Eight win academic staff awards

For their outstanding work in leadership, public service, research and teaching, eight university professionals have been honored with the 2003 Academic Staff Excellence Awards.

Winners will attend a chancellor’s reception April 24, and be recognized by the Academic Staff Assembly.

There are six award categories overall. Seven awards carry $2,500 stipends; the Award for Excellence in Teaching carries a $5,000 stipend.

Dennis A. Hill
Ann Wallace Career Achievement Award

Although they may not have known it at the time, thousands of UW–Madison students over the past three decades have been affected by the work of Dennis Hill.

First as information librarian and, since 1991, as building manager of the Memorial Library, Hill has been responsible for providing innovative information and orientation services. He has also helped to maintain a productive and safe environment for those who do research, study and write at the library. He will retire in June, and is receiving the inaugural award for career achievement.

Beyond his library responsibilities, Hill has been a tireless worker on academic staff issues, serving on every academic staff appeals body since 1986. His five years as chair of the academic staff appeals committee have been precedent setting.

In addition, he has been a strong advocate for blood donation, serving as the coordinator for the UW Libraries blood donor club.

“My only regret is that he is indeed eligible for the award by virtue of his upcoming retirement,” writes Steve Lund, director of the Academic Personnel Office. “I would much rather write this letter (of recommendation) several years from now.”

Mohammad Mehdi Fayyaz
Wisconsin Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Leadership

Unless you’ve been living on an island in Lake Mendota for the past two years, it’s likely that you’ve seen—or smelled—Mo Fayyaz’s most famous achievement. As director of the Botany Department Greenhouses and Botanical Garden, he is the man behind the blooming of the world famous Titan Arum, a rare plant from Sumatra that bloomed with a stench of rotting meat.
The June 2001 and July 2002 blooming drew 40,000 visitors to Birge Hall, worldwide media attention and more than 2 million Internet hits to its webcam, crashing university servers.

But beyond his duties shepherding the plant and the accompanying media attention, Fayyaz has a reputation as a talented and energetic director, fundraiser and spokesman for the department. With the help of alumni, the UW Foundation, the College of Letters and Sciences and private donors, he managed to raise over $300,000, which will be allocated for the coming expansion of the UW-Botanical Garden. Fayyaz came to UW–Madison in 1973, earning a masters and Ph.D in horticulture-botany. He started as director in 1984.

“Mohammad has been a truly outstanding member of the department, certainly one of its most valuable assets,” writes Michael Adams, professor and chair of the Greenhouse and Gardens Committee. “Even trying to imagine the greenhouse and gardens not under his direction some day is an almost frightening thought.”

Dr. Jeffrey Grossman
Wisconsin Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Leadership
Over his 28-year association with the University of Wisconsin, Jeffrey Grossman’s contributions have stretched beyond the borders of campus, encompassing Dane County and the entire state.

Grossman serves as Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the UW Medical School and as President and CEO of the of the UW Medical Foundation. He is also a CHS professor of medicine and anesthesiology.

He has distinguished himself in numerous areas, most notably as a respected teacher, clinician, administrator and leader. He has held a variety leadership roles for UW Medical School and UW Hospital and Clinics, including Director of the Trauma and Life Support Center and Interim Chair of the Department of Medicine, in addition to his current positions. As the leader of UW Medical Foundation, his vision is to realize the full potential of the “Wisconsin Idea” in the area of health care.

“He combines keen intelligence and impressive abilities to work with people with enormous energy, unflinching objectivity and a deep sense of fairness,” writes Dennis Maki, Ovid O. Meyer Professor of Medicine, infectious disease section head and attending physician in the Center for Trauma and Life Support. “Few members of our faculty who know him well do not hold him in the highest professional regard.”

Barry Robinson
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Service to the University

Robinson, a senior administrative program specialist in the Department of Theatre and Drama, exemplifies the Wisconsin Idea by his work bridging campus and community through the arts.
Among his responsibilities are the business and public relations management of the University Theater, working with the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission and taking an active role in the education of students involved with the theater.

He is known as an articulate and enthusiastic spokesperson for his department, the campus community, academic staff colleagues and lifelong arts education. He has served on ASEC and was part of the team of academic staff members who worked on the development of professorial titles for academic staff positions in certain areas of research and instruction.

