Four faculty members honored with Hilldale Awards

Four University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty members are recipients of the 2008 Hilldale Awards, which annually recognize excellence in teaching, research and service.

The awards, which have been given yearly since 1987, honor top professors in four university divisions: biological sciences, physical sciences, social studies and arts and humanities.

The Hilldale Fund makes the awards possible. This year’s awards will be presented at the Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, April 7.

This year’s recipients are:

• Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Professor in Urban Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

After joining the faculty in 1991, Ladson-Billings pursued a research and teaching path that distinguished her in the areas of culturally relevant instruction and critical race theory in education.

Her research has focused on principles to guide teachers of African American students in succeeding academically and socially. Her work has prompted classroom reforms in many schools throughout the United States and has led to more successful schools for African American students.

Ladson-Billings also argues that while class and gender are well analyzed in educational theory, race is not. Her work has provided the basis for a growing movement that analyzes how race is used in conscious and unconscious ways in education.

She has been a leader in the reform of the campus’s undergraduate teacher education program and was one of the developers and co-director (along with Mary Louise Gomez and Kenneth Zeichner) of Teach for Diversity, a graduate program for aspiring teachers wanting to teach in diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic settings.

In her own classroom, Ladson-Billings is known as an exceptional teacher and mentor. Several of her doctoral students have gone on to make significant contributions to educational research and her popular classes are known for having long waiting lists.

Ladson-Billings earned her bachelor’s degree at Morgan State University, her master’s degree at the University of Washington and her doctorate at Stanford University.

• James A. Dumesic, Steenbock Professor of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Dumesic joined the faculty in 1976 and has distinguished himself internationally in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, the science that has been the workhorse of the petrochemical field for the last century. His current work involving alternative fuels promises to form the foundation for a new biomass-to-chemical industry in the coming century.

Late last year, Dumesic’s innovative work in alternative fuels research was recognized with the Scientific American 50 Technology Leaders Award, which pays tribute to individuals who are driving advances in science and technology and laying the groundwork for a better future. He also won the award in 2003.

Recently, Dumesic and his research team developed a two-stage process for turning biomass-derived sugar into a liquid transportation fuel with 40 percent greater energy density than ethanol. The fuel has higher energy content than ethanol and is stable in storage.

His inventions have also been licensed to the Madison-based startup company Virent Energy Systems with the aim of enabling large-scale, economical use of renewable biomass to produce carbon-neutral hydrogen, fuel and value-added chemicals.

His classroom skills have also been recognized with a Polygon Outstanding Teacher Award and a Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award for Excellence in teaching.

Dumesic earned a bachelor’s degree at UW–Madison and a master’s and doctorate at Stanford University.

• Robert Skloot, professor in the Department of Theatre and Drama and the Center for Jewish Studies

Skloot joined the faculty in 1968 and has earned a reputation as a scholar, teacher and artist through his work in the theater of the Holocaust. His anthology “The Theater of the Holocaust: Four Plays” is widely recognized as beginning the field of Holocaust studies that focuses on theater arts. His most recent anthology is titled “The Theater of Genocide.”

Skloot has produced notable and provocative University Theatre productions that have challenged audiences with a high level of intelligence, wit and moral seriousness. He introduced Madison audiences to playwrights such as Rahul Varma and Sholem Asch, and Vaclav Havel. His play “If the Whole Body Dies: Raphael Lemkin and the Treaty Against Genocide” received a number of productions, including a reading in Sarajevo last summer.

Skloot has done pioneering work in the Center for Jewish Studies. Using an endowment set up to facilitate learning beyond the classroom, Skloot led several groups of students on educational trips to visit communities of Jews in Cuba, Argentina and Turkey. Skloot also taught abroad as a Fulbright Professor in places such as Israel, Chile, the Netherlands and Austria, bringing his knowledge of the Holocaust and the humanities to an international audience.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Union College, a master’s degree at Cornell University and a doctorate at the University of Minnesota.

• Marvin Wickens, Max Perutz Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry

Wickens, a faculty member since 1983, is an internationally recognized leader and innovator in the highly competitive research area of eukaryotic gene expression. His work, which lies at the intersection of developmental biology, molecular genetics and biochemistry, has identified components key in regulating RNA and new enzymes crucial to the control of RNA.

In addition to making a number of exceptional scientific discoveries, Wickens has worked to develop powerful technologies for the study of RNA. Many of these technologies have led to patents, and Wickens’ work aims to expand on these technologies.

Wickens has also been a successful adviser and mentor and has trained 29 doctoral students and 10 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to their own faculty positions.

Wickens also established and led campus faculty with an interest in RNA research into a cohesive group called the RNA MaxiGroup, which is now 20 years old and has provided a forum for stimulating discussion and collaboration across the campus.

He is also active on the national front, serving on a number of editorial boards and several National Institutes of Health panels. Several months ago, the RNA Society presented Wickens with its Lifetime Service Award.

Wickens earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Berkeley, and a doctorate from Stanford University.