Dean
Risa Palm appointed
to post at LSU
Risa
Palm, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, will become
the next executive vice chancellor and provost at Louisiana
State University, effective
July 1.
"In
Risa Palm, LSU will be adding a highly experienced administrator
with superb leadership skills to its administrative team," said
Chancellor James Moeser. "On her watch, the College of Arts & Sciences
has taken several major steps forward in improving the breadth,
scope and quality of undergraduate education that we offer
our students at Carolina.
"The
entire University has benefited from those impressive results
as well as from the college's role in supporting campuswide
initiatives in fields like genomics. We wish Risa well in her
new career pursuits."
Before
coming to Carolina in 1997, Palm served as dean of the College
of Arts & Sciences and professor of geography at the University
of Oregon. Prior to that, she held several administrative positions
at the University of Colorado at Boulder, including associate
vice chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate School,
associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and associate
dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. She also spent
five years on the faculty of the geography department at the
University of California, Berkeley.
Robert
Shelton, executive vice chancellor and provost, called Palm's
new post at LSU an "exciting career move."
"LSU
will be gaining an excellent leader and administrator who is
a passionate advocate on behalf of her faculty, staff and students," Shelton
said in an April 16 memo announcing the news to Chancellor's
Cabinet and Deans' Council. "She has been a champion for the
unique blend of excellence in undergraduate education and world-class
research that sets the college apart from its peers. She also
established a strong organization in the college that enabled
departments and centers to concentrate on their scholarship
and flourish."
In
a note to faculty and staff in the College of Arts & Sciences,
Palm called her tenure at Carolina "the highlight of my career,
thanks to the excellence and dedication of our faculty and
staff in the College, as well as the support of the University
administration and outstanding colleagues like you across the
Carolina campus."
"It
has been a distinct privilege to work with all of you to help
fulfill the educational mission of this extraordinary University," she
said. "I have learned a great deal from my time at Carolina
and I will bring many fond memories with me to Baton Rouge."
Shelton
said he plans to appoint a search committee in the near future
to begin identifying a new dean.
Miller
tapped for
teaching excellence award
Judy
Miller, associate professor of nursing, has been selected for
a UNC Board of Governors University-wide Award for Teaching
Excellence.
Established
by the Board of Governors in April 1994 to underscore the importance
of teaching and to reward good teaching across the UNC system,
the awards are given annually to a tenured faculty member from
each UNC campus.
During
a recognition luncheon to be held in conjunction with the board's
May meeting, Miller will receive a commemorative bronze medallion
and a $7,500 cash prize. The awards will be presented by UNC
President Molly Corbett Broad and Board of Governors Chairman
J. Bradley Wilson.
Miller,
who has been a member of Carolina's faculty since 1991, earned
her B.S.N. degree at Adelphi University, her M.S.N. degree
at Duke University and her Ph.D. at Oregon Health & Science
University.
She
spearheaded the development of Carolina's successful Second
Degree B.S.N. Option, a program that enables students who already
have baccalaureate degrees in other disciplines to obtain nursing
degrees in just 14 months.
Linda
Cronenwett, dean of the School of Nursing, said of Miller: "Truly,
I have not known other faculty to have such a comprehensive
knowledge of how to lead others to learn. Dr. Miller devoted
herself to being sure that we could produce excellent new nurses
in the school's accelerated undergraduate nursing program,
leading the adaptation of our 24-month curriculum to a 14-month
program in ways that suited the second-degree students' adult
learning styles and needs. One hundred percent of the pilot
class graduated last August, and I have never experienced the
gratitude and admiration that those first students felt for
Dr. Miller. She is a role model of integrity, professionalism,
and high standards."
Previously
at Carolina, Miller has been recognized with the Undergraduate
Nursing Faculty Award, the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate
Teaching, induction into the Academy of Distinguished Teaching
Scholars, and the Outstanding Faculty Award.
The
16 recipients, representing an array of academic disciplines,
were nominated by special committees on their home campuses
and selected by the Board of Governors Committee on Teaching
Awards, chaired by Ray S. Farris of Charlotte.
Winners
must have taught at their present institutions at least seven
years. No one may receive the award more than once.
Bell
Award rings for Friday,
'Chapel Hill's First Lady'
Ida
Howell Friday, a woman who embodies the grace and charm of
the Old South but who also has been described as a brilliant
organizer and champion of women and women's causes, is the
recipient of this year's Cornelia Phillips Spencer
Bell Award.
