Perry recognized as Cornwell Unsung Hero
Nominations for Massey Awards due by Feb. 2
New faculty mentoring award nominations due
Hommersand receives lifetime achievement award
UNC faculty recently recognized
Interim EO/ADA officer appointed
Campus Awards
Harry A. Guess dies after battle with cancer
Hitt, HSL librarian emeritus, dies at 84

Perry recognized as Cornwell Unsung Hero

Catherine Perry, right, a University employee for 29 years, receives the Robert R. Cornwell Unsung Hero Award from Lynn Williford, director of institutional research, during a December ceremony.

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment recently presented the 10th annual Robert R. Cornwell Unsung Hero Award to Catherine Perry.

She was honored during a ceremony last month.

The nomination submission noted Perry’s contributions to UNC.

Perry has been a University employee for 29 years, the last 27 in the Department of Computer Science.

During this time, she has amassed a phenomenal depth and breadth of knowledge not only of the mechanics of accounting, but of what works and what doesn’t in the University system. Growing with the department, she has consistently worked behind the scenes to keep us out of trouble and things running smoothly.

Within the University community this function goes essentially unnoticed unless something goes wrong with the money.

It is in fact a major credit to Catherine that she has spent these many years out of the limelight, the nomination states. All this is accomplished by meticulously keeping track of millions of dollars for multiple Principal Investigators and heading off blunders before they occur. This is no small task.

Catherine is the backbone of the accounting operation in the department, the nomination says.

When hired in 1978, she handled 23 financial accounts with a budget less than $2 million yearly and supported the efforts of 11 faculty.

Now the departmental budget has grown to over $8.4 million expended yearly in external funding alone with an overall expenditure in excess of $12.8 million yearly on all accounts.

Currently, there are 78 financial accounts and numerous cost centers to oversee.

The accounting operation in Computer Science is accomplished by Catherine and two accounting technicians.

Through her significant service to the Department and University, she has supported four Chairmen, three different Associate Chairmen for Administration and Finance, and five Departments Managers.

In additional our department has grown tremendously during this time to a current count of 51 faculty (includes 17 adjunct faculty), six Post-docs, and 40 staff (research/technical and administrative) and close to 200 graduate students.

This group of individuals constantly ask Catherine and her staff to provide services to them. Catherine always does so with a smile, laugh and general good cheer.

Everyone loves working with Catherine, the nomination states.

Cornwell served the University for more than 20 years as associate university registrar and as research associate in the Office of Institutional Research. On April 29, 1994, he died unexpectedly in active service of the University.

The Robert R. Cornwell Unsung Hero Award was established to honor him and to recognize the long-term contributions he made to Carolina.

Nominations for Massey Awards due by Feb. 2

Nominations are due no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 2 for this year’s C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards. Given for “unusual, meritorious or superior contribution made by an employee, past or present,” these awards may be conferred by the chancellor upon “any living full-time or part-time employee, whether faculty or staff.” In 2004, Chancellor James Moeser increased the award from $5,000 to $6,000 and the number of annual recipients from four to six.

Nominations may be submitted by completing an online nomination form at www.unc.edu/masseyawards/nominate.

Nomination letters may also be sent to: Carolyn Atkins, C. Knox Massey Awards Committee, CB# 6100, 208 West Franklin Street. Nominations received after 5 p.m. on Feb. 2 will be considered in 2007. Because of the signature requirement, nominations and seconds made by letter will not be accepted by fax or e-mail. Nominations made online will require a valid Onyen ID and password.

Each nomination should include the name of the proposed recipient, indicate whether the nominee is a present or past University employee (if past, include the dates when the nominee was employed), describe briefly the service rendered by the nominee, explain why this service is thought to be a contribution sufficiently “unusual, meritorious or superior” to deserve an award, and be signed by the nominator or anyone seconding the nomination.

Information about the Massey Awards nomination process, guidelines and a list of the former recipients is available online at www.unc.edu/masseyawards, by calling Atkins at 962-1536, or by e-mail at carolyn_atkins@unc.edu. Winners will be announced in April.

