The University’s annual Academic Convocation featured the presentation of Distinguished Faculty Awards, Pillars of FDU awards for outstanding staff and Presidential Citations.

Keynote speaker Elise Salem.

During the convocation, which officially commemorates the start of the new academic year, Elise Salem, associate provost, global learning (Metro/Flor), delivered the keynote address, titled “Outside Education: Where Is the World?”

In addition, President J. Michael Adams delivered remarks that spoke to his recent bout with lymphoma. He thanked the University community for its encouragement and support, which he said, “continually reinforced and sustained” him and “played an important role in my recovery.” He added that his treatments are nearly over and “I am feeling stronger each day.”

Adams said that his recent experiences reinforced for him the fact that the “most important things in life aren’t things … the most important things are people.” The illness also gave him an added appreciation for the values of FDU. He said, “FDU has a history and enduring spirit of service, humanity and helping others reach their full potential. I’ve personally experienced that outpouring.”

Adams referred to key developments that illustrate the University’s progress, including the successful bid for reaccreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education; enrollment increases, particularly among first-time, full-time, four-year freshmen; and notable fund-raising milestones, including the fact that “the past fiscal year was the most successful fund-raising year in the entire history of the University” and the early success of the initial phase of a $50-million capital campaign, with nearly $21 million pledged.

He also noted that other institutions have increasingly followed FDU’s lead and incorporated global commitments within their missions. “We must continue to integrate global learning throughout the FDU curriculum. This will further distinguish our institution. But more importantly it will give our students the tools to excel in a global age where opportunities and challenges cross borders at will.”

The president said he looks forward “with confidence and enthusiasm to this year together and many years to come … I cherish this community, its people, its values, its ideals and its future.”

Keynote Address

Salem opened her keynote address by discussing her experiences in Lebanon this summer. She was visiting her native land when war broke out, and she was forced to evacuate Beirut and journey to a refugee camp in Cyprus. “We don’t train for this in graduate school,” she said. “The experiences of war are so far outside education that we must acknowledge that education has to become something it is not.”

An important goal of education, said Salem, is making the connections to other parts of the world. “To educate is to draw out, to become something you are not, to go outside yourself, to confront, to understand ideas that you didn’t invent, to put to use people you’ve never met, to inhabit a world elsewhere that becomes part of your world.”

She added, “Part of the job of an educator is to introduce you to those worlds. And those worlds are not so elsewhere anymore. They are, in fact, very close by, already implicating us, shaping us in ways of which we’re conscious, and not so conscious.”

Education, Salem said, can provide “a way outside of the constraints of government and public opinion. And a university is that rare site where active engagement, vocal and impassioned questioning and even dissent, should be encouraged.”

There are many ways faculty can educate students about the world, Salem said. “We do it by transgressing, by moving across traditional boundaries, by going beyond dichotomies, beyond categories of fixed identities. We do it by looking way past the ‘you’re either with us or against us’ mentality.”

The full version of Salem’s address is available at http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=4418 .

Awards Presented

Three faculty members were presented Distinguished Faculty Awards for their outstanding contributions to the classroom, the University and their fields. The Distinguished Faculty Award for Service was given to Gretchen Gibbs, psychology (Metro). The Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching was presented to M. Patricia Warunek, biological sciences, and director, University Honors Program (Metro). The Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Scholarship was won by Peter Woolley, political science (Flor) and director, PublicMind.

The Pillars of FDU Awards are annually presented to nonfaculty who have made “extraordinary contributions” to the University. The 2006 recipients were Carol Creekmore, director, enrollment services (Flor); Laura Grant, associate director, enrollment services (Flor); Linda Lanigan, special assistant to the campus provost (Metro); and Mary Ann Meola, administrative assistant, Educational Opportunity Fund (Metro).

In addition, President Adams awarded Presidential Citations, which recognize faculty, staff or administrators who have led innovative programs or processes and helped provide students with new opportunities to achieve a global education. This year’s recipients were Martin Green, English, interim chair, English, communication and philosophy and assistant campus provost for planning and assessment (Flor); Elizabeth Noonan, executive assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Trustees (Metro); and Diane Wentworth, psychology and chair, psychology (Flor). These individuals were recognized for their leadership roles in the University’s recently successful bid for reaccreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Noonan and Wentworth were co-chairs of the Steering Committee, while Green edited the self-study.

