Lincoln (Neb.) - Aug. 24, 2001 - Four University of Nebraska-Lincoln scholars have been selected by a universitywide committee as University Professors, the campus' highest possible distinction for a faculty member.
The four are political scientist John Hibbing, biologist/psychologist Alan Kamil, chemist Lawrence Parkhurst and physicist Anthony Starace.
Selection of University Professor is decided by a committee consisting of current University Professors. The selection of Hibbing, Kamil, Parkhurst and Starace brings to 25 the number of University Professors in a faculty of nearly 1,500.
"I would wish those who doubt the quality of this university could read the files submitted on behalf of these individuals," Chancellor Harvey Perlman said in announcing the selections at his Aug. 24 state of the university address. "Each contains letters from leading scholars around the country attesting to their accomplishments and national stature."
Hibbing, who will have the title of Foundation University Professor of Political Science, is nationally recognized as one of the leading students of the U.S. Congress and his book, "Congress as Public Enemy," won the prestigious Fenno Prize in 1996 for the best book on legislative politics. He earned his bachelor's degree at Dana College (1976) and his master's (1978) and doctoral (1980) degrees at the University of Iowa. He has been a member of the Nebraska faculty since 1981.
Kamil, who will be George Holmes University Professor of Biological Sciences and Psychology, is an expert in animal behavior who has been funded virtually continuously for 30 years by the National Science Foundation and is regarded as a pioneer in the study of learning and memory of animals. Kamil, who also serves as director of the Cedar Point Biological Research Station near Ogallala, earned his bachelor's degree (1963) at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., and his master's (1966) and doctoral (1967) degrees at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He joined the Nebraska faculty in 1991.
Parkhurst, who will become the Hewett University Professor of Chemistry, has the longest record of continuing National Institutes of Health funding at the university. His research has involved hemoglobin functional studies and more recently DNA bending. Parkhurst, who has been a member of the Nebraska faculty since 1969, earned his bachelor's (1959), master's (1960) and doctoral (1965) at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Starace, a theoretical atomic physicist who will have the title of George Holmes University Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been funded continuously by two agencies, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. He is one of the world's leading researchers on the theory of atomic photoionization, the ionization of a molecule or atom caused by absorption of radiant energy. Starace earned his bachelor's degree (1966) at Columbia University in New York City and his master's (1967) and doctoral (1971) degrees at the University of Chicago. He has been a member of the Nebraska faculty since 1973.
The endowed stipend from the NU Foundation for University Professors
is $15,000.
For questions regarding these releases, contact:
tsimons1@unl.edu
(402) 472-8514, Fax: (402) 472-7825