Chancellor
James Moeser made the presentation to Friday April 17 in a
ceremony at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center.
The
Bell award, now in its 10th year, recognizes a woman who has
made outstanding contributions to the University. It is named
for Cornelia Phillips Spencer, who campaigned to re-open the
University after the Civil War.
Friday's
name is well known even by newcomers to the University. William
Friday, her husband of more than 50 years, is president emeritus
of the University of North Carolina and University distinguished
professor. And the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing
Education that bears both their names is a tribute to their
enduring influence and devotion to the state and to Carolina.
Many
leaders in the University and Chapel Hill community enthusiastically
nominated Friday for the Bell award.
She
was cited as a longtime champion of the School of Public Health
and as a strong advocate in the state for public health and
education issues. In that capacity she impressed colleagues
with her "rare blend of insightful acumen and gracious warmth" and
her "unshakable integrity."
The
mother of three professional, successful daughters, Friday
was lauded for her support of Chapel Hill's Women's Center, "its
success for which she is almost entirely responsible." She
was described as "Chapel Hill's First Lady," who through the
years graciously entertained a stream of distinguished guests
for the University, the town and the state.
Said
one nominator of Friday's devotion to her projects: "What's
so inspiring about all this work is the motivation. It is pure,
never seeking glory. Not even expecting to be thanked. ...
Ida's reward when she completes a project is seeing that things
are a bit better than when she started."
One
nominator wrote of Friday's skills: "Ida Friday is a principled,
skilled and energetic leader; she is a careful and broadminded
thinker."
A
native of Lumberton, Friday received her bachelor's degree
in home economics from Meredith College and her master's of
public health from Carolina. She worked for what was then Carolina
Power and Light Co. as a home economist from 1948-52 and was
an instructor and workshop director for the School of Public
Health during that same time.
Among
numerous civic groups with which she has worked, Friday has
served as president of the Chapel Hill Preservation Society
and on the boards of the North Carolina Symphony Society, the
YM-YWCA of Chapel Hill, Community Church and the Newcomers
Club.
Her
commitment to the University's mission and to its community
are evident in many of the honors she has received, including
the North Carolina Distinguished Service Award for Women, the
North Carolina Public Service Award, and with her husband,
the University's Distinguished Service Medal, the North Caroliniana
Society Award and 1981 North Carolina Citizen of the Year.
Cornelia
Phillips Spencer, who inspired the Bell award, is best known
for spearheading the effort to reopen the University following
Reconstruction. On March 20, 1875, after hearing that her persistence
had paid off and that the University would reopen, she climbed
to the top of South Building and rang its bell to herald the
good news. That bit of lore led to the naming of the award
in her name, with the addition of "Bell."
Spencer
wrote for local magazines and newspapers and through her writing
waged an active campaign for education. She also played a significant
role in the founding of what is now the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro.
The
University recognized her contributions by awarding her an
honorary doctor of laws degree in 1895, the first one given
to a woman. The first women's residence hall, Spencer Hall,
is named in her honor.
Diane
Kjervik, director of the Carolina Women's Center, chaired the
Bell Award Selection Committee.
Carolina Center for Public Service announces
award winners on April 17
Special
to the "Gazette"
By
Molly Cottrell, School of Journalism
and
Mass Communcation
The
Carolina Center for Public Service announced the 2003 award
winners of three public service awards and honored the recipients
at a ceremony and luncheon on April 17.
Adam
Goldstein, associate professor in Carolina's Department of
Family Medicine, was chosen to receive the first annual Ned
Brooks Award for Public Service issued by the center.
More public service award winners
Also
April 17, the Carolina Center for Public Service
announced the recipients
of:
The
Office of the Provost Public Service Award, which
went to the Department of Biology's Traveling Science
and Technology Laboratory Program, DESTINY; the Carolina
Environmental Program for its Field Site Network;
Mobile SHAC for the Hubbard Project; and the Episcopal
Campus Ministry for its Ashe County Project.
The
Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award, which went
to student winners Kathleen Wirth and Karine Dube
and faculty/staff winners Catherine Ingram Fogel,
professor in the School of Nursing, and Pamela York
Frasier, research assistant professor in the Department
of Family Medicine.
"A
selection committee comprised of students, faculty,
staff, and community representatives considered over
50 nominations for this year's public service awards," said
Lynn Blanchard, director of the Carolina Center for
Public Service. "The nomination pool and resulting
winners exemplify the true engagement of this campus
with communities throughout the state of North Carolina.