New faculty mentoring award nominations due

The Carolina Women’s Leadership Council has provided funding for annual faculty mentoring awards at the University.

The Women’s Leadership Council Mentoring Awards recognize outstanding faculty members who go the extra mile to guide, mentor and lead students and/or junior faculty as they make important career decisions, embark on innovative research challenges, and enrich their lives through public service, teaching and meaningful educational opportunities. Each recipient will receive $5,000.

All tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible for this award, as are fixed-term faculty who have taught at UNC for at least three years. Nominations may be submitted by current and former faculty, staff and students. Nomination forms can be downloaded at www.unc.edu/provost and must be submitted in writing by Jan. 23, to the Office of the Provost, CB# 3000.

For more information, call Carol Tresolini at 962-3907 or e-mail Carol_Tresolini@unc.edu.

Hommersand receives lifetime achievement award

Hommersand

Max Hommersand, a biology professor who joined the University more than 46 years ago, recently received the 2005 Award of Excellence from the Phycological Society of America (PSA). Hommersand is professor emeritus in the biology department.

Phycology is the study of algae and the society is the largest publisher of papers on algae in the world.

The award was presented at the international meeting in Durban, South Africa, and recognizes phycologists who have demonstrated sustained scholarly contributions in and impact on the field of phycology over their careers. Honorees have also provided service to the PSA and other phycological societies.

“A committee from the society looks over the work of different researchers,” Hommersand explained. “They are looking back over the impact of your work over a lifetime.”

Hommersand’s area of research is the morphology, systematics and biography of the marine algae (seaweeds), with emphasis on the red algae. He has a collection of over 30,000 specimens of marine algae for use in developmental studies.

“It was a surprise,” Hommersand said of the honor. “I was very pleased to be recognized and placed in the same group as some of my colleagues who have received the award.”

Hommersand came to Carolina in 1959 and stayed here first an instructor before becoming a professor. He retired in January 1998, but still comes to the office seven days a week, he said.

“I have filing cabinets full of unpublished data that keeps me motivated,” he said. “There is so much that has been done by me and my students that is just getting dust. I want to get the unpublished information, from my file cabinets and my head, out. I have the opportunity now that I am retired into this effort.”

His fascination with algae and his distinguished career began more than 60 years ago.

“I started with the Natural History Museum in San Diego,” Hommersand said. “This was during World War II, and I took a field trip from the museum. I was 13 at the time. We arranged to go out to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and we met with researchers. I actually made a collection that I still have. From the time I was 13, I was collecting.”

He first researched the organisms while an undergraduate student at the University of California at Berkeley in 1948.

Today, he sees the field continuing to evolve.

“A lot of people around the world now are using molecular techniques to look at all algae,” Hommersand said. “There is already a great expansion in the use of molecular tools to study the systematics of algae. More people are collecting with scuba and submersibles in deeper water around the world. A lot of the picture of the classification and distribution of marine algae are starting to come from the newer collections that are being made this way.”

Always a researcher, Hommersand has an idea about where phycology should go in the near future.

“I think someone should do follow up research to expeditions from the early 1800s that went to the remote places of the world,” he said. “Those expeditions were to collect everything under the sun, by the French, British and Germans. They hit all of these little islands in the Southern Hemisphere. Since then, no one has sent a ship around the world to look at those remote areas. It is conceivable to go back and re-survey the areas that were done in the 19th century and look at them from a modern perspective. Much could be learned by doing that.”

UNC faculty recently recognized

Several University faculty members were awarded distinguished prizes late last year. These honorees are listed below.  

