2006 Award Winners

Michele Paludi (MA, 1978; PhD, 1980, Psychology)

Michele Paludi is an educator, author/editor, and founder and president of Human Resources Management Solutions. She is Coordinator of the Human Resource Management Certificate Program at the Graduate College of Union University and has served on the faculties of Kent State University and Franklin & Marshall, Hunter, and Union Colleges. She has given presentations and authored or edited 23 textbooks and more than 130 scholarly articles on sexual harassment, psychology of gender, psychology of women, and career development. Her book, Ivory Power: Sexual Harassment on Campus, received the 1992 Myers Center Award for Outstanding Book on Human Rights in the United States. She served as chair of the Department of Education's Sub-panel on Prevention of Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Alcohol and Other Drug Problems in Higher Education and was a consultant to and a member of former Governor Mario Cuomo's Task Force on Sexual Harassment. She conducts training programs and investigations of sexual harassment and other EEO issues for businesses and educational institutions and provides expert witness for court proceedings and administrative hearings on sexual and race harassment and discrimination.

John Schneider (BA, 1970; MA 1973, Economics)

John Schneider served as the University of Cincinnati's first ombudsman and as an assistant to former president Warren Bennis. His investments in commercial and residential real estate led some of the early revitalization efforts in Corryville, Over-the-Rhine, and downtown Cincinnati. Having managed large developments in three cities, he is currently managing director of First Valley Corp., which has real estate interests in and around downtown. He was a founder of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and has advised it in riverfront and transportation issues for many years. He proposed and helped advance reconfiguration of Interstate 71 through downtown and led the successful effort to locate the new Great American Ballpark at its current location. He initiated re-pricing of the city downtown parking assets to make them more customer friendly and to provide funds for additional parking facilities. At present he chairs the Alliance for Regional Transit, a group that expects to advocate for light rail and expanded bus service in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. He has been honored by several groups for his civic work and dedication to local area interests.

Patricia Glass Schuman (BA, 1963, English)

Patricia Glass Schuman is president of Neal-Schuman Publishers, which she co-founded in 1976. Neal-Schuman specializes in professional books for librarians. She has held positions at the Brooklyn Public Library, Brandeis High School, and New York Technical College and has taught courses at Pratt Institute and Columbia, St. John's, and Rutgers Universities. She has also served as associate editor of School Library Journal, president of the American Library Association and the New York Metropolitan Reference and Research Council, and member of the Board of the American Library in Paris. The author/editor of seven books and more than 100 journal articles, she has lectured and presented papers around the world and testified before Congress regarding libraries and technological change. She has appeared in over 70 radio and television shows and launched the American Library Association's first media campaign to focus attention on the public's right to know about library funding cuts, censorship, restricted access to government information, and the need to support libraries and librarians. Her contributions to the profession have resulted in her receiving several awards.

Phillip Yeager (BA, 1951, Economics)

Phillip Yeager founded and has served since 1985 as chairman of the board of Hub Group, Inc., an intermodal marketing company and full-service transportation provider that offers intermodal, truck brokerage, and comprehensive logistics services. He became involved in intermodal transportation five years after its introduction in the United States. At that time he was an employee of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Central Railroads, where he worked for 19 years. He later served as president of Hub Chicago. His contributions to the transportation industry over the years have resulted in his receiving numerous awards, including Man of the Year from the Intermodal Transportation Association, Transportation Person of the Year by the New York Traffic Club, the Salzburg Practitioners Award from Syracuse University, induction into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame sponsored by the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Presidential Medal from Dowling College, and the Silver Kingpin Award from the Intermodal Association of North America.

McMicken Excellence Award

Joy Dunn

Joy Dunn is the recipient of the McMicken Excellence Award. As the Taft Secretary and Senior Business Assistant, she handles the administrative activity for the approximately 180 faculty members and 1500 students who are eligible to apply for Taft programming. Her daily performance has been accomplished against a backdrop of enormous organizational change. During the transformation of the Taft Memorial Fund into a research center, she was what one Taft Executive Board member called the "calm eye at the center of the storm." Others describe Dunn as "an authentic personification of excellence," "impeccably organized," "an invaluable source of institutional memory," and "always, always professional." By all accounts, Dunn has been a critical part of the launching of the Taft Research Center and is most deserving of the McMicken Excellence Award.

