Humanities Faculty Spotlight:

College Recognizes Outstanding Faculty

Each fall the College of Humanities holds a recognition reception to celebrate the many achievements of its faculty throughout the previous academic year as well as introduce new faculty to the humanities community. On display are new works or new editions of scholarship, poetry, fiction, and textbooks, and major College awards are announced including the Humanities Distinguished Professors, the Diversity Enhancement Award, the Virginia Hull Research Award, and the Exemplary Faculty Award.

For the 2006–2007 academic year, the College was honored to name Adélékè Adèékó, English; Ken Andrien, History; Gregory Jusdanis, Greek and Latin; and Brian Rotman, Comparative Studies Humanities Distinguished Professors. The College established the honorific title in order to recognize senior colleagues who have earned distinction in all three areas of professional endeavor, and whose work, especially in professional service and scholarship, has earned them national and international recognition of the highest sort.

The Diversity Enhancement Award recognizes innovative practices, policies, and programs that promote diversity. This year's winner was Lucy Murphy of the History Department-Newark campus.

Those who nominated Murphy for this award noted that she has "worked tirelessly to improve teaching about diverse groups of people, to recruit minority faculty and staff, to develop community and academic programs in American Indian studies, and to create beneficial relations between Ohio State and Native American organizations and individuals."

The College was also pleased to acknowledge Robin Judd, of the Department of History, as the recipient of the Virginia Hull Research Award. This award was established by Virginia Hull to support the research of female assistant and associate professors in the College of Humanities. Judd's current research project is a book-in-progress, "Love at the Zero Hour: European War Brides, GI Husbands, and Reconstruction Strategies, 1945-1950." The selection committee was especially impressed with the promise of Judd's project to develop historical understandings of the relationship among Jewish "victims," German "perpetrators," and American "occupiers."

The Exemplary Faculty Award is the College's most important recognition of achievements in research, teaching, and service. This year's award recipient was Irene Delic, professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures.

A distinguished scholar of Russian literature, Delic is the author of two monographs, a book-length translation, over 45 articles, and numerous reviews. For fifteen years, she has been co-editor of one of the foremost journals in her field, Russian Review. In addition, Delic is an inspiring and dedicated teacher. As one of her nominators stated, she delights in designing new courses and bringing fresh content to existing courses. Her service record is also outstanding. As one mark of her extensive contributions to her field, in 2004, she received the Award for Service to the Profession from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages.