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Tuesday, December 16, 2003 Four UNI faculty receive Regents Awards for Faculty Excellence Four University of Northern Iowa faculty members received the 2003 Regents Award for Faculty Excellence at a dinner hosted earlier this semester by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.
Recipients were Rebecca Burkhardt, professor of music and director of orchestral activities; Steve Corbin, associate professor of marketing; Mark Grey, professor of anthropology and director of UNI's New Iowans Program; and Siobahn Morgan, professor of astronomy.
Burkhardt was described by her nominator as an "exceptional teacher in the School of Music" and one whose "students prize the breadth and depth of her expertise, as well as her impeccable organization and inspiring manner." Her conducting style "invites people to play, and under her direction, the orchestra at UNI has grown in both numbers and maturity to become one of the very best collegiate ensembles in the Midwest."
Burkhardt, has a Ph.D. in music theory from the University of Texas at Austin and has been at UNI since 1988.
Corbin is described as a master teacher who annually is rated by graduating seniors as one of the professors who has had the most impact on their development. Students consistently express their admiration and appreciation for his knowledge and expertise, his stimulating classroom and his personal interest in every student's success. He has created an extensive outreach program that provides hundreds of students with hands-on marketing experience in local businesses.
In addition to his classroom success, Corbin conducts research focusing on marketing pedagogy, and his research on student writing in the marketing curriculum is considered seminal throughout the marketing discipline. He has served as a national conference leader on issues related to pedagogical research in his field.
Corbin earned an Ed.D. in marketing education from the Polytechnic Institute and State University of Virginia, and came to UNI in 1975. He served nine years as head of the marketing department. An advocate for student-athletes, he is the announcer and commentator for the UNI women's basketball team.
Grey, who earned his Ph.D. in applied anthropology from the University of Colorado, is in his 13th year at UNI. He has developed a national reputation for his research on the integration of immigrants and refugees into Iowa communities and the Iowa workforce. As director of the New Iowans program, he has provided leadership for communities across Iowa that are experiencing rapid diversification, helping to foster multicultural understanding and to improve the quality of community life for longtime residents and for new Iowans.
His handbooks have been highly acclaimed for their practical value. In presenting him to the regents, UNI President Robert Koob said, "From helping a group of Latinos start a multi-ethnic radio station Postville, to taking Iowa mayors, police chiefs and business leaders on trips to the Mexican home communities of Iowa immigrants, Dr. Grey's work has been a model of applying theory to practice in ways that make a positive difference for individuals and for our state."
Morgan came to UNI in 1991 after earning a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Washington. In addition to teaching, she is the director of the Hillside Observatory and faculty advisor for Sigma Gamma Epsilon, the National Honor Society for Earth Science. During her tenure at UNI she has developed a reputation not only as a highly skilled teacher, but also as a researcher and active member of the university community.
She regularly teaches a popular astronomy course. Her nominator says, "Students prize her interactive laboratories and innovative teaching technique. They describe her as knowledgeable, approachable, patient, challenging, enthusiastic, thoughtful, creative, passionate and 'down-to-earth -- except when she is in the stars.'"
Morgan's dedication to her students is evident in her research. A nationally recognized expert on pulsars (rapidly rotating neutron stars), she regularly involves undergraduates in her research and has co-authored 13 academic papers with students, including four in the prestigious astronomy journal, Acta Astronomica.
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