Dean of the College Highlights Faculty Accomplishments and Milestones

Timothy R. Austin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College, took stock of the 2007-08 academic year at his spring address to the faculty assembly.

Austin said that, in the last year, members of the 240-person faculty published 23 books; 157 articles, essays and book chapters (a 50 percent increase over the prior year); 44 reviews; four abstracts; and eight dictionary or encyclopedia entries. Colleagues in the fine and performing arts contributed to 13 exhibitions, productions or premieres and produced three CDs. And 45 externally funded projects were active on campus in 2007-08 (a number almost half as large as the already high figures racked up in the preceding two or three years).

A “Celebration of Faculty Scholarship” [PDF] followed the assembly, representing these works produced by faculty members.

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Chemistry professor Richard Herrick received this year’s Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship. His research interests lie in the new area of bioorganometallic chemistry. He and his students synthesize and study new compounds as potential diagnostic imaging/therapy agents.

As one of his nominators wrote, Herrick’s work “is at the forefront of a new, exciting field that is already providing the scientific community with a better understanding of bioorganometallic chemistry useful to the preparation of new classes of medical imaging compounds. His steady stream of work is published in top journals and is recognized for its significance by leaders in the field from across the globe.”

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Austin recognized two faculty members for bringing national distinction to the College over the last year. Patricia Bizzell, professor of English, was the winner of the 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication Exemplar Award given by the National Council of Teachers of English. “This cumulative achievement award signals that the recipient has reached the very top tier of educators in the field of composition and rhetoric,” Austin said.

Bob Garvey, associate professor of physics at Holy Cross, was named one of 10 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocates by the National Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. In 2000, Garvey received the Carnegie Foundation’s U.S. Professor of the Year.

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Austin acknowledged several faculty members who will be retiring at the end of this academic year: Guy Beales, professor of history; David O’Brien, Loyola professor of Roman Catholic Studies in the history department; Jim Nickoloff, associate professor of religious studies; and economics professor John F. O’Connell.

“Between them, these four remarkable men have devoted an amazing total of 135 years to Holy Cross and witnessed countless changes,” Austin said. “Guy led one of the College’s New England Association of Schools and Colleges re-accreditation teams. Jim brought to Mount St. James a perspective molded by studies in France, the U.S.S.R., Korea, Peru and Bolivia. ‘John F.’ went toe-to-toe with his near-namesake John D. O’Connell for an amazing record for pedagogical longevity in the department of economics (the result still hanging in the balance). And Dave O’Brien led the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture for several years and amassed a remarkable international reputation for scholarship that consistently calls Roman Catholics in America back to the core commitments of their faith.”

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Bill Shea, current director of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture, will also be retiring, Austin reported. His term as director “culminates a highly successful scholarly career that also involved positions at the Catholic University of America, the University of South Florida, and our sister Jesuit school in St. Louis. Bill served his discipline as president of the College Theology Society from 1984 to 1986 and at this year’s meeting, he will be honored with a special session devoted to his work and at a subsequent dinner.”