Some two dozen faculty and staff members were recognized at the 2019 Fall Awards Ceremony Oct. 16 in the Wisconsin Room at the Student Union. Here are the honorees:<\/p>\n
Deepak Basyal, assistant professor, College of General Studies, STEM<\/strong><\/p>\n Deepak Basyal has taught at Washington County since 2015. He earned his doctoral and master\u2019s degrees in mathematics from New Mexico State University. He also earned a master\u2019s in mathematics from Tribhuvan University in Nepal and a bachelor\u2019s from Birendra Multiple Campus in Nepal.<\/p>\n Jeffrey Meverden, one of Basyal\u2019s students, nominated him for the award. Meverden had been home-schooled through 12th\u00a0<\/sup>grade, so he approached his university experience with some concern, fearing he would lose the flexible learning he had become accustomed to.<\/p>\n \u201cA harrowing journey through many levels of mathematics courses lay between me and my dream of becoming a computer scientist,\u201d Meverden wrote. \u201cDr. Deepak Basyal is solely responsible for laying all my worries to rest and performing the miracle of turning my weakest subject into my most passionate pursuit.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to working with him in the classroom, Meverden added, Basyal quickly responded to emails and spent time after class discussing lectures and answering questions. \u201cDr. Basyal engages one-on-one with all his students and shepherds them to a better understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria Gillespie, associate professor, Department of Dance<\/strong><\/p>\n Maria Gillespie started teaching at 51ÁÔÆæ in 2012 as an assistant professor of dance before being named an associate professor last year. Gillespie\u2019s invaluable contributions started soon after her arrival, said department chair Simone Ferro, who witnessed a \u201ccontinuous unfolding of sophisticated perspectives and fearless explorations of new possibilities\u201d befitting 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s reputation for research and Peck\u2019s full accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Dance. Ferro nominated Gillespie for the award.<\/p>\n Gillespie has taught a wide range of dance-related courses and redesigned the curriculum upon request for a hands-on, lecture\/lab class. In her popular local and regional performances of Hyperlocal MKE, Gillespie partners with Wisconsin-based artists and provides professional exposure for her SURF students. Students participating in her research have won first prizes at recent 51ÁÔÆæ Undergraduate Research Symposiums.<\/p>\n Gillespie, Ferro said, \u201cwill continue developing her creative and teaching practices and further push the boundaries of teaching dance at 51ÁÔÆæ to a higher level of recognition in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Gwynne Kennedy, associate professor, Department of English<\/strong><\/p>\n Gwynne Kennedy, an associate professor of English who also recently served as chair of women\u2019s and gender studies, has acquired a formidable reputation as a teacher, with student evaluations that are \u201cnothing short of stellar,\u201d says nominator Sukanya Banerjee, associate professor of English.<\/p>\n The value of Kennedy\u2019s courses lies not just in the fact that they introduce students to literature from a historical period that might make it challenging to read, but also in the critical skills that her teaching imparts. As one of the students from the course on John Milton wrote: \u201cI learned to exercise patience in reading a text that is complex and dense.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy is also dedicated to developing student writing skills, even in large classes of 25 to 30 students. Clearly, her students are developing essential skills that will serve them in other classes and in life outside the classroom.<\/p>\n In her courses on female writers, Kennedy enhances the diversity of the curriculum. It is a testimony to her pedagogical skill that students come away feeling informed, but also heard. As one student commented, \u201cI had the opportunity for a safe space to discuss things I\u2019m serious about and passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n Aims McGuinness, associate professor, Department of History<\/strong><\/p>\n Aims McGuinness regularly takes his students outside the classroom to teach history, part of a philosophy of seeing the history of Milwaukee in a global context. He also wants students to understand global history through the American Geographical Society Library, one of the most important resources housed at 51ÁÔÆæ.<\/p>\n McGuinness, an associate professor since 2007 at 51ÁÔÆæ following six years as an assistant professor, was nominated by History Department colleagues Christine Evans and Thomas Haigh.<\/p>\n His classes have included site visits to Turner Hall, which served as a textbook of sorts to teach the global history of revolutions. A current course on road trips in the 1950s encompasses everything from the history of Milwaukee burger joints to industrial design. McGuinness is also described as a dedicated mentor of undergraduate student research, particularly the McNair Scholars Program.<\/p>\n \u201cProfessor McGuinness\u2019 undergraduate courses break the boundaries of the classroom walls and engage students in exploration and collaboration,\u201d Evans and Haigh wrote.<\/p>\n Michael Brondino, associate professor, Department of Social Work<\/strong><\/p>\n The list documenting Michael Brondino\u2019s record of service to 51ÁÔÆæ took up nearly a full page in the nomination letter submitted by Stan Stojkovic, dean of the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare.