UAlbany Recognizes Faculty, Staff for Excellence

 

For School of Criminal Justice Professor Alan J. Lizotte, developing a sensible policy on gun control begins with an understanding of who is carrying firearms and why. Lizotte is studying the interaction of risk and protective factors in producing violence in adolescents and young adults with a research grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work is part of a study on delinquency following three generations of 1,000 families.

"It seems that everybody has an opinion on gun control, one way or the other, but few people really have any facts about how gun crime works and what legal gun ownership looks like," said Lizotte, executive director of the Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center. "Yet it is impossible to make sensible policy on gun crime without knowing about both. It would be like trying to write traffic law without knowing anything about how automobiles work and how safe and unsafe drivers behave."

Lizotte, was honored recently with the University at Albany's 2009 Excellence Award for Research.

"I went to the Research Web site to see who has received past awards and it was a humbling experience," he said. "I am really honored to be included in that group."

It's been a good month for Lizotte, who won a teaching and mentoring award from the School's Graduate Student Association two days after finding out about the research award.

"The breadth and depth of Alan Lizotte�s research make him highly deserving of the Excellence in Research Award," said Dean Julie Horney. "Because of the way Alan has integrated research and teaching, the accomplishments of his students will someday be as important a part of his research legacy as his many influential publications."

Lizotte is among 18 faculty and staff recently honored with 2009 Excellence Awards in teaching, research, academic, professional and support services.

Associate Professor Ingrid Fisher, chair of the School of Business' Department of Accounting and Law, was honored with an Excellence Award in teaching. Fisher, who joined the UAlbany faculty in 1985, created a new course in accounting communications that focuses on the communication skills needed to succeed in the accounting workplace.

"Professor Fisher is a phenomenal instructor who teaches with unbridled enthusiasm and passion. That is why her students simply adore her," said School of Business Dean Don Siegel. "This award is a tribute to her outstanding legacy of accomplishment in the classroom at UAlbany's School of Business."

"Students are the single greatest reward in my career," said Fisher, who received her doctorate from the University in 2002. "I have sustained friendships with students, the longest of which is now 20 years. I have been to their birthday parties and their weddings. I am rewarded when they invite me into their personal lives in these ways."

2009 Excellence Award Recipients:
Excellence in Teaching

• Mitchell Earleywine, Psychology
• Ingrid Fisher, Accounting and Law
• Mary Corrigan, Social Welfare
• C. Aida Torres-Horwitt, Languages, Literatures & Cultures
• Elise Bouhet, Languages, Literatures & Cultures (teaching assistant)
• Kathy Thacker, Psychology (teaching assistant)

Excellence in Academic Service

• Kwadwo Sarfoh, Africana Studies

Excellence in Professional Service

• Janice Bogan, Office of the Vice President for Research
• Beth Quackenbush, Sponsored Programs
• Winifred Kutchukian, University Libraries
• Corinna Ripps Schaming, Art Museum

Excellence in Support Service

• Julie Deden, Registrar
• Suzanne Peplowski, Human Resources Management
• Rebecca Salinas, Communications and Marketing

Excellence in Research

• Laurie Feldman, Psychology
• Alan Lizotte, Criminal Justice
• Phillip McCallion, Center or Excellence in Aging Services, Social Welfare
• Serge Oktyabrsky, Nanoscale Science and Engineering
  

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