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Professors honored

Professors Abigail Van Slyck (left), Catherine Stock (center) and Joan Chrisler have been honored with the College's highest faculty awards.<br><br><br>
Professors Abigail Van Slyck (left), Catherine Stock (center) and Joan Chrisler have been honored with the College's highest faculty awards.


Connecticut College professors Abigail Van Slyck, Catherine McNicol Stock and Joan C. Chrisler have been honored with the institution's most prestigious faculty awards. The annual awards recognize faculty excellence in research, teaching and leadership.

Six professors were also recognized as they retire, including David Cullen, associate professor of chemistry; Linda Herr, professor of theater; Kenneth Kline, adjunct professor of physical education and associate director of athletics; William Lessig, adjunct professor of physical education and head coach of men's soccer; Arlan Mantz, Oakes Ames Professor of Physics; and Vincent Thompson, professor of history.

Nancy Batson Nisbet Rash Faculty Research Award

Abigail Van Slyck, the Dayton Professor of Art History, is the recipient of the 2009 Nancy Batson Nisbet Rash Faculty Research Award, presented annually to a faculty member selected on the basis of outstanding scholarly or artistic accomplishments.

A professor at Connecticut College since 1999, Van Slyck specializes in American architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries, with particular attention to commonplace buildings. She also serves as the chair of the Art History department and director of the Architectural Studies program.

Van Slyck's second book, "A Manufactured Wilderness: American Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960," (University of Minnesota Press, 2006), recently became only the second book to receive both the Abbott Lowell Cummings Award of the Vernacular Architecture Forum and the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award from the Society of Architectural Historians.

John S. King Memorial Teaching Award

Catherine McNicol Stock, a professor of history at the College since 1990, is the recipient of the 2009 John S. King Memorial Teaching Award, established to recognize teacher-scholars with high standards of teaching excellence and concern for students.

An expert in the social, cultural and political history of the United States from 1877 to the present, Stock serves as the chair of the History department and director of the American Studies program. Additionally, she has made a major impact in her role as faculty-liaison to the men's ice hockey team, encouraging team members to double major and engage in honors thesis work and senior projects.

In support of Stock's nomination, Theresa Ammirati, dean of studies and freshman year, wrote that Stock "consistently engages students and helps them to develop their critical and intellectual abilities."

Helen Brooks Regan Faculty Leadership Award

Joan C. Chrisler, the Class of 1943 Professor of Psychology, is the recipient of the 2009 Helen Brooks Regan Faculty Leadership Award, presented annually to a tenured faculty member whose outstanding service in a leadership role exemplifies the College´s commitment to shared governance, democratic process and campus community development.

Since joining the Connecticut College faculty in 1987, Chrisler has served for 6 years as chair of her department, sat on dozens of major College committees, held the position of president with five different professional organizations and edited an international, interdisciplinary journal. She is also the author of seven books and dozens of journal articles and book chapters.

Chrisler, who specializes in women´s health and psychology, was also praised for mentoring young faculty and current and former students.



May 20, 2009