Awards, Honors, and Appointments

Czech, mate: National Award for Masako Fidler

Earlier this year, Masako Fidler, associate professor of Slavic languages, was honored by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, which presented to her its national award for excellence in teaching at the post-secondary level. Particularly praiseworthy, according to the citation, is Brown University's On-Line Czech Literary Anthology, of which Fidler has been "the primary force."

By her own admission, Fidler is a "rare species" - a Japanese woman who found her academic calling in the teaching of Czech at Brown.

She owes her initial interest in Slavic languages to her grandfather, a founder of the first Japanese orchestra. "He regularly performed Russian and Slavic music. Even after his death, we were surrounded by his stuff" - musical scores with signatures of famous Russian performers with whom he performed.

After graduating from Tokyo's Waseda University with a degree in Russian literature, Fidler pursued a doctorate in Slavic linguistics, Czech in particular, at UCLA. She arrived to teach at Brown in 1991.

The interactions among Czech language, its literature, and its society drew Fidler's interest. "Czechoslovakia is a tiny country of ten million people. Its dialects are still alive; its regional mentalities are still very alive. ... Those things are fascinating for a linguist."

But it is the Czech mentality -  "diametrically opposed to mine" - that most intrigued Fidler. "I'm a bulldozer. This is my Japanese psyche," she said. "The Czech mentality is to distance yourself from what is going on, giving the space to look at a situation and yourself with a sense of humor." Discovering this "lyrical attitude ... was an epiphany, a refreshing experience."

This is the second time since 1991 that a member of Brown's Department of Slavic Languages received the award. (Barbara Monihan won it in 1991.) Only one other institution -  Middlebury College -  has had two winners in the same timeframe.

The award points to Brown's flexible, innovative, and vibrant Slavic languages program, Fidler said, adding that Brown is the perfect place to study Czech. "Brown students are out to do the unusual, and Czech is a jewel." - Tracie Sweeney

The Language Resource Center

Associate Professor Masako Fidler is among the many faculty, student, and staff members who rely on the University's Language Resource Center (LRC).

Located on the second floor of the CIT building, the LRC supports and promotes language, literature and culture instruction at all levels. Its staff provides technical assistance, digital media and tools, informational outreach, training, and curricular support.

Anyone with a valid Brown ID can use the LRC and its resources, which include a growing collection of foreign films, and instructional materials ranging from American Sign Language to Zulu.

Many of the center's materials are listed in Josiah, but increasingly, audio materials are available on LRC's Web site.

The number of Brown students studying a foreign language is on the rise, according to LRC Coordinator Carlotta Duarte. In FY 2002-03, 2,851 students took a course in a foreign language; the following fiscal year, she said, 3,418 students were enrolled in a foreign language course.

Mark J. Porter (left), a 24-year veteran of campus law enforcement, is the University's new chief of police and director of the Department of Public Safety.

Porter comes to Brown from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where he has served as director of public safety for the last nine years.

"Chief Porter is an experienced law enforcement officer and public safety administrator who has a strong record of success in the university setting," said President Ruth J. Simmons. "He will provide excellent leadership and strategic direction to our Department of Public Safety at a very important time in the department's history. I look forward to welcoming him as a member of the Brown campus community."

Porter is a 1984 graduate of the Municipal Police Academy in Massachusetts. At UMass-Dartmouth, Porter received high praise for professionalizing the Department of Public Safety, particularly for his success at implementing an effective student-centered community policing model. He received commendations for heroism and accolades for the care and skill with which he implemented the UMass-Dartmouth's decision to arm its campus police officers.

At Brown, Porter will have overall responsibility for promoting a safe and secure educational, living, and work environment for a population of more than 10,000 students, staff, faculty, and guests. He will lead a staff of more than eighty employees that includes thirty-three sworn police officers, eighteen security officers, nine communications officers and thirteen administrative and support staff and seven building guards. The director of public safety reports to Walter Hunter, vice president of administration.

Custodian Donna M. Caprio (left) is this year's winner of the Gaspar/Arzoomanian Outstanding Employee Award, presented annually to a Facilities Management union employee for his or her exemplary job performance and commitment to the University.

Caprio spends most of her 4-a.m.-to-noon shift in the CIT Building, although you sometimes can find her working at 29 Manning Walkway. "I'm not a desk person," says Caprio, who worked for a fire restoration company before joining Brown in 1997. "I like to move all day ... I get to meet different people all the time."

In addition, two Facilities Management employees received Citations for Excellence: Dan Baron, a plumber since 1994, and Hermano Fortes, a grounds crew leader assigned to Meehan Ice Rink.

