The Rutgers Board of Governors took the following actions at its December 8, 2006 meeting:
Four faculty receive special recognition The board bestowed Board of Governors Professorships upon three Rutgers faculty members and presented History Professor Keith Wailoo with the Martin Luther King Jr. Professorship. The board passed the Wailoo resolution at its previous meeting. Recognized were:
- English Professor Cheryl Wall The board noted her original and influential scholarship that transformed the aesthetic standards for and methods of study of 20th-century African-American literature, her books establishing the African-American literary cannon, and her intellectual leadership in literary studies, African-American studies, and women’s studies. Wall has delivered numerous keynote speeches and lectures across the United States and abroad, and serves on editorial boards for leading journals in the field, including African American Review, American Literature, and Signs, whose editorial office is located at Rutgers.
- History Professor Deborah Gray White Currently at work on an oral history of Lincoln Center in New York City, Gray White has been acclaimed for her original and groundbreaking contributions to the field of African and African-American history. Her work expanded the dialogue about slavery to include women and ensured this historical perspective was available to schoolchildren and the general public. Gray White has researched “Million Mass Marches” in order to assess race, class, and gender relations in the 21st century. Her first book, Ar’n’t I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Antebellum South, one of many published works, received the Letitia Brown Memorial Book Prize.
- Education Economics and Public Policy Professor W. Steven Barnett As director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers, Barnett is a leader in studies of the economics of early care and education including costs and benefits, the long-term effects of preschool programs on children's learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities. He is widely credited with saving Head Start as a national program, and heralded for achieving steady funding by national public agencies and private foundations.
- History Professor Keith Wailoo The Board of Governors named Wailoo Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of History. The professorship was established to honor the legacy of King and his dedication to human rights. It reflects the university’s commitment to the principles of equality, access, and the advancement of scholarship that extends understanding of race-related issues in the United States and throughout the world. Wailoo came to Rutgers in 2001 after nine years at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. He is an internationally distinguished scholar whose research has explored the intertwined histories of race, medicine, and social change. Wailoo co-edited A Death Retold: Jesica Santillan, the Bungled Transplant, and Paradoxes of Medical Citizenship (University of North Carolina Press, 2006) with Julie Livingston, assistant professor in the Department of History, and Peter Guarnaccia, professor in the Department of Human Ecology.
Scarlet Knights football team congratulated The board recognized the Scarlet Knights football team for bringing “great focus and pride to the State of New Jersey with its outstanding performance.” The team finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, only the second team in university history to do so. The Knights accepted their second consecutive bowl bid (the team will play Kansas State in the Texas Bowl December 28), and 13 players earned All-BIG EAST Conference honors. Fullback Brian Leonard received the prestigious Draddy Trophy, which recognizes the best in academic success, football performance, and community leadership.
Approval of Visual Identity System and external advertising The board approved the new Rutgers Visual Identity System (see top story) as well as a policy revision that will allow for paid advertisements in print, electronic, and public media. The new system and the revised advertising policy are part of the university’s comprehensive communications initiative, which seeks to enhance the public’s perception of Rutgers and promote the achievements of faculty, students, staff, and alumni.
-- Ashanti M. Alvarez