More than 80 faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences who pulled in almost 100 teaching and research honors in the past year were honored at a recent dean’s reception in Gerlinger Lounge.
UO President Michael Schill joined interim Dean W. Andrew Marcus in congratulating faculty members for the long list of international, national and university awards, saying they demonstrated the exceptional work being done at the UO every day.
“I am in awe of all of your achievements,” the president said. “There’s really nothing more important that we do here or that we can celebrate. The more and more I get to know you, the more and more I understand that the hunger to achieve the sorts of things that you do and that we’re celebrating today is palpable and growing, and I just want to be your instrument to make that happen.”
As in past years, a significant portion of the College of Arts and Sciences faculty received one or more honors this year, an achievement Marcus called stunning. The college is the largest academic unit on campus, responsible for 46 degree programs in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities and granting almost 75 percent of the UO’s doctoral degrees.
“I’m always awestruck,” he said. “The kinds of comments that come from our external reviewers, the level of attainment that our faculty have reached, the respect with which you are held is remarkable. So it does not surprise me when I sit in this room each year and find that 10 percent of our faculty have received, once again, major awards.”
This year’s award recipients:
International research awards
Julie Haack, chemistry and biochemistry — “Best Paper” at the 2015 Sustainability, Ethics and Entrepreneurship Conference
Lamia Karim, anthropology — Faculty fellowship at the Kate Hamburg Center IGK, “Work and Human Lifecourse in Global History,” Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Alaí Reyes-Santos, ethnic studies — The 2015 Guy Alexandre Paper Prize, Latin American Studies Association
Lynn Stephen, anthropology and Latin American studies — 2015 Martin Diskin Memorial Lectureship/Award, Latin American Studies Association/Oxfam America
National research awards
Brandi Baldock, chemistry and biochemistry; Scott Fisher, physics; Dan Gavin, geography; Tory Herman, biology; Santiago Jaramillo, biology; Elsa Johnson, biology; Diana Libuda, biology; Stephanie Majewski, physics; Annie Powell, biology; Jennifer Rice, American English Institute; Jon Runyeon, human physiology; Adam Saunders, biology; and Randy Sullivan, chemistry and biochemistry — Education Fellow in the Life Sciences for 2015-16, National Academies
Patrick Bartlein, geography — 2016 AMQUA Distinguished Career Award, The American Quaternary Association
Shannon Boettcher, Mike Harms and Mike Pluth, chemistry and biochemistry — 2015 Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Shannon Boettcher, chemistry and biochemistry — 2015 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.
Sierra Dawson, human physiology, and Eleanor Vandegrift, biology — Life Sciences Education Mentor 2015-16, National Academies
Matthew Dennis, environmental studies and history — Fellowship,Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture
Judith Eisen, biology — Discovery Award, Medical Research Foundation
Deborah Exton, chemistry and biochemistry — Appointed to Board of Trustees, ACS DivCHED, American Chemistry Society Division of Chemical Education, Exam Institute
Marina Guenza, chemistry and biochemistry — Appointed to executive committee, American Chemistry Society Physical Chemistry Division
Mike Harms, anthropology — 2015 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, Pew Charitable Trust
Gina Herrmann, romance languages — Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities
Vera Keller, Robert D. Clark Honors College — Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowship, American Council of Learned Societies
Alexander Kleshchev, mathematics — Fellow, American Mathematical Society
Graham Kribs, physics — Fellow, American Physical Society
Kenneth Liberman, sociology — Distinguished Book Award, American Sociological Association
George Nazin, chemistry and biochemistry — NSF Career Award, National Science Foundation
Brad Nolen, chemistry and biochemistry — 2015 MRF Richard T. Jones New Investigator Award, OHSU Foundation
John Postlethwait, biology — George W. Beadle Award for 2015, Genetics Society of America
Lynn Stephen, anthropology and Latin American studies — 2015 Delmos Jones and Jagna Scharff Memorial Book Award, Society for the Anthropology of North America and 2015 Michael Kearney Memorial Lectureship/Award, Society for Applied Anthropology
David Wacks, romance languages — National Jewish Book Award, (Mimi S. Frank Award in memory of Becky Levy), Jewish Book Council
Kristin Yarris, anthropology — Stirling Prize for Best Published Article in Psychological Anthropology, Society for Psychological Anthropology
University of Oregon research awards
Sonja Boos, German and Scandinavian; Kirby Brown, English; and Mark Quigley, English — VPRI Completion Fellowship, Oregon Humanities Center
Kathie Carpenter, international studies; Li-Shan Chou, human physiology; Sangita Gopal, English; Gina Herrmann, romance languages; Santiago Jaramillo, biology; Ronald Mitchell, political science and environmental studies; Jenifer Presto, comparative literature; Philip Scher, anthropology; Stephen Shoemaker, religious studies; Jolinda Smith, Lewis Center for Neuroimaging; Dave Sutherland, geological sciences; David Vasquez, English; and Frances White, anthropology — 2015-16 Faculty Research Fellowship, Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation
Hank Childs, computer and information sciences; Sandra Morgen, anthropology; and Michael Raymer, physics — 2015 Research Excellence Award - Outstanding Career Award, Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation
Stephen Dueppen, anthropology — Faculty Research Fellowship, Oregon Humanities Center
David Frank, Robert D. Clark Honors College; and Colin Koopman, philosophy — Fund for Faculty Excellence Award, Academic Affairs
Michael Haley, chemistry and biochemistry; and Darren Johnson, chemistry and biochemistry — 2015 Research Excellence- Innovation and Impact, Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation
Mark Johnson, philosophy; and Lynn Stephen, anthropology and Latin American studies — Provost’s Senior Humanist Fellowship, Oregon Humanities Center
Mary E. Wood, English — Ernest G. Moll Research Fellowship in Literary Sciences, Oregon Humanities Center
University of Oregon teaching awards
Diane Baxter, anthropology; Kirby Brown, English; Mark Lonergan, chemistry and biochemistry; and Mike Price, mathematics — CAS Tykeson Teaching Award, College of Arts and Sciences
Brendan Bohannan, biology; Scott Fitzpatrick, anthropology; Marina Guenza, chemistry and biochemistry; and Doug Toomey, geological sciences — 2015-16 Fund for Faculty Excellence Award, Academic Affairs
Peg Boulay, environmental studies; and Katie Lynch, environmental studies — Excellence in Teaching Award, UO Office of Sustainability
Sierra Dawson, human physiology — Teaching Excellence Fellowship 2016, Teaching Effectiveness Program
Dan Dugger, mathematics; Judith Eisen, biology; Harinder Khalsa, romance languages — Thomas F. Herman Award for Excellence in Pedagogy, Academic Affairs
Stephen Fickas, computer and information sciences — Williams Fellowship, Academic Affairs
Darren Johnson, chemistry and biochemistry; and Naomi Zack, philosophy — 2016 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Division of Equity and Inclusion
Heidi Kaufman, English; Daniel Rosenberg, Robert D. Clark Honors College; and Daniel Wojcik, English — Coleman- Guitteau Teaching Professorship, Oregon Humanities Center
Alexander Murphy, geography — University of Oregon Excellence Award for Graduate Mentors, Graduate Mentors
Alaí Reyes-Santos, ethnic studies — UO Ersted Distinguished Teaching Award, Academic Affairs
Arafaat Valiani, history; and Marsha Weisiger, history and environmental studies — Teaching Fellowship, Oregon Humanities Center
Elizabeth Wheeler, English — Fellowship, Center for the Study of Women in Society