Caprio, Baron, and Fortes were nominated by members of the Brown community. "It's nice to know that people recognize the work you do," Caprio said. She received her award at the Faculty Club on March 9.

Beth W. Bauer, a senior lecturer in Hispanic Studies, and Lawrence K. Stanley, senior lecturer in English, were honored May 4 when they received the Harriet W. Sheridan Award for Distinguished Contribution to Teaching and Learning.

The awards, presented by the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, honor faculty members who are said by colleagues to be effective mentors in the development of reflective teaching practices.

Faculty and graduate students within and beyond the department of Hispanic Studies cited Bauer for her superb classroom teaching, her well-recognized scholarship in Hispanic Studies, and her work as director of the Center for Language Studies.

Colleagues cited Stanley for his skills as a mentor, his leadership of departmental initiatives to support learning, and his internationally recognized scholarly efforts to integrate research and teaching across the curriculum.

The award ceremony included the presentation Faculty Teaching Awards, the Wriston Fellowship Award, the Presidential Graduate Student Teaching Awards, and Sheridan Teaching Certificates.

After excelling on the court in her three seasons at Brown, women's basketball player Sarah Hayes '06 (left) has been recognized for her academic achievements as well. ESPN The Magazine recently named Hayes a District I Second Team Academic All-American.

"I wasn't expecting it at all - it was really a huge surprise," Hayes said. "It feels good ... to be recognized for my hard work on and off the court."

A concentrator in history and psychology, Hayes has been a star for the Bears this season, leading the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. She was Ivy League Player of the Week twice.

Hayes is the second Brown athlete to be named an Academic All-American this academic year. Football running back Nick Hartigan '06 was named First Team National CoSIDA Academic All-American in December.

Mirra Levitt '03 is one of fifteen young Americans to be named a 2005 Luce Scholar, an award that provides the opportunity to live and work in Asia for a year.

Levitt, a native of Watertown, Mass., majored in history at Brown. Since graduating, Levitt has worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Levitt does not yet know where her Luce experience will take her, and will work with Luce program coordinators over the next few months to determine her placement. She is particularly interested in working in an environment and development agency in China or Thailand.

The Luce Scholars Program, a part of the Henry Luce Foundation, provides stipends and internships for the select group of recipients, none of whom has majored in East Asian studies.

The scholarship is extremely competitive, according to Associate Dean Linda Dunleavy of the Dean of the College's Fellowship Office. Only 65 colleges and universities are invited to nominate up to three students each, and at Brown, the internal competition for these slots is keen.

Vice President for Research Andries van Dam, Thomas J. Watson, Jr., University Professor of Technology and Education and professor of computer science, was inducted as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) at the organization's annual meeting in February. He was among 308 new members who were recognized for their contributions to sciences. Van Dam was honored for his work in the area of information, computing and communication. Election as a Fellow of AAAS is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers.

In addition, Governor Donald L. Carcieri has appointed van Dam to serve on the state's new Science and Technology Advisory Council. Created by an April 12 executive order, the panel of academic and industry experts will make budget and policy recommendations to the governor and General Assembly in support of statewide science and technology development.

President Ruth J. Simmons chairs a nineteen-member search committee that will help hire the next superintendent of Providence public schools. The committee will recruit, interview, and screen candidates before recommending a small number for final review to Mayor David Cicilline and the full School Board.

Michael Steinberg will join the Brown faculty in July as the inaugural director of the Cogut Humanities Center, professor of history, and professor of music.

Steinberg was recruited from Cornell University, where he is a professor of modern European history. His intellectual interests include comparative literature, German studies, Jewish studies, art history, cultural studies, and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies as well. His most recent monograph, Listening to Reason: Culture, Subjectivity and Nineteenth-Century Music, focuses on the cultural history of music with particular attention to the historic and aesthetic constitution of subjectivity. His current research explores Judaism in modern European culture.

Michael Goldberger, long-time director of undergraduate admission at Brown, will become the University's next director of athletics on July 1. Goldberger succeeds David Roach and Interim Director of Athletics Joan Taylor.

The appointment returns Goldberger to his point of entry at the University. He came to Brown in 1973 as an assistant coach for football and baseball. After 10 years in athletics, Goldberger moved to the College Admission Office. He was named director in 1995.

"Mike Goldberger has demonstrated how successful he can be in the most competitive area of the Ivy League - admissions," said David Greene, vice president for campus life and student services, to whom the athletic director reports. "His competitive spirit and his deep concern for the experience of all students is the perfect combination for success as Brown's athletic director."

Fidler and Caprio photos by John Abromowski; Hayes photo by Peter Goldberg