This article was originally published in the April - May 2005 issue of CLASnotes
Around the College"CLAS News and Events
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CLAS Faculty Receive Mentoring Awards
Two CLAS faculty members have each received a UF Doctoral Mentoring Award. Zoology Professor Jane Brockmann and Psychology Professor Greg Neimeyer are two of five university-wide recipients. The award recognizes innovation, effectiveness and excellence in doctoral dissertation advising/mentoring. Each winner receives $3,000, plus an additional $1,000 to support graduate students..
Harrison Receives International Anthropology Award
Faye Harrison, a professor of African American studies and anthropology, has received the 2004 Society for the Anthropology of North America (SANA) Prize for Distinguished Achievement in the Critical Study of North America. The award is given annually in honor of a senior-level anthropologist who has made broad-based contributions to the field.
"She has the rare distinction of being a productive and respected scholar, an award-winning teacher and a beloved mentor, and a skilled leader who never loses sight of engaged activism," says Lee D. Baker, SANA president and Duke University cultural anthropologist. "I think if you look closely at the depth and breadth of her research, selfless service, and gallant leadership, there are very few scholars who can match her inestimable energy and impact on the discipline of anthropology."
Harrison officially will be presented the award at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association in Washington, DC to be held this fall.
New Student Group Promotes Diversity Awareness
A new student organization at UF aims to connect national and cultural organizations on campus and raise cultural awareness. The Cultural House of Representatives (CHR) held its first assembly in February. Twenty-eight organizations attended, ranging from the Jamaican Student Association and the Filipino Student Association to cultural student unions like the Pride Student Union to organizations that provide support for minorities such as Students Taking Action Against Racism.
Miguel Porto, a political science freshman, developed the idea for the CHR and serves as its president. He says there are many benefits to student organizations that want to join, including leadership training, networking, workshops and access to a master database of events on campus to prevent overlapping activities.
The CHR plans to hold another assembly in September. Visit http://grove.ufl.edu/~chr for more information..
CLAS Staff Honored for Excellence and Service
John Mocko, a senior teaching laboratory specialist in the physics department, has received a 2005 UF Davis Productivity Award, which is given to individuals and work units for initiating new projects as well as adapting and implementing previous years' achievements to create added value. Mocko, who received a $1,000 cash award, was recognized for acquiring and installing a student response system to be used in instruction throughout UF.
Cindy Powell, an accountant in the psychology department, has received a university-wide Superior Accomplishment Award. The program recognizes staff and faculty members who have contributed outstanding and meritorious service to the university and have improved the quality of life for students and employees. Powell won in the administrative/supervisory category and received $1,500 and an invitation to the President's Box during an upcoming UF football game.
In April, CLAS honored its employees for their commitment and years of service to the university at a reception in the Keene Faculty Center. CLAS Dean Neil Sullivan offered words of gratitude and encouragement. Recognized employees received a UF pin and certificate, as well as a CLAS pen and keychain. The following 46 staff members were recognized for their years of service to CLAS and UF. 5 years: David Hon, Roger Julian and Tracey Phillips, astronomy; Denise Caswell and Margaret Joyner, botany; Dianne James, Oleg Matveev and Renda Springs, chemistry; Linda Hunter and Addie Pons, communication sciences and disorders; Luz Mieses, dean's office; Kevin Hartl and Mary Ploch, geological sciences; John Vanleer, physics; Elizabeth Holcomb, psychology. 10 years: Joanne Jacobucci and Julie Ann Steffens, chemistry; Cindy Carrion, dean's office; Brian Roberts, mathematics; Suzanne Lawless-Yanchisin, political science; Anne Newman, religion; Terry Lopez, Romance languages and literatures; Paula Ambroso, women's studies; Mike Gunter, zoology. 15 years: Annemarie Sykes, Germanic and Slavic studies; Virginia Dampier, philosophy; Edward Storch, physics; Mircea Garcea and Leonard McDonald, psychology; Karen Pallone, zoology. 20 years: Debra Hunter, astronomy; Marty Swilley, Jewish studies; Sharon Easter, mathematics; Cathy Knudsen, physics; Carlon Elton, Romance languages and literatures; Cathy Moore, zoology. 25 years: L. Beth Douglas, chemistry; Carol Binello, dean's office; Dori Faust and Lawrence Phelps, physics; Henry Coulter, Diana Davis, Peter Eliazar and Kenetha Johnson, zoology. 30 years: Cheryl Phillips, psychology. 35 years: Carol Rozear, statistics.
