Judith H. Stiehm receives top faculty honor at Faculty Convocation


Professor Judith Stiehm (center) receives the President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award.

Professor Judith Stiehm (center) receives the President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award.

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17

Professor Judith H. Stiehm came away with the top honor Sept. 26 at the annual Faculty Convocation and Awards Ceremony when she received the 2013 President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award.

Stiehm, who teaches politics and international relations in the School of International and Public Affairs, arrived at FIU in 1987 to serve as provost and academic vice president. Following a four-year administrative stint, she assumed her post in the then-Department of Political Science in 1991. She has continued to serve FIU as an engaged scholar and teacher ever since.

“I’m flabbergasted and greatly honored,” Stiehm said. “It thrills me to be part of a community where everyone is engaged with each other and where there is still that frontier vigor from when I first came to FIU.”

Her peers in academia regard Stiehm as a pioneer in her field, breaking barriers by entering what was a largely male discipline and earning her doctorate in political theory from Columbia University in 1969.

In the 44 years since, Stiehm has distinguished herself in her field, serving on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military and as a consultant to the United Nations Commission for the Advancement of Women and the Lessons Learned Unit of the United Nations’ Department of Peacekeeping Operations, among other efforts.

Her accomplishments have led to her being awarded the U.S. Army Distinguished Civilian Service Medal as well as the American Political Science Association’s Frank Goodnow Award, the highest honor in the discipline.

Along with the honor, Stiehm received a $12,500 award. The two additional finalists for the award were Les Standiford and John Stuart.

Keynote Address and Exhibition 

The keynote speaker for the event was Evelyn Gaiser, a professor in the Biological Sciences department, who discussed the importance of collaboration between the university’s many schools to meet the needs of the local community. Gaiser used FIU’s interdisciplinary efforts related to Everglades research and restoration as an example of these important partnerships.

Her address, titled “Envisioning a Future for South Florida Through Long Term Interdisciplinary Research and Education,” struck a chord for many of the faculty in attendance.

“I really appreciated her message,” said Suzanne Gallagher, who received the Adjunct Faculty Award For Excellence In Teaching for her work in the College of Education. “The solutions for our community aren’t just going to come from one school, it’s really going to take a cross-disciplinary look to solve our problems.”

Following the convocation, a faculty exhibition was on display in the lobby of the Frost Art Museum featuring the published works and research being conducted by select faculty members who were honored for their efforts at the convocation.

Some of the works on display were books written by Stiehm, including Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, The U.S. Army War College: Military Education in a Democracy and It’s Our Military, Too!: Women and the U.S. Military.

The following is a list of faculty members who were recognized for awards:

Faculty Convocation 2013 Awardees

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL WORLDS AHEAD FACULTY AWARD:

Judith Hicks Stiehm, Professor, Politics & International Relations, College of Arts & Sciences

PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL WORLDS AHEAD FACULTY AWARD FINALISTS:

Lester A. Standiford, Professor, English & Director, Creative Writing, College of Arts & Sciences

John A. Stuart, Professor and Associate Dean, Architecture, and Executive Director, Miami Beach Urban Studios, College of Architecture + The Arts

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING:

Domitila (Tillie) Fox, Senior Instructor, Mathematics & Statistics, College of Arts & Sciences

Jenna M. Gibbs, Assistant Professor, History, College of Arts & Sciences

Ferdinand Gomez, Instructor, Cellular Biology & Pharmacology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Hafiz M.R. Khan, Associate Professor, Biostatistics, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work

DeEtta K. Mills, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences

Mark Damian Rossi, Associate Professor, Physical Therapy, College of Nursing & Health Sciences

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE:

Alexis McKenney, Associate Professor and Chair, Leadership & Professional Studies, College of Education

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES:

Lorraine E. Bahrick, Professor, Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences

Noble David Cook, Professor, History, College of Arts & Sciences

Evelyn E. Gaiser, Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences

Fatma G. Huffman, Professor and Chair, Dietetics & Nutrition, Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work

Ediberto Roman, Professor, College of Law

Chunlei (Peggy) Wang, Associate Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering & Computing

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN ENGAGEMENT:

Joyce C. Fine, Associate Professor, Teaching & Learning, College of Education

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LIBRARIANSHIP:

Marissa C. Ball, Associate Librarian, Operations, Library

FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MENTORSHIP AND ADVISING:

Erik Camayd-Freixas, Professor, Modern Languages, College of Arts & Sciences

Anthony J. McGoron, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering & Computing

Assefa Mekonnen Melesse, Associate Professor, Earth & Environment, College of Arts & Sciences

ADJUNCT FACULTY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING:

Suzanne Gallagher, Lecturer, Leadership & Professional Studies, College of Education

Katherine Lineberger, Instructor, Global & Sociocultural Studies, College of Arts & Sciences