Release date: May 14, 2007
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Faculty Members Receive Awards for Teaching, Research, Leadership

Ten Emory University faculty members were honored with teaching, research and mentoring awards presented at the university's commencement ceremony May 14.

Peter J. Brown, professor of anthropology and director of Emory's Center for Health, Culture and Society (CHCS), received the University Scholar/Teacher Award. The recipient is chosen by Emory faculty on behalf of the United Methodist Church Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

Brown has cultivated an environment for interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship for 30 years at Emory. Brown joined Emory in 1977 just as the university's Department of Anthropology was established. Under his chairmanship, the department flourished with signature faculty recruitments, innovative curricula and scholarship, and growth of the major and minor. A dedicated teacher, Brown has developed and taught 26 different courses over his years at Emory. Most recently, he journeyed to South Africa to arrange for a capstone course in the minor for Global Health, Culture and Society that required students to study the political and social context of AIDS and its impact on South Africa as they worked with agencies caring for infected populations. As director of the CHCS, Brown has built a community of scholars across the university and among various institutions, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition to his dedication to teaching and service, Brown has made significant contributions to the scholarship of medical anthropology. His research into parasitic diseases, obesity, and gender and health has been supported by the CDC, the National Institute of Aging, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has authored more than 60 refereed articles, co-edited four books, served as editor and associate editor of Medical Anthropology, the flagship journal of his field. He also is president-elect of the general anthropology division of the American Anthropological Association. Brown earned his bachelor's degree from Notre Dame and his master's and Ph.D. from Stony Brook University. Brown is a resident of Decatur (30030).

Director of forensics Melissa Maxcy Wade, an educational studies faculty member and founder of the Urban Debate League (UDL), received the Thomas Jefferson Award, which is presented to a faculty member or administrative officer in recognition of significant service to the university through personal activities, influence and leadership.

For 35 years, Wade has led Emory and the nation in forensics. Already a national debate and speech champion before completing high school, she continued that legacy at Emory College, where she graduated in 1972 as one of the nation’s top intercollegiate debaters. Wade went on to earn three graduate degrees from Emory: a master's in educational studies in 1976, plus a master of theological studies in 1996 and a master of theology in 2000 from Emory's Candler School of Theology.

As director of forensics and a faculty member of the Division of Educational Studies at Emory, Wade has published extensively on debate issues, strategies and pedagogy. She has coached Emory’s Barkley Forum to many national debate championships, including this year the first national championship ever won by an all-female duo. In addition to winning every national coaching award in her field, she has been recognized for her service, scholarship and leadership, and has earned a seat on the National Associated Presidential Debate Evaluation Panel for every U.S. presidential election since 1976 -- one of only three university debate coaches to receive such an invitation.

Wade radiates Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to civic enlightenment and engagement. Recognizing educational inequality in socioeconomically challenged secondary schools, she founded the UDL in Atlanta in 1985. Partnering Emory Barkley Forum students with Atlanta public school students, the UDL aims to nurture critical thinking, research and communication skills among at-risk students. Since its founding, UDL has become a national phenomenon, reaching more than 20 major urban areas, coaching some 40,000 students, and partnering with scores of colleges and universities who offer scholarships to UDL high school participants. As one colleague states in his nomination letter for this award, Wade fulfills Thomas Jefferson’s vision: “Enlighten the people, generally, and tyranny and oppressions of the body and mind will vanish like spirits at the dawn of day.” Wade is a resident of Chamblee, Ga. (30341).

Pat Marsteller, senior lecturer in biology and director of the Center for Science Education, received the George P. Cuttino Award for Excellence in Mentoring, established in 1997 by trustee John T. Glover. Marsteller is a resident of Stone Mountain, Ga. (30083).

Seven Emory professors received the Emory Williams Award for Distinguished Teaching. The university's most prestigious awards for teaching were established in 1972 by alumnus Emory Williams. The three awards in the arts and sciences are selected by a committee of Emory College faculty. Goizueta Business School, Oxford College and Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing each present an award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, and one other award rotates among the professional schools. The 2007 recipients of the Emory Williams Award are:

• Elizabeth Pastan, associate professor of art history, Emory College. Pastan is a resident of Atlanta (30306).

• Gray Crouse, professor of biology, Emory College. Crouse is resident of Atlanta (30307).

• David L. Petersen, professor of Old Testament, Candler School of Theology. Peterson is a resident of Decatur (30033).

• Nancy J. Thompson, associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education, Rollins School of Public Health. Thompson is a resident of Atlanta (30307).

• Linton C. Hopkins, professor of neurology, School of Medicine. Hopkins is a resident of Atlanta (30305).

• William Shapiro, professor of political science, Oxford College. Shapiro is a resident of Oxford, Ga. (30054).

• Michael W. Neville, associate professor of adult and elder health nursing, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Neville is a resident of Lilburn, Ga. (30047).

• Clifton Green, associate professor of finance, Goizueta Business School. Green is a resident of Atlanta (30307).

• David J. Bederman, professor of law, School of Law. Bederman is a resident of Atlanta (30306).

Emory University is one of the nation's leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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