Five UMaine Professors Honored at Convocation Ceremony
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — Five University of Maine professors, each with international reputations in their academic disciplines and many years of distinguished service to UMaine and its students, were announced this afternoon as the winners of UMaine’s annual top faculty awards. The awards are part of the annual Academic Honors Convocation, traditionally held the day before commencement. Today’s event was at Alfond Arena.
For the first time since the award’s 1963 inception, two faculty members share the University of Maine Alumni Association Distinguished Maine Professor award, presented by the alumni association in recognition of outstanding achievements in teaching, research and public service.
Prof. Janice Kristo, professor of literacy education in UMaine’s College of Education and Human Development and Prof. John Vetelino, University of Maine Trustee Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, share the Distinguished Maine Professor award. Each will provide remarks at UMaine’s Saturday commencement ceremonies.
Kristo joined the UMaine faculty in 1982. As the senior faculty member specializing in literacy, she has a leadership role that has an impact throughout Maine and beyond. Kristo is a prolific scholar and researcher who has co-authored or co-edited ten books, co-authored ten book chapters, written 24 published articles, and given more than 110 presentations, almost half of them at national and international conferences or meetings. Regional and national recognition includes the New England Reading Association’s 2003 Special Recognition Award and membership in the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy. Described by her colleagues as “one of (UMaine’s) preeminent teachers, Kristo teaches both undergraduate and graduate students. Her scholarly work focuses on children’s literature in K-8 classrooms, and she spends a great deal of time in Maine schools working directly with teachers and students. With her colleague Rosemary Bamford, Kristo received UMaine’s Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award in 2000.
Vetelino, a UMaine professor since 1969, is also a founding member of UMaine’s interdisciplinary Laboratory for Surface Science and Technology (LASST). He has long been among UMaine’s faculty leaders in acquiring funding for sponsored research. Vetelino has received more than 100 grants and awards, totaling more than $25 million. An international expert on sensor technology, he has some 200 publications to his credit, and he has presented more than 150 papers at professional meetings. Vetelino’s work in sensor technology development has led to the creation of four spinoff businesses, leading to jobs and economic development. Vetelino’s colleagues note is initiative in developing new courses and course materials, keeping UMaine students on top of emerging technologies and new knowledge. The 1980 winner of UMaine’s Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award, Vetelino has also developed a series of educational grants to extend UMaine’s expertise and resources to Maine’s middle school and high school teachers and students.
The 2008 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award was presented to Prof. Mary Ellen Camire of the UMaine Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition. In her 19 years on the UMaine faculty, Camire has helped lead the department’s growth and its impact on several fronts, including expert assistance to Maine agricultural and food producers. Her research has had a particular impact on Maine’s blueberry industry, ash she had helped develop new products and processing techniques. An expert on functional foods, Camire created UMaine’s Consumer Testing Center, for the sensory evaluation of food products. A Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Fellow, Camire received the prestigious Babcock-Hart Award from that group and the International Life Sciences Institute in 2006. That award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to food technologies that improve public health. She has published 57 peer reviewed journal articles and 11book chapters, and her work as an IFT Food Science Communicator has helped the public understand important issued in this field.
Prof. Alan Cobo-Lewis of the UMaine psychology faculty received the 2008 Presidential Public Service Achievement Award. Cobo-Lewis joined the UMaine faculty in 1998, and he was recognized in particular for his research, public service and advocacy on related to improving the lives of Maine’s children. He has applied his skills and energy to solving specific problems, leading to new public policy that benefits Maine families. During 2006-2007, Cobo-Lewis served as co-chair of Maine’s Subcommittee to Study Early Childhood Special Education, and effort that led to improvements in Maine’s early childhood special education and intervention system. A member of Maine’s Task force on Early Childhood and the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, Cobo-Lewis has earned praise for his work and his approach from state leaders and children’s advocacy groups. Because of his effective advocacy, Cobo-Lewis received the Autism Society of Maine’s 2007 service award and the 2007 Maine Children’s Alliance Giraffe Award (for people who “stick their neck out” to help children).
The Presidential Teaching Award was presented this afternoon to Prof. Gail Werrbach, a UMaine social work professor since 1988. Known for her collegiality and positive impact on her faculty colleagues and her students, Werrbach was recognized for her efforts to teach and mentor her students, while also working to find ways to expand the delivery of social work education in Maine and beyond. Her successful initiatives include the creation of a master’s program in social work at UMaine’s Hutchinson Center in Belfast, the development of distance education courses in the School of Social Work and the development of international student exchange programs with institutions in Belgium, Denmark and Spain. In recent years, Werrbach has worked to expand social work education opportunities for Native American students studying for both bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees. Her colleagues say that she is eminently respected by her fellow faculty members and by her students, who consistently express their appreciation for her effective teaching through course evaluations.