Three Boise State University professors have been named Foundation Scholars for 2009. The awards have been given out annually since 1992 for ongoing commitment to, and expertise and accomplishment in, teaching, research and creative activity, and professionally related service.
Nick Miller, history, received the Research Award; Troy Rohn, biology, received the Teaching Award; and Jeffrey Wilhelm, English, received the Service Award. All three recipients will be formally recognized at an event hosted by the Boise State University Foundation. Date and location for the event will be announced at a later time.
“We congratulate this year’s award winners for their outstanding work and dedication to academic excellence,” said Sona Andrews, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We recognize that our Foundation Scholars represent the extraordinary quality of teaching, research and service found across the faculty at Boise State University.”
Nick Miller began teaching at Boise State in 1993. He is recognized internationally for his work on the people and history of the former Yugoslavia. He testified before the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague in 2008 and is scheduled to appear again in 2009 on a different case. His consultations on NPR and his presentations to the U.S. Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency speak to his expertise in the arena of world politics. Miller has published two books and 12 other research and policy-related articles in his field and has made presentations at universities such as the University of London, Harvard and Stanford. He also was invited to give the annual Peter N. Kujachich lecture at the University of California, Berkeley, in March.
Troy Rohn came to Boise State in 2000. His research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and the process by which apoptosis, or programmed cell death, occurs. Rohn’s teaching load covers classes ranging from large introductory lecture courses for non-majors to specialized upper-division biology courses. His goal as a teacher is to present science in a passionate, entertaining way, from using Jeopardy-style review questions to employing a telephone cord to demonstrate primary, secondary and tertiary structures. Upper-division and graduate-level students are provided with a strong foundation in key scientific concepts through his incorporation of clinical case studies in lectures and the relevance of his lectures to real world experiences.
Since Jeffrey Wilhelm joined the Boise State faculty in 2003, his service has been devoted to improving the resources and training available to those who teach writing. His goal is to improve the quality of instruction teachers provide to their students. As founding director of the Boise State Writing Project, Wilhelm has provided countless hours of support to the program, including writing grants, leading workshops and developing curriculum. The program, a local affiliation of the National Writing Project, brings together educators in many different disciplines from throughout Idaho.
In addition to award recipients, finalists for this year’s Foundation Scholar Awards were: Rickie Miller, associate professor and associate chair of curriculum instruction and foundational studies (Service), Peter Mullner, associate professor of materials science and engineering (Research and Creative Activity), Yonnie Chyung, associate professor of instructional and performance technology (Teaching) and Stan Steiner, professor and chair of literacy (Teaching).
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Media Contact: Kathleen Tuck, University Communications, (208) 426-3275, kathleentuck@boisestate.edu
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