News Release

SCHEV and Dominion Announce the 2009 Outstanding Faculty Awards Recipients

RICHMOND — The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Dominion are pleased to announce the twelve faculty members from Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities who have been selected as recipients of the 2009 Outstanding Faculty Award (OFA).  

This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the awards program, which honors faculty members for excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration, and public service. Each of the 12 recipients will receive an engraved award and a $5,000 check underwritten by the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion. The OFA program is administered by SCHEV and funded by a grant from the Dominion Foundation, which has fully supported the OFA program since 2005.

2009 Outstanding Faculty Award recipients:

Lizabeth A. Allison
Dorman Family Term Distinguished Professor of Biology
College of William and Mary

Michael M. Behrmann (“Teaching with Technology” recipient)
Kellar Professor of Special Education
George Mason University

Mark P. Carey (“Rising Star” recipient)
Assistant Professor of History
Washington and Lee University

James C. Duchamp
Professor of Chemistry
Emory and Henry College

Ralph P. Eckerlin
Professor of Biology
Northern Virginia Community College

David E. Evans
Associate Professor of Computer Science
University of Virginia

Lawrence J. Hatab
Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy
Old Dominion University

Christopher D. Howard
Pamela C. Harriman Professor of Government and Public Policy
College of William and Mary

Raja Parasuraman
Professor of Psychology
George Mason University

Erich S. Uffelman
Professor of Chemistry
Washington and Lee University

Lawrence B. Weinstein
Professor of Physics
Old Dominion University

David C. Wojahn
Professor of English
Virginia Commonwealth University

“SCHEV is proud to partner with Dominion to honor these extraordinary teachers, researchers, and leaders,” says Daniel J. LaVista, SCHEV’s Executive Director. “The commitment of these twelve individuals to discovering and sharing knowledge should inspire not only the students in their classrooms, but all Virginians.”

“Dominion has enjoyed sponsoring the Outstanding Faculty Awards program since 2005,” says William C. Hall Jr., Dominion’s vice president-Corporate Communications and president of the Dominion Foundation. “Each year we are impressed by the diverse accomplishments of these talented professors. The scholarship and dedication of these honorees is a testament to the strength of Virginia’s unique system of higher education.”

The twelve recipients will be recognized for their excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration, and public service during a February 19th ceremony at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. This year’s 102 applications were initially evaluated by a peer review committee comprised of former OFA recipients and other members of the higher education community.  Then a final committee of Virginia community and academic leaders selected 12 recipients whose accomplishments strongly reflect the missions of their respective institutions. Since the first awards ceremony in 1987, a total of 268 Virginia faculty members - including the 2009 recipients - have received this high honor.

SCHEV is the Commonwealth’s coordinating body for Virginia’s system of higher education. The agency provides policy guidance and budget recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly, and is a resource for information on higher education issues and Virginia colleges and universities. Photos and information about each of this year's recipients can be found on the SCHEV website.

Dominion is one of the nation’s largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion serves retail energy customers in 12 states. The Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion, donates more than $17 million annually to non-profit organizations in states where the company does business. For more information about Dominion, visit the company’s Web site at www.dom.com.

For more information, contact Kathleen Kincheloe, Assistant Director of Communications, at KathleenKincheloe@schev.edu or (804) 786-2323.

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