Spring 2007

UO Donors Fund Excellence Awards For Faculty Members

Thanks to new Campaign Oregon gifts, twenty of the UO's best faculty members are being recognized for excellence.

Provost Linda Brady congratulated the first recipients of awards from the Fund for Faculty Excellence, which was established in October with an initial gift from an anonymous donor of $5.2 million and was recently boosted to $10.4 million with another anonymous gift of the same size.

"The Fund for Faculty Excellence is designed to support the University of Oregon's strategic commitment to improve its overall academic quality and reputation by recruiting, supporting, recognizing, and retaining world-class faculty members," Brady said. "This fund is designed to provide salary adjustments and other support to faculty members deemed vulnerable to recruitment by other top institutions. It will enable us to be proactive in our retention efforts."

The award recipients will receive salary supplements and research support ranging from $6,000 to $15,000 a year. The faculty members receiving the awards are "on the cutting edge of research in their disciplines and emerging areas of interdisciplinary research in fields such as nanoscience, environmental sustainability, and conflict resolution," she said. "Their national and international reputations draw the best students who are seeking opportunities to study and work with outstanding teachers and mentors."

Fourteen of the twenty recipients are from the College of Arts and Sciences, four are from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, and one each is from the School of Law and the School of Music and Dance (see list below). Recipients say the awards will definitely help keep top faculty members from defecting for higher salaries.

"Competitive salaries are a really important aspect of how we retain people," says Jim Hutchison, an international pioneer in nanoscience and green chemistry. "It could be particularly critical for minority faculty members," says Carlos Aguirre, an award-winning teacher and scholar of modern Latin America. "In the last few years, we have seen a number of very valuable people leaving the university, partly for higher salaries."

But the recognition from colleagues and administrators is an even more important benefit of the awards. "Recognizing the efforts of faculty members builds loyalty," said Susan Guion, an influential scholar in second language acquisition. "I feel very honored, gratified, and flattered," said Jeffrey Hurwit, who will use part of his award for travel to support his research on Greek art and architecture.

"It's like winning the sweepstakes-it's wonderful!" said Alison Kwok, a leader in sustainable design education. "It helps to feel appreciated, valued, and respected, even without the money." She will use part of her award to continue a project that links architecture students with professionals on case studies of building designs.

The recipients were chosen by the provost based on recommendations from a group of distinguished faculty members. Brady said she hopes eventually to make the supplements permanent. For brief bios on recipients, go to campaign.uoregon.edu and click on "News."

Of the $500 million raised so far by Campaign Oregon, more than $53 million is for faculty support, including awards, fellowships, endowed chairs and professorships, and research support. During the campaign, thirty new endowed chairs and professorships have been established with gifts from donors.

Recipients:
Carlos A. Aguirre, Associate Professor of History
Dare Ann Baldwin,Professor of Psychology
Alice Barkan, Professor of Biology
Douglas Blandy, Professor of Arts Administration
Bryna Goodman, Professor of History
Susan G. Guion, Associate Professor of Linguistics
Michael M. Haley, Professor of Chemistry
Kenneth Helphand, Professor of Landscape Architecture
Jeffrey Hurwit, Professor of Art History
James E. Hutchison, Professor of Chemistry
Alexander S. Kleshchev, Professor of Mathematics
Alison Kwok, Professor of Architecture
Massimo Lollini, Professor of Romance Languages
W. Andrew Marcus, Professor of Geography
Christopher Minson, Associate Professor of Human Physiology
Michael Moffitt, Associate Professor of Law
Jeffrey Ostler, Professor of History
Patrick C. Phillips, Professor of Biology
F. Regina Psaki, Professor of Romance Languages
Milagro Vargas, Associate Professor of Voice