James P. Thompson, Department of English.
Ketch
Ketch teaches jazz history and improvisation and gives trumpet
instruction. He has received a Tanner Award and a Bowman and Gordon
Gray professorship for excellence in undergraduate teaching.
He conducts the UNC Jazz Band, with which he has performed at
three major European jazz festivals and recorded two compact discs.
As music director and soloist with the North Carolina Jazz Repertory
Orchestra, Ketch has recorded three CDs.
In addition to directing the annual Carolina Jazz Festival, he
has served on the steering committee for Arts Carolina. A faculty
fellow of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, Ketch serves
on its faculty advisory board and is an inaugural fellow of its
Institute on Leadership Development.
Ketch received his bachelor's degree at Indiana State University
and a master's degree in music education (trumpet) at the University
of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign.
Pillsbury
When the Division of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery became
a department in the School of Medicine, Pillsbury, its chief since
1982, was named chair.
Among other accomplishments and contributions, Pillsbury, the
Thomas J. Dark distinguished professor of surgery, is president
of the American Laryngological Association and is exam chair of
the American Board of Otolaryngology. He is a past president of
the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Pillsbury has received numerous awards for teaching, leadership
and service. He is an avid golfer and a big fan of Carolina basketball.
He enjoys world travel with his family, as well as for the purpose
of giving lectures and attending medical conferences.
Thompson
Thompson's research focuses on the development of the novel in
the early modern period, in particular the relation between aesthetic
and economic value. Recently he has been studying the filming
of novels.
For the past several years, through Carolina Speakers, he has
been giving talks around the state to reading groups in libraries
and retirement homes, most often on Jane Austen.
Thompson teaches 18th-century British literature and literary
theory as well as classes from first-year writing to graduate
seminars. His most significant publications are Models of Value:
Eighteenth-Century Political Economy and the Novel and Between
Self and World: the Novels of Jane Austen.
After receiving a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University and
a master's degree at Johns Hopkins University, Thompson earned
a Ph.D. at the University of Florida. He is an avid motorcyclist
and aims one day to ride through the Alps on a fast Ducati.
Environmental
program to get professorship
David McNelis and his wife, Gladys Hau McNelis, have pledged $2.5
million to establish a professorship in the Carolina Environmental
Program.
The McNelis professor will hold a joint appointment in the program
and the School of Public Health's Department of Environmental
Sciences and Engineering.
The pledge also will provide fellowships
in environmental sciences and engineering through the graduate
school, as well as undergraduate scholarships in environmental
studies.
The professorship is to be administered by the Carolina Environmental
Program, a campuswide interdisciplinary initiative focusing on
environmental learning, research and public service.
The gift will allow recruitment of one of the world's top environmental
sciences and engineering scholars, officials said. The graduate
fellowships will go toward attracting the best environmental sciences
and engineering students.
Those who receive scholarships will participate in experiential
learning at one of the Carolina Environmental Program's field
sites in North Carolina or overseas.
David McNelis is a graduate of the School of Public Health's Department
of Environmental Sciences and Engineering. He is the Carolina
Environmental Program's deputy director and also serves as chair
of the University's Graduate Education Advancement Board.
The $2.5 million gift is to the Carolina First campaign, which
began a two-year quiet phase in 1999 and is scheduled to run through
2006.
Decorations
& Distinctions
Jim
Kessler
Director of Disability Services, Kessler has been selected to
the board of the Association on Higher Education and Disabilities
(AHEAD). He will serve a three year term in the area of membership
and constituent relations.
School
of Public Health
Office
of Continuing Education
North
Carolina Environmental Health State of Practice Committee (SOP)
The SOP Committee was awarded the 2001 Creative and Innovative
Program Award by the North Carolina Adult Education Association.
The committee was formed by the Office of Continuing Education
to design, develop and produce competency-based instruction statewide
for environmental health specialists.
Southern Folklife Collection
The Southern Folklife Collection was awarded the Brenda McCallum
Prize from the American Folklore Society. It was awarded for its
online multi-format collection of the Goldband Recording Corporation
Records. The web site is docsouth.unc.edu/sfc/goldband
Philip
Stadter
Professor of Classics, Stadter will be honored at a November conference
in Italy that will investigate the meaning and the value of heroism,
the gestures and characters that became symbols of heroism in
the classical world, and the continuity of this concept in modern
Europe.
Fei
Zou
Assistant professor in the biostatistics department in the School
of Public Health, Zou won the David Byar Young Investigator Award
at the American Statistical Association's 2001 Joint Statistical
Meetings. Zou's presentation, "On an Emperical Likelihood for
a Semiparametric Misture Model," explored a new statistical model
for analyzing genetic data on quantitative traits.
Star
Heels
Daniel
Gitterman, Public Policy
"...
has shown great dedication in his role as instructor, mentor and
adviser to students...He shows great commitment to mentoring and
advising students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The Star Heels Award is a small way of letting him know how much
his contributions are appreciated."
George
Huntley, Music
"...We
are very fortunate indeed to have a person of George's integrity
and loyalty. In addition, George is always positive in his dealings
with staff and faculty, and he is always willing to help out."
Carolyn
Jones, Center for Urban and Regional Studies
"...
emanates every positive quality a manager could ever want in an
employee. She's as dependable as clockwork; she anticipates and
carries out tasks long before she's been asked to perform them
and is simply a joy to work with ..."
Martha
Marks, Institute for the Arts and Humanities
"...
She goes out of her way to help any and everyone who works at
the Institute, calls the Institute or comes by. With the many
functions we have here at the Institute, Martha always makes sure
that everything is perfect..."
Ann
Byassee, Office of Technology Development
"...
Ann is an extremely hard worker, always willing to go above and
beyond the call of duty and normal work responsibilities. Her
cheerful personality makes her a pleasure to work with! Ann is
the model employee and friend!
Marcella
Moore, Student Health Service
"...was
recently honored at the Annual Student Health Service Employee
Appreciation Breakfast for her 15 years of dedicated state service.
Marcella helps rehabilitate students and athletes in the Physical
Therapy Department at Student Health Service.
LaToya
Taylor, Student Health Service
"...
is a patient relations representative in our central appointment
office. LaToya's assistance and service to students and fellow
staff members is extraordinary.
Editor's
note: The Star Heels Award Program is sponsored by TIAA-Cref .
Winners each receive a $20 gift certificate. Employee Services
coordinates the program. Because of space constraints, the Gazette
is able to print only a highlight of most recipients' nominating
material.
