| UMBC
Presidential Faculty & Staff Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
University Center Ballroom
12-1 p.m.
(Light refreshments served at 11:30 a.m.)
Each
year, the UMBC community comes together to celebrate the accomplishments
of our outstanding faculty and staff. This year we honor: UMBC
Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards
Robert C. Reno, Associate Professor, Physics
Presidential Teaching Professor, 2007-2010
Robert C. Reno, associate professor of physics, has made remarkable
contributions to the education of UMBC undergraduate and graduate
students. During his 33-year teaching career at UMBC, Reno has taught
a total number of 160 courses and developed seven original courses,
many serving as the foundation of UMBC’s physics program. He
redesigned two undergraduate laboratory courses, incorporating computerized
data acquisition. In spring 2007, Reno debuted a new honors course
that introduces students to advanced experiments using radioactive
materials and x-ray generators. His work in the area of peer instruction
was one of the first implementations of group learning on campus and
the first in the physics department. A recipient of numerous awards,
Reno has received two UMBC DRIF/SRIS awards and a U.S. Army Summer
Research Fellowship. Reno earned a B.S. in physics from Manhattan
College. He also earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from Brandeis
University.
Lena Cowen Orlin, Professor, English and Executive
Director,
Shakespeare Association of America
Presidential Research Professor 2007-2010
Lena Cowen Orlin, professor of English and executive director of the
Shakespeare Association of America, is an international authority
in Renaissance studies whose work focuses on literature, history and
art history. A specialist in Shakespeare studies, Orlin received two
senior fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities
and a fellowship from the Folger Shakespeare Library. She was commissioned
to co-edit both the Oxford Guide to Shakespeare and the forthcoming
Collected Works of Shakespeare. For her work in history,
Orlin was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship,
the most prestigious fellowship in the humanities. The Yale Center
for British Art and the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts
at the National Gallery of Art awarded Orlin fellowships for her work
in art history. Orlin encourages undergraduate research by allowing
her students to participate on projects such as the Oxford Guide
and on a Palgrave Sourcebook for English Studies: The Renaissance.
Orlin earned an A.B. in English and Art History at Oberlin and later
received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
William-John Tudor ‘76, ’77, ‘98,
Exhibitions and Technology Director, Center for Art, Design and Visual
Culture
Presidential Distinguished Staff Award, Professional Staff, 2007-2008
William-John Tudor, exhibitions and technology director for the Center
for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC), conceives and organizes
CADVC’s exhibition design, lighting and sound. Tudor’s
designs have contributed to CADVC being consistently named the “Best
of Baltimore” by the Baltimore City Paper and Baltimore
Magazine and receiving critical acclaim in the New York Times,
Art Forum, Washington Post and Baltimore Sun.
He received numerous awards including: 12 National Endowment for the
Arts awards, five New York State Arts Council awards, a Television
Gold award, an IBM-Fulcrum Grant, support from the Guggenheim Foundation
and a National Endowment for the Humanities award. Tudor earned a
B.A. in Composition and the Related Arts, a B.A. in Special Studies
and an M.F.A. in Imaging and Digital Arts, all from UMBC. He also
completed a special seminar on digital arts held at Dartmouth College
through the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Deborah Geare, Business Services Specialist,
MIPAR
Presidential Distinguished Staff Award, Non-Exempt Staff, 2007-2008
Deborah Geare, business services specialist for the Maryland Institute
for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR), UMBC’s public policy
research institute, has distinguished herself as extraordinarily devoted
to her work and knowledgeable about UMBC business policies and procedures.
In her role, she manages all the business-related aspects of MIPAR’s
$8 million budget. Recognized as a leader among the support staff
in the area of PeopleSoft, Geare has participated in every stage since
the beginning of the Peoplesoft implementation on campus. As a Peoplesoft
peer mentor, she helps campus staff who need assistance when using
the software. Geare is an active member of several campus organizations
such as the Non-Exempt Excluded Staff Senate and the New Employee
Orientation Committee. She is currently pursuing a B.A. in Health
Administration and Policy and a Certificate in Finance. She has a
3.8 grade point average and is a member of the National Society of
Collegiate Scholars.