2006 Junior Faculty Development Award Recipients        

IBM Fund

  James E. Bear, Lineberger Cancer Center

  Misha Becker, Linguistics

  Michele Tracy Berge, Women’s Studies

  John Bruno, Marine Sciences

  Susan Brunssen, Nursing

  Patricia P. Chang, Medicine (Div. of Cardiology)

  Mauricio G. Cohen, Medicine (Div. of Cardiology)

  Erik Engstrom, Political Science

  Sylvia A. Frazier-Bowers, Orthodontics

  Caterina M. Gallippi, Biomedical Engineering

  Shawn M. Gomez, Biomedical Engineering

  Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Social Work

  Mayetri Gupta, Biostatistics

  Li-ling Hsiao, Asian Studies

  Xuemei Huang, Neurology

  Deborah J. Jones, Psychology

  Diane Kelly, Information and Library Science

  Steve Knotek, Education

  Andrew L. Lee, Pharmacy (Div. of Med. Chem/Nat. Products)

  Jessica Y. Lee, Pediatric Dentistry

  Moe R. Lim, Orthopaedics

  Rihe Liu, Pharmacy (Div. of Med. Chem/Nat. Products)

  Yufeng Liu, Statistics & Operations Research

  Federico Luisetti, Romance Languages  

R.J. Reynolds Fund  

  Suzanne Maman, Health Behavior & Health Education

  Sameer Mathur, Orthopaedics

  Michael Oskin, Geological Sciences

  Maria Papadopouli, Computer Science

  Benjamin D. Philpot, Cell and Molecular Physiology

  Michael F. Piehler, Inst of Marine Sciences

  Jeffrey Pomerantz, Information and Library Science

  Craig H. Selzman, Surgery (Div. of Cardiothoracic Surgery)

  Janas Sinclair, Journalism and Mass Communication

  Jennifer S. Smith, Epidemiology

  Donna Surge, Geological Sciences

  Nobuyuki Takahashi, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

  Herbert C. Whinna, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

  Donglin Zeng, Biostatistics

  Yanping Zhang, Radiation Oncology

Interim EO/ADA officer appointed

Chancellor James Moeser recently announced that HIPAA Privacy Officer Glenn George will serve as interim Equal Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Officer for the University.

As Robert Cannon is retiring, a search committee continues to evaluate candidates.

The officer is responsible for developing and administering the University’s Equal Opportunity Plan, and works closely with the Facilities Division on matters of accessibility and ADA compliance for buildings.

George, of the School of Law, will perform the duties of EO/ADA Officer until a successor takes charge.

Blatecky

Alan Blatecky

Deputy director of the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), Blatecky was honored at a Dec. 12 luncheon with a plaque and monetary award as the 2005 RENCI Employee of the Year.

Daniel Reed, Chancellor’s Eminent Professor and director of RENCI, nominated Blatecky for this annual award for his passion and extraordinary contributions to the institute.

Harry A. Guess dies after battle with cancer

Guess

Harry A. Guess, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health and of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, died Jan. 1 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 65.

Two scholarships have been established at the School of Public Health in his memory. One, created by Merck Research Laboratories, is the Harry A. Guess – Merck Scholarship in Pharmacoepidemiology. The other, the Harry Guess Scholarship in Epidemiology, was established by his family and friends.

Guess, who received his medical degree from the University of Miami and his doctorate in mathematics from Stanford University, directed the UNC-GlaxoSmithKline Center of Excellence in Pharmacoepidemiology and Public Health.

Born Dec. 24, 1940 in New York City, Guess was the son of the late Harry A. Guess and Vista Brabham Guess. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology on a Navy ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1964 with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He served in the U.S. Navy for five years, before earning doctorate and medical degrees.

Guess is survived by his wife of 41 years, Geraldine Guess, two daughters and a grandchild.

Hitt, HSL librarian emeritus, dies at 84

Hitt

Sam W. Hitt,  Health Sciences Library librarian emeritus died at home on Dec. 11. He was 84. Hitt served the health sciences community as executive director at Houston Academy of Medicine – Texas Medical Center Library from 1972 to 1976, and director of libraries, University of Connecticut Health Center from 1965 to 1971. He came to Chapel Hill as library director in 1976 and retired in 1986. In each of these positions he led a major expansion of the library’s building, collections, and services.

He served on the Medical Library Association’s Board of Directors from 1970 to 1976, and as MLA President from 1974 to 1975. He was an MLA fellow, and received MLA’s highest award for outstanding contributions to health sciences librarianship, the Marcia Noyes Award, in 1982.