Summer 2007 - Hood College

Summer 2007Hood Magazine 5Eleven Hood Professors Granted Fellowships,Sabbaticals, Earn Promotions and TenureFour faculty members received Hodson Fellowships, three were granted sabbaticalleaves, three earned promotions and two earned promotions and tenure.Lisa Algazi, Ph.D., professor of French, received a Hodson Fellowship for fall 2007.Susan Ensel, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and chair of the department of chemistryand physics, received a Hodson Fellowship for fall 2007 and spring 2008.Scott Pincikowski, Ph.D., associate professor of German, received a HodsonFellowship for fall 2007.Kerry Strand, Ph.D., professor of sociology and chair of the department of sociologyand social work, received a Hodson Fellowship for fall 2007.Douglas Boucher, Ph.D., was granted sabbatical leave for fall 2007 and was promotedfrom associate professor of biology to professor. His research interests focus on invasiveplant species, population dynamics of the American chestnut and recovery of theNicaraguan rain forest since Hurricane Joan in 1988.Roser Caminals-Heath, Ph.D., professor of Spanish, was granted sabbatical leave forspring and fall 2008.Joy Ernst, Ph.D., associate professor of social work and director of Hood’s social workprogram, was granted sabbatical leave for spring 2008.Frederick Bohrer, Ph.D., was promoted from associate professor of art to professor.He specializes in the art and culture of 19th century Europe. His research focuseson the European image of non-European cultures, particularly in relation to theMiddle East.Joyce Michaud was promoted from assistant professor of art to associate professor.Michaud is a multimedia artist who is currently working in woodfire porcelain.Several of her works are represented in the permanent collection of the SmithsonianMuseum of American Art’s Renwick Gallery.Karen Hoffman, Ph.D., was granted tenure and promoted from assistant professor ofphilosophy to associate professor. She specializes in ethics and her scholarly interestscenter on issues in ethical theory and on the work of the Danish philosopher SørenKierkegaard.Rusty Monhollon, Ph.D., was granted tenure and promoted from assistant professorof history to associate professor. His research examines various aspects of Americanlife in the post-World War II era, including the civil rights and black power movements,anticommunist activism and the politics of the 1960s.The promotions for all four professors will be effective in the fall and thegranting of tenure will be effective in fall 2008. The promotions were grantedby the board of trustees and were based on the recommendations of the College’sfaculty personnel committee and President Ronald J. Volpe, Ph.D., in consultationwith Provost Robert N. Funk, Ph.D.Alum Recognized as Outstanding TeacherNatalie Wack Evans ’85, M.A. ’90, is Frederick County PublicSchools’ 2007 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher. The annualWashington Post award recognizes excellence in teaching, encouragescreative and quality instruction and contributes to theimprovement of education in the Washington metropolitan area.Evans chairs the English department at Linganore High Schooland has taught English and journalism classes there for the past 22years. She is also on Linganore’s School Improvement Team and has served as adviserfor the school’s student newspaper, literary magazine and many other student groups.Evans’ peers and principal cited her enthusiasm, willingness to lead and creativitywhen nominating her for the award.Laufer, StrombergReceive NSF GrantsTwo faculty members received nearly$300,000 in grants from the NationalScience Foundation for research that willexplore the use of wastes to make biofueland enable students and faculty to conductresearch on new instrumentation.The grants awarded to Craig Laufer,Ph.D., professor of biology, and ChrisStromberg, Ph.D., assistant professor ofchemistry and physics, will enhance theircurrent research projects, and have profoundeffects in the community and inthe classroom. Laufer received $148,440.Stromberg’s grant is $150,000.Laufer’s research, in collaboration withAtlantic Biomass Conversions, Inc., ofFrederick, focuses on developingenzymes that are suited to turn agriculturalwaste into biofuels. His NSF-SmallBusiness Innovation Research grant isfor Phase I of his research, entitled“Development of Sugar Beet PulpEnzymatic Pretreatment.” The grant,which will finance research for one year,will allow Laufer and Hood undergraduateand graduate students to develop anadvanced agriculture-based biofuelproduction system.Laufer’s research will include engineeringbiopolymer-degrading enzymes bymaking genetic changes to them andfinding variants that have enhancedproperties which work efficiently toconvert the agricultural wastes intobiofuels.Stromberg received a NSF-CourseCurriculum and LaboratoryImprovement teaching grant to fundthe purchase of a Raman spectrometer,which is generally not available at theundergraduate level. It will be used forundergraduate physical, analytical andbiological chemistry courses andresearch.