Purdue News
Purdue News
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June 1, 2000 Trustees approve distinguished professors,
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George M. Bodner, professor of chemistry; John J. McConnell, the Emanuel T. Weiler Professor of Management; and Connie M. Weaver, professor of foods science and head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences were awarded distinguished professorships for outstanding contributions to their respective fields.
"It is of special significance that these three distinguished faculty members are among our best scholars in the important tasks of discovery and dissemination of knowledge," said Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs. "They each are examples of teaching excellence, which is at the heart of this great university."
Bodner has been named the Arthur Kelly Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Education for exceptional accomplishments in the field of science education. He earned a bachelor of science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969 and a doctorate from Indiana University in 1972. He joined Purdue's Department of Chemistry in 1977 after spending three years at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. He has held a joint appointment in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education since 1983. In 1989 he was named head of the Division of Chemical Education for the university.
Bodner has been honored nine times for outstanding teaching and is a founding member of the Purdue Teaching Academy. His distinguished professorship is named for Arthur Kelly, a 1924 Purdue graduate in chemical engineering whose career culminated with the directorship of the high voltage engineering division of B.F. Goodrich Co.
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McConnell did his undergraduate work at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and received a master of business administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1969. He earned his doctorate from Purdue in 1974 and served as a visiting assistant professor of industrial administration at Purdue for a short time before joining the faculty of Ohio State University in 1975. McConnell returned to the Krannert School of Management the following year and was appointed the Emanuel T. Weiler Professor of Management in 1989. That same year he became director of doctoral programs and research for Krannert, a position he held until 1998.
McConnell has been recognized for outstanding teaching seven times since 1985 and currently sits of the board of directors of a research company, two banks and two financial groups. He also is the associate editor of both the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Journal of Finance . In addition, he has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
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Weaver did both undergraduate and graduate work at Oregon State University before earning a doctorate from Florida State University in 1978. She joined the Purdue faculty that same year, becoming head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in 1991.
Weaver is the author of nearly 90 peer-reviewed papers in scholarly journals, and her research efforts have established her as an internationally recognized expert on calcium nutrition and bone health. As a member of the National Academy of Science's Panel on Dietary Reference Intakes, she has played a key role in the development of national policy for preventing and managing osteoporosis. Weaver has served as president of the American Society of Nutrition and held several offices in the Institute of Food Technologists.
The new appointments for Bodner, McConnell and Weaver now bring the total number of distinguished and named professors at Purdue to 68.
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The board also confirmed the appointment of Michael A. Gealt as the dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science at Purdue Calumet, effective Aug. 1.
Gealt, a professor of biology, will come to Purdue from Drexel University, where he has been director of the School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy. He joined the faculty there in 1979 and became director of Drexel's Environmental Studies Institute in 1993.
He received his bachelor's degree in biology from Temple University in 1970 and his doctorate in microbiology from Rutgers University in 1974 .
He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Cell Biology and American Society for Microbiology, for which he has served as a division chair in the area of environmental and applied microbiology. He also is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
Gealt's research focuses on the regulation of bacterial genes involved in DNA transfer, and the effects of environmental factors on bacterial physiology, including gene transfer frequency, replication rates and capability for biodegradation.
In other business, the trustees approved a proposal to create a new bachelor of science degree program in business at the Purdue North Central campus in Westville. The proposal now is being forwarded to the Commission for Higher Education for final action. The trustees also approved a request from Purdue North Central to change the name of the entity known as Community College to the School of General Studies.
The board also awarded a posthumous bachelor of science degree to James W. Gates II of Battle Ground, Ind. He had substantially completed the requirements for a degree in organizational leadership and supervision at the time of his death on April 1.
Sources: Robert L. Ringel, (765) 494-9709, aaschumpp@evpaa.purdue.edu
Writer: Sharon A. Bowker, (765) 494-9723; sbowker@purdue.edu
Other sources: George M. Bodner, (765) 494-5313; gmbodner@purdue.edu
John J. McConnell, (765) 494-5910; mcconnel@mgmt.purdue.edu
Connie M. Weaver, (765) 494-8231; weavercm@cfs.purdue.edu
Michael A. Gealt, (215) 895-2265; gealt@drexel.edu
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Publication-quality photographs of the distinguished professors are available at Purdue News web site or at ftp site.
Related Web sites:
George M. Bodner faculty profile
Connie Weaver faculty profile
John J. McConnell faculty, profilel
Faculty summary, Drexel University School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy
Drexel University School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy
Purdue University Calumet
Purdue University North Central
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