Faculty/Staff News & Notes

•   Three awarded distinguished professorships
•   Lawrence Band named geography department chair
•   Brody moves from MIT to join Office of Human Resources as senior director
•   Star Heels

Three awarded distinguished professorships

Three faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences have been honored with distinguished professorships. They are:

* James S. Marron, Amos Hawley distinguished professor of statistics;

* George Rabinowitz, Burton Craige distinguished professor of political science; and

* Joseph L. Templeton, Francis Preston Venable distinguished professor of chemistry.

Marron
Marron teaches a full range of statistics courses, from First-Year Seminars through basic and advanced undergraduate courses, graduate classes and advanced research seminars.

He is the associate director of the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI), a new national institute based in Research Triangle Park. (See related story in the July 17 Gazette.)

Marron’s research involves theoretical work in statistical smoothing (improved histo-grams) and functional data analysis (understanding populations of complex objects), with applications in medical analysis, Internet traffic and bioinformatics.

In 1998, Marron was honored with an invitation to submit a paper to the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Theory and Methods, one of numerous periodicals in which he has been published through his career.

Marron earned his bachelor’s of science degree at University of California at Davis and his doctorate at UCLA.
As a personal insight, the faculty advisor of UNC Badminton Club offers a favorite quote from John Tukey, a renown statistician perhaps best known for coining the modern terms “software” and “bit”: “The joy of being a statistician is that you can play in everyone’s backyard.”

The professorship was effective July 1.

The Amos Hawley Distinguished Professorship is one of the Margaret and Paul A. Johnston Professorships, which were established in 1987 by a bequest in Paul A. Johnston’s will for more than $10 million — the second largest bequest received by the University. Johnston specified that the retired faculty members for whom professorships are named must be living when the professorships are created. Amos H. Hawley, a population specialist, was a University of Michigan faculty member until 1961. He joined the Carolina faculty in 1966 and became a Kenan professor four years later. He retired in 1976.

Rabinowitz
Rabinowitz studies the role of issues in elections in the United States and in other advanced industrial democracies.

In addition to the introductory American government course, he teaches an advanced undergraduate course on American national elections, a graduate seminar on electoral politics and a freshman seminar on movies and politics.

He is currently chair of the Elections, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior Section of the American Political Science Association.
Rabinowitz’ most significant publications include A Directional Theory of Issue Voting and Solving the Nonconvergence Paradox: Valence, Position, and Direction in Democratic Politics, both of which were co-authored with Stuart Elaine Macdonald; and Issues and Party Support in Multiparty Systems, which was co-authored with Macdonald and Ola Listhaug and won the Heinz Eulau Prize for the best paper published in the American Political Science Review in 1991.

New Players in an Old Game, also written with Macdonald and Listhaug, received the 1989 Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Prize for best paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association in 1988.
Rabinowitz earned a master’s degree in mathematics and a doctoral degree in political science at the University of Michigan — which may have surprised at least one person since, according to Rabinowitz, “I was such a poor student in high school that the high school guidance counselor said I would never get into college and, if I did, I should not go.”

The professorship was effective July 1.

The Burton Craige Professorships in Jurisprudence were established in 1941 by the late Burton Craige of Salisbury and Winston-Salem. An attorney, historian, author and philanthropist, Craige made the gift in memory of his father, Kerr Craige and his grandfather Burton Craige, both Carolina alumni and prominent attorneys and statesmen. Craige established the professorships to encourage “a love of political or legal wisdom.” Craige died in 1945.

Templeton
A faculty member since 1976, Templeton teaches graduate-level inorganic chemistry courses on mechanistic chemistry and organometallic spectroscopy and reaction patterns, as well as undergraduate inorganic chemistry courses.

Metal-ligand ¹ interactions have been a continuing theme in his research. Recently he successfully attacked recalcitrant C-H bonds with platinum reagents, initiating an effort to convert arenes and alkanes to more tractable chemical reagents. Most of his publications appear in American Chemical Society journals.

Templeton served as chair of the chemistry department from 1990 to 1995 and the following three years as an associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. He describes his time as resident director of the London Honors Semester Abroad program in the spring of 1999 as his most enjoyable special assignment. This past spring he was a fellow in a seminar sponsored by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities.

His honors and awards include a National Science Foundation Creativity Extension Award in 1995 and opportunities for extended research in laboratories in Konstance, Canberra, Oxford and Los Alamos.

Templeton attended Caltech, Iowa State and Imperial College for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral study respectively. He began his education in a one-room schoolhouse with nine grades and 32 students, which he describes as “an ideal educational setting by my standards.” In 1971 he was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship for his four years of participation in soccer as a Caltech undergraduate.

The professorship was effective Jan. 1.

The Francis P. Venable Professorship in Chemistry was established in 1992 as part of a $1.3 million bequest by Venable’s daughter, Frances Venable Gardiner. Venable was the head of the Department of Chemistry from 1880 until 1900 and president of the University from 1900 until 1914. One of Venable’s principles was good teaching and under his direction, the University hired several prominent faculty members. In 1924, a new chemistry building, Venable Hall, was named in his honor. Venable died in 1934.

