Fall 2015 Honor Roll

Faculty, students and staff recognized for distinguished achievement

November 17, 2015

Faculty Accolades

Kathleen Galvin, professor of communication studies in the School of Communication, has received the National Communication Association's (NCA) 2015 Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award. The award is given to the person who has made the greatest contribution to the field of communication during her or his career. Galvin, an academic pioneer who served as associate dean of the School of Communication for 13 years, was honored for bringing the study of family communication to the discipline. The NCA, the largest communication association in the United States, serves scholars, teachers and practitioners by supporting their professional interests in research and teaching.
David Zarefsky, professor emeritus in the School of Communication, received the 2015 Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association (NCA). Zarefsky, who served as dean of the School of Communication from 1988 to 2000, was recognized for his work on American public address and argumentation. A lifelong Wildcat, he continues to teach courses in the history and criticism of U.S. public discourse, including presidential rhetoric, at Northwestern. The award honors scholars who have executed research programs in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism or public address studies. Zarefsky previously served as president of the NCA.
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, associate professor of political science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, has received a major grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. The grant, awarded to both Hurd and Winnifred Fallers Sullivan of Indiana University, will support a three-year collaborative research project to examine the politics of religion in United States domestic and foreign policy. “The Politics of Religion at Home and Abroad” will be based primarily at Northwestern. The work will significantly enhance activities of the new Buffett Faculty Research Group on Global Politics and Religion. A new two-year postdoctoral fellowship will be created at the University to support a junior scholar working in this area of study. The project is supported by the Foundation’s Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion in International Affairs.

Laurie Shannon, the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English Literature, has received the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award for her book, “The Accommodated Animal: Cosmopolity in Shakespearean Locales.” The Dietz Prize honors the year’s most outstanding contribution to English Renaissance studies. Shannon teaches English literature and specializes in culture in the 16th century. The award will be presented to Shannon at a ceremony and reception hosted by “Studies in English Literature 1500-1900,” a quarterly journal, during the annual Modern Language Association convention in Austin, Texas.
The Medill Justice Project (MJP) is being recognized by many organizations this fall for its investigation on a young rapper convicted for manslaughter and his actual role in the crime. The investigative journalism cohort recently was awarded "Story of the Year" by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), and MJP’s audio story on the case was named “Best Podcast” by the College Media Association (CMA). In total, MJP received eight awards from both organizations. ACP and CMA honor the best in college journalism from across the country. Founded at Northwestern University in 1999, MJP is an award-winning national investigative journalism center that examines potential wrongful convictions, probes systemic criminal justice issues and conducts groundbreaking research.

Nine Northwestern students and alumni have been honored by the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD) with several scholarships and grants for the current academic year. Recent graduates Catherine Olien, Javier Dario Burdman, Andrew Rowberg, Charlie Zaharoff and Nicholas Kazvini-Gore were awarded graduate study scholarships to pursue a full master's degree program at a German university or study at a German university as part of a postgraduate or master's degree program completed in their home country. Lauren Barmore, Kenneth Hua, Katherine Lee and Elizabeth McTighe, all current students, were accepted into the Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program where they will spend next summer in Germany working with German doctoral students at universities and research institutions. DAAD programs help create goodwill and professional relationships that build a solid basis for relations between Germany and North America. DAAD is the largest funding organization in the world, supporting the international exchange of more than 112,500 students and scholars every year.

Aaron Todd Douglas, a lecturer in the School of Communication’s theatre department, has received an International Ibsen Scholarship from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. The scholarships are awarded to innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts that foster critical discourse around existential and social issues present in the works of Henrik Ibsen, a 19^th century Norwegian playwright and poet. Douglas received the scholarship to develop and stage a new adaptation of “The Master Builder.” His production will address complex issues such as race, respectability, conceptions of “success” and politics within the context of the contemporary United States. Douglas was one of three winners selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants representing 45 countries.
Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development (CTD) has been awarded a prestigious $1.2 million Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant will help the School of Education and Social Policy's center identify gifted and academically advanced students from economically disadvantaged families. It also will provide access to an accelerated curriculum for participating students to earn high school credit while in middle school. Five hundred Ohio students with financial need will participate in the program over the three-year life of the grant, thanks to the state’s innovative policies on academic acceleration and credit flexibility.

Mercouri Kanatzidis, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded the American Physical Society's (APS) 2016 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials. The award, which comes with a $10,000 prize, recognizes outstanding achievement in the science and application of new materials. Kanatzidis is an international leader in inorganic and solid-state chemistry research.
Elizabeth Gerber, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, has received a $25,000 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award from the Wells Fargo Foundation. The award is given to professors who inspired their former students to achieve greatness and make a difference in their communities. To help her students make a difference and impact their communities, Gerber teaches collective innovation, an innovation process that harnesses social, human and economic capital from distributed networks to develop and implement novel and useful ideas. Gerber also is an assistant professor of technology and social behavior in the School of Communication, faculty founder of Design for America and co-founder of the Delta Lab.

Eric Huang, a second-year student at Northwestern University School of Law, has received the 2016 Diverse Scholars Award from Reed Smith LLP. The award recognizes outstanding law school students in the United States who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The Diverse Scholars Award supports the honoree’s law school-related expenses and a paid summer associate position at Reed Smith between their second and third years of study. Huang will intern in the firm’s Chicago office.

Wesley G. Skogan, professor of political science and faculty fellow of the Institute for Policy Research, has received the 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award in Evidence-Based Crime Policy from the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP). This award is the center's highest honor and recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution and commitment to advance the integration of science with criminal justice practice. The award celebrates CEBCP's core values of doing rigorous science and translating research into practice. Watch Skogan’s acceptance speech at CEBCP’s Annual Symposium at George Mason University.

Northwestern University School of Law's Center on Wrongful Convictions (CWC) has received the Jerold S. Solovy Freedom Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for its commitment to identify and rectify wrongful convictions and other serious miscarriages of justice. The award is given to an individual or organization that has made significant and lasting contributions to the advancement of American freedoms. The CWC will be honored at the ADL’s annual Freedom Award Dinner. The ADL, founded in 1913 in Chicago, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry through programs and services that counteract hatred and prejudice.

Viorica Marian, a professor of communication sciences and disorders, has been named by the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) a2015 Alumni of Distinction awardwinner. TheAlumni of Achievement Awardis awarded to UAA alums who have attained prominence through their industry, profession or voluntary service and demonstrate a sustained excellence, integrity, motivation and dedication in the sphere of their expertise. Marian’s research focuses on bilingualism and the brain's ability to accommodate multiple languages at the same time.