The McKnight Land-Grant Professors for 2005-07 were recognized by the Board of Regents March 11. Left to right: T. Andrew Taton, Bryan Shuman, Randall Singer, Stuart McLean, Eric Van Wyk, President Bruininks, Ezra Miller, Dan Kaufman, Michelle Mason, Graduate School interim dean Victor Bloomfield, George Weiblen, and regents chair David Metzen. Not pictured: Reuben Harris and Alex Kamenev. For more information, see information on the Graduate School Web site.
Faculty and staff: March 2005
By Gayla Marty
From Brief, March 30, 2005
Selected items have appeared in Brief as indicated. HONORS AND AWARDS Donald Baker, professor emeritus of soil, water, and climate, Twin Cities, received the University's Outstanding Achievement Award March 4 for his distinguished career in teaching, research, and service. Baker made major contributions to the study of climatology: his measurement and analysis of wind conditions in Minnesota helped to lay the groundwork for the state's leadership in wind energy production. For more information, see the news release.
The 2005 winners of University awards for outstanding teaching were announced this month:
- Recipients of the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education are Michael Dennis Browne, English, Twin Cities; Amy Lee, composition, General College, Twin Cities; Kenneth Leopold, chemistry, Twin Cities; Gail Peterson, psychology, Twin Cities; Jon Pierce, management studies, Duluth; and Michael White, animal science, Twin Cities.
- Recipients of the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education, all at the Twin Cities campus, are Ragui Assaad, public affairs; Christopher Cramer, chemistry; Timothy Ebner, neuroscience; Alex Lubet, music; Carl Osborne, veterinary clinical sciences; Mary Margaret Rowan, nursing; Raj Suryanarayanan, pharmaceutics; and Gregory Vercellotti, hematology, oncology, and transplantation.
- Both groups will become members of the University's Academy of Distinguished Teachers (ADT). They will be honored in a ceremony April 25 at the McNamara Alumni Center following a one-day conference, Pedagogical Approaches for Engaging Students, which is free and open to the public. For more information and list of past recipients, see the ADT Web site. (Brief, March 9.)
Distinguished McKnight University Professors are David Andow, entomology; Nicki Crick, child development; Jeffrey Roberts, chemistry; Shashi Shekhar, computer science and engineering; and Kathryn Sikkink, political science. The award recognizes mid-career faculty members with a five-year grant. They will be honored by the Board of Regents in May. For more information, see profiles on the Graduate School Web site. (Brief, March 23.)
The University of Minnesota, Morris, Alumni Association Outstanding Teaching Award recipient is Pareena Lawrence, economics. She will be honored at the recognition dinner for faculty and staff April 28 and will be the speaker at the student honors and awards ceremony May 13. For more information, see her faculty profile. (Brief, March 9.)
The Morris campus Distinguished Research Award recipient is Seung-ho Joo, political science, whose research interests include Russian foreign and security policy, Russo-Korean relations, and Korean foreign relations. The award recognizes excellence in Morris faculty research and is awarded by the faculty development committee. For more information, see the department Web site. (Brief, March 16.) Marjorie Savage, director of the Twin Cities campus Parent Program, will be awarded the Susan Brown Award for Outstanding Contributions to Parent Services for her work in the field and advancement of the profession nationally. She will be honored at the conference of Administrators Promoting Parent Involvement in Boston March 30. For more information about Twin Cities campus parent services, see the Parent Program Web site.
Kamil Ugurbil, director of the U's Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, was awarded an honorary doctorate at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, March 24, for his groundbreaking research in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy studies in cerebral function and metabolism. For more information about the center, see the CMRR Web site.
Jay Cohn, M.D., professor of medicine in the Medical School, Twin Cities, was awarded a Distinguished Scientist Award for clinical science by the American College of Cardiology at its 54th annual scientific session March 7. Cohn's contributions to clinical cardiology changed how hypertension and heart failure are managed, and he is internationally recognized for his leading role in clinical trials to document intervention results. For more information, see the news release.
Rajiv Vaidyanathan, associate professor of marketing at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics, University of Minnesota, Duluth, received a 2005 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award from the Marketing Management Association. For more information, see the news release.
