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Photo by Tricia Strating

Kelly Fox, vice president and chief financial officer, receives the Faculty Council Administrator of the Year award from Mark Malone, council chair.

The University of Colorado Faculty Council honored Kelly Fox, vice president and chief financial officer, as the 2011 Faculty Council Administrator of the Year.

The council presented Fox the award in a ceremony on Thursday, April 28.

Fox was acknowledged for earning the confidence and respect of faculty by doing her job with skill and integrity. The council also resolved that "Fox, during one of the most challenging budget periods in the university's history, has demonstrated that she possesses the personal and professional qualities necessary to address critical needs of the university."

The council also honored Fox for her exceptional skill working with the Board of Regents, the Colorado General Assembly and its elected officials and for demonstrating great insight into the political process and the needs of the university.

Fox, who has been with the university since 2006, became vice president and chief financial officer on May 21, 2009. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver. She also worked at the university as system budget director from 2001 to 2004.

Math professor to receive 2011 Hazel Barnes Prize

Segur

Harvey Segur, a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been selected to receive the 2011 Hazel Barnes Prize, the highest faculty recognition for teaching and research awarded by the university.

Segur will receive an engraved university medal and a $20,000 cash award, the largest single faculty award funded by CU-Boulder. He will be recognized at a reception this fall and at the winter commencement ceremony on Dec 16.

The prize recognizes Segur's highly cited and influential research on nonlinear waves, along with his exceptional teaching record as a CU-Boulder faculty member since 1989.

"Professor Segur's transformational teaching and curriculum enhancements in service to our students embodies our Flagship 2030 Strategic Plan to redefine education for the 21st century," said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. "It is because of faculty like Professor Segur that learning and teaching is one of our pillars of impact at CU-Boulder. But this honor also recognizes his influential scholarly work and service and that is why it is our highest faculty honor."

Segur is helping to transform undergraduate education at CU-Boulder, focusing on improved student performance in lower-division calculus. The subject is a gatekeeper for majors and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields, according to Segur.

To bolster student success in introductory calculus courses, Segur, instructor Mary Nelson and others in the applied mathematics department have implemented more reflective discourse in the classroom through oral assessments. They also expanded CU-Boulder's Calculus I curriculum to include a two-semester alternative to the usual one-semester course, with the alternative designed to help students with weak mathematical backgrounds. Several universities across the United States are now adopting these reforms.

Segur received a 1994 Teaching Excellence Award from the Boulder Faculty Assembly and was awarded the Minority Engineering Program's Faculty Award in 1995.

In 1998, Segur was named a President's Teaching Scholar by former CU President John Buechner. He also served as chair of the applied mathematics department from 2000 to 2003.

Segur was selected to give CU-Boulder's 97th Distinguished Research Lecture in 2005, the highest honor bestowed by the Graduate School on a faculty member, recognizing an entire body of research and creative work. His talk was on fluid dynamics, describing several types of ocean waves, including common, wind-driven waves and much rarer tsunami waves.

Segur has authored several books and numerous journal articles. He has been a principal lecturer at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts. He also has been a guest lecturer in 15 countries including Germany, Russia, Japan, China and Denmark.

Segur has conducted research in various mathematical fields for the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NATO, the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Army Research Office. He also has worked extensively in private industry.

Segur received his master's and doctoral degrees in aeronautical sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. Before coming to CU-Boulder he was a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology, an associate professor at Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, N.J., and a professor at State University of New York, Buffalo.

The Hazel Barnes Prize was established in 1991 to recognize the enriching relationship between teaching and research. The prize was named in honor of CU-Boulder philosophy Professor Emerita Hazel Barnes, who taught at CU-Boulder from 1943 to 1986 and is noted for her interpretations of the works of French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. Barnes died in 2008 at the age of 92.

Professor to chair international science program

Syvitski

James Syvitski, professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been named the chair of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Syvitski will lead the Scientific Committee, IGBP's main decision-making body. His appointment begins Jan. 1, 2012.

Syvitski is the executive director of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System and former director of INSTAAR (Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research). He has authored and co-authored numerous publications and has been involved in IGBP projects since the organization's inception in 1987.

IGBP's vision is to provide essential scientific leadership and knowledge of the Earth system to help guide society onto a sustainable pathway during rapid global change. The international research program is sponsored by the International Council for Science.

"The defining research question of our age is how do we manage the Earth system – the planet's physical, chemical, biological and social components – responsibly, whilst feeding, clothing and protecting a population predicted to grow to nine billion people? IGBP and its partners are at the center of this research," Syvitski said.

The coastal-zone researcher is widely regarded as a leader in Earth-system science. He specializes in research on rivers, deltas, polar environments, sediment transport and continental margins. More than half of the planet's population lives on the coasts, making research in Syvitski's areas of expertise a priority for international research programs.

In 2009, Syvitski and colleagues published an influential paper revealing that most of the world's major deltas are sinking, largely as a result of human influence including mining, water extraction and damming.

Ballantyne's 44 years saluted at UCCS service awards

UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak and Paul Ballantyne

UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak honors Professor Paul Ballantyne at last week's service awards ceremony.

