Fulbright College Honors 33 Faculty Retirees and Their 1,000 Years of Combined Service
Thirty-three faculty retirees from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences — whose time in the college totals more than 1,000 years of service — were recently recognized at a college-wide celebration on May 4 for their tremendous service to our college, to the entire U of A, and to their academic disciplines.
The celebration of these 33 faculty members, which included those who retired in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, was the college’s first opportunity to recognize retirees since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It had been too long since we’d been able to gather and honor these incredible faculty, their service, and the difference they’ve made,” said Kathryn Sloan, interim dean of Fulbright College. “The remarkable turnout and support from our entire college demonstrated that these faculty members have truly transformed Fulbright College for the better and have truly embodied our mission of peace through education.”
“There are an untold number of ways we can all choose to spend our time, and to choose to dedicate yourself to education, to making people’s lives better, to leaving our world better than we found it — I can think of no higher calling,” added Sloan.
Fulbright College is proud to call the following retirees forever members of the Fulbright College family and wishes them the best in their new chapters.
Thank you and congratulations to our 2023 faculty retirees!
Dennis Brewer — Professor, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Dennis Brewer served the Department of Mathematical Sciences since 1975, during which time he also served as vice chair. His excellence in research, teaching, and leadership extended to the entire U of A in previous roles including chair of the Department of Computer Science, associate head of the Department of Computer Science and Computer Engineering, Associate Vice Provost for Research and Economic Development, Director of Research and Sponsored Programs, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Director of Information Technology Services.
Ronda Mains — Professor, Department of Music
Ronda Mains served the Department of Music since 1987 in teaching, service, and leadership roles including associate chair and chair. Mains is a nationally and internally recognized flautist, having served as a visiting fellow at Cambridge University, and is principal flautist for the North Arkansas Symphony. She is the recipient of the Arkansas Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching and the Fulbright College Master Teacher Award and was a member of the University Teaching Academy.
Steven Worden — Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Steven Worden served the Department of Sociology & Criminology for more than 30 years. Worden’s international research on social psychology, symbolic interactionism, religion, and the social worlds of identity and social transformation led to research excellence in the U.S., India, Mexico, and Cuba. His vast publication record accompanied his service to the discipline and department as a reviewer and undergraduate program director.
Thank you and congratulations to our 2022 faculty retirees!
Myria Allen — Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication
Myria Allen served the Department of Communication since 1993 in teaching and leadership roles, including graduate and honors director. Allen received the Fulbright College Master Researcher Award, National Communication Association’s Outstanding Mentor in Master’s Education Award, and Southern States Communication Association’s Teacher-Scholar and Mentoring Awards. She also earned impressive research support from the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for Financial Education.
William Feldman — Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematical Sciences
William Feldman served the Department of Mathematical Sciences since 1971, spanning an impressive 50-year career at the U of A, during which he also served a 10-year tenure as the department’s chair. His years of service were held in high esteem by his peers and students alike. Noted as an expert in his field in functional analysis, his teaching and research excellence were marked by 46 articles in leading professional journals.
Gerald Jordan — Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism and Strategic Media
Gerald Jordan served the School of Journalism and Strategic Media for 27 years, which included teaching excellence and a commitment to student media. Jordan was the co-founder of the Lemke Journalism Project, which has brought hundreds of students from underrepresented communities to the U of A for journalism training. His numerous accolades include recognition from the NAACP, Arkansas Press Association, American Society of News Editors, and the Northwest Arkansas MLK Jr. Commission.
Don Kelley — Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science
Donald R. Kelley served the Department of Political Science as a professor with accomplished research focuses on the Soviet Union, democracy, and American politics. Kelley’s research record was extensive, having authored, co-authored, and edited more than 15 books, 18 edited chapters in academic publications, and numerous articles in his research expertise.
Kristin Musgnug — Professor Emeritus, School of Art
Kristin Musgnug served the School of Art since 1991 and enjoyed success nationally and internationally in her career. Musgnug’s work explored the domesticated American landscape through a re-examination of the Romantic tradition of landscape painting. Her teaching and artistic excellence landed her teaching and artistic service awards, as well as esteemed fellowships throughout the U.S., England, Macedonia, and Nova Scotia.
Robin Roberts — Professor Emeritus, Department of English
Robin Roberts served the Department of English, the Gender Studies Program, and Fulbright College since 2011, during which time she also served as dean of Fulbright College. Roberts’s successful academic career generated numerous books, articles, and paper presentations, during which time she also reviewed manuscripts for Oxford University Press. In 2020, she received a proclamation from the city of New Orleans for her contributions to Mardi Gras lore in the post-Katrina era.
