Sixteen Arts and Sciences faculty members represented the college in all five of the university’s top award categories that recognize and honor outstanding performance and commitment to our land grant mission of scholarship, teaching and service.

 

 

Charles Atkinson, Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor, School of Music, was named Distinguished University Professor last week during a surprise visit from President E. Gordon Gee; Provost Joseph Alutto; College of Arts and Sciences Divisional Dean Mark Shanda; ASC Associate Dean Sebastian Knowles; Richard Blatti, director, School of Music; Professor Lois Rosow; and several other faculty members.

 

In his letter to the selection committee, Shanda stated, “Atkinson’s reputation for erudition and perception has long been recognized, his happy combination of painstaking scholarship and imaginative thought has long been celebrated.”

Blatti added, “Professor Atkinson is an outstanding medievalist whose scholarship is held in the highest regard by senior musicologists in America and Europe.”

 

Atkinson’s very first journal article, published in 1977 in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, received the AMS’s Alfred Einstein Award, the highest honor available to a young American musicologist. His latest book, The Critical Nexus: Tone-System, Mode, and Notation in Early Medieval Music (Oxford University Press, 2009), was selected for the AMS Studies in Music Series and received the most coveted award in North American musicology, the Otto Kinkeldey Award.

 

Atkinson, a member of the School of Music faculty since 1978, also has received the Ohio State Distinguished Scholar and Distinguished Lecturer Awards. He was president of the American Musicological Society, 2007-2008. Atkinson received his BFA from the University of New Mexico, MM from the University of Michigan, and PhD from the University of North Carolina. Additionally, he studied at the Juilliard School and at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

 

 

Julia Andrews, professor, history of art, was the first American art historian to work in China after U.S.-China relations were established in 1979. Andrews is one of the few undisputed authorities on modern Chinese art in the English language. Her groundbreaking research, publications, and exhibitions are widely credited with establishing this now thriving subdiscipline of art and positioning Ohio State as one of the world's premier institutions for the study of modern and contemporary Chinese art. She has authored more than 40 scholarly articles and essays in high-profile journals, edited or co-edited five exhibition catalogues, and curated or co-curated seven exhibitions in the U.S. and abroad. As the founding director of the Institute for Chinese Studies, Andrews helped secure a $2 million grant for the development of Ohio State's undergraduate curriculum in Chinese studies. She is a recipient of an ACLS Post-Doctoral Fellowship and a Fulbright Senior Fellowship to Japan.

 

William Ausich, professor, earth sciences, is an international authority on fossil echinoderms, particularly crinoids, which he often describes as "starfish on a stick." His special interest is the evolution and taxonomic classification of crinoid species that existed between 550 million and 250 million years ago, along with the evolution of crinoid faunas through major episodes of climate and biosphere change. Ausich's work combines traditional descriptive and specimen-based approaches of paleontology with quantitative and model-based approaches of paleobiology. His publications include seven books and monographs, 19 book chapters, 11 field guides, more than 150 refereed publications, and 28 keynote presentations. His research has been funded almost continuously for the past 28 years by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic. He is an elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Paleontological Society and its past president.

 

Dan Levin, SBS Distinguished Professor, economics, has made seminal contributions to economic theory and experimental economics, focusing on auction markets. He excels in carefully constructing experiments to test well-formulated theoretical questions and using the insights gained to advance economic theory. His contributions have led to important new public (and private) policy implications, establishing Levin as a world leader in experimental auctions literature. He has published more than 50 journal articles, which appear in his profession's top scholarly journals. His works cover a variety of topics that include auction markets, behavioral decision-making, industrial organization and mergers, international trade, political economy and public policy. His book, Common Value Auctions and the Winner's Curse, is universally recognized as the authoritative source on the subject.

 

Anne McCoy, professor, chemistry and biochemistry, is a leader in the field of theoretical spectroscopy. Her work focuses on developing relationships between experimental results from molecular spectroscopy, which describes how molecules interact with light, and the nature of the fundamental interactions between atoms that bond them into molecules and the weaker interactions that hold molecules together. McCoy has published more than 130 papers in leading journals in her field, including five papers published in Science. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation since 1999. She has received additional funding from the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. She is a past recipient of both the NSF CAREER and Camille Dreyfus Teacher/Scholar Awards; and is a fellow of the American Physical Society, American Chemical Society, and AAAS.

 

 

Kay Halasek, associate professor, English, is called, “awesome; unpretentious; engaging, inspirational,” by her students. One said, “If I hadn’t taken her course, I wouldn’t be starting a career in secondary English education.” Another commented, “She excels at fostering collaborative inquiry and genuine conversation, treating students as equal partners in learning.”

 

Erin McGraw, professor, English; “dedicated, giving, enthusiastic, supportive;” were just a few superlatives students used to describe her. One said, “She made every student feel welcome and important in her classroom;” and another commented, “In one course, she taught me things I hadn’t learned in three years of graduate work.”

 

 

Juan Alfonzo, associate professor, microbiology; is known for “infectious enthusiasm, positive energy, ability to connect and inspire students; approachability, and a real love and knack for teaching.” Several students said, “He treated us like equals and colleagues; I wish he taught more courses.”

 

 

Rebeka Campos-Astorkiza, assistant professor, Spanish and Portuguese; ”Her dedication to her students is amazing—she is always available to meet with us outside the classroom,” students say. “She helps us achieve our full potential; is engaging, approachable and patient, but constantly challenges us to think for ourselves.”

 

 

Douglas Schumacher, associate professor, physics; his students say, “He makes learning easy and fun,” and  marvel at his accessibility and helpfulness to the point of “offering to help us prepare for the GRE!” One student's comment summed it up, "His enthusiasm for teaching other people physics is obvious--he breathes physics!”

 

 

Mathew Coleman, associate professor, geography; Coleman’s students say he changed their lives. “He encouraged me to think critically and interdisciplinarily;” “His class is the reason I switched my major to geography;” “He helped tune my brain…If not for him, I wouldn’t be working on a graduate degree;” and the supreme accolade, ”He’s why I came to Ohio State.”

 

David Hoffman, professor, history; students refer to him as, “a creative, innovative teacher, genuinely interested in both teaching his students and learning from them." One student said, “He is passionate about his subject and every day he brought his ‘A’ game.”

 

 

 

 

Diane W. Birckbichler, professor, French and Italian and director, Foreign Language Center; Birckbichler’s letters of support echo common themes: The single driving force behind the quality of undergraduate education in foreign languages; a national campaigner for foreign language teaching; advocate of interdisciplinary education and international awareness; university treasure and role model.

 

Brian McEnnis, professor, mathematics, Marion campus; colleagues say McEnnis’ commitment to the university is exemplary; Serving on University Senate; working tirelessly to extend the reach and visibility of Ohio State into our communities; making a significant impact on mathematics instruction both in the classroom, and work on policy committees.

 

 

 

Ruth Kinder, lecturer, chemistry and biochemistry, Lima campus; both colleagues and students say Kinder does everything in her power to see that her students succeed. “Perhaps what most sets Kinder apart from other outstanding teachers," one said, "is her passion for integrating the latest technology into the classroom experience; she is a pioneer and leader in using educational technology."

 

Matthew Stolzfus, lecturer, chemistry and biochemistry (Dr. Fus to his students); is appreciated for his enthusiasm. One student said, "The first day that I walked into Dr. Fus' Chemistry 1210 class, I instantly knew that this classroom experience would be completely different than anything I had ever been a part of. His energy and passion for the subject and teaching was contagious."