"The
culture of service is alive and thriving at Carolina,
and the Carolina Center for Public Service stands
ready to promote and support the efforts of students,
faculty and staff like those honored here as they
work to make a difference."
|
The
award honors the contributions of Ned Brooks, who has served
the University since 1972. The award recognizes a Carolina
faculty or staff member who has built a sustained record of
service to the community through their own efforts and through
their involvement and guidance of others.
"Adam
Goldstein is a perfect choice for this prestigious honor," said
Lynn Blanchard, director of the Carolina Center for Public
Service. "Through his work with SHAC, the Eugene Mayer Society
and `Insight Out', he models the kind of service Ned Brooks
is famous for -- he brings enthusiasm and unwavering commitment
to promoting how this University can respond to community issues,
and instills this in the students he comes in contact with."
Goldstein
joined the Department of Family Medicine as a fellow in 1993
and became the faculty adviser to the Student Health Action
Committee (SHAC). SHAC, the oldest student- run health clinic
in the nation, operates a weekly clinic for underserved patients
in the community. For 10 years Goldstein has given the organization
needed faculty leadership stability. During his tenure, SHAC
has expanded its services and developed into an interdisciplinary
Health Affairs student organization.
As
faculty adviser to the medical school's Eugene S. Mayer Community
Service Honor Society, Goldstein has championed the inclusion
of community-based physicians in recognition of their service
as valuable role models for students as well as students who
are inducted for their service while in medical school. This
year alone, 44 North Carolina physicians and 38 medical students
were inducted into the society.
Since
1996, Goldstein has been faculty adviser for the student journal "Insight
Out," a publication in which Carolina Health Affairs students
reflect on their service experiences through articles, photography
and poetry.
Not
only do Goldstein's efforts reach out to the local community,
but his vision of service
stretches across the state as well. In 1995 Goldstein, a dedicated
supporter of anti-smoking campaigns, created an outreach program
to support and aid those who have been significantly affected
by tobacco. The program, Survivors and Victims of Tobacco Empowerment
(SAVE) obtained private
funding and has served as a model for other national programs.
VIRTUAL
RECIPIENT Adam Goldstein,
shown on the video monitors, is taping his acceptance
speech of the Ned Brooks Award because he was unable
to attend the presentation luncheon on April 17.
Andy Brawn, ATN multimedia consultant, checks the
taping.
|
Chemist finds formula for
national award
Professor
of chemistry Maurice S. Brookhart was honored March 25 by the
world's largest scientific society for developing novel approaches
to making new types of polymers, or plastics. He received the
2003 Award in Polymer Chemistry from the American Chemical
Society at its national meeting in New Orleans.
The
plastics of everyday life -- polystyrene cups, polypropylene
sport clothing, polyethylene bottles -- begin as a collection
of small, identical units of a molecule. Then hundreds of those
units, or monomers, are strung together into polymers "like
pearls on a necklace," as Brookhart explained. How that happens
is where he comes in.
"One
way I like to describe what I do is to study how a single metal
atom such as nickel or palladium can stitch together molecules
in various ways to form chains," Brookhart said.
Without
metal atoms, polymers would not form. The trick is to control
the metal atoms' chemical environment, and thus their reactivity,
to tailor-make the properties of the polymer, he said.
For
example, Brookhart's research team has made new polymers by
constructing metal catalysts -- chemistry's construction workers
-- that insert monomers in the middle of chains rather than
at the end: "Instead of a linear chain, we can get a branched
one," he said. The difference in properties can be remarkable:
the stiff, linear polypropylene of milk jugs versus the pliable,
branched polypropylene of garbage bags, for instance.
His
particular achievement is discovering ways to use unconventional
metals that string monomers together in different ways. "This
gives us a broader range of polymers," he said, adding that
several have been licensed by the chemical company DuPont for
possible commercialization.
Brookhart
described himself growing up as "a chemistry-set kid" who liked
to build rockets. "Those were the days when you could go down
to the drug store and buy everything you need to make rocket
fuel," he remembered.
Brookhart
received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University
in 1964 and his doctorate from the University of California,
Los Angeles, in 1968. He is a member of the ACS divisions of
organic, inorganic and polymer chemistry.
The
ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry is sponsored by ExxonMobil Chemical
Co.
Lensing to lead Office of
Distinguished Scholarships
George
Lensing, the Bowman and Gordon Gray professor of English, has
been appointed director of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships,
effective July 1. He succeeds Robert Greenberg, associate professor
of Slavic linguistics, who is serving the current three-year
term in the post.