<\/p>\n Brondino, an associate professor of social work who has been with the university since 2003, has served on the University Committee. He worked closely on the committee with mechanical engineering professor John Reisel, who highlighted Brondino\u2019s work as UC representative to the Academic Planning and Budget Committee during challenging budget times. Brondino also served on the search committee for a College of Nursing dean.<\/p>\n Among the roughly two dozen other service roles for Brondino are tenures on dean search committees for the College of Health Sciences and the Graduate School, and two stints on the Graduate Course and Curriculum Committee.<\/p>\n \u201cI found Dr. Brondino one of the most helpful committee members and felt that I could rely on him to handle difficult service roles for 51ÁÔÆæ,\u201d Reisel said in a letter of support.<\/p>\n Philip Chang, associate professor, Department of Physics<\/strong><\/p>\n When Philip Chang arrived at 51ÁÔÆæ in 2011, he was already a highly respected researcher in the astrophysics of compact objects, which include white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.<\/p>\n Physics Professor Prasenjit Guptasarma credits Chang for \u201cdeepen(ing) our understanding of the most extreme astrophysical objects in the Universe.\u201d<\/p>\n Chang has developed a unique set of numerical tools to model these systems and interpret the massive amounts of information acquired by observers.<\/p>\n Guptasarma cites an ambitious project Chang initiated with numerical relativity collaborators to develop a unified approach to modeling objects with strong gravitational fields and complicated microphysics. \u201cThere is a real need for a tool that does exactly this,\u201d Guptasarma notes, in the wake of the first observation of the merger of two neutron stars through gravitational and electromagnetic waves in 2017.<\/p>\n While at 51ÁÔÆæ, Chang has been funded continuously by the National Science Foundation and NASA, including an NSF Faculty Early Career Development award in 2013. During that time, he has published 33 refereed papers and attracted more than $1.1 million in external funding.<\/p>\n Amy E. Kalkbrenner, associate professor, Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health<\/strong><\/p>\n Amy Kalkbrenner is an environmental epidemiologist who studies how exposure to environmental pollutants in pregnancy or the first years of life may harm development, such as leading to a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism.<\/p>\n Her projects address the thousands of air pollutants \u2014 volatile organic compounds such as benzene, metals such as lead and mercury, and particles \u2014 from sources such as traffic and power plants. Kalkbrenner works to improve the research methods in such studies by examining autism together with problems such as ADHD and cognitive abilities and by uncovering short windows of development that may be periods of increased risk to toxicant exposures. Ultimately, she positions her work to inform the policies and control technologies to support optimal health of body and mind.<\/p>\n Joseph Braun, associate professor at the Brown University School of Public Health, is a frequent collaborator with Kalkbrenner and a 51ÁÔÆæ alum. \u201cShe was well-known for questioning key assumptions held in our field and always thought carefully and deliberately about the problems we were addressing,\u201d he recalls. \u201cShe was never one to shy away from a problem because it was difficult to address.\u201d<\/p>\n Nancy Rolock, associate professor, Department of Social Work<\/strong><\/p>\n Nancy Rolock, a 51ÁÔÆæ faculty member from 2013 to the summer of 2019, is widely considered the leading scholar in the adoption and guardianship of foster children. She has played a leadership role early in her academic career in the development of a rigorous body of research evidence on the measurement of guardianship, adoption, kinship and foster care, with a focus on the determinants of child well-being.<\/p>\n Rolock is a former student of and frequent collaborator with Mark Testa, now a distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina. He writes, \u201cHer work exemplifies a new breed of social work researcher who is able to apply rigorous research methods to the solution of practical social work concerns and problems.\u201d<\/p>\n Her upcoming book, \u201cIntroduction to Child Welfare: Building a Culturally Responsive, Multisystemic, Evidence-Based Approach,\u201d co-edited with leading child welfare scholars, illuminates the definition of child welfare services and explores structural issues that assist or impede the success of youth in the child welfare system.<\/p>\n Since 2009, Rolock has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on grants totaling more than $28.5 million.<\/p>\n Jolien Creighton, professor, Department of Physics<\/strong><\/p>\n Jolien Creighton wrote the software that helped the LIGO Scientific Collaboration make sense of the huge amount of gravitational wave data produced by the merging of two black holes in 2015 and the neutron-star collisions of 2017 and 2019. This and other work has established him as a leader in developing and applying data analysis methodologies. Recognition for his LIGO work includes a share of the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and a 2017 appointment as a fellow of the American Physical Society. He is also co-chair of the LIGO Compact Binary Coalescence working group.<\/p>\n Alan Jay Weinstein, who leads the LIGO Astrophysics and Data Analysis Group at the California Institute of Technology, cites Creighton\u2019s \u201cimpressively large, broad, deep, and important set of contributions to gravitational wave science,\u201d adding, \u201cI consider him to be one of the most influential and highly respected researchers in our field.\u201d<\/p>\n He has attracted more than $4 million in funding from the National Science Foundation as principal investigator and more than $8 million as co-investigator.