In the spring of every year, the Faculty Emeriti Association, in collaboration with the Academic Advancement Network recognizes outstanding contributions by an individual faculty emeritus/emerita. The purpose of this award is to recognize the activities of retired faculty who have made significant contributions to the MSU Community or their unit. These engagements should be viewed as mutually beneficial for the Faculty Emeriti and the unit.
This year, awards went to three individual faculty emeriti representing units from across the University. Typically, the recipients are recognized at the annual spring Retirees’ Luncheon for Faculty, Academic Staff, and Executive Managers. While we are not able to recognize them in person this year, we celebrate their accomplishments from afar, thanking them for their dedication to the university.
Outstanding Contributions by an Individual Faculty Emeritus/Emerita
Ida Stockman
For her many contributions to the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and the College of Communication Arts & Sciences, the Faculty Emeriti Association presents an FEA Award to Dr. Ida Stockman.
A lifetime of dedication to higher education, scholarship and profession continued after Dr. Stockman’s retirement in 2007. She demonstrated a strong commitment to driving new knowledge in her discipline and had published more than 200 scholarly works across four decades when she retired. Post-retirement she has published more than a dozen articles in the most prestigious journals in her discipline, frequently as the lead or solo author. She has continued to review journal articles. She spent much of her career conducting research that would benefit children from racial and ethnic minorities who are challenged with communicative disorders. In honor of her parents, who had been educators, she established an endowment in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences to support faculty research, guest lectures and professional development activities surrounding autism and diverse populations. She set up this funding to celebrate her peers and to buoy work in support of initiatives that would empower vulnerable populations.
Her impact and effectiveness are also mirrored in the success of the junior faculty whom she has mentored–-Dr. Laura Dilley and Dr. Soo-Eun Cheng, both prolific researchers. She also continued to serve as a senior-level member of the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee, worked with the dean in helping to shape the trajectory of the department, assisted with teaching when needed, and supported a new department chair.
Another of her legacies is the re-emergence of the Communicative Sciences and Disorders Department after it went through a difficult period. It was under a microscope by MSU administrators because there were perceptions that faculty underperformed in research and grants activity. Dr. Stockman, together with her colleagues, moved boldly against a tide vis-a-vis a devotion to research and the hiring of new faculty determined to stake a claim in the discipline of communicative sciences. She, in her modest persona, equipped with a research agenda, helped rebuild a department that instituted a doctoral program. She served on departmental committees providing invaluable insight that helped tremendously with setting a vision in accordance with high academic standards.
Outstanding Contributions by an Individual
Faculty Emeritus/Emerita
Kenneth Waltzer
For his many contributions to James Madison College, the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities, and the Serling Program for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel, the Faculty Emeriti Association presents an FEA Individual Award to Professor Emeritus Kenneth Waltzer.
Dr. Waltzer’s remarkable contributions during his 43-year tenure at MSU have been followed by his invaluable and robust contributions after retirement. He continues to be an active and invaluable member of the intellectual community of the Serling Institute, promoting the research of colleagues and students while carrying on a robust research agenda centering on Holocaust Studies. He has been especially invaluable to MSU in promoting diversity and inclusion through his work helping the MSU community deal with rising antisemitism, Islamaphobia and white supremacy.
He participates in all areas of Institute life, from the development of curriculum to its broader vision as a center of research and teaching about Jewish culture and history. He attends all faculty meetings and serves on the Institute’s Board of Advisors. Professor Waltzer has participated in numerous research seminars and the First Annual Jewish Studies Undergraduate Research Conference, where he gave valuable input to the students presenting. He continues to mentor faculty and students.
He has had an enormous impact on conversations around diversity and inclusion, reaching hundreds in teach-ins including “Building Community, Resisting Hate” in the wake of Richard Spencer’s visit to MSU, and one after the Pittsburgh Synagogue Attack. He also spoke to 140 campus Residential Advisers in a training workshop on identifying and reporting instances of antisemitism. He has trained students in research methods regarding the Holocaust and genocide, and in how to access and use the Visual History available through the MSU library.
Dr. Waltzer solicited funds upon his retirement to establish an endowment in the Serling Institute to support faculty research and one in James Madison College to recognize faculty who have exemplified excellence in teaching.
Outstanding Contributions by an Individual Faculty Emeritus/Emerita
Patrick McConeghy
Dr. McConeghy continues to make substantial contributions to the German Studies program since his retirement in 2013. He has enriched the intellectual life of the program, always eager to discuss current events, cultural debates, or recently published novels. He has served as an invaluable mentor for new faculty members and graduate students. He offers sage and measured advice, providing valuable institutional history and administrative context for colleagues navigating the complex inner-workings at program, department, college, and university levels. He meets on an individual basis with faculty and students to discuss their research projects, giving productive feedback on drafts of articles and book chapters, grant applications, and reappointment, tenure, and promotion dossiers. A kind and generous person, he also offers incredible emotional support and good humor in addition to intellectual and professional support. He is a regular fixture at events – both academic and social – in the German Studies program. Beyond MSU, he regularly provides feedback as a reviewer for journal articles and research projects. He continues to write and publish, both in new research areas. He has continued to be a regular presence in all aspects of the German program, attending symposia, Graduate Colloquium, and presentations by guests, colleagues and, students in the program. He has generously helped welcome guest professors into the academic community and supported them while at MSU. He gladly accepts invitations to give guest lectures in the undergraduate courses in his areas of expertise.
Professor McConeghy has been a mentor for colleagues at all career levels and graduate students, helping them effectively advocate for themselves and the program. Thanks partly to his support and mentorship, two faculty members have been promoted and granted tenure, and he has helped mid-career faculty prepare for leadership roles. Their publications (monographs, edited volumes, articles and book chapters) and their grants have benefited from Prof. McConeghy’s feedback. He supports graduate students, serving on their committees and helping them consider various career paths.
Learn more about the Faculty Emeriti Association
The mission of the MSU Faculty Emeriti Association (FEA) is to promote, facilitate and sponsor activities that enable faculty emeriti to be actively engaged with the University and the community and to share their lifetime of experience and expertise. To learn more about the activities of the FEA, please visit:https://facultyemeriti.msu.edu/index.html