GRANVILLE, Ohio—Denison University honored three faculty members as new holders of an endowed chair and two professorships at the college’s annual Academic Awards Convocation held on Friday, April 13, in Swasey Chapel. Ted Burczak, professor of economics, was awarded the Beverly Fleischman Endowed Professorship; Isis Nusair, associate professor of women’s studies and international studies, was awarded the Judy Gentili Chair in International Studies; and Fred Porcheddu, associate professor of English, was named as the Dr. Viola K. Kleindienst Professor.
At the event, Denison President Dale T. Knobel said, “Today, we stop to celebrate the mutuality of the most successful teaching and the deepest learning. Outstanding teachers and mentors inspire exceptional achievement in learners. Motivated and demanding learners bring out energy and creativity in their teachers.” Knobel added “This day, we celebrate the best in teaching and learning.”
Awarded to Burczak, the Beverly Fleischmann Endowed Professorship was established in 2007 from the estate of alumna Beverly Fleischmann ’41. The terms of appointment for the Fleishman Endowed professorship stipulate that the recipient must demonstrate excellence in teaching, in scholarship, and in service to the college.
Burczak, who also was awarded the 2012 Charles A. Brickman Teaching Excellence Award during the ceremony, first joined Denison University in 1995. His areas of special interest include macroeconomic theory, monetary economics and the history of economic thought. He was awarded the Smith Center Prize for Best Book for “Socialism After Hayek” in 2007.
Awarded to Nusair, the Judy Gentili Chair in International Studies was established in 2001 from the estate of alumna Judy Gentili ’66, to support a faculty member whose teaching and scholarship have an international focus and whose work will enhance the opportunities for students at Denison to study issues and ideas in their global context.
Nusair, a member of the Denison faculty since 2005, teaches courses on transnational feminism; feminism in the Middle East and North Africa; and gender, war and conflict. Her current research focuses on the impact of war and displacement on Iraqi women refugees in Jordan. Nusair previously served as a researcher on women’s human rights in the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch and at the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network.
Awarded to Porcheddu, the Dr. Viola K. Kleindienst Professorship was established in 2008 by alumna Viola K. Kleindienst ’42. This professorship is awarded to a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding teaching and commitment to students.
Porcheddu, a member of the Denison faculty since 1992, teaches courses on medieval and Renaissance British and European literature, including Chaucer, the Arthurian and Charlemagne legends, and pastoral poetry. He specializes in medieval manuscript studies and the history of books.
Criteria for named faculty chairs include the quality of the faculty member’s contributions in scholarship, teaching, and service to their students, the college and their discipline. Named chairs are model teachers/scholars who also have made substantial contributions to the other purposes of the college.
Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement, and the cultivation of independent thinking.
