Claudia Polini and Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet of the Hope College faculty have been named "Towsley Research Scholars" at Hope.
The awards were announced during the college's
annual Faculty Recognition luncheon, held on Monday, Jan.
10. Polini is an assistant professor of mathematics, and
Witvliet is an assistant professor of psychology.
The Towsley Research Scholars Program is funded
through an endowment made possible through a grant from the
Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation of Midland. The
foundation's previous awards to the college have included
grants for the construction of the Van Wylen Library,
faculty development in the pre-medical sciences and support
for an endowed chair in communication.
Through the Towsley Research Scholars Program,
newer Hope faculty members receive support for a research
project for four years. An additional scholar or pair of
scholars is appointed each year. Past recipients are David
K. Ryden of the political science faculty (1997), J. Jeffery
Tyler of the religion faculty (1998) and Matthew Elrod of
the chemistry faculty (1999).
Polini and Witvliet will each use the Towsley
support to continue on-going research. Polini is conducting
research on the boundary between commutative algebra and
algebraic geometry, and Witvliet is examining forgiveness
and its impact from a physiological perspective.
Polini has been a member of the Hope faculty since
1998. She has taught courses including the college's First-
Year Seminar, Calculus I and Abstract Algebra I and II. She
holds a three-year grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) in support of her research.
Prior to coming to Hope, she was a research
visiting instructor at Michigan State University. She holds
a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Universita degli
Studi di Padova in Italy, and a doctorate in mathematics
from Rutgers University.
Witvliet joined the Hope faculty in 1997. Her
courses during the current school year include Behavior
Disorders, and Clinical Psychology-Therapy and Assessment.
She received a grant in support of her research
from the John Templeton Foundation in 1998. Her work has
been in news media across the country, including in national
publications such as "Time" magazine and on CNN.
Witvliet is a 1991 graduate of Calvin College.
She holds her master's and doctorate from Purdue University.