John Ryan — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematical Sciences
John Ryan served the Department of Mathematical Sciences for more than 30 years and was acclaimed for his research contributions to the field of Clifford analysis and to the theory of Dirac operators. Ryan published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and advised six doctoral students and was only the second scholar to ever receive a Higher Doctorate of Science from University of York. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious accolades, fellowships, and grants, including from the National Science Foundation and the Humboldt Foundation.
William Schwab — Executive Director, Pryor Center for Arkansas Visual and Oral History
William A. Schwab served the Department of Sociology & Criminology, Fulbright College, and U of A for more than 46 years as professor, department chair, dean, and executive director of the Pryor Center. Schwab’s remarkable career included work with the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development. His research excellence includes more than five books and numerous articles and more than $2.5 million in research grants.
Rick Stockdell — Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism and Strategic Media
Rick Stockdell served the School of Journalism and Strategic Media since 1980 as a professor, undergraduate studies director, and student media champion. Most notably, Stockdell championed the creation and success of KUAF while serving as its station manager for 35 years and was integral to securing the station’s NPR affiliation in 1985. He also successfully led the station’s transformation during a capital campaign in support of creating the new Lynn and Joel Carver Center for Public Radio.
Ted Swedenburg — Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology
Ted Swedenburg served the Department of Anthropology since 1996 and the greater academic discipline in his service to the Middle East Studies Association on its board of directors. Swedenburg was also actively involved with the U of A’s King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies. His accomplished career also extended throughout the U.S. and internationally where he served as a visiting professor at Georgetown University and Ben Gurion University in Negev, Israel.
Charles Wilkins — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Charles Wilkins served the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry since 1998 and garnered an impressive reputation in the discipline as chief editor of the International Journal of Analytical Chemistry and founding director of the U of A’s Statewide Mass Spectrometry Facility. Wilkins also served 25 years with four additional chemistry journals throughout the discipline. His research focused on the development of Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) as a rapid, specific, and sensitive analytical tool.
Thank you and congratulations to our 2021 faculty retirees!
John Akeroyd — Professor Emeritus, Department of Mathematical Sciences
John Akeroyd served the Department of Mathematical Sciences since 1986, during which time he also served as the department’s vice chair. With more than 40 years of experience in teaching and research, Akeroyd has published numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed academic and professional journals and is held in esteem as an expert in the fields of complex analysis and functional analysis.
John DuVal — Professor Emeritus, Department of English
John DuVal served the Department of English since 1982, during which time he also directed its esteemed literary translation program. DuVal earned impressive acclaim in his field with two awards from the Academy of American Poets and a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. He is the author of 13 respected books on translation and enjoyed recognition globally as a visiting fellow at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Marvin Kay — Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology
Marvin Kay served the Department of Anthropology since 1980, during which time he also led the department as chair. With more than 50 years of teaching and research experience and service to the field of anthropological communities, Kay has written and edited numerous articles and book chapters throughout national and international publications and has made dozens of presentations on his research findings at respected national and international conferences.
Roger Koeppe — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Roger Koeppe served the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry for more than 40 years, including as honors advisor, during which time he mentored students who earned National Science Foundation fellowships and a Goldwater Scholarship. He has been recognized with an Alumni Association Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award for Research and the Fulbright College Master Researcher Award. Additionally, he was a Fulbright America Scholar to The Netherlands.
Fred Limp Jr. — University Professor Emeritus, Department of Geosciences
Fred Limp Jr. served the Department of Geosciences for more than 41 years, during which time he was the inaugural Leica Geosystems Chair in Geospatial Imaging and founding director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies. Limp is the recipient of the Arkansas GIS Users Forum Lifetime Achievement Award, Master Researcher Award, and Alumni Distinguished Research Award. He was also appointed to the Board of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training by former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.
Margaret Reid — Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science
Margaret Reid served the Department of Political Science since 1993, during which time she served as chair and MPA program director. Reid’s transformational research focused on gendered workplaces, implementing multi-actor policy partnerships and sustainable community development. Her research excellence is demonstrated in more than 12 journals and her co-authored book Glass Walls and Glass Ceilings, which was one of the first publications to examine, with a national data set, the barriers to women’s advancement in public agencies.
