Fund for Faculty Excellence honors University of Oregon elite

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Dec. 6, 2007) -- Twenty top University of Oregon faculty members have received recognition from their colleagues and top administrators for exemplary work in their respective areas of expertise.

The Fund for Faculty Excellence awards honor faculty members performing at the forefront of their areas of research and raising the level of academic excellence at the UO. The purpose of the awards program is to reward top faculty members with research support and salary supplements in an effort to keep and attract world-class individuals.

"The Fund for Faculty Excellence enables the University of Oregon to retain, reward and support our faculty members on the cutting edge of interdisciplinary research and ensure students benefit from outstanding educators and mentors," said Senior Vice President and Provost Linda Brady. "The ability to recognize the contributions of these individuals strengthens our overall academic quality."

Established in 2006 by an anonymous gift to Campaign Oregon: Transforming Lives, the second year of the awards program honors a new group of faculty and unveils the previously-anonymous donor. The program to recognize and retain key faculty was established by gifts totaling $10.4 million from Lorry I. Lokey.

Lokey, the founder of Business Wire, the world's leading international news release wire service, has donated a total of $132 million to the UO in the past four years. Lokey supported the Fund for Faculty Excellence program as an important element of the university's academic priorities.

“Lorry Lokey's vision and generosity that underpin the Fund for Faculty Excellence allow us to recognize and reward faculty members who are truly outstanding in the distinguished research and teaching that are hallmarks of this university. These faculty are among our very best and we are so pleased to be able to honor them in this way," said UO President Dave Frohnmayer.

Twelve of the 20 recipients are from the College of Arts and Sciences: Bruce A. Bowerman, biology; Jeffrey A. Cina, chemistry; Victoria J. DeRose, chemistry; Andre Djiffack, French; John R. Halliwill, human physiology; John T. Lysaker, philosophy; Ronald B. Mitchell, political science; Madonna L. Moss, anthropology; Craig Parsons, political science; Qi-Man Shao, mathematics; Stephen J. Shoemaker, religious studies; and Joseph W. Thornton, biology.

Three recipients are from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts: Renee A. Irvin, planning, public policy and management; Marc Schlossberg, planning, public policy and management; and Andrew P. Schulz, art history.

Other recipients are Lauren J. Kessler, journalism and communication from the School of Journalism and Communication; Daniel B. Rosenberg, history, from the Robert D. Clark Honors College; Stephen W. Owen, music, from the School of Music and Dance; Robert L. Tsai, law, from the School of Law; and Cynthia M. Anderson, school psychology, from the College of Education.

Approximately 50 candidates for the awards were nominated by department heads, deans and the director of the Robert D. Clark Honors College. The individuals were selected by the provost based on recommendations by a committee of distinguished faculty members, each holding a named chair or recipient of another significant honor for outstanding scholarship, research and teaching.

Members of the committee were:
Rob Horner, selection committee chair and alumni-Philip H. Knight Professor of Special Education, College of Education; Kathy Cashman, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Sciences; Evlyn Gould, College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Humanities; Mary Wood, Philip H. Knight Professor of Law, School of Law; and Kyu Ho Youm, Marshall First Amendment Chair, School of Journalism and Communication.

Research support and salary supplements range from $3,000 to $14,000 this year. The supplements are for five years and are renewable.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu

Links: Recipient bios, http://tinyurl.com/2n7mcj

###