Hope College presented awards honoring teaching, service and scholarship to eight faculty during the college's annual recognition luncheon on Monday, Jan. 6.
Hope College presented awards honoring teaching, service and scholarship to eight faculty during the college's annual recognition luncheon on Monday, Jan. 6.
The "Provost's Awards for Excellence in Teaching" were presented to Dr. Thomas Ludwig, professor of psychology, and Dr. John Patnott, associate professor of kinesiology.
The "Provost's Award for Service to the Academic Program" was presented to Dr. Charles Green, who is a professor of psychology, director of general education and director of the Philip Phelps Scholars Program, and Maura Reynolds, who is an associate professor of Latin and director of advising.
The "Ruth and John Reed Faculty Achievement Award" was presented to Dr. James Allis, professor of philosophy and chair of the department.
Named "Towsley Research Scholars" were Dr. Leah Chase, assistant professor of biology and chemistry, and Dr. William Pannapacker, assistant professor of English. Dr. Victor Claar, assistant professor of economics, received a research award from the "Faculty Fund for Faith and Learning."
The Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching is presented to faculty members who have been teaching at Hope for at least seven years. The award is given to professors who have demonstrated recognizable excellence in specific activities or aspects of teaching.
Ludwig has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1977. He has been active in adapting the computer and Internet for use in psychology education. He has received national recognition for his work, including the Silver World Medal in the College Division of the New York Festivals' "International Interactive Multimedia Awards" in 1997 for his "PsychQuest: Interactive Exercises for Psychology," and the "Best Psychology Software" award in the 1990 EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL Higher Education Software Awards competition for his "PsychSim II: Interactive Graphics Simulations for Psychology."
Patnott started the college's swimming program in 1978. Three times in his career he has been voted the NCAA Division III national Coach-of-the-Year by the College Swimming Coaches Association--for men's swimming in 1991, and for women's swimming in 1994 and 1998. He has coached 102 All-Americans and had national champions 30 times during his Hope career, and has had 39 Academic All-Americans since 1984. Beyond the success he has helped his swimmers achieve competitively, he is consistently cited as a dedicated teacher and role model, both for his athletes and for the students in his classes.
The "Provost's Award for Service to the Academic Program" is presented to individuals who have provided special contributions to the academic program through student academic support, general education, assessment work, implementation of programs that support/enhance the curriculum, and any activity outside of formal teaching that contributes to the overall excellence of the academic program.
Green has been a member of the faculty since 1983, and was appointed director of the Philip Phelps Scholars Program in 1998. He was director of the college's Carl Frost Center for Social Science Research from 1992 to 1999. His active involvement in the college's academic program has included service in the past as director of the educational assessment program, as co-coordinator of the general education program, and chairing the committee concerned with restructuring the college's core curriculum in the mid- 1990s. He delivered the college's Opening Convocation address in 1999.
Reynolds joined the college in 1974 as director of the Academic Support Center, a position she held for four years, and began teaching Latin at Hope in 1980. She was appointed director of advising in 1988, and also coordinated the pilot sections of Hope's "First-Year Seminar" program. She has helped plan and implement New Student Orientation at Hope since 1987, and since 1989 has been a member of the staff of the college's "Teaching Enhancement Workshop" for new faculty members. She delivered the college's Opening Convocation address in 1998 and Commencement address in 2001.
The Ruth and John Reed Faculty Achievement Award recognizes a member of the Hope faculty who is a superior teacher and has also contributed significantly in some other area of professional life. The award was established in memory of Dr. Ruth Yzenbaard Reed, a 1965 Hope graduate who was associate dean of Macomb Community College. Reed died in August of 1999 at age 55.
Allis joined the Hope faculty in 1986. He received the "Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching" in 2000, and in 1990 received the "Hope Outstanding Professor Educator" (H.O.P.E.) Award from the graduating senior class. He co-delivered the college's Commencement address in 1995. Other honors at Hope have included faculty development and faculty/student cooperative research grants, and a Knight Fellowship. His publications include "A Guide to Resources in Ancient Philosophy," co-authored with Dr. Albert Bell of the Hope history faculty, as well as book reviews and scholarly articles; his scholarship has also included paper presentations and invited addresses.
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. Through the program, newer Hope faculty members receive support for a project for four years. The foundation's awards to the college have also included grants for the construction of the Van Wylen Library and the new science center, faculty development in the pre-medical sciences and support for an endowed chair in communication.
Chase joined the Hope faculty in 2000 after conducting postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota, where she completed her doctorate in biochemistry. She will use the award to support her ongoing research in neuroscience as well as to assist in the development of a neuroscience minor at the college. A grant received from the National Science Foundation in 2002 is supporting development of a laboratory course to complement a lecture section established in the spring of 2001.
Pannapacker joined the Hope faculty in 2000 after serving as a lecturer in history and literature at Harvard University, where he completed his doctorate in the history of American civilization. The award will support his work on his book "Revised Lives: Self-Refashioning in Nineteenth-Century American biography," which considers the practice and significance of the way that autobiographers modified their published accounts as their times and self- images changed.
The Faculty Fund for Faith and Learning is an endowment that provides support to help members of Hope's faculty link faith and scholarship. Emphases include interaction with students and integration with research.
Claar has been a member of the Hope faculty since 2000, and also serves as an adjunct scholar with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland. He joined the Hope faculty after serving as a Fellow in the Department of Economics at West Virginia University, where he had previously completed his doctorate. His research project will focus on an economic model of forgiveness and anomalies in personal finance.