UMBC
President's Commission for Women Achievement Award
Patrice McDermott, Associate Professor and Chair, American Studies
President’s Commission for Women Achievement Award 2007-2008
Patrice McDermott, associate professor and chair of American studies,
works to promote understanding among different groups, cultures and
backgrounds and has encouraged the elimination of gender inequality
on campus. She serves on the executive committee of the National Science
Foundation ADVANCE grant, promoting women in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM). She is a member of the Gender and Women’s
Studies Program’s Coordinating Committing and served as the program’s
acting director early in her career. McDermott was also interim director
of the Women’s Center, director of the UMBC’s Faculty Development
Institute on Race, Democracy and Diversity and is a founding member
of the Center for Women and Information Technology’s (CWIT) internal
board. She is the author of Politics and Scholarship: Feminist Academic
Journals and the Production of Knowledge. Her innovations and leadership
as a teacher have also been vital to the American studies, gender and
women’s studies and languages, literacy and culture programs.
McDermott received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in American studies from
the University of Maryland, College Park.
University
System of Maryland Board of Regents’ Faculty and Staff Awards
Sandra Herbert, Professor,
History
USM Board of Regents’ Faculty Award for Research/Scholarship/Creative
Activity, 2006-2007
Sandra Herbert, professor of history, is an internationally respected
historian of science and expert on Charles Darwin. Herbert’s scholarship
on Darwin reached a pinnacle in 2005 with the publication of Charles
Darwin: Geologist, which gained considerable attention and received
several prestigious awards including: the History of Geology Division
of the Geological Society of America’s Mary C. Rabbitt Award,
the first History of Science Society’s Levinson prize, the North
American Conference of British Studies’ Albion Prize and the American
Historical Association’s George L. Mosse Prize. She was also elected
a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Last fall, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge, welcomed
Herbert as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar for the 2006-07 academic
year. She is also helping to plan the 2009 celebration of Darwin's 200th
birthday and 150th anniversary of his seminal work On the Origin
of Species. Herbert earned a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies
from Wittenberg University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in History of Ideas
from Brandeis University.
Mark R. Marten
Associate Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
USM Board of Regents’ Faculty Award for Collaboration in Research,
2006-2007
Mark R. Marten, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering,
and David Schaefer, professor of physics, astronomy and geosciences
at Towson University, received national and international recognition
for their interdisciplinary research, which serves as a model of inter-USM
campus collaboration and advances the biotechnology and bioprocess industries.
Marten/Schaefer’s collaboration helped developed a technique for
assessing material properties of filamentous cells, using an atomic
force microscope (AFM). This capability will eventually lead to improved
methods for producing many different compounds including chemicals,
enzymes and medicines. In addition, their work may lead to improved
antifungal drugs. Marten/Schaefer received a $1.6 million grant from
the National Science Foundation for their research, a notable feat in
these times of constrained research funding. Their collaboration also
provides significant research opportunities for faculty and students,
at both UMBC and Towson. Marten received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering
from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering
from Purdue University.
Emma Sellers ‘03, Program Management Specialist
and Program Coordinator, Political Science
USM Board of Regents’ Award, Outstanding Service
to Students, 2005-2006
Emma Sellers ’03, program management specialist and program coordinator
of political science, is praised for her outstanding interpersonal skills
and exemplary service to UMBC students. This year, she celebrates 20
years of service to UMBC. She is often the first point-of-contact for
political science majors and for the students who are required to take
courses in the department. She is the department’s schedule coordinator,
events planner and often serves as a confidant to students. She has
volunteered for the Office of Academic Services during the summer as
an academic advisor for incoming freshman and transfer students. She
was also a volunteer tutor for the Kumon Math and Reading Center, helping
children with special needs. Since 2004 Sellers has served as co-chair
for the President’s Commission for Women. Sellers earned her B.A.
in English and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Instructional Systems
Development from UMBC in 2005. Sellers is currently working towards
a M.A. in Instructional Systems Design from UMBC.
View
Previous Presidential Faculty and Staff Award Recipients
2003 | 2004
| 2005 | 2006
|
The Human Resources department has granted release time for employees
to take part in these events, and everyone is encouraged to attend.
All campus offices will remain open and services should continue
to be offered. Supervisors and staff are asked to work together
to coordinate staffing. |
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