Honoring Excellence

GAMBIER, Ohio (April 8, 2008) The Kenyon community came together on Tuesday, April 8, to celebrate the accomplishments of students, teachers, and mentors at the annual Honors Day convocation.

Highlighting the event was the awarding of the Trustee Teaching Excellence Awards, which went this year to Associate Professor of History Glenn McNair and Professor of Anthropology David Suggs. The trustee awards are presented each year to one tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has been teaching at the College for fewer than ten years and one who has been teaching at Kenyon for ten years or more.

McNair, who joined the faculty in 2001, was honored as "an exemplar of the engaged teacher-scholar." His students remarked that his classes were some of the "most memorable, emotionally challenging, and intellectually stimulating courses" they experienced at Kenyon. He was also praised for his work on projects utilizing a database of legal archival records that he compiled. McNair teaches courses on African-American history and researches the relations between African Americans and the criminal justice system.

Suggs, a faculty member since 1987, was praised as a prolific scholar and outstanding mentor whose keen intellect comes "packaged in a laid-back and relaxed demeanor." Suggs was also honored for his contributions to the College through his time on the Tenure and Promotion Committee and on a number of other faculty governance and search committees. Suggs teaches courses on cultural anthropology, including ethnomedicine and human sexuality. He is the chair of the anthropology department.

Many students were recognized for superior achievement, winning a variety of departmental and college-wide honors. Awards included the nationally administered Goldwater Scholarships, given to students in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering; the Paul Newman Trophy and Joanne Woodward Trophy, given to drama students; the Humanitarian Award; and the E. Malcolm Anderson Cup, given to the student who has done the most for Kenyon in the current year. (View the complete list of Honors Day award winners)

The convocation also featured the bestowing of three honorary doctoral degrees. Receiving the honorary degrees were:

* Lean'tin Bracks, Class of 1974, associate professor of English at Fisk University. Bracks was recognized for her life of accomplishment and devotion to education in the liberal arts.

* Robert Mezey, Class of 1955, acclaimed poet and emeritus professor at Pomona College. Mezey was honored for his accomplishments as a poet and "for the fierce beauty and tenderness of exquisite poems."

* John Woollam, Class of 1961, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and founder and president of the J.A. Woollam Company. Woollam was cited for his long career in education and research, as well as for his work with the Philander Chase Corporation.