Led by Paul Ballantyne, professor in the department of economics at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, some 70 faculty and staff members were honored Thursday, April 28, for their commitment to the university for 25 or more years.

UCCS was only 2 years old when Ballantyne arrived in the fall of 1967. The Cragmor Campus, as the university was then called, still was in the beginnings of its transition from a bankrupt tuberculosis sanitarium to a free-standing campus.

"Coming here was kind of a challenge after leaving the Air Force Academy and flying fighter planes," Ballantyne said. "I came to teach economics at a former hospital with more bathrooms than classrooms, but I was surrounded by good people."

Ballantyne will retire following the spring semester with 44 years' service to the campus, including 30 years singing at commencement ceremonies, and will receive a special chancellor's award at the Campus Awards Ceremony.

Called charismatic, intelligent, enthusiastic and student-focused, Ballantyne was feted by Jim Null, professor, department of political science; Ken Pellow, professor, English; Dale DeBoer, associate professor, department of economics; Don Birkeland, a former department of psychology faculty member; and Tim Tregarthan, professor emeritus, department of economics. Tregarthan, now living in California, made his comments via a Skype connection.

"Having been here all of these years, I've learned a lot more than I've taught," Ballantyne said. "I've had colleagues who have taught me about life a lot more than I've taught them. If there's anything that God did give me was the ability to learn from those with whom I associated, and with whom I put my trust. That was the faculty members and you students."

The names, department, and years of service for others honored can be found at http://communique.uccs.edu/?p=3745

— Tom Hutton

Boulder Staff Council celebrates milestones

Cleo Estrada of the CU-Boulder Center for Multicultural Affairs receives her award for 35 years of continuous service to the campus from Chancellor Philip Distefano.

For the list of years of service recipients and 2010 retirees, visit http://www.colorado.edu/
staffcouncil/events/index.html under Years of Service Award Ceremony.

Nutrition society recognizes School of Medicine faculty

The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) recently honored several members of the University of Colorado School of Medicine with awards.

Bessesen

Eckel

Daniel Bessesen, M.D., professor of medicine, was awarded the Physician Nutrition Specialist Award. The award provides a $30,000 salary stipend to support the educational role of an academic physician who is focusing his/her career in nutrition. The award can be renewed competitively for a second year, contingent on demonstrated progress during the first year and on availability of funds.

Also honored at the ASN's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in April were:

James O. Hill, professor of pediatrics and medicine, David Kritchevsky Career Achievement Award, presented in recognition of an outstanding career in nutrition.

Robert Eckel, professor of medicine, Robert H. Herman Award, given each year to a clinical investigator whose research work has contributed importantly to the advancement of clinical nutrition, particularly the biochemical and metabolic aspects of human nutrition.

K. Michael Hambidge, professor emeritus of pediatrics, Kellogg Prize in International Nutrition, given to a member of ASN's International Nutrition Council actively engaged in research to benefit populations in nonindustrialized countries, as demonstrated through publications in the scientific literature, and actively engaged in training new scientists for international nutrition research.

Dropping names ...

David Tilton with his wife, Lisa

Darin Toohey, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, has been selected to be a Jefferson Sciences Fellow with the U.S. State Department. Jefferson Fellows serve for one year as science adviser on foreign policy issues. All fellowships are contingent upon awardees obtaining an official U.S. government security clearance. The fellowship begins in August. ... David Tilton, a facilities operations supervisor in the department of environmental health and safety at the University of Colorado Denver, recently was honored as employee of the month. Tilton was nominated for his professionalism and expertise in the area of building operations and leadership. During a recent federal inspection by the Centers for Disease Control, Tilton single-handedly executed and documented complex lab air handling tests required by federal regulations, according to his nominator. ... Eric Anderson, lecturer in the College of Architecture and Planning at CU Denver, has founded and is executive director for Hyperform Design Co-op, a nonprofit collaborative design studio based in Denver, which helped forge the Denver Storefront Initiative (DSI). The initiative began as a vision to fill the vacant window spaces of downtown Denver with activity, liveliness and beauty while educating and inspiring the community. ... Marcus Farr, instructor of architecture studies at CU Denver, received a 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Honor Award for Houston's Project City Centre in the Design – Constructed – Commercial category. As senior Design Associate for OJB, Farr worked as the designer for this project for three years, and was integral in designing both the master plan and project landscape. ... Lynne Yancey, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the School of Medicine, will receive the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine 2011 Clerkship Director of the Year Award. Yancey is co-director of the Core Clerkship in Emergency Care, required of every medical doctorate student in the School of Medicine. The award will be presented at the SAEM meeting in June. ... Jim Maller, professor of pharmacology at the School of Medicine, will soon be retiring and a symposium will be conducted in his honor on Friday, May 6, in the Hensel-Phelps auditorium on the Anschutz Medical Campus. The keynote speaker is Nobel Prize winner Sir Tim Hunt. Maller has been a faculty member in the department of pharmacology since 1977 and is a retired Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

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