<\/p>\n Lingqian (Ivy)\u00a0<\/strong>Hu, professor, Department of Urban Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n Lingqian (Ivy) Hu\u2019s broad research expertise \u2014 transportation planning and policy, land use, urban economics and others \u2014 stems from her professional as well as academic experience. Before coming to 51ÁÔÆæ in 2010, she was an urban planner at the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design and a regional planner for the Southern California Association of Governments.<\/p>\n Hu is particularly interested in the interrelationship between transportation and land use, and the spatial, social and environmental effects of transportation planning. Through her research, she works to promote sustainable and prosperous communities, reduce emissions and vehicle miles traveled, and enhance environmental justice and public health.<\/p>\n Hu gained tenure in 2015 and was a full professor just three years later. She also is the department chair. Nancy Frank, interim dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, recalls, \u201cIn that short time, Professor Hu had established herself both nationally and internationally as a leading scholar in the field of regional location dynamics and transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n Qing Shen, professor of urban design and planning at the University of Washington, considers Hu \u201camong the most prolific urban planning researchers of her generation.\u201d<\/p>\n Gregory Jay, professor, Department of English He is perhaps best known as a critical race theorist, particularly his examination of \u201cwhiteness,\u201d which he defines as \u201cabove all else, a legal fiction determining the distribution of wealth, power, human rights, and citizenship among bodies denominated by this fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n Jay has worked to engage the general public as well as academics in promoting the cultural importance of literary writing. One example is his 2018 book, \u201cWhite Writers, Race Matters: Fictions of Racial Liberalism from Stowe to Stockett.\u201d Described by University of California-Berkeley Professor Mitchell Breitwieser as \u201cerudite, nuanced, accessible, and passionate,\u201d the book combines biography, historical analysis, close reading and literary theory to consider works including \u201cUncle Tom\u2019s Cabin,\u201d \u201cHuckleberry Finn\u201d and \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d as well as Hollywood adaptations of such works.<\/p>\n Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, assistant professor, Department of English<\/strong><\/p>\n Between the 1920s and 1960s, U.S. movie theaters evolved from massive, ornate palaces to intimate, streamlined venues that encouraged immersive movie watching. In her 2018 book, \u201cThe Optical Vacuum: Spectatorship and Modernized American Theater Architecture,\u201d Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece follows this transformation through the work of its champion, New York architect Benjamin Schlanger, whose theory of neutralized theaters informed his minimalist, modern designs.<\/p>\n In its close examination of Schlanger\u2019s work and of changing patterns of spectatorship, \u201cThe Optical Vacuum\u201d reveals that the essence of film viewing lies not only in the text, but in the spaces where movies are shown. She explores topics often ignored in film and media studies, such as seat construction and placement, wall decoration, sight lines, lighting, curtains and screen position.<\/p>\n Caetlin Benson-Allott, distinguished associate professor of English at Georgetown University, writes, \u201cI purchased \u2018The Optical Vacuum\u2019 as soon as it was published, and have found it to be one of the most rigorously researched and theoretically significant histories of cinema design that I have had the pleasure of reading.\u201d<\/p>\n Douglas C. Stafford, director,\u00a0<\/strong>Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n Since his hire as director of the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery (MIDD) in 2010, Douglas Stafford has helped connect companies to 51ÁÔÆæ research, supported 51ÁÔÆæ faculty startups, and set in motion plans for drug discovery facilities that will benefit the Department of Chemistry for years to come.<\/p>\n When the state committed funds to establish a center of applied and analytical chemistry at 51ÁÔÆæ in 2013, Stafford secured matching funds to include a state-of-the-art spectroscopy lab in the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex that has attracted many business partners.<\/p>\n With grant-writing skills that one nominator called \u201cphenomenal,\u201d Stafford has helped obtain federal funding for a wide variety of MIDD-member projects, addressing diseases such as asthma, neuropathic pain and cancer.<\/p>\n Says Brian Thompson, president of the 51ÁÔÆæ Research Foundation: \u201cDoug has been successful in helping other researchers achieve their fullest potential with his skills in building partnerships, providing advice and support on intellectual property protection, and supporting key negotiation discussions \u2013 all informed by his knowledge of industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Victoria Pryor, student services program manager II, Black Student Cultural Center<\/strong><\/p>\n Victoria Pryor coordinates a wide array of programs, workshops, events and conferences for African American students. She also works closely with the Career Planning and Resource Center to coordinate the Diversity Career Fair. Pryor, who has been with 51ÁÔÆæ for more than 30 years, earned her bachelor\u2019s degree in mass communications from 51ÁÔÆæ and a master\u2019s in management from Cardinal Stritch University.