FACULTY HONORED
FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

 
President Lloyd Benjamin (left) congratulates ISU’s faculty President’s Medal recipients (from left) P.G. Aaron, Gerald Cockrell, Constance McLaren and Ronald Baker.

Four faculty members at Indiana State University have received the 2000 President’s Medal in recognition of exemplary performance. They are: P.G. Aaron, professor of educational psychology; Ronald L. Baker, professor and chairperson of the department of English; Gerald Cockrell, professor of electronics and computer technology; and Constance H. McLaren, professor of decision sciences and coordinator of the quality and decision sciences program.

ISU President Lloyd W. Benjamin III presented the awards at the fifth annual Faculty Honors Banquet in November.

P.G. Aaron:

Aaron has been recognized by his peers for the quality and significance of his research to advance our understanding of the reading process. He received the Albert Harris Award in Reading Disabilities from the International Reading Association in 1980, ISU’s Research and Creativity Award in 1989, the School of Education’s Raleigh Holmstedt Distinguished Professorship in 1996, and the Coffman Distinguished Professorship in 1999.

Aaron, who has been at ISU since 1978, has authored three books and edited two on reading disabilities. He has delivered keynote addresses at major national and international conferences.

Ronald Baker:

Baker has been teaching at ISU for 34 years and currently serves as chairperson of the department of English. He has written six books, including his latest, "Homeless, Friendless and Penniless: The WPA Interviews with Former Slaves Living in Indiana." The Indiana Magazine of History called him the dean of Indiana folklore studies, and the American Folklore Society elected him as a Fellow.

Baker has held numerous offices in the Hoosier Folklore Society and has served as editor of its journal, Midwestern Folklore. He has also served as editor of The Folklore Historian, a publication of the American Folklore Society and as director of the folklore archives at ISU.

Gerald Cockrell:

Cockrell, professor of electronics and computer technology, has served at ISU since 1977 and has been a leader in the development of a state-of-the-art instrumentation and control technology laboratory. He has worked to develop FlexTech, which is an evening and Saturday program for the instrumentation and control technology program.

Cockrell serves as the coordinator of the master’s of science degree program in electronics and computer technology and has held numerous offices in the ISA, the International Society for Measurement and Control. In 1993 he was honored with the commission of Kentucky Colonel by the governor of Kentucky.

Constance McLaren:

McLaren, a professor of decision sciences and coordinator of the quality and decision sciences program, has been at ISU since 1979. A participant in the Course Transformation Academy and the Lilly Project First-Year Learning Communities Group, she has assisted in development and delivery of courses for distance learning. She has also developed first-year experience courses for business majors.

McLaren has published research including textbooks, study guides, test banks and publications, and has been a recipient of the School of Business Excellence in Teaching Award in 1994 and ISU’s Caleb Mills Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997. She has served on numerous committees at ISU, including the North Central Association Accreditation Committee, the Caleb Mills Distinguished Teaching Award Selection Committee, and the Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Board.

Other faculty members who have received the President’s Medal in the past include:

1999:
James W. Chesebro, communication; Gale E. Christianson, history; James Larry Heath, electronics and computer technology; and Gary Stewart, theater;

1998:
Michele Boyer, counseling; Sheron Dailey, communication; Andre Hammonds, sociology; and Robert Williams, education;

1997:
William Dando, geography, geology and anthropology; and Everett Tarbox, humanities;

1996:
William Brett, life sciences; and D. Gene England, English.

2001 Tenure Awards:
*Ann Cockerham, Library Services
*Byron Greenlaw, Aerospace Technology
*Penelope Kyker, Library Services
*Nancy C. Lawrence, Health and Safety
*Joseph Meert, Geography, Geology and Anthropology
*Carmen Montanez, Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
*Todd Whitaker, Educational Leadership, Administration and Foundations
*Richard Zielinski, Music 

2000 Promotions:
Professors:
*Shanaka de Silva, Geography, Geology and Anthropology
*Thomas Derrick, English
*Randall Mitchell, Music
*Karen Rutherford, Family and Consumer Sciences
*James Slutz, Music
*Mark Stimley, Communication Disorders and Special Education
*Joseph Tenerelli, Communication 

Associate Professors:
*Deborah Barnhart, Nursing
*Stanley Evans, English
*Valentina French, Physics
*Rocco Gennaro, Philosophy
*Robert Jajcay, Mathematics and Computer Sciences
*Carmen Montanez, Languages, Literatures and Linguistics
*Dale Ann O’Neal, Nursing
*Sharron Pollack, Art
*Susan Powers, Curriculum, Instruction and Media Technology
*Ming Zhou, Industrial/Mechanical Technology
*Richard Zielinski, Music

Senior Assistant Librarians:
*Melody Allison, Library Services
Valentine Muyumba, Library Services

 December 13, 2000