Lensing
will be responsible for recruiting and developing student applications
for prestigious national scholarships, including the Rhodes,
Truman and Churchill awards. As acting director of the office
last fall, he worked with numerous outstanding scholarship
candidates. Seven Carolina students have won distinguished
scholarships this year, including Rhodes, Truman, Churchill,
Luce and Goldwater awards.
Lensing
has advised honors students in the English department for more
than 30 years. He also has served on the central selection
committee for the Morehead and Robertson scholarships, the
University's top merit awards. Carolina partners with Duke
University in the Robertson program.
"George
Lensing has a long and outstanding record of teaching, advising
and mentoring undergraduates," said Risa Palm, outgoing dean
of the College of Arts & Sciences, where the office is
based. "By his example, he has shown students how to serve
and lead. He will continue to be instrumental in recognizing
the potential of bright students who may be able to reach new
heights through distinguished scholarships."
Since
1974, Lensing has been a member of the Committee on the Chancellor's
Awards Ceremony for recognizing outstanding undergraduates
in academics, leadership and service. He also has been assistant
dean of honors, secretary of the faculty and chair of the division
of humanities. Since 1979 he has been a faculty sponsor of
the Order of the Golden Fleece, a campus honorary society.
Lensing
has received two University honors for undergraduate teaching
excellence: the Tanner Award (1984) and the Sanders Award (2001).
He also teaches graduate students how to instruct undergraduates.
He has written three books on American poetry, including, most
recently, "Wallace Stevens and the Seasons."
Binotti made dean for
first year programs
Lucia
Binotti, an associate professor and director of undergraduate
studies in the Romance languages department, will serve as
associate dean of first-year seminars and academic experiences
beginning July 1. She succeeds history professor Sarah Shields,
who is serving the current three-year term in the post.
Risa
Palm, outgoing dean of the College of Arts & Sciences,
appointed Binotti, calling her "a dedicated teacher, scholar
and administrator (with) the ideal combination of knowledge,
experience and leadership ability to build on the success of
this vital program."
Binotti
also will develop new initiatives in other areas of the first-year
experience, collaborating with administrators of other programs
that are designed to enhance the intellectual climate of the
University. Those include the offices of undergraduate research
and undergraduate admissions, the James M. Johnston Center
for Undergraduate Excellence and orientation programs.
Last
fall "U.S. News & World Report" ranked Carolina's first-year
programs fourth among public universities nationwide and 10th
among all universities, tied with Harvard. The Carolina program
allows incoming students to study complex issues with senior
faculty in classes of no more than 20 students each.
The
program began in 1998 in response to the report of the Chancellor's
Task Force on Intellectual Climate. It has grown from offering
65 seminars the first year to more than 100 last year, reaching
1,800 students or about half of the incoming class.
Seminars
have been taught by faculty in the arts, humanities, social
sciences, natural and applied sciences, business, journalism
and medicine.
At
Carolina since 1990, Binotti has taught two service learning
courses and organized studies abroad. Recently she was elected
to the Educational Policy Committee. She is writing a multimedia
textbook on the history of the Spanish language.
Hewitt closes book on career
Joe
Hewitt, associate provost for libraries and University librarian,
has announced that he plans to retire June 30, 2004.
Hewitt
took over as associate University librarian in 1975, when the
library collection stood at 2.1 million volumes. Since then,
it has grown to more than 5.3 million volumes, and more than
60 percent of the works in the library's 200-year-old collections
have been added during Hewitt's tenure.
Among
his career highlights, Hewitt has overseen renovations to the
House Undergraduate Library, as well as the large-scale expansion
of the library's electronic information resources. He also
helped spearhead the revival of the North Carolina Literary
Festival.
Star
Heels
The
following employees have received recognition as Star Heels
through the end of April:
Alumni
Records
Tracy
Chrismon
Biology
Denise
Burgner
Paula
Lloyd
Brian
Nalley
Biostatistics
Vera
Bennett
Ricky
Christian
Xiang-Fang
Li
Michele
Ozgen
Sherry
Roberts
Kelly
Tobin
Cell
and Molecular Physiology
Christine
Silva
Adriana
Tavernise
Center
for Alcohol Studies
Catherine
Coleman
Sharon
Owens
Center
for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Nancy
Aycock
Cheryl
Dickerson
Carol
Johnson
Cogeneration
Facility
Robert
Whalin
Computer
Science
Donna
Boggs
Karen
Thigpen
John
Thomas
Energy
Services
Travis
Baston
Epidemiology
Carolyn
Cooke
Linda
Kalka-Juhl
Joanna
Smith
Carmen
Woody
Facilities
Services
Cindy
Shea
Health
Sciences Library
Kevin
Lanning
Susan
Linn
Wallace
McLendon
Pamelia
Roberts
Honors/Johnston
Center
Joan
Gattus
Housekeeping
Services
Christopher
O. Moore
N.C.
