CLAS Graduate Students Recognized as Top in State

Two CLAS graduate students were chosen by Florida Leader Magazine as finalists for the 14th annual "Florida College Student of the Year" award. The awards program, which recognizes students who support themselves through college, excel academically, and are involved in community service and political activism, honors Florida's most outstanding campus leaders with nearly $50,000 in scholarships and prizes.

Sociology student Candace Churchill won a $1,000 honorable mention, while Political Science student Gary Slossberg received a $2500 finalist prize. Churchill, leader of numerous projects to improve services for women on campus including anti-rape campaigns, is president of Campus NOW and a teaching assistant for Felix Berardo's "Marriage and Family" course. She plans to use her prize money to help support a summer research internship in New York City with Redstockings, a feminist think-tank. Slossberg, who studies political campaigning with Michael Martinez, is the Vision Party chairperson; he ran for student body president last spring. Slossberg is also past president of the Inter-residence Hall Association and the Jewish Student Union.

McQuown Award Winners

The O. Ruth McQuown Scholarship Awards honor College of Liberal Arts and Sciences female scholars in the humanities, social sciences, individual interdisciplinary studies (that include social sciences/humanities), and women's studies. Graduate and undergraduate women are selected based on their academic achievement and promise.

Graduate Recipient of $10,000
Margrit Grieb (Germanic and Slavic Studies)

Graduate Recipients of $5,000
Flordeliz Bugarin (Anthropology)
Sara Crawley (Sociology/Women's Studies)

Graduate Recipients of $750-$3,000
Theodora Dragostinova (History)
Raina Joines (English)
Nivedita Majumdar (English)
Sarah Brusky (English)
Giovanna Summerfield (Romance Languages and Literatures)

Undergraduate Recipients of $750-$1,000
Elisa Lucchi (English)
Thy Nguyen (Political Science)
Rhiannon Theurer (English)
Ondina Brusso (History)
Liisa Collins (English)

Alumnus Gary Myers Helps Geology Department
Reach $100,000 Goal

With Gary Myers' (Geology, '74) recent gift of $15,000, the Department of Geology's 50th Anniversary Fund has reached its $100,000 goal and now qualifies for state matching funds. Myers, who is President of North Florida Technology Innovation Corporation of Gainesville, has contributed a total of $40,000 to the Anniversary Fund.

The 50th Anniversary Fund, which was initiated in 1998 with the rededication of Williams Hall, has received several new contributions since Myers' gift. Ed Hickey ('76) of Miami, recently gave $5000 toward his pledge of $10,000, and Jim Floyd ('62) of Houston, also donated $5000, bringing his total gifts to $33,000.

"It has been most gratifying to see friends and alumni of the department, many long-since graduated, help us reach our target in only two years," says Department of Geology chairman Paul Mueller. "The income from this fund will significantly enhance our ability to provide the next generation of geology students with the best opportunities for success."

Nine CLAS Students Honored at Commencement

During each University of Florida Commencement Ceremony, the UF Alumni Association recognizes and awards outstanding graduates for their scholarship and service. Of the 15 students recognized May 6th, eight were from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Justin Gude (Wildlife Ecology with a minor in Zoology), Newman Nahas (English), Gregory VeJat (Interdisciplinary Basic Biological and Medical Sciences), and Hillary Warren (Basic Biological and Medical Sciences) were recognized as four-year scholars having maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. Eric Spellman (Mathematics) was recognized as a two-year scholar graduating with a 4.0. Edward Borden (Geography and Music Composition) and David Winchester (Microbiology and Cell Science) were honored as outstanding male leaders, while Dawn Goodman (Psychology) was honored as outstanding female leader.

Additionally, Danielle Bass (Zoology) was honored as a recipient of both the Spring 2000 Outstanding Leadership Award and the Tracy Caulkins Award.

Superior Accomplishment Awards

Each year, UF presents superior accomplishment awards to those faculty and staff who have been nominated by colleagues for performing above and beyond the call of duty. Awards are made in four categories: faculty, A&P, USPS and technical staff. At the divisional level, CLAS had winners in two of these four areas:

Betty Corwine (Senior Secretary, History) Tangelyn Mitchell (Secretary, Zoology-Biological Sciences) Roxanne Barnett (Systems Programmer, Academic Advising Center) Donald Brennan (Engineering Technician, Physics) Henry Coulter (Marine Superintendent, Zoology).

Six university-wide Superior Accomplishment Awards ($1,000) and six additional awards ($500) will be announced at a May 31st ceremony to be held in the Reitz Union Ballroom.

CLAS Professors Win Interdisciplinary
Mellon Foundation Grant

The Andrew Mellon Foundation awarded a $270,000 grant to Sue Legg (OIR), Martin Vala (Chemistry), and Marvel Townsend (Mathematics) to be used over a two-and-a-half year period to measure the costs and pedagogic effectiveness of using instructional technology to improve undergraduate education.

CLAS Alumna Makes Bequest, Delivers Lecture

Early in the Spring term, Patricia O'Connor (MA, Ph.D. Spanish at UF), Professor or Spanish at the University of Cincinnati, delivered a lecture to students and professors in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures on "Women's Sense of Justice: Texts and Contexts." Drawing on literary and real-life examples that ranged from classical Greek tragedies through Spanish theater to contemporary courtroom verdicts, Dr. O'Connor illustrated Carol Gilligan's thesis that women's sense of justice differs from men's.

The lecture was followed by a reception to thank Professor O'Connor for the bequest she made to the department, which will one day provide scholarships and financial assistance to study or research in Spain.