5/16/97 Contact: Cheryl L. Cooper, 614/593-1899
ATHENS, Ohio --Ohio University Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Martin D. Schwartz, won the 1996-1997 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award. He has been a finalist for this award several times and has also been nominated for this year's Distinguished Professor status. Carolyn Karmon, who completed her master's degree from OU in 1995, was named as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Student and Emma Coddington, a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, was named outstanding Master's Graduate Student.
"The thing I like most about this award is it's given by the students," said Schwartz, who has been teaching for 20 years. "I've won awards from faculty and administrators, but this is what keeps you in the business. It's nice to get feedback and know you are appreciated."
As a former department chair and director of Graduate Studies, he made important strides in moving the graduate program into a nationally known program that sends five or more students to top doctoral programs each year. This effort was part of the package that resulted in his winning a College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award several years ago.
Schwartz spent two terms on Graduate Council, where he chaired the Curriculum Committee and is currently serving his third term as chair of the Kennedy Lecture Committee. He has also been quoted in nationally known publications such as USA Today for his expertise in sociology and criminology. In 1994, Schwartz was selected as the winner of the annual award from the Critical Criminology Division of the American Society of Criminology for his outstanding contribution to critical criminology.
Carolyn Karmon, a 1993 graduate of Western Michigan University, was named as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Student.
"I was ecstatic to receive such an honor from a university of this standing and prestige," said Karmon. Her current research focuses on changes that occur in relationships when one partner suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
"By identifying the types of changes that occur because of the progression of Alzheimer's and sharing that information with families, I can provide individuals with information that might reduce some of the uncertainty and anxiety that accompanies Alzheimer's disease," Karmon said. Her goals include obtaining a teaching position at a university and continuing her research.
Emma Coddington, who currently works as a biology lab instructor, was named Outstanding Master's Graduate Student."I'm very surprised and pleased to receive such an award," Coddington said. "I feel it is a reflection of the people who have encouraged me in this career."
A native of New Zealand, Coddington graduated with a First Class Honors Degree in zoology from Otago University, New Zealand, in 1993. She is an active member of the Society of Integrated and Comparative Biology.
After completing her master's, Coddington hopes to complete a Ph.D. that will combine her training in physiology with her desire for conservation of species to ensure correct management and protection of them. She ultimately aims to be part of a research team at a university.
The winners were announced May 4 at a reception sponsored by the President's Office and Graduate Student Senate at Baker Center's 1804 Lounge.