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Professors Honored by Students, Benefactors at Investiture Ceremony
May 24, 2018
Seventeen faculty members were among the 20 honored at the Investiture Ceremony. The honorees were each recognized briefly by a student speaker they selected, and then received a medallion from the University's president and their respective deans.
Dr. Kelli Palmer, Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science, meets with students after the Investiture Ceremony. "I'd like to gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Cecil and Ida Green for their unwavering support of so many academic endeavors, including this one," she said.
Dr. Jessica Murphy, Mary McDermott Cook Chair for Undergraduate Education, poses with doctoral student Alisa Bovda, University President Richard C. Benson and Provost Inga Musselman. Bovda introduced Murphy during the ceremony.
"Eugene McDermott was a scientist, an educator, and an entrepreneur. These are all things I'm trying to be good at. If I am ever getting good at any of those three things, I need only look at his legacy and realize I have a lot more work to do," said Dr. Gregory Dussor, Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor.
Dr. Edward Harpham (third from right), Mary McDermott Cook Chair in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, celebrates with his family after the ceremony. They included, from left, son-in-law Kyle May and daughter Becca May; daughter Jessica Voit and grandchild Emma Voit; wife Wendy Harpham; and son-in-law Benedict Voit.
"This recognition is just another example of how the University's leadership is committed to excellence and facilitating research," said Dr. Alvaro Cardenas, Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor.
Dr. Jie Zheng (second from right), Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science, with Benson, doctoral student Chunqi Peng and Dr. Bruce Novak (right), said: "It is my great honor to receive this prestigious professorship endorsed by our co-founder, Dr. Green and his wife. They were dedicated to supporting education and medicine. That is also my career dream."
Dr. Robert Gregg and his wife, Dr. Kristin Drogos, ATEC assistant professor, celebrate his appointment as Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor with Gregg's parents, Robert (left) and Leslie (right), who flew in from Seattle for the ceremony.
"This honor will give me the strength to be an ambassador for The University of Texas at Dallas as it grows to be one of the top universities in the States, and in the world," said Dr. Leonidas Bleris (second from right), with Benson, bioengineering graduate student Tyler Quarton and Dr. Poras Balsara, interim dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Ashbel Smith Professor Theresa Towner, with her husband, Steve Sloan, has held every academic rank at the University, from part-time senior lecturer to an endowed professorship.
"The name McDermott has been the most common name I've heard since joining UT Dallas, and rightly so considering the enormous contribution this generous family has made to the institution," said Dr. Majid Minary, Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor.
Dr. Rashaunda Henderson (center) celebrates with her family, from left, sister Yolanda Henderson-Davis; father Billy Bell; mother Janice Henderson; and aunt Barbara Chitman after the ceremony.
"UTD is a relatively young but very ambitious university. When you mention all the best names in the country MIT, Harvard, etc. they all have one thing in common with UTD. They make sustained long-term investments in their professors, and they stick with them," said Dr. William Anderson, with wife, Brittany, and their three children Sam, 7; Claire, 5; and Jack, 8 months.
Dr. Riki Takeuchi (second from right), with Benson, doctoral student Dorian Boncoeur and Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management, was invested as the Jindal School Advisory Council Chair.
Dr. Mihaela Stefan (front row, second from left) celebrates with her husband, Dr. Michael Biewer (front row, third from left), associate professor of chemistry, and her current and former students after becoming Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor.
Newly invested as an Ashbel Smith Professor, Dr. Theresa Towner took a moment to reflect on her path as a Comet.
“With the endowment of this chair, I have held every academic rank at The University of Texas at Dallas that is possible to hold, from part-time senior lecturer to full professor, and now, a named chair,” said Towner, literary studies professor in the School of Arts and Humanities. “It is a long, long way from the one-bedroom apartment I shared with my husband while writing my dissertation.”
Towner was among 20 faculty members to receive new appointments during the 2018 University Investiture Ceremony, where they were recognized before their families, colleagues, mentors and students.
UT Dallas has more than 120 chairs and professorships that recognize the scholarship and research of senior faculty members.
The honorees were each recognized briefly by a student speaker they selected. They then received a medallion from University President Richard C. Benson and their respective deans.
“I was one of the first people to graduate from this university with a neuroscience degree, and now I’m the program head of the department and have received this award,” Price said. “This is really something else.”
Dr. Nikki Delk receives flowers from her uncle Mike Edwards and aunt Debbie Hampton after the Investiture Ceremony. Delk was appointed Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science.
He credited Dr. Alice O’Toole, whose lab he worked in as an undergraduate, for providing a solid foundation for decades of research.
“She really taught me how to design experiments. I still think back to what I learned from her in 1996-97 when I worked in her lab,” he said. “It has had an effect on everything I do.”
“I want to thank them for their vision and commitment to UT Dallas, and the fact that they have stuck with us over the past 50 years knowing that this University was going to do great things,” she said. “I also want to thank my very first mentor, my mother. She was always someone who kept me grounded. When I was in high school, I made straight A’s for the first time, and I called her to tell her about it. She said, ‘Great, now go clean your room.’ ”
“Here, I met my husband, Michael Biewer, who is also my collaborator,” she said. “I can tell you he is truly special because when we met, I had two cats. Now, we have eight cats.”
Dr. William Anderson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Jonsson School, summed up the spirit of the ceremony by paying tribute to the University as a whole.
“We enjoy a level of professional independence here that is without precedent,” he said. “That is good for the students, good for the University and ultimately good for the country. And it is very much in line for what the McDermotts had in mind for this gift.”
Spring 2018 Investiture Honorees
Office of the Provost
Dr. Edward Harpham Mary McDermott Cook Chair in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College
Dr. Jessica Murphy Mary McDermott Cook Chair for Undergraduate Education
Dr. Inga Musselman Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair of Academic Leadership
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. William Anderson Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Leonidas Bleris Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science
Dr. Alvaro Cardenas Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Robert Gregg Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Kevin Hamlen Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Seth Hays Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Rashaunda Henderson Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Majid Minary Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
School of Arts and Humanities
Dr. Theresa Towner Ashbel Smith Professor
School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Dr. Gregory Dussor Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Theodore Price Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Dr. Riki Takeuchi Jindal School Advisory Council Chair
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Dr. Lunjin Chen Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Nikki Delk Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science
Dr. Kelli Palmer Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science
Dr. Mihaela Stefan Fellow, Eugene McDermott Professor
Dr. Jie Zheng Fellow, Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science
Media Contact: Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].
