UMaine Faculty Members Honored
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — The University of Maine’s four top annual faculty awards were presented at the Academic Honors Convocation earlier this afternoon.
This year’s Distinguished Maine Professor is David Townsend, professor of oceanography and director of UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences. The annual award by the Alumni Association recognizes outstanding achievements in teaching, research and public service.
The Presidential Teaching Award was presented to Mary S. Tyler, from the UMaine Dept. of Biological Sciences. The recipient of the Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award was Kyriacos Markides, professor of sociology. Receiving the Presidential Public Service Achievement Award was Carol Gilmore, a management professor in the Maine Business School.
“These four professors represent the very strongest attributes of the University of Maine’s wonderful faculty,” says UMaine President Robert Kennedy. “They are scholars of international repute who are absolutely dedicated to their students and to UMaine’s land-grant mission. Professors like Dave, Mary, Kyriacos and Carol are the reason that UMaine can provide high-quality education to its students and equally important service to the people of Maine.”
David Townsend earned a bachelor’s degree from UMaine in 1974, followed by a Ph.D. in 1981. He joined the UMaine faculty in 1993. Known internationally for his research on the Gulf of Maine, specifically on red tide, Townsend is one of the most respected and prolific scholars in his field of study. He is also a dedicated teacher, who holds weekend and evening review sessions for his students to assure that every student has an opportunity to attend. Townsend is well-known throughout Maine for his tireless efforts to share with Maine people the results of his research and his passion for quality higher education in Maine.
“Professor Townsend is a singular asset to the University of Maine and embodies all of the attributes we would hope that our faculty might posses,” wrote Prof. Irv Kornfield of the UMaine zoology faculty and the 1997 Distinguished Maine Professor in nominating Townsend for the award.
Mary S. Tyler, a professor of zoology at UMaine, came to UMaine as a faculty member in 1976. Noted as a teaching innovator, Tyler has long been a leader in using technology as part of the teaching and learning process. She developed a CD-ROM, now in its third revision, to augment the textbook she wrote on developmental biology. Tyler has also created DVDs and a website (www.developmental biology.net) for teaching purposes, along with a two-volume DVD set of eight movies about famous scientists and their work. She is also credited with developing the Biology New Media Center, where UMaine professors and others work in projects related to developing multimedia teaching materials. A key result has been the development of a Web-based biology learning platform, so effective in upper-level courses that it under modification for use in introductory biology courses. “She has revolutionized the way that developmental biologists across the world teach their courses,” wrote Scott F. Gilbert, Howard A. Schneiderman Professor of Biology at Swathmore College, in support of Tyler’s nomination. Tyler was UMaine’s Distinguished Maine Professor in 1981.
Carol Gilmore has been on the UMaine faculty for 39 years. During that time, she has given willingly of her time and talents to serve the university and its faculty and staff as an advocate, a mediator and as a tireless contributor to important efforts. A labor relations specialist, Gilmore has served on the State Labor Relations Board since 1996, and she is a member of the State Board of Pharmacists. She is also well-known for her work in support of important community organizations such as Wellspring, Inc., which provides rehabilitation facilities for people recovering from alcoholism. “She is an exemplary individual who has a deep concern for the welfare of others,” wrote Dean Daniel Innis from the UMaine College of Education and Human Development in supporting the colleagues who nominated Gilmore for the award.
A prolific scholar, Kyriacos Markides joined the UMaine faculty in 1972 and saw publication of the first of his eight books five years later. He is recognized as one of the world’s leading scholars studying the nature of spiritual experiences and structure and culture of spiritual communities. Markides’ six books in that field of study have been translated into 12 languages, and he has received worldwide recognition for his work. UMaine sociology professor Steven Cohn nominated Markides for this award. “(Markides’) research goes far to illuminate the complex nature of spiritual experience and how this experience is both affected by, and can transcend, the cultural influences in which it is embedded,” Cohn wrote.