September 12, 2006
LAS faculty honored with teaching, service and research awards
Several faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences were recognized
by Iowa State University during the fall convocation, "Pursuing Excellence,"
Monday, Sept. 11.
Among the recipients were:
Distinguished Professor
The title of Distinguished Professor, first awarded in 1956, is the highest
academic honor bestowed by Iowa State University. It recognizes a faculty member
for exemplary performance in at least two of the following areas: teaching and
advising; research, scholarship or artistic creativity; and extension, university
service or professional practice. A $3,000 increment in base salary is granted,
and the awardee retains the title the rest of his or her career at the university.
- Paul Canfield, professor of physics and astronomy
Canfield has established a world-renowned crystal growth and characterization
research laboratory and program. He is considered one of the world's leading
synthetic materials physicists, with many pioneering contributions to the
physics of new and exotic materials with electronic and magnetic phase transitions,
including superconductors, heavy fermion compounds and spin glasses. He has
published more than 500 research papers, and his work is highly cited in scientific
literature. In addition, he has given more than 90 invited lectures on his
work around the world. He is acclaimed as a classroom teacher and has won
two university awards for exceptional mentoring of undergraduate students.
University Professor
The title of University Professor is bestowed on a senior faculty member
who has had a significant impact on his or her department and the university
in the areas of teaching, research and professional service. The awardee receives
a base salary addition of $2,500 and retains the title for the remainder of
his or her career at the university.
- Mack Shelley II, professor of statistics, professor of educational leadership
and policy studies, and professor of political science
Shelley is known throughout the university, the state and the nation for his
collaborative, consultative work style and his extensive expertise in research
design and data analysis, especially in the area of human development and
education. He has served on more than 600 graduate student committees, including
75 that he has chaired or co-chaired. He is the author or co-author of nine
books, 12 book chapters and nearly 200 journal articles, and he has made more
than 225 presentations at scholarly and professional conferences. In addition,
he has been involved in nearly 150 grant-funded research projects, many as
principal investigator or co-principal investigator.
Margaret Ellen White Graduate Faculty Award
This award recognizes superior performance by a member of the graduate faculty
who serves as a mentor and who enriches the student-professor relationship through
support and attention to detail, enabling students to finish their work in a
timely and scholarly manner. This award was established in 1985 by White to
show her appreciation to graduate faculty for their guidance and encouragement
of graduate students. A graduate of Iowa State's former College of Home Economics,
White served as an administrative assistant in the Graduate College for 37 years.
A $1,500 award is granted.
- Jill Pruetz, assistant professor of anthropology
Pruetz has two priorities for her graduate students: finish their degrees
on a timely basis and have a challenging and rewarding educational experience.
Her record shows that she is successful in both. She is involved in primate
and tropical ecology studies across the globe, including Senegal, Costa Rica,
Morocco, Nicaragua, Kenya and Peru, and involves her graduate students in
her research in these countries. She is assistant director of the Association
for the Conservation of the Tropics and a member of the advisory board of
the Great Ape Trust of Iowa in Des Moines. She also excels as an educator,
winning the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Master Teacher Award in 2004.
Iowa State University Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching
This award recognizes a tenured faculty member for outstanding teaching performance
over an extended period of time. A $1,500 award is granted.
- James Andrews, associate professor of history
Andrews is an award-winning faculty member and teacher whose student evaluations
are consistently among the highest in the department. And among undergraduate
and graduate students in the courses he teaches in his area of specialization
-- Russian history -- they consistently are at or near perfection on the scale
of 5.0. He is co-director of the graduate Ph.D. program and Center for Historical
Studies of Technology and Science, and former director of Russian, East European
and Central Asian Studies in the history department. He has supervised 20
graduate students in his eight years at Iowa State, and his scholarly contributions
include two books, seven articles, 51 papers and several book contributions
and reviews.
Iowa State University Award for Early Achievement in Teaching
This award recognizes a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has demonstrated
outstanding teaching performance unusually early in his or her career. A $1,500
award is granted.
- Laura Mielke, assistant professor of English
Mielke is regarded by students and colleagues as a knowledgeable scholar of
American literature whose passion for literature, teaching and learning are
evident in all of her classes and educational activities. She uses innovative
and flexible teaching methods to make learning rigorous, challenging and enjoyable.
She is supportive, approachable and organized, and students consider her a
model for their own development as teachers. She teaches all levels of courses
for the English department, and consistently receives high evaluations from
students. She was a teaching fellow at the University of North Carolina for
three years and has received several awards for her graduate work and teaching.
Iowa State University Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research
This award recognizes a faculty member who has a national or international
reputation for contributions in research, and who has influenced the research
activities of students. A $1,500 award is granted.
- Lynn Clark, professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology
Clark is known throughout the world as the top expert in New World bamboos.
She has collected and named more than 75 new bamboo species from North, Central
and South America, and has obtained more than $1 million to support her research.
Her publications include 60 articles in reviewed journals and three books
authored or co-authored. One of her books has been described as a "modern
classic" by peers, and one of her articles resulted in a redirection
of all subsequent work on the phylogeny of the grass family. She has made
nearly 80 presentations at conferences and seminars throughout the Americas,
Europe and Pacific Rim. She also is director of Iowa State's Ada Hayden Herbarium.
Iowa State University Award for Departmental Leadership
This award recognizes outstanding departmental leadership that helps faculty
members meet their complex obligations to undergraduate teaching, graduate mentoring,
research and service. A $1,500 award is granted.
- Dawn Bratsch-Prince, professor and chair, department of world languages
and cultures
Bratsch-Prince has demonstrated a commitment to advancing the careers of faculty
members at all levels and to quality educational programs for students in
her department. She maintains an "open door" policy, promoting collegial
atmosphere, and she has worked with the faculty to reorganize the department's
curriculum to meet changing student interests and professional needs, such
as through the Languages and Cultures in the Professions initiative. She continues
an active scholarship program in medieval literature, including two books
published and one forthcoming, and several grant-funded projects and educational
collaborations.
Iowa State University Alumni Association Award for Superior Service
to Alumni
This award recognizes an Iowa State faculty or staff member who has demonstrated
a commitment to establishing or furthering alumni relationships with the university.
A $500 award is granted.
- Carl Jacobson, professor and chair, department of geological and atmospheric
sciences
Jacobson heads one of the university's most successful academic department
alumni relations programs. Activities include campus reunions for department
alumni every two years, alumni meetings in major cities, meetings for meteorology
alumni in conjunction with an annual National Weather Service conference in
Des Moines, and alumni involvement in the department's geology field camp
in Shell, Wyo., each summer. In 2003, he organized a special reunion at the
camp and more than 100 alumni participated. He also arranges for alumni to
return to campus as guest speakers in class.
