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Provosts announce 2008-09 Distinguished University Professors |
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Kim Harvey |
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Sep 18, 2008
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The offices of the provosts, Health Science Campus and Main Campus, announced that, pending approval by The University of Toledo Board of Trustees, four faculty members will be appointed new Distinguished University Professors.
The appointees chosen from nominations submitted last academic year are Dr. Robert W. Collins, James M. Klein, Dr. Maurice Manning and Dr. Matthew H. Wikander.
“We are delighted to recognize these senior faculty for their distinguished careers and contributions to The University of Toledo,” said Dr. Rosemary Haggett, Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “These four individuals join a select group of faculty who have earned this special recognition.”
“These Distinguished University Professors are symbolic of the excellence we strive to achieve, every day, here at the University,” added Dr. Jeffrey Gold, Health Science Campus provost and executive vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “As you’ll see from their credentials, these colleagues are defined by their academic achievements, as well as their desire to share their knowledge with their peers and their students.”
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| Collins |
Collins is professor of physics and Nippon Electric Glass Endowed Chair in Silicate and Materials Science in the College of Arts and Sciences.
His nomination cited Collins’ excellence in teaching and research, noting that he has been instrumental in securing more than $32 million in funding for UT’s photovoltaics program. “Rob is a strong leader in the PV group, which is leading a revitalization of the economy of northwest Ohio,” according to the nomination.
Collins also has developed four new courses for a proposed interdisciplinary doctoral program that will engage faculty from three colleges and five departments. He also has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and given 75 invited presentations with approximately 200 citations.
“I am grateful for this honor and look forward to working within UT and statewide to achieve recognition as the leading center for basic sciences of photovoltaic materials and devices,” Collins said. “In the four-plus years since I have arrived at UT, I have found an extraordinarily stimulating environment for such an effort and have received great support from the state of Ohio, the University, the colleges, and many faculty and industry colleagues throughout the state.”
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| Klein |
Klein is a professor in the College of Law.
His nomination cited Klein’s longtime leadership in legal service, professional development and athletic law. He helped initiate the College of Law’s Legal Clinic, served as a member of the American Bar Association’s Accreditation Committee from 1997 to 2003, and worked on major reforms of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s bylaws concerning academic progress, eligibility, and legislative review and interpretations.
“Many alumni have shared with me that their work with Professor Klein changed their lives,” wrote his nominator. “Rarely do I attend an Ohio or national function without having judges and bar leaders ask me to convey their respects to Professor Klein.”
“I have always considered it a privilege to be a member of the legal profession and a faculty member in the University of the city where I was born and raised,” Klein said. “During my career, I have experienced many rewarding milestones; none means more to me than this one.”
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| Manning |
Manning is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology in the College of Medicine.
Highlights of his achievements in research, education and scholarship include international recognition on clinical research on hypertension and uterine contractions and a current research project that has been funded for 33 consecutive years by the National Institutes of Health — a record among active UT faculty.
Manning is a 10-time winner of the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching and also has won the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
“By every measure that one can apply to faculty performance, Dr. Manning has excelled in scholarship, teaching and professional outreach,” wrote his nominator.
“I’m delighted, surprised and deeply honored by the Distinguished University Professorship,” Manning said. “This recognition of my efforts by the University community means my academic efforts are appreciated.”
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| Wikander |
Wikander is a professor in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences.
His expertise in literature, particularly the work of William Shakespeare, is internationally renowned. He has written three books of literary criticism, as well as numerous articles in acclaimed journals and books of his field, including Shakespeare Survey, Shakespeare Quarterly,
The Cambridge Companion to O’Neill and
The Blackwell Companion to Tragedy.
“These are premier venues for scholarly work which accept only the most accomplished and serious work,” wrote Wikander’s nominator. “UT students are studying with a world-class Shakespearean; one who brings to them his love, enthusiasm and clear sense of the continuing relevance of his subject, as well as a decided flair for the dramatic.”
“I am honored by this appointment, and, as a scholar who works in the areas of literature and theater, I take it as a hopeful sign that The University of Toledo remains committed to the disciplines of the humanities and the arts,” Wikander said. “I’ve been sharing my enthusiasm for Shakespeare with undergraduates and graduate students for over 30 years, and I’m looking forward to many years more.”
UT has 12 Distinguished University Professorships, which are renewable. The Academic Honors Committee considered 41 nominations for this year’s appointees, based on exemplary teaching, research, scholarship and professional service.
Each Distinguished University Professor receives an annual grant of $5,000 for five years. The grants are funded by the UT Foundation.
Nominations for additional Distinguished University Professorships will be accepted this fall. The nomination process and due date will be announced in a future issue of UT News.
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