Former
University president and professor emeritus Nils
Hasselmo (left) will be honored when the Basic Sciences
and Biomedical Engineering Building will become Hasselmo Hall. A
formal dedication is planned for May 6. For more information, see
the
news release. (Brief, March 9.) U
APPOINTMENTS 
The next dean of
the Graduate School and vice provost will be Gail
Dubrow (right), currently associate dean for academic
programs at the University of Washington graduate school. Dubrow is
also a professor of architecture, landscape architecture, urban
design, and planning, with adjunct appointments in history and
women's studies. She will join the University this summer. In her
new role, Dubrow will lead in advancing interdisciplinary teaching
and research across the U campuses. Victor Bloomfield, professor,
biochemistry, microbiology, and biophysics, has served as interim
dean for two-and-a-half years. For more information, see the
news release. (Brief, March 16.) Jerry
Rinehart will become vice provost for student affairs and
Arlene Carney will become vice provost for faculty
and academic affairs, senior vice president E. Thomas Sullivan
announced March 25. Both promotions will be effective July 1.
Rinehart has served as associate vice provost for student affairs
since August 2003, leading 14 student affairs units on the Twin
Cities campus. Carney has been associate dean for academic programs
in the College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities, since 2002 and chairs
the Council of Undergraduate Deans. As vice provost, she will
assist the faculty at all stages of their careers, with primary
responsibility for faculty promotion and tenure review, faculty
development and recognition processes, and learning assessment. For
more information, see the vice president and provost's
Web site.
Sage and John Cowles will hold the third Louis W. Hill, Jr. Fellowship in Philanthrophy at the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs. The one-year fellowship provides support for study of important issues in philanthropy within the institute's Center for Leadership of Philanthropy, Nonprofits, and the Public Sector. A public symposium to present findings is held at the end of the year. Sage and John Cowles have been leading Minnesota philanthropists in the arts, media, and civic affairs. The fellowship is designed to explore and understand trends in philanthropy, respecting the vision and personal philosophies that drive philanthropists. For more information, see the news release.
Advisory committee members for the University's Office for Service and Continuous Improvement (OSCI), established in 2004, are John Anderson, Carlson School of Management (chair); John Bryson, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs; James Buckman, Juran Center for Leadership in Quality; Carol Carrier, vice president for human resources; Ivy Chang, founder, PR International, and former communication specialist, St. Paul Public Schools; Charles Denny, retired former CEO and chair of the board, ADC Corp.; Robert Erickson, former member of the board of trustees, MnSCU, and retired senior vice president for finance, Starkey Labs; Wayne Fortun, CEO, Hutchinson Technology; Sandra Harris, senior director for global diversity, Thomson Legal & Regulatory; Charles Muscoplat, vice president and dean, College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences; Kathleen O'Brien, vice president for university services; and Jean O'Connell, director of Six Sigma operations, 3M. For more information, see the news release.
LeeAnn Melin, former director of Orientation and First-Year Programs (OFYP), Twin Cities, became associate director for student engagement in the Office of Student Affairs March 15. She will work on an undergraduate initiative for student engagement designed to enhance the undergraduate experience and to help prepare educated and engaged citizens. For more information on the initiative, contact her at melin002@umn.edu. Melin directed OFYP since 1993; a national search is underway with the goal of having a new director in place for orientation this summer.
OTHER APPOINTMENTS
U News Service director Dan Wolter has been appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to the Metropolitan Council for District 15, which represents Burnsville, Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul, and much of Eagan. Wolter formerly served in the Pawlenty administration and joined the University last month.
COLLEGE NEWS
The College of Education and Human Development gave the Impact Award for Distinguished Teaching to three Minnesota teachers March 24: Lori DuPont, Minneapolis Public Schools; Steve Olsen, Rosemount High School; and Marcia Applen, St. Peter. The college's Council on Teacher Education created the award to honor educators who have exerted a profound influence on the lives of students through their teaching. Students and parents must be involved in the nomination process. Recipients need not be University of Minnesota graduates. For more information, see the news release.
IN MEMORIAM Paul Ellis, professor of physics, Twin Cities, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home February 20. He was 63. Ellis, born and educated in the United Kingdom, joined the University of Minnesota in 1973 and became a full professor in 1982. He published widely, was elected a fellow of the American Physics Society in 1998, and received the Institute of Technology's Outstanding Teacher Award for 1980-81. Memorial services were held February 26. For more information, see the news release.