1999

Robert J. Ackerman, University Professor
Holly R. Boda, for Creative Arts
William McPherson, for Teaching
Patrick D. Murphy, for Research
Fran Pollock Prezant, for Service

University Professor, Robert J. Ackerman
Dr. Robert J. Ackerman of the Department of Sociology and the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Training Institute (MAATI) has been named University Professor for 1999-2000. A member of the IUP faculty since 1982, he is recognized by both students and peers as an outstanding teacher. Most of his recent teaching has been at the graduate level, especially in the area of human services. Through MAATI, Dr. Ackerman has coordinated 22 professional training workshops and ten very successful MAATI summer schools on high-risk children, families, and behavioral health. Students appreciate Dr. Ackerman’s enthusiasm, knowledge, dedication, non-judgmental approach, and efforts to encourage classroom participation.

Dr. Ackerman enjoys a national and international reputation for his work with children and adults who were raised in troubled families. Since coming to IUP, Dr. Ackerman has authored twelve books and numerous articles. One of these, Silent Sons, is based on a study of more than 500 men and was reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly as "a notable addition to the literature on male psychology." His best-selling books, Perfect Daughters, Silent Sons, and Children of Alcoholics, have been translated into a number of languages. Dr. Ackerman's outstanding record of professional presentations includes appearances in Australia and New Zealand, and at a White House Conference on the Development of Resiliency Skills in High-Risk Youth.

From 1991 to 1995, Dr. Ackerman served as director of curriculum and training on a grant for alcohol and drug education from the U.S. Department of Education. In 1988 he was honored with the IUP Distinguished Faculty Award for Research.

Dr. Ackerman has provided significant service to IUP and to his profession. Since its founding by Dr. Ackerman in 1988, MAATI has brought national recognition to the university and has generated more than two-and-a-half million dollars in external funding. Dr. Ackerman has also assisted numerous groups and departments at IUP, as well as community organizations, with educational projects about alcohol and drug abuse. Dr. Ackerman has served on many university and department committees, on the board of directors of the Foundation for IUP, and as chairperson of the Investiture Committee for the current IUP president. At the national level, Dr. Ackerman currently serves on a number of advisory boards, including the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and Who’s Who in Addiction Treatment and Recovery. 

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For Creative Arts, Holly R. Boda
When Ms. Holly R. Boda joined the faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1994, she brought a multitude of talents to the campus—as an accomplished dancer and choreographer, an acclaimed director, a nationally recognized researcher, a challenging and devoted teacher, and a dedicated advocate for the creative arts in our society and our lives.

Ms. Boda founded a professional dance company—the IUP Dance Theater—to provide a performance outlet and a “real life” learning environment for the university’s dance students. Through the IUP Dance Theater and by enlisting the assistance of guest artists, Ms. Boda introduces her students to a variety of dance genres to encourage their development as multi-talented artists.

While there is no doubt that Ms. Boda is a dedicated teacher, she also is a gifted artist, performing with the IUP Dance Theater and other campus groups. She receives invitations for performances of her choreographic at conferences, festivals, and workshops across the country. She has also generously shared her creative energies and skills with the community by staging programs for public schools as well as social and civic organizations throughout Indiana County and western Pennsylvania.

An internationally recognized researcher, Ms. Boda has recreated historical dance works that received critical acclaim from her colleagues. In recognition of her respected talents and artistic passion, she has been elected to prestigious posts on the state level. 

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For Teaching, William McPherson
In the classroom, Dr. McPherson is a creative, student-centered teacher who strives to create a pleasant learning environment that inspires students to learn. He utilizes a variety of teaching methods and materials to achieve a classroom atmosphere that promotes learning. He is always willing to rephrase, repeat, and re-adapt the instruction to reach all of his students. Even his research in business communications dovetails with his innovative teaching methods. Whether he is using Tinkertoys to build teamwork, hosting business etiquette dinners, or researching the custom of "dressing down" in the workplace, Dr. McPherson is teaching his students about the business world in creative, thought-provoking ways.

Dr. McPherson is an enthusiastic, innovative, and conscientious educator who makes a positive contribution to the Department of Technology Support and Training, the Eberly College of Business and Information Technology, and the university. In the words of English novelist William A. Ward: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." Dr. McPherson inspires, and he has clearly touched many lives. Indeed, he is truly an asset to IUP, and we are in his debt.

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For Research, Patrick D. Murphy
A member of IUP’s Department of English, Dr. Murphy is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar. He has focused on developing, critiquing, and promoting the field of ecological criticism—a relatively young area within the field of literary criticism. During the past five years alone, Dr. Murphy has produced a remarkable number of works: one monograph and a second in press; five edited or co-edited books; five journal issues and another co-edited issue forthcoming; eight book chapters with another in press; two refereed articles and four solicited articles. A number of his works have been translated for publication internationally.

Impressive as these numbers are, it is the quality and impact of Dr. Murphy’s scholarship that we recognize today. His work in the field of ecological criticism has expanded and refined this relatively young intellectual area. Dr. Murphy’s scholarship has already been recognized in a variety of ways. In 1997, he was awarded a senior Fulbright Award as a combined lecturer and researcher in Japan; in 1998, he was awarded the Tamkang Chair to lecture in Taiwan on American ecocritical and multicultural literatures. 

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For Service, Fran Pollock Prezant
Ms. Prezant was invited to join the faculty in the Department of Special Education and Clinical Services in 1987. Since her arrival at IUP she has supervised interns and student teachers, taught classes, and coordinated in-service activities for area teacher educators. However, all of these activities pale in comparison to the service activities she has undertaken to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities in the Indiana community, the region, and the state of Pennsylvania. As Ms. Prezant became acquainted with the IUP and Indiana communities, she recognized that many parents of children with disabilities lacked the necessary information to make sound decisions about their child’s educational needs. As a result, Ms. Prezant brought together ten parents from the community in 1990 to form a support network now called the Parent Information Project. Since then, Ms. Prezant has secured more than one-half million dollars to guarantee that the mission of these parents continues to be supported. Her initial group of ten parents has grown exponentially, and now the Parent Information Project boasts a mailing list of over 800 parents and 400 agencies that provide services to persons with disabilities.

The response to the beginning support group of Indiana area parents has blossomed to what is now an integral part of the teacher preparation program within the College of Education at IUP. Ms. Prezant’s initial service activities, targeted for parents, presently serves as an invaluable resource for faculty, staff, and students at IUP. The majority of students who take courses in the Department of Special Education now interact in some fashion with the Parent Information Project.

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