March 21 Faculty Excellence Awards Ceremony

SAN DIEGO -- March 20, 2006 -- Highly coveted awards for excellence in teaching, research and community service will be presented to five outstanding University of California, San Diego faculty members by the UCSD Chancellor’s Associates on March 21.  The recognition ceremony and reception will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the new California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) building on the UCSD campus.

The event offers an annual opportunity to honor UCSD faculty as a whole, while highlighting the important contributions of the university’s most exemplary members.  Chancellor’s Associates, a program for donors who give an annual leadership gift of $1,500 or more to the university, will recognize the outstanding accomplishments of UCSD faculty members with a citation and $2,500 honorarium.

The recipients of the 2006 Chancellor’s Associates Faculty Excellence Awards include: Geoffrey Voelker, Ph.D., professor of Computer Science and Engineering, for excellence in undergraduate teaching; Shelley Streeby, Ph.D., professor of Literature, for excellence in graduate teaching; Harold Pashler, Ph.D., professor of Psychology, for excellence in research in arts, humanities and social sciences; Bernhard Palsson, Ph.D., professor of Bioengineering, for excellence in research in science and engineering; and James Dunford, M.D., professor of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, for excellence in community service.

“It is a pleasure to see this year’s Faculty Excellence Awards honorees receive the recognition they so richly deserve,” said Marsha Chandler, UCSD senior vice chancellor of Academic Affairs.  “They play so many roles well – they are teachers, researchers, campus citizens and community leaders.  Each serves as an excellent representative of the outstanding quality of our faculty.”

Award candidates are nominated by their academic peers, with final selection by a committee comprised of Chancellor’s Associates donors.  Criteria for selection are based on faculty member achievements, reputation, and impact on students and the academic community.  Since 1974, UCSD has recognized 100 extraordinary faculty members with Chancellor’s Associates Faculty Excellence Awards.