<\/p>\n Gabriela Dorantes and Rebecca Arcos-Piedra, advisors for the Roberto Hernandez Center, praised her work in their nomination letter. \u201cAs a seasoned professional here at 51ÁÔÆæ, Victoria has been an incredible resource to our professional development as mentor collaborator and a sincere colleague who cares about success and the success of the multicultural students of color we serve within our units.\u201d<\/p>\n Chia Vang, associate vice chancellor and professor of history, noted Pryor\u2019s work in connecting students of color with opportunities in the business community. \u201cShe has worked tirelessly for students. I am convinced without her guidance and leadership, the relationships with these (business) partners and student experiences would suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n Alejandra Lopez, senior academic advisor and coordinator of retention initiatives, Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business<\/strong><\/p>\n Alejandra Lopez has helped improve first-year student retention in the Lubar School of Business, leading a collaborative effort to identify issues, research best practices and suggest initiatives for advising and the classroom. \u201cAlejandra has played a vital role in integrating retention initiatives and creating connections with our first year students,\u201d Michael Freimark, management lecturer, said in his nomination letter. The result was a significant improvement in retention. She worked closely with Freimark in organizing a Business Administration 100 course that incorporated mandatory advising and service learning. She trained teaching assistants how to serve as mentors to first-year students and co-developed the 51ÁÔÆæ Exploring Majors Fair. She serves as the Lubar liaison to the Business Panthers Living Learning Community and has taken a leadership role with the Multicultural Mentoring Program.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the seven years I have known Alejandra, I have been consistently impressed with her leadership abilities, engagement with the campus community, passion for higher education and commitment to student success at 51ÁÔÆæ,\u201d said Anthony Ross, Rockwell Automation Endowed Chair.<\/p>\n kathryn e. martin-meurer, senior lecturer, Department of Art & Design<\/strong><\/p>\n A lecturer in sculpture at the Peck School of the Arts for a dozen years, kathryn martin-meurer is lauded by colleagues for her creative teaching style, connection with students and commitment to the school, campus and the wider Milwaukee community.<\/p>\n Martin-meurer, who is also the outreach coordinator for Art & Design, was nominated by Kim Cosier, director of community engagement for the Peck School of the Arts. She highlighted martin-meurer\u2019s enthusiasm both inside and outside the classroom. As an example, Cosier noted how martin-meurer inspires students who might first encounter her at 51ÁÔÆæ as 3D coordinator for the first-year program.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents not only want to learn from her, they want to be like her, which is especially great as the field is in need of strong women role models in sculpture,\u201d Cosier said.<\/p>\n Dean Scott Emmons said that martin-meurer raises the profile of students through visible projects that serve as inspiration to the community, including a recent work exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Museum. She builds on relationships with students that she established early on as a recruiter.<\/p>\n Added Cosier: \u201cHer influence has staying power \u2013 as evidenced by the number of students who name her as an important part of their education in exit interviews.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Freimark, lecturer, Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael Freimark is one of the first college instructors that Lubar freshmen encounter. And, despite the flood of undergraduates that Freimark teaches each semester, his courses have a transformational effect, helping students match their interests with the right business major.<\/p>\n Not only does he guide them in their studies, he also teaches them important life skills, serves as a mentor and is a major player in retaining them through graduation.<\/p>\n As a new instructor, he helped redesign the introductory Business 100 course in 2013. \u201cAt a time when most new faculty are getting their \u2018sea legs,\u2019 Dr. Freimark jumped right into the planning and redesigning process,\u201d recounts one of his nominators. Since then, Lubar students who take the course in their first semester have higher first-term GPAs compared with those who do not.<\/p>\n He also enhances students\u2019 sense of social responsibility by embedding opportunities for service learning into one of his courses. The sheer numbers of student volunteers that has generated earned him the 2015 51ÁÔÆæ Service Learning Instructor of the Year Award.<\/p>\n51ÁÔÆæ Faculty Distinguished University Service Award<\/h2>\n
Office of Research\/51ÁÔÆæ Foundation Research Award<\/h2>\n
Office of Research\/51ÁÔÆæ Foundation Senior Faculty Research Award<\/h2>\n
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\nWhen discussing literary scholar Gregory Jay, who is also the English Department chair, colleagues are as awestruck by the broad scope of his scholarship as with its quality. Throughout a career of more than 30 years, Jay\u2019s explorations have included 19th century and postwar American fiction, T.S. Eliot\u2019s high modernism, deconstruction, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, textual scholarship and reception theory.<\/p>\n51ÁÔÆæ Research in the Humanities Award<\/h2>\n
51ÁÔÆæ Academic Staff Outstanding Performance & Service Award<\/h2>\n
51ÁÔÆæ Academic Staff Outstanding Teaching Award<\/h2>\n