Distinguished Faculty Award Recipients

From left, University Provost and Senior Academic Vice President Willard Gingerich joins this year’s Distinguished Faculty Award recipients M. Patricia Warunek (teaching), Peter Woolley (research and scholarship) and Margaret “Gretchen” Gibbs (service).

Professor of Psychology Margaret “Gretchen” Gibbs (Service), joined FDU in 1971 and almost immediately began taking up key administrative responsibilities on the campus at Teaneck, from deputy chair and then chair of the psychology department to acting campus provost. In between she has held such posts as acting dean, director of FDU’s PhD in psychology program and interim director of the Center for Psychological Services and served on or headed committees including academic standards, University grievances, wellness and threat assessment. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/gibbs.html .

M. Patricia Warunek (Teaching), biological sciences (Metro), has been teaching at FDU since 1970. Her talent for taking such complex topics as cell biology and molecular genetics and making them easily understood as well as compelling to both graduate and undergraduate students has gained her the highest praise. In addition, under her skillful guidance as director, the University Honors program has closely aligned with the University’s mission of global education and has become a model for preparing world citizens. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/warunek.html .

Peter Woolley (Research and Scholarship), political science and executive director, PublicMind (Flor), has long focused his scholarly lens on Japanese military and diplomatic policies and has authored Geography and Japan’s Strategic Choices: From Seclusion to Internationalization and Japan’s Navy: Politics and Paradox, 1971–2001. Once an advanced researcher at the U.S. Naval War College, Woolley is an editorial board member of the Journal of Conflict Studies. In 2002, he was named executive director of the newly created PublicMind research center at FDU, which has helped to build the University’s reputation through media outlets such as The New York Times, the Associated Press and CBS. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/woolley2006.html .

Pillars of FDU Recipients

Linda Lanigan, special assistant to the provost (Metro), an FDU employee of nearly 20 years, has been a member of the provost’s office since its inception nearly 10 years ago. She is well known to the entire campus community, volunteering at numerous student events, interfacing with the Teaneck community and serving on a wide variety of FDU committees and groups. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/lanigan.html .

Mary Ann Meola, administrative assistant, Educational Opportunity Fund (Metro), has been with the University for more than 15 years. Throughout her time at FDU she has helped hundreds of EOF students to overcome disadvantages to become high-achieving members of the FDU student body. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/meola.html .

Carol Creekmore, University director of enrollment services (Flor), joined FDU in 1993 and has overseen pivotal changes. From combining the bursar’s and registrar’s offices to implementing the transition to the Datatel computer network, to the development of online registration, her achievements have focused on providing the finest services. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/creekmore.html .

Laura Grant, associate director of enrollment services (Flor), joined FDU in 1994, starting as graduation specialist. Throughout her career, she has shown passion and concern for the welfare of students as she guided them through their academic requirements and saw them successfully through the moment of graduation. For the full citation, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/grant.html .

Presidential Citation Recipients

Diane Keyser Wentworth, psychology and chair, psychology (Flor), co-chaired the Middle States Accreditation Steering Committee. She served as an articulate advocate for the faculty point of view during the accreditation process, balancing that important role with sensitivity and consideration toward the many needs of the diverse groups represented in the University community.

Elizabeth M. Noonan, executive assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Trustees, co-chaired the Middle States Accreditation Steering Committee. Her attention to even the smallest details and her determination to solve a problem and not be derailed by setbacks was key to the accreditation process.

Martin Green, English, interim chair, English/communication/philosophy and assistant campus provost for planning and assessment at the College at Florham, has twice served as editor of the Middle States Self-Study Report, a vital component to the accreditation process. A true wordsmith, Green closed holes, delivered drafts on time and was a true team player.

To read the full citation for the Presidential Citation recipients, go to http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/honorees/presidential.html .

October 2006

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Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

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