Thirteen Faculty and Alumni to be Honored at MU Awards Ceremony

October 11th, 2012

By Kate McIntyre

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Mizzou Alumni Association (MAA) will honor 13 outstanding faculty and alumni Friday, Oct. 12, at its 45^th annual Faculty-Alumni Awards Ceremony in Reynolds Alumni Center. The Distinguished Service Award, the Distinguished Faculty Award and 11 Faculty-Alumni Awards will be presented.

John Campell, who received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business in 1955, a Master of Science in 1956, a doctorate in agriculture in 1960 and an honorary doctorate in science in 2005 from the University of Missouri, will receive the 57^th annual Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor awarded to an MU alumnus. Established in 1956, the award recognizes outstanding service by an individual whose efforts have added to MU’s excellence.

Campbell is a renowned animal and dairy scientist who has taught more than 12,000 students. President emeritus of Oklahoma State University and former dean of agriculture at the University of Illinois, Campbell was on the MU dairy science faculty from 1960 to 1977 and endows two scholarships for Mizzou students. Campbell has authored several books on education and food production, which has earned him recognition as an authority on land-grant institutions and led to his service as a consultant to the World Bank in India and with USAID in Egypt. A former president of the American Dairy Science Association, Campbell was named a fellow and honored with the association’s first Purina Mills Teaching Award in Dairy Production. He also was selected as an Outstanding Educator of America in 1975. Campbell is a Monticello Society Distinguished Fellow, a Jefferson Club Distinguished Fellow, a John W. Connaway Society Member and a member of the MAA, which awarded him a Faculty-Alumni Award in 1995. He lives with his wife Eunice in Columbia. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Randall Prather, Curators’ Professor and Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biotechnology at MU, will be honored with the 53^rd annual Distinguished Faculty Award. Established in 1960, the award recognizes a faculty member whose sustained efforts in teaching, research and service have added to MU’s excellence. The award places special emphasis on the faculty member’s relationships with students.

Prather is best known for his research team’s success in cloning pigs whose organs might be transplanted into humans and creating the first gene-targeted pigs, which have uses for understanding human disease and improving agricultural productivity. He directs the National Swine Resource and Research Center at MU, where he has helped secure more than $90 million in research funding while mentoring 19 graduate students. Prather consults on ethical and scientific concerns regarding the impact of embryo technologies and cloning on animal reproduction and human society. He has written or co-written more than 250 peer reviewed manuscripts, 34 invited review papers, 287 abstracts and 13 patents, and presented more than 100 talks to universities and scientific societies worldwide. Prather received a Faculty-Alumni Award from the MAA in 2008 and the President’s Award for Research and Creativity from the UM System in 2006. He also was honored with the Distinguished Agriscience Scientist Award from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, a research award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and an Excellence in Life Science Award from the Missouri Biotechnology Association. Prather lives with his wife Jami near Rocheport, Mo. They have seven children, a daughter-in-law and two sons-in law.

MAA Faculty-Alumni Awards recognize the achievements of faculty and alumni. Assistant, associate and full professors are considered for their work as teachers and researchers and their relationships with students. Alumni are considered for their accomplishments in professional life and service to their communities and alma maters. This year, 11 awards were presented:

William M. Crist, MD ’69, physician and former vice president for health affairs, University of Arizona (alumnus and retired faculty member)

Fritz W. Cropp, PhD ’96, associate professor in the School of Journalism, director of international programs, director of the Transatlantic Center, MU (alumnus and faculty member)

Jan L. Dauve, BS Ag ’74, MS ’77, teaching professor of agricultural and applied economics, director of undergraduate studies, adviser chair, MU (alumnus and faculty member)

H. Diane Glancy, AB ’64, professor of English, Azusa Pacific University (alumna)

Sheila Ann Grant, professor of biological engineering, MU (faculty member)

Timothy M. Karcher, AB ’89, colonel and director of Army Wounded Warrior Program, U.S. Army (alumnus)

Harold L. Lowenstein, BS BA ’61, JD ’65, attorney, Armstrong Teasdale Litigation group (alumnus)

James Madison Miller IV, professor of theatre, MU (faculty member)

Etti Naveh-Benjamin, teaching assistant professor of psychological sciences, director of Multicultural Certificate Program, MU (faculty member)

Thomas M. Scott, BS BA ’58, DHL ’04, former area chairman, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (alumnus)

Deidre d’Amour Wipke-Tevis, BSN ’85, associate professor of nursing, MU (alumna and faculty member)

Biographies of the Faculty-Alumni Award winners are available upon request.

The Mizzou Alumni Association strengthens MU by supporting the best interests and traditions of Missouri’s flagship university. MU is the state’s largest and oldest university and the state’s major public, land-grant research institution. The Association is the voice for nearly 270,000 alumni worldwide and keeps alumni connected to each other and their alma mater. Since 1853, MAA has influenced generations of students and alumni by preserving their traditions.

With a record-breaking 44,415 members and the strength of more than 1,300 volunteers, the Association’s Faculty-Alumni Awards celebrate outstanding faculty and alumni who work to advance the arts, sciences and humanities. At Mizzou, scholarship and teaching are driven by a sense of public service—the obligation to produce and disseminate knowledge that will improve the quality of life in the state, the nation and the world.