Institute for Public Health
Helena
Machaj
School
of Nursing
Julie
Barroso
Dianne
Blake
Sharon
Braxton
Beverly
Johnson
Diane
Kjervik
Richard
Redman
Marcia
VanRiper
Annie
Taft
Brad
Volk
Marty
Wamp
Holli
Wilson
UCIS
Narvis
Green
University
Registrar
Ricky
Moore
Editor's
Note: The Star Heels Award Program is sponsored by TIAA-CREF.
Winners each receive a $20 gift certificate. For more information
on the Star Heels program, contact Employee Services at 962-1483.
Decorations
& Distinctions
Ehringhaus
Residence Hall staff
The
Ehringhaus staff won the national Community of the Month award
from the National Association of College and University Residence
Halls. The award recognizes the efforts of a housing staff
to knit together its residents, help meet residents' needs
and make a residence hall a home away from home.
David
Godschalk
Professor
of city and regional planning, Godschalk will chair a planning
committee to establish the North Carolina Institute of Disaster
Studies. The institute will coordinate disaster mitigation
research, training and public service.
Frederick
Kilgour
Distinguished
research professor in the School of Information and Library
Science, Kilgour was recently presented with the first Ohio
Board of Regents' George V. Voinovich Award for Information
Innovation. The Voinovich Award recognizes an individual who
develops and/or champions solutions to the problem of connecting
people and information both effectively and efficiently.
Joanne
Gard Marshall
Dean
of the School of Information and Library Science, Marshall
has been named president-elect of the Medical Library Association
for 2003-04. Marshall served on the Association's board of
directors from 1994-1997 and was named an MLA fellow in 2002.
Anthony
Oberschall and James Peacock
Professor
emeritus of sociology, Oberschall was named a New Century scholar
and chosen to study strife in Northern Ireland. The awards
were funded by the Fulbright Scholar program. Professor of
anthropology and director of the Center for International Studies,
Peacock also was named a New Century scholar and chosen to
study the vision and practice of seven Rotary Peace Centers
worldwide.
Dave
Shaw
Deputy
editor of "Southern Cultures" based at the Center for the Study
of the American South, Shaw recently won the 2003 Katherine
Anne Porter Prize from the University of North Texas Press.
The award, named after the late Texas short story writer, is
given to a collection of short stories or a novella that is
100 to 200 pages. Winners of each year's prize receive $1,000
and have their manuscripts published by the UNT Press.
Lea
C. Watson
Robert
Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the Department of Psychiatry,
Watson was recently honored by the American Association for
Geriatric Psychiatry with its 2003 Member-in-Training Award.
The award recognizes the best, unpublished original research
primarily performed by a new researcher in geriatric psychiatry.
North
Carolina Botanical Garden
Alan
Weakley, curator of the herbarium, recently accepted The Invasive
Weeds Awareness Coalition Award on behalf of the North Carolina
Botanical Garden at a dinner in the Smithsonian Institution "Castle" in
Washington, D.C. The award, presented as a part of the fourth
annual National Invasive Weeds Awareness Week, recognizes "exceptional
educational efforts and initiative in the battle against invasive
plants in the United States."
Yi
Zhang
Assistant
professor of biochemistry and biophysics, Zhan has been awarded
the American Association of Cancer Research's 2003 Gertrude
B. Elion Cancer Research Award, given to the most meritorious
laboratory, clinical and transnational young research scientist
nation-wide.
Catherine
Zimmer
Statistical
analyst at the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science
and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Sociology,
Zimmer recently was voted president-elect of the North Carolina
Sociological Association at its annual meeting in February.
Campus
Awards
Deb
Aikat, Jun Nakamura, Pamela Conover
Aikat,
associate professor of journalism and mass communications,
Nakamura, research assistant professor of environmental sciences
and engineering, and Conover, professor of political science,
have all been named winners of the Edward Kidder Graham Awards.
