Four Faculty Members Honored with Presidential Awards

President Charles J. Dougherty has recognized four faculty members with Presidential Awards.

Awardees recognized at convocation were:

Excellence in Scholarship

Dr. Laura Engel, associate professor of English, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Engel studies 18^th century London stage actresses, linking them to the work of Jane Austen—and the cultural context of celebrity. Her scholarship has inspired exhibitions at Austen’s home, sparked invitations for international presentations, including the Royal Central School of Drama in London, and cemented collaborations with The Jane Austen Society of Pittsburgh. In five years, Engel has produced four books—two individual monographs, Much Ado About Muffs: Actresses, Accessories and Austen as well as Fashioning Celebrity: Eighteenth-Century British Actresses and Strategies for Image Making, and two edited collections, Stage Mothers: Women, Work and the Theater 1600-1830 and The Public’s Open to Us All: Women and Performance in Eighteenth-Century England. A three-time recipient of a Presidential Scholarship Award through the Office of Research, she has captured the interest of academia and beyond in her work.

Excellence in Teaching

Dr. Jeffrey Evanseck, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and John V. Crable Chair of Undergraduate Research, Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences

Evanseck employs the scientific method for learning as well as for research, adding a personal, hands-on approach with graduate and undergraduate students. “His tremendous passion for thus integrating education and research drives him not only to use this method to excel in the classroom and as a research mentor, but it has also made him a regional and national leader in providing research opportunities for students and faculty colleagues at primarily undergraduate institutions,” wrote Dr. Ralph Wheeler, chemistry and biochemistry department chair. Evanseck’s organic chemistry students retained, on average, 68 percent of the information on standard exams, compared with the national average of 38 percent. He provides leadership in the American Chemical Society and the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates, among other organizations.

Excellence in Teaching

Dr. Jessica Wiskus, professor of music, Mary Pappert School of Music

Teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in music theory and history, face-to-face and online, Wiskus has sparked student interest with her enthusiasm and introduced interdisciplinary pedagogy to her courses, cross-listing some courses with the philosophy department. She has integrated interdisciplinary subject matter and created innovative assignments that engage her students. Students she has mentored have become award winners in the Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium; Wiskus herself received the Duquesne University Creative Teaching Award in 2003. “Dr. Wiskus outlines three main themes found within her approach to teaching: an innovative, interdisciplinary approach; outstanding and consistent performance as a teacher; and exceptional student outcomes,” wrote Dean Seth Beckman.

Excellence in Service to the Mission

Dr. Linda Kinnahan, professor of English and Hillman Endowed Chair, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Kinnahan, the University’s Hillman Endowed Chair, has involved herself in service since arriving at Duquesne in 1990. Current chair of the Provost Interdisciplinary Committee, she organized the 2014 Modernist Studies Association meeting for more than 850 scholars. A founder of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, she is former graduate director and chair of the English department. Kinnahan has been an external reviewer for tenure and promotion for almost 20 colleagues and participated in reviewing James Madison University’s undergraduate English, as well as dozens of books and articles. These activities demonstrate “how she models care, intellectual seriousness, professionalism and dedication,” wrote Dr. Greg Barnhisel, associate professor and chair of the English Department. Dean James Swindal noted her “singular dedication to social justice and equality,” as well as her outreach to students, dedication to the Duquesne mission and leadership.

In addition, Kinnahan was recognized for 25 years of service at Duquesne, along with:

• Diane Colizza, School of Nursing
• Dr. Holly Mayer, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
• Dr. Moni McIntyre, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
• Dr. Donald Simon, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts
• Dr. John F. Stolz, Bayer School.