Thomas Rosteck — Associate Professor, Department of Communication
Thomas Rosteck served the Department of Communication and U of A since 1990, a time which was marked by numerous research accolades, including two published books, eight published book chapters, and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference appearances. He mentored students across more than 15 Ph.D. dissertations, 30 master’s theses, and 100 undergraduate theses. Rosteck also contributed to his greater discipline with service on numerous regional and national journals and associations.
George Sabo III — Professor, Department of Anthropology
George Sabo III served the Department of Anthropology, U of A, and the state of Arkansas since 1979. Sabo retired as Director of the Arkansas Archaeological Survey and professor of anthropology, during which time he mentored numerous graduate students, serving on and chairing impressive thesis and dissertation committees. Sabo’s research and leadership excellence include support from the National Endowment for Humanities, more than $1 million secured in grants and contracts, and bylines across 12 books and monographs.
Patrick Slattery — Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of English
Patrick Slattery served the Department of English since 1991, during which time he led the department as associate chair and as director of the Rhetoric and Composition and M.A. and Ph.D. programs. Slattery was instrumental to the department’s growth, having helped secure funds for the Brown Chair in English Literacy, in which capacity he served twice. He is the recipient of the John E. King Service and the Master Teacher Awards from Fulbright College and the Scholar-Teacher Award from the South Central College English Association.
Timothy Thompson — Professor Emeritus, Department of Music
Timothy Thompson served the Department of Music since 1979. His impressive teaching, research, and performance career included residencies in the U.S. and abroad, including in Australia, Bolivia, Thailand, Kansas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and throughout Arkansas. Thompson also served the greater community as faculty hornist for numerous summer festivals, including the Music Festival of Arkansas, the U of A Summer Music Camp, and at the University of Wisconsin.
Les Wade — Professor Emeritus, Department of Theatre
Les Wade served the Department of Theatre since 2011. Wade’s outstanding creative contributions are marked by being named a two-time semifinalist for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. His impressive career in theatre spans more than 33 years of teaching, mentoring, advising, and conducting creative research in the university setting by providing leadership and instruction to the theatre community locally, regionally, and nationally.
Elliott West — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of History
Elliott West served the Department of History since 1979. During his esteemed tenure, West authored nine books and nearly 90 articles and essays on the American West, which garnered national acclaim with recognition from the Western Historical Association, the Society of American Historians, and the Organization of American Historians. He was also recognized with the SEC Faculty Achievement Award and as the Arkansas Professor of the Year.
Thank you and congratulations to our 2020 faculty retirees!
Ken Kvamme — Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology
Ken Kvamme served the Department of Anthropology since 1998 with his expertise and research in techno-archaeology. Kvamme taught graduate and undergraduate courses in anthropology and enjoyed an accomplished publishing record on geophysics and remote sensing, archaeological location modeling, statistics, and lithic technology. His career was global with research in North America, Germany, Northern Ireland, Spain, and India.
David Paul — Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
David Paul served the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry since 1980, during which time he directed research projects with 40 undergraduate, seven master’s, and 10 Ph.D. students. His impressive research contributions to the field earned him the esteemed IR 100 Award, a visiting professorship at the Linkoping Institute of Technology in Sweden, and numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and National Science Foundation. He is also the author of more than 36 respected peer-reviewed scientific journal articles.
Reina Ruiz — Associate Professor, Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Reina Ruiz served the Department of World Languages, Literatures & Cultures since 2007 as an accomplished professor of Spanish. An advisor for Sigma Delta Pi, study abroad leader, and graduate advisor, Ruiz’s service to the department was held in high regard by students and peers alike. Ruiz’s research excellence included funding from the National Endowment for Humanities and numerous published bylines as well as creative endeavors.
Fred Spiegel — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences
Fred Spiegel served the Department of Biological Sciences and U of A since 1982 in various teaching and leadership roles, including vice-chair, chair, and director of undergraduate research. Spiegel’s accomplished career featured a lasting research record, appearances at leading national and international conferences, and numerous studies funded by the National Science Foundation. He was also instrumental in developing transformative degree programs and curriculum in the department.
Daniel Sutherland — Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of History
Dan Sutherland served the Department of History for 31 years in various teaching and leadership roles, including department chair. Sutherland’s accomplished career includes impressive mentorship accomplishments, including directing 19 doctoral dissertations and 21 master’s theses. His research excellence is marked by 16 published books, 90 articles and essays, and the Fulbright College Master Teacher and Master Researcher Awards.