KU News Release

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announces awards to faculty, students

LAWRENCE — The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas this spring honored outstanding faculty members, recent graduates and a doctoral student with more than $50,000 in teaching and student awards. The awards are made possible by gifts from College alumni and friends to KU Endowment.

Heather Putnam, a doctoral student in geography from Lawrence, Kan., and Granada Hills, Calif., received the $3,200 Howard J. Baumgartel Peace and Justice Award. Graduate students in the College or the School of Business are eligible for the award, which supports research for a thesis or dissertation related to peace and justice.

Putnam was nominated by John Christopher Brown, professor in environmental studies, for her thesis, “Certified Places: Improving Access to Coffee Certifications as Rural Development Strategies.” She earned a master’s degree in geography from KU in spring 2007 and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Los Angeles. Putnam is the daughter of Gail Peebles of Granada Hills.

Two summer 2008 graduates received $500 for their outstanding theses at the College’s master’s degree hooding ceremony May 16: Cory Fischer-Hoffman of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., in Latin American studies, and Aubrey Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Orlando, Fla., in geography.

Peter H. Herlihy, associate professor of geography, nominated Fischer-Hoffman for her thesis, “Misión Madres del Barrio: A Bolivarian Social Program Recognizing Housework and Creating a Caring Economy in Venezuela.” Fischer-Hoffman is now campaign director of the Prometheus Radio Project in Philadelphia, Pa. She received her bachelor’s degree from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash.

Two faculty nominated Jones’ thesis project, “Impact of Soil Moisture Variability on Convective Precipitation in the Central Plains through Land-Atmosphere Feedbacks.” Her work was nominated by Stephen Egbert, associate professor of geography, and Nathaniel Brunsell, assistant professor of geography. Jones is an environmental consultant with Trinity Consultants in Orlando. She also received a KU bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science in fall 2005. She is the daughter of John and Daneen Krehely of Colorado Springs and a graduate of Pine Creek High School.

Faculty receiving awards included:

— Rex Martin, professor emeritus of philosophy, received the $1,000 Career Achievement Teaching Award, which is presented to a retired faculty member in the College who has distinguished himself or herself through excellence in teaching. Martin will be honored at the College’s reception for new faculty in the fall.

— Caroline Jewers, associate professor of French and Italian, and Jonathan Mayhew, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, received $5,000 Jessie Marie Senor Cramer and Ann Cramer Root Awards. These annual awards recognize meritorious teaching and/or research in the French and Italian and Spanish and Portuguese departments.

— Kimberly A.B. Swanson, assistant professor of French and Italian, and Robert Bayliss, assistant professor of Spanish and Portuguese, earned Jessie Marie Senor Cramer and Ann Cramer Root Professorships of $5,000 a year for three years. The professorships are given every three years to reward excellence in teaching and research in the departments.

— Jan Sheldon, professor of applied behavioral science; David Mechem, assistant professor of geography; and Jack Wright, professor of theatre and film, each received J. Michael Young Academic Advisor Awards. The award honors exemplary advising by a faculty member in each of the three divisions of the College: humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. The award provides each recipient $500, and an additional $500 is added to honoree’s base salary.

— Alison Gabriele, assistant professor of linguistics, and Theodore A. Wilson, professor of history, each received Byron A. Alexander Graduate Mentor Awards.

— Mabel Rice, the Fred and Virginia Merrill Distinguished Professor of Advanced Studies, and Rolfe Mandel, associate professor of anthropology and associate scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, each received John C. Wright Graduate Mentor Awards, which provide $500 to each recipient. Selection is based on nominations received from graduate students in the college.

The funds for these awards are managed by KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit foundation serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.

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