Department News
Academic Advising Center
The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) has honored Sara Mock with a 2005 NACADA Outstanding New Advisor Award. She will be recognized at the special awards ceremony during the annual NACADA conference in Las Vegas in October. Mock, a pre-law advisor, is one of the 2004 CLAS Advisors of the Year.
AAC advisors Brian Cullaty and Glenn Kepic have received a NACADA Best of Region Conference Presentation award. In March, the pair presented "Parents: Friend or Foe," which addressed the increase they have seen in parental involvement at UF. They will make their presentation again in Las Vegas at the annual conference.African American Studies
Marilyn Thomas-Houston, who is jointly appointed in anthropology, was featured in the Winter 2004/2005 issue of FlaVour, a black Florida life and style magazine, in a five-page feature on her research and new book, Stony the Road to Change: Black Mississippians and the Culture of Social Relations (Cambridge University Press, November 2004).
Anthropology
Susan Gillespie presented a paper on Olmec culture at the Olmec Round Table: Balance and Perspectives conference sponsored by the National Institute of Anthropology and History at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City in March. David C. Grove also was the keynote speaker for the panel on Olmec religion. The Olmecs were an ancient culture of the East Mexico lowlands.
Chemistry
Charles Martin has received the 2005 Florida Award from the American Chemical Society, in honor of his contributions to the advancement of the chemistry profession. Established in 1952, the award is given each year by the vote of the Florida section of the society and honors a chemist in the Southeast. Martin will be recognized at the Florida annual meeting and exposition in Orlando on May 5-7, where a symposium centered around his research interests will be held in his honor.
Criminology, Law and Society
An article by Paul Magnarella, titled "Diasporas and Human Rights," appears in the newly released Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World (2004).
Germanic and Slavic Studies
Nora M. Alter (German) recently presented "Acoustic Dimensions: Sound in Sculpture and Film" at the 2005 annual College Art Association conference in Atlanta.
History
PhD candidate Ben Houston has received a dissertation fellowship from the Louisville Institute funded by the Lilly Endowment. Up to 10 awards of $18,000 each are given to students who are entering their final year of dissertation writing. Houston's research is a study of race relations and civil rights activism in Nashville from 1945-1974. His dissertation chair is Brian Ward.
Sheryl Kroen has received a Frederick Burkhardt Residential Fellowship for Recently Tenured Scholars from the American Council of Learned Societies, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The $75,000 award will allow Kroen to work on her proposed research project, "Capitalism and Democracy: The Lessons of the Marshall Plan," during the 2006-2007 academic year in residence at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, NC. She also received a $30,000 fellowship from the German Marshall Fund to work on the same project in Paris next year.Physics
Lisa Everett, a postdoctoral research associate, has received a 2005 Women in Science Fellowship from L'Oreal USA. She was one of five young women from across the nation selected to receive the $20,000 fellowship and was honored at a special ceremony on April 12 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Everett researches the theories of fermion masses with mentor Pierre Ramond.
Stephen Hagen has been elected to the executive committee of the American Physical Society's Division of Biological Physics. The committee is responsible for overseeing all activities of the division, including giving members a voice within the larger society, organizing the division's section at annual meetings, outreach and nominating members for fellowships and prizes. Hagen was elected as a member-at-large and will serve a three-year term, which began during the division's annual meeting in Los Angeles in late March.
Two undergraduate students, Catherine Yeh and Layla Boosherhri have each received a 2005-2006 Society of Physics Students (SPS) leadership scholarship. Each year, the national organization recognizes physics undergraduates who have achieved high levels of scholarship in both physics and overall studies, exhibited potential for continued scholastic development in physics and actively participated in SPS programs. Boosherhri is the president of UF's SPS chapter, and Yeh is the vice president.
Psychology
Claire St. Peter, a PhD student, has received a 2005 Sidney W. and Janet R. Bijou Fellowship from the Association for Behavior Analysis. The award is given annually to two doctoral students in psychology or education studying child development from a behavior-analytic perspective. St. Peter, who received her BS in psychology from UF in 2001, is working under the supervision of Timothy Vollmer, and her research centers on the development and implementation of interventions for children who exhibit problem behavior or have fallen behind academically.
Romance Languages and Literatures
Álvaro Félix Bolaños (Spanish) recently took part in a symposium titled "Reinventing Hispanism in the Age of Globalization," organized by the Center for the Study of Cultures and the Department of Hispanic Studies at Rice University. He lectured on "Hispanism and its Literary Icon's Exclusions: Moors and Indigenous Peoples in Reading Don Quixote Today."
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Photo:
Jane Dominguez