College of Arts and Sciences Honors Outstanding Faculty

Sixteen faculty in the University of Tennessee’s College of Arts and Sciences were honored for their extraordinary accomplishments at the college’s annual celebration of faculty on November 29, 2011. Awards were presented for excellence in teaching, research, student advising, outreach, and service.

Hap McSween (left), interim dean of the college, presents the College Marshal award to Soren Sorensen, professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

“We are very proud of the 600 world-class teachers and scholars who make up our faculty,” said Hap McSween, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “While they certainly bring national and international acclaim to our university and state, we want to take the time to thank them for the contribution they make to our college and students on a daily basis.”

McSween presented the College Marshal award—the highest honor the college bestows on a faculty member—to Soren Sorensen, professor and head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, for his outstanding service to the college and the university. Sorensen will represent the College of Arts and Sciences at the fall and spring commencement ceremonies.

Among the other honors presented, the Outstanding Service Award was given to Christopher Craig, professor and head of the Department of Classics, for his commitment to advancing the mission and goals of the college.

The Lorayne W. Lester Award—established to recognize faculty and staff who have demonstrated outstanding service to the college and its various constituencies in honor of Lorayne W. Lester, former dean of the college—was presented to Stanley Guffey, a lecturer in the Division of Biology.

For supporting the college’s and university’s commitment to diversity, the Diversity Leadership Award was given to Lynn Sacco, associate professor in the Department of History.

The Faculty Advising Service Award went to Rachelle Scott, associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies, and to David Wilson, professor in the School of Art, for their excellence in undergraduate advising.

The Faculty Academic Outreach Award was presented to Marcia Goldenstein, professor in the School of Art, and to Michael McKinney, professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, for their contributions to public engagement.

For excellence in teaching, the Junior Faculty Teaching Award went to Ben Feldmeyer, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, and the Senior Faculty Teaching Award to Robert Emmet Jones, associate professor in the Department of Sociology.

The James R. and Nell W. Cunningham Outstanding Teaching Award—established by UT alumni James R. and Nell W. Cunningham to honor faculty who demonstrate outstanding classroom teaching—went to John Nolt, professor in the Department of Philosophy.

For outstanding achievements in creative activity, scholarship and research, the Junior Faculty Research and Creative Achievement Award was given to Devon Burr, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and to David Gold, assistant professor in the Department of English. The Senior Faculty Research and Creative Achievement Award went to Lawrence Taylor, professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

The Award for New Creative Projects in the Arts and Humanities—established to provide faculty in the arts and humanities with financial support for advancing their scholarship or creative work—went to Laura Nenzi, associate professor in the Department of History, and to John Sipes, associate professor in the Department of Theatre.

Faculty representing the college’s twenty-one academic departments and schools—spanning the disciplines of the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences—attended the event.

College of Arts and Sciences faculty honored at the 2011 winter convocation.

 About the College of Arts and Sciences

With twenty-one academic departments and schools, twelve interdisciplinary programs, and seven centers and institutes, the College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest, largest, most comprehensive, and most diverse college of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The college offers more than sixty undergraduate academic programs and fifty graduate programs in the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the visual and performing arts. Committed to the long-standing traditions of the liberal arts, the college seeks to promote in all its students the values of free and bold intellectual inquiry, vibrant and effective civic engagement, and an understanding of our nation’s and world’s rich cultural heritages.