Drs. Kristin Dutcher Mann, Anindya Ghosh, and Brian Berry are the 2014 recipients of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Faculty Excellence Awards in the categories of public service, research and creative endeavors, and teaching, respectively.
The faculty received the awards at a ceremony held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall at UA Little Rock. A reception followed in the lobby and gallery of the Fine Arts Building.
Each award consists of a framed certificate and a cash gift of $10,000 for teaching and $5,000 in research or creative endeavors and in public service. College winners are recognized and university winners are announced at the annual ceremony.
For the past 26 years, the event has provided a way to recognize the great work of UA Little Rock faculty and is made possible through the valued contributions of The Bailey Foundation, PepsiAmericas, and the UA Little Rock Chancellor’s Circle.
Winners were selected by a panel of national judges who reviewed the achievements of the college-level winners.
The college-level winners receive a $1,000 cash award and framed certificate.
Teaching
Berry, a professor of chemistry in the College of Science whose expertise is in the self-assembly of polymeric materials, was named the Bailey Teaching award winner. Dr. Berry primarily teaches organic chemistry, viewed by many students as one of the most difficult areas of chemistry. Despite this, Dr. Berry has received glowing evaluations each year from his students. As further evidence of his accomplishments as an educator, he was awarded the American Chemical Society’s Central Arkansas Section Professor of the Year award in 2010.
Research
Ghosh, a professor in the College of Science, was named the winner in the Research and Creative Endeavors category. He has developed a national and international reputation for his research efforts in inorganic chemistry with particular emphasis on green chemistry. Six patents have been issued to him, and he has submitted an additional six patent applications, which are still under review. He has been active in submitting research proposals to federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense, as well as private industries. In total, he has secured more than $1 million in funding from different agencies for his research.
Public Service
Mann, a professor of history in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, was named the Public Service award winner. Her grant procurement efforts total nearly $3 million. Dr. Mann was recognized with the History Channel’s Outstanding Service in the Field of History award. She promoted and encouraged participation in projects such as the Life Interrupted Project, which recounts the experiences of Japanese Americans housed in internment camps in Arkansas during World War II. The project continues to be part of the Little Rock School District’s social studies curriculum and, as such, is a testament to the quality of Dr. Mann’s work.