Three professorships have been awarded to faculty members at University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Lopa Basu has been named the Dahlgren Professor for one year, from July 1 through June 30, 2017. She will receive $8,500.
Melody Brennan, early childhood education, is the Maybelle Ranney Price Professor from July 1 through June 30, 2017. She will receive $2,000.
Wei Zheng has been awarded the G.A. Taft Manufacturing Engineering Endowed Professorship for 2016-19. The professorship provides $8,000 per year.
The professorship stipends allow faculty to pursue professional development in scholarly or academic areas aligning with the mission of the university. Use of the stipends must meet state guidelines.
Funding for the professorships is through the Stout University Foundation and has been approved by the UW System.
Dahlgren Professorship
Lopa BasuBasu is a professor in the English and philosophy department.
She plans to travel to New York City to conduct interviews on South Asian American playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar. She will interview Akhtar and other Muslim, Arab and South Asian American authors who are working on post 9/11 American literature.
Basu also intends to present her research at one major national and one international conference. Part of the funding will be used for the dissemination of her research in these venues. Funds also will go toward buying books and materials for her research and in the preparation of a monograph, a scholarly book on a single topic, on Akhtar.
The Dahlgren award is named after alumni Reinhold and Borghild Eng Dahlgren, husband and wife and 1917 and 1918 graduates, respectively, who left their estate to the university.
Maybelle Ranney Price Professor
Melody BrennanBrennan is an assistant professor in the teaching, learning and leadership department.
She will continue her collaborative planning and research on culturally responsive pedagogy to implement responsive teaching strategies, while working in a third grade classroom.
The professorship budget will support classroom materials for instruction, such as books; instruments and music; and other instructional supports; as well as possible travel to a conference for dissemination of the research experience and findings.
The Price award, named after alumna Maybelle Price, is awarded in recognition of outstanding ability and promise and provides support for the recipient’s professional activities.
G.A. Taft Manufacturing Engineering Endowed Professorship
Wei ZhengZheng is an associate professor in engineering and technology.
The professorship will be primarily used to conduct research on the rheology, which is the deformation and flow of matter, of bio- or biodegradable plastic. Bioplastic is made from natural materials such as corn starch.
She will share her findings in conferences and teaching-related activities. She plans to develop a simulation course on the use of polymer rheology in common plastics processing operations.
The professorship provides impetus for continued success of the manufacturing engineering program through further developing the manufacturing engineering curriculum and drawing on opportunities presented by partnerships in industry and higher education.
The three-year professorship provides approximately $8,000 per year, according to endowment balance.
Lenore Landry Apparel Design and Development Professorship
Last year, Professor Gindy Neidermyer, program director for the B.S. degree in apparel design and development, was appointed the 2015-18 Lenore Landry Apparel Design and Development Professor.