“Barry exemplifies service to the university in its fullest dimensions and he does it with tremendous grace,” writes Linda Newman, chair of the Academic Staff Executive Committee. “Service to the university comes in many forms. The most visible may be in committee work which keeps this institution going, and of which Barry has richly contributed.”

Dr. Melinda Certain
Chancellor’s Hilldale Award for Excellence in Teaching

Melinda Certain translated her love of mathematics into a program designed to help inspire students in pre-calculus and calculus courses. The program targets students who have achieved well in high school but may be at risk in larger university calculus classes.

Certain, faculty associate in the Math Department, was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Emerging Scholars program in the early 1990s and has served as its coordinator since 1995. She will retire at the end of the semester.

The WES program gives students intensive course work in small groups as a supplement to regular classes in an effort to spur them to success. The program is one of the most successful and important educational programs in the department.

Certain also has served as an instructor, teaching a variety of math courses. In addition, she has organized the UW Mega Math Meet, an annual event for fifth and sixth grade students in rural Dane County since 1989.
“Melinda has been a superb performer in all regards,” writes Richard Brualdi, a math professor. “Her devoted leadership in WES has been crucial to its success. Her enthusiasm and personality have worked wonders in recruiting WES students at SOAR.”

Michael Neider
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research

Neider, in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has compiled a long and distinguished career as an ophthalmic photographer and researcher studying a variety of eye disorders including diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, presbyopia and cataract.
He currently serves as Associate Director-Photography for the Fundus Photograph Reading Center, an arm of the department.

Over his 28-year career with the University, he has been involved in clinical photography and for the past 9-years in the development of photography protocols and training of other ophthalmic photographers. He is an accomplished teacher and is known for exceptional performance, a gift for working with others and a natural talent for finding innovative approaches to solving problems.

“His career exemplifies the crucial role a gifted and committed academic staff member can play in the development of an academic department and in the fulfillment of the university’s research mission,” writes Dr. Matthew D. Davis, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Fundus Photograph Reading Center.

“More broadly, his career illustrates the importance to the University of the breadth, flexibility, collegiality and opportunity for professional growth that characterize the academic staff category.”

Norman L. Webb
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research

Norman Webb’s contributions to math education, assessment of student learning and evaluation of systemic education reform have advanced the thinking of his colleagues and influenced the practices of thousands of educators in the U.S. and around the world.

Webb, a senior research scientist in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, has spent the last 28 years, studying a variety of education issues, but his most current area of research is the evaluation of systemic reform, also known as standards-based reform. He has worked with the WCER for the last 16 years, but also worked there for four years earlier in his career.

His work is groundbreaking and the concepts he has developed are in use nationally. Over the years, Webb has successfully secured numerous grants to continue his research and development work.

“He is the best known, most respected and sought after evaluator of mathematics education programs in the world,” writes Andrew Porter, director of WCER. “We are extremely fortunate to have him at our university. The field of education research and evaluation has and will continue to benefit from his keen insights and his high quality contribution to theoretical formulations and solid empirical work.”

Tim Gattenby
Robert Heideman Award for Excellence in Public Service

Gattenby, an assistant faculty associate in the Department of Kinesiology and School of Education teaches how exercises and activities can be individualized and adapted for a wide range of physical abilities. Clients who participate in his programs come from the Madison area and from many miles beyond.

Since 1986, he has worked closely with kinesiology major students who are taught to work with disabled individuals by adapting exercise prescription and the modification of skill techniques to suit the individual. He is also an advocate for access and accommodation for individuals with disabilities across campus and in the Madison area.
An accomplished multi-sport enthusiast, Gattenby also played a key role in the selection of Madison as the site of the 2002 Ironman Wisconsin competition, a major boon to the city and local economy. He designed the course which showcased campus and the surrounding countryside.

“I have never, in 15 years, attempted to speak with Tim about any topic where I wasn’t greeted with respect, a friendly smile and a warm welcome,” writes associate professor Jo-Anne Lazarus in support of his nomination. “With Tim, his time is your time. There is never anyone more important than the person to whom he is speaking with at the moment.”