McMICKEN DEAN'S AWARD for Distinguished Adjunct Performance

Gola James Short, Psychology

The McMicken Dean's Award for Distinguished Adjunct Performance honors Gola James Short, field service assistant professor of psychology. Shortly after earning his doctorate, he began working in the Adult Scholars Accelerated Program (ASAP) in UC's College of Evening and Continuing Education and has more recently taught in McMicken College. He is known for pioneering and innovative course design, including his ASAP "supercourse" which allows students to complete Social Psychology I and II in a single quarter. Cher Treinen, a former student, observed, "Dr. Short has a way of subtly gaining his students' trust and bringing out the very best that they have. His classes are always interesting and provoke the use of critical thinking skills."

EDITH C. ALEXANDER Award for Distinguished Teaching

Kenneth Ghee, Psychology

Associate professor of psychology Kenneth Ghee is the recipient of the Edith C. Alexander Award for Distinguished Teaching. A dedicated and inspiring educator, he has played an important part in the lives of UC students for over 20 years. Ghee is a former recipient of the George B. Barbour Award for outstanding Student/Faculty Relations and is the 2006 winner of the A.B. Dolly Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching. The founder of RAAMUS (Responsible African American Men United in Spirit) program, he works to develop methods for enhancing self–esteem and academic achievement in young African American men. He has also been a leader in instilling a sense of community service in his students. Edward B. Klein, professor of psychology, noted, "Ken brings passion, insight, and stage presence to his classroom enterprises. His students do not mentally wander off, for he truly engages their minds and hearts and is recognized as a committed professor."

McMicken Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship

Gerald Matthews, Psychology

The recipient of the McMicken Dean's Award for Distinguished Scholarship is professor of psychology Gerald Matthews. A pioneer in the personality, emotion, and stress research, he is a founding member of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences. He has also served as a consultant for British Telecom, Procter and Gamble, and the MIT Electronics Laboratory and has written five books and over 200 journal articles and book chapters. Describing him as "a true 'renaissance' person," Professor Donald Saklofske of the University of Calgary added, "I would now predict that Matthews' achievements will rank him among the 21st century's leading contributors to psychological science."

McMicken Dean's Award for Distinguished Service

Bruce Ault, Chemistry

The McMicken Dean's Award for Distinguished Service honors chemistry professor Bruce Ault for his 30 years of dedication to the college. From 1982-1987, he served as assistant head of the Chemistry Department. In 1987, he was named acting head, a position he held until 1997, when he assumed his current role as director of undergraduate studies. Professor Joseph Caruso explained, "In order to parallel Bruce's extensive service, others would have buried their research and their teaching efforts—not so with Bruce." Ault has published over 200 articles in scientific journals since 1971, and he remains active in the chemistry community, both locally and internationally. Interim head of chemistry Patrick Limbach noted, "He brings external recognition and status while setting our young faculty on a similar path to success."

McMicken College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Scholarship

Gabriel Poland, Political Science

Gabriel Poland is one of those exceptional students who does not let personal adversity deter him from pursuing an education. He says, "My brief history is composed mostly of studies in college and fighting cystic fibrosis. I don't like giving it credit by labeling our relationship a 'fight,' but its constant presence is undeniable." Nevertheless, Gabe has been able to earn a 3.97 GPA and will graduate with high honors in political science and a certificate in Asian Studies. He plans to enter law school on the full scholarship he has been offered. He says he has been particularly inspired by adjunct assistant professor Thomas Lorman, whom he describes as "an irreplaceable part" of his education, a person who gives "passion to anything he teaches and touches."

McMicken College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Scholarship

John Thomas, Psychology

John Thomas, a Cincinnati native who was home schooled from K-12, is a psychology major. He says he became interested in the discipline when he saw The Three Faces of Eve and thought to himself, "Well, I simply must get to the bottom of this." The professor who had the greatest impact on him and gave him "a lot of confidence when (he) needed it most" was the Psychology Department's Daniel Langmeyer. John currently has a 3.96 GPA and serves as a TA. He has also been a research assistant in the Psychology Department and has worked with the Cincinnati Reads program at Schiel Elementary School. He plans to attend graduate school to study clinical psychology and specialize in adolescence.

McMicken College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Scholarship

Elizabeth Zilberberg, Classics

Elizabeth Zilberberg, a classics major with a 3.99 GPA, grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. In addition to taking classes, she works at an archeology firm that gives her the opportunity to apply her skills. Elizabeth says that Gisela Walburg, professor of classics, is the teacher she most admires for "her kindness" and willingness to oversee an independent study project that enabled her to complete a capstone experience. After graduation she plans to attend law school. She hopes she will be able to combine her educational experiences and adds that a major in classics "is good because it requires many skills that are necessary for lawyers, including analytical ability and reading comprehension."