Lawrence Band named
geography department chair

Lawrence E. Band, Voit Gilmore distinguished professor of geography, has been appointed department chair, effective July 1 through June 30, 2007.

Since joining the faculty four years ago, Band has been involved in the Carolina Environment Program and has been a member of Faculty Council and the Executive Steering Committee.

Band has served on many NASA committees and NSF and EPA panels in areas of geography and earth-systems science, as well as on panels in Canada and Australia. He is deputy editor for Surface Water for Water Resources Research, the premier journal in its field, and chair of the Surface Water Committee for the American Geophysical Union.

His research focuses on the interactions of water, carbon and nutrient cycles within watersheds, with an emphasis on forested and urbanizing areas in watersheds in the Pacific Northwest, central Ontario, northern China, northern Manitoba and North Carolina. Band is part of an interdisciplinary team studying the patterns and processes of urban watersheds in a recently begun long-term project in Baltimore.

Band teaches courses in watershed hydrology, geomorphology, geographic information science and environmental modeling.
Of his many significant publications, “Forest ecosystem processes at the watershed scale: Hydrological and ecological controls of nitrogen export” was published most recently in Hydrological Processes.

Band describes a deciding moment in his career that occurred at the age of 19 between his junior and senior years in college: “After a day of 100-plus degree heat in an unair-conditioned cab driving up and down the avenues of Manhattan, I had a call from one of my professors asking if I would like to be a research assistant for the rest of the summer on the Bay of Fundy coastline in the Canadian Maritimes. I never looked back.” Band moved to the West Coast to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees at UCLA.

In his spare time Band enjoys running, tennis, reading and spending time with his wife and three children.

Brody moves from MIT to join
Office of Human Resources as senior director

Matthew Brody joined the Office of Human Resources July 11 as senior director for Human Resources Planning, Communications and Systems.

Brody comes to Carolina from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he served as a senior project manager and process leader in MIT’s Information Systems Division. Brody previously worked at the University Office of Human Resources as the Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) manager and spent 10 years at Duke University in various positions, including HRIS manager, employment office supervisor, and assistant director of campus police for administration.

Brody’s position is new to the organization. The Office of Human Resources created the division of Human Resources Planning, Communications and Systems as part of a reorganization earlier this year. The responsibilities of this senior director position include the HRIS, employee records, HR communications, and HR strategic planning and budget administration.

“One of the demands of this new senior director position is to manage UNC’s continuing transition from a paper-based personnel process to a centralized, accessible and efficient database management system,” said Laurie Charest, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources.

“Matt brings an expertise in human resources, project management and administration that we expect will provide direct, tangible results in terms of our delivery of HR services to the University community.”

Brody is ready for the challenge. He sees his goal asking “to impact positively how human resources services are delivered to our customers — including campus employees, departmental administrators and prospective job applicants.” He added that he will emphasize the continued rollout of the campus HRIS system, the continued expansion of the HR web site to share information on human resources programs and policies, and the enhancement of long-range planning efforts around issues related to human resources.

“For Carolina to continue to be the world class university that it is, we also need to ensure that we make every effort to be an outstanding employer. I take that responsibility very seriously and know that there are many opportunities for continued improvement. I’m here to work with my colleagues in Human Resources and around campus towards achieving that goal.”
Brody holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems management from the University of Maryland and is completing his master’s degree in management. He also has completed the Executive Leadership Curriculum at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Star Heels

Edward Harris, Med. School Admin
Harris was nominated for his “technical expertise, professional courtesy and commitment to expedient service.”

Kay Hendricks, Contracts & Grants
Hendricks was nominated for her “her exceptional level of customer service. … Her work ethics include eagerness to help customers, courtesy to serve the customer better and a willingness to go beyond what is needed to do the job.”

Marilyn Hill, Radiology
Hill was nominated for “outstanding customer service.”
Iris Hopkins, School of Government
Hopkins “renders the same level of outstanding customer service to her colleagues as well as clients.”

Analia Howard, Academic Affairs Library
Howard “has contributed unbounded energy and enthusiasm for all tasks assigned to her and routinely comes up with more efficient and effective ways to do things.”

Doug Hudson, Continuing Medical Education
Hudson was nominated for his work coordinating the N.C. AHEC program, for his work providing computer support and for the “menial tasks in the office [that he performs] that fall outside the realm of his job.”

Linda Hunt, Health Policy and Administration
Hunt “has consistently displayed a warm, caring and professional manner in handling every situation.”

Alicia Isley, Psychiatry
Isley “single-handedly turned a disastrous Human Resources operation into one that is well-organized, well-informed and customer service oriented.”

Debbie Johnson, Family Medicine
Johnson was nominated for her “contribution of meritorious service” to the department while taking on extra responsibilities.

Virginia Johnson, Program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Johnson was nominated “for her unselfish dedication to her job and to [the] staff with whom she works.”

Carrie Johnston, Health Policy and Administration
Johnston “is a pleasure to work with. She is always so upbeat and cheerful.”

Kathy Justice, Psychiatry
Justice “is a constant, steadfast force who is quietly driven to excellence. She is, in many ways, the greatest unsung hero in Psychiatry.”

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. The deadline to submit nominations for Star Heel awards was June 1.

University Gazette