The University Record, April 22, 1997
Five faculty receive Johnson Diversity Awards
By Bernie DeGroat
News and Information Services
Five U-M faculty members have been chosen to receive the 1997 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award for their outstanding commitment to the development of a more culturally and ethnically diverse campus community, Lester P. Monts, vice provost for academic and multicultural affairs, has announced.
The $5,000 awards, named for the former dean of the School of Social Work, are given annually to full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members to further their personal research, education and creative activities.
This year’s winners, chosen by a campus committee, are:
Elizabeth A. Allen, associate professor of nursing, who has developed a variety of clinical placement sites that provide nursing students with opportunities to learn about health care delivery to diverse populations.
“Dr. Allen has a special talent for merging caring and sensitivity to students, individuals and families in the community with her extensive knowledge in psychiatric nursing,” says Ada Sue Hinshaw, dean of the School of Nursing. “She is particularly outstanding at helping students and faculty to understand the social and cultural context in which the health and wellness of individuals and families can be promoted.”
Charles N. Ellis, associate chair of the Department of Dermatology, who as the dermatology program’s residency director has increased recruitment and retention efforts and enrollment of minority residents in dermatology.
“Dr. Ellis is the reason for our success,” says John J. Voorhees, chair of the Department. “He has received special recognition for his writing of a manual explaining his program for diversity, and our department’s program has been emulated locally and nationwide.”
Robert M. Ortega, assistant professor of social work, whose scholarly work focuses largely on the welfare of Hispanic families and children, and who has been a leader in the School of Social Work in developing new curricula and opportunities for students to learn about ethnicity.
“Professor Ortega’s dedication to diversity is probably most exemplified in his work with students,” says fellow award recipient Beth G. Reed, associate professor of social work. “He demonstrates every day his commitment to the centrality of diversity as an important part of the University’s mission, his own scholarship and in his public service to the state and to the profession of social work.”
Willis C. Patterson, associate dean, School of Music, who heads the School`s affirmative action efforts and who founded Our Own Thing, a volunteer cultural arts program for youth and adults.
“He has been a force for inclusion of African American students at our school for 30 years,” says Paul C. Boylan, dean of the School of Music. “Beyond his advocacy, however, is a commitment to mentoring students, not only while they are in residence, but long into their professional careers. He is a role model for them and, I might add, for many of us who serve on this faculty.”
Beth G. Reed, associate professor of social work, who helped create the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs’ Committee on a Multicultural University and who develops multicultural course materials as a faculty associate at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.
“Dr. Reed’s research, teaching and service are devoted to understanding the impact of gender, race and ethnicity on and within social systems,” says William W. Kotowicz, dean of the School of Dentistry. “She has truly been committed to and has helped to educate and advance the multicultural efforts both at the University of Michigan and nationally.”
