Tempe may not be hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics, but ASU handed out its own medals last week to the new Regents' Professors.
Draped in velvet robes and silver medallions, five ASU professors were awarded the prestigious title of Regents' Professor in a ceremony last Thursday in Katzin Concert Hall.
Steeped in fanfare and tradition, the presentation celebrated the academic excellence of faculty members from different campus departments: Geoffrey A. Clark, anthropology; Gerald Heydt, electrical engineering; Mark Klett, photography; Jane Maienschein, biology and philosophy; and Sumner Starrfield, astronomy. All five inductees were selected in a rigorous nominating process for a combination of excellent academic research and teaching.
Becoming a Regents' Professor is a personal honor to those inducted into the distinguished ranks. Receiving the honor is like being branded with "the blue ribbon seal of approval," said David Kaye, a Regents' Professor from the ASU College of Law.
"It's like being knighted after you've already done the things to deserve your knighthood," Kaye added.
The selected professors are each awarded a ceremonial medal and are publicly introduced at numerous campus events. In addition, their status as Regents' Professors is noted in the University catalog, according to Gary Krahenbuhl, senior vice president of ASU. Krahenbuhl said the award "celebrates the central role of faculty in a university."
"It points to those landmarks of true intellectual excellence at the University," Honors College Dean Ted Humphrey said.
But to the honored professors, becoming a Regent also indicates they've won a high level of peer esteem, because the inducted professors are nominated and ultimately chosen by their colleagues. Maienschein said she is truly grateful for having the honor bestowed on her by an intellectual community in which faculty members really care about one another.
But winning the medal is no easy feat.
The Regents' Professors are chosen by a nominating committee of 12 respected faculty members who represent a diverse cross-section of ASU departments. According to Kaye, who chaired the nominating committee this year, the committee collects faculty nominations through the Provost's office and then solicits letters of recommendation from experts and other academics in each nominees' discipline.
"We ask 'Is this person one of the leading scholars in his or her field?'" said Kaye. If the answer is yes, the professor is awarded the title of Regents' Professor, which can only be given to three percent of all eligible tenured faculty at ASU. Since the Regents' Professor award was instituted in Arizona in 1987, 45 ASU faculty members have received the honor. The professor holds the title for life.
A Regents' Professor may be the highest award in the land of academia, but since the professors don't wear their medallions to class, many students aren't aware of their teachers' distinguished status.
Starrfield said that most of his freshmen astronomy students didn't seem to care about his award this year. Humphrey agreed, saying that the university needs to do more to publicize the professors' merits to students.
"I don't think students are fully aware of just how significant this is," Humphrey added.
"Students seem less willing to challenge me in class" since receiving the award, Kaye said. "Maybe they are just over-awed," he joked.
Nevertheless, Kaye admitted that he does not view the award as having a large effect on faculty-student relationships. "It hasn't helped me develop rapport with my students."
And while the award is a wonderful recognition of academic excellence, Krahenbuhl realizes that narrowly focusing on an academic standard causes ASU to overlook other areas of excellence, especially a group of faculty he calls "difference makers." Krahenbuhl said these professors are highly attentive to students and work at turning ideas into action without concern for who gets the credit.
"We have many faculty that are real difference makers on this campus that will probably never be designated as Regents' Professors, but they are very important to ASU," Krahenbuhl said. "It would be nice to have tools to encourage other important forms of excellence like this."
Still, Regents' Professors are widely considered to be the role models and ambassadors of ASU faculty, and the award continues to be a goal toward which all faculty strive. The new Regents' Professors also feel that receiving the award is a great motivation to become better teachers and continue to excel in their research.
"It's a tremendous incentive to do more and do it better," Maienschein said.
While becoming a Regents' Professor isn't quite the same as winning an Olympic gold in the downhill slalom, being recognized by national and international peers in your discipline has its own global reward.
"It means that people care about my work worldwide," Starrfield said.
Reach the reporter at katie.petersen@asu.edu.
