The University Record, January 7, 1997
Six faculty members will hold emeritus title
Six faculty members were given the emeritus title by the Regents. Those retiring are M. Kent Jennings, professor of political science and research scientist; Frank B. Livingstone, professor of anthropology; Harry R. Pape Jr., associate professor of dentistry; Susan I. Seger, senior associate librarian; Dorothy H. Shields, associate librarian; and Richard L. Patterson, professor of natural resources.
Jennings, who joined the faculty in 1963, “made major contributions to the development of the field of political socialization,” the Regents noted. “His landmark study in 1981 of the intergenerational transmission of attitudes through the study of parents and children initiated whole new areas of research, and has become an ongoing panel study, with the fourth wave to be done next year.
“Prof. Jennings has also made important contributions to our understanding of comparative politics across a range of topics on local elites and mass publics in a number of countries. He is president-elect of the American Political Science Association and will serve as its president in 1997-98.”
Livingstone, who joined the faculty in 1959, has played “a key role in maintaining the presence of biological anthropology in the `four field’ approach that serves as the core of the anthropology curriculum at the U-M,” the Regents said. “For a full generation, he served as faculty adviser to entering graduate students in biological anthropology. At the same time, he has served as counselor to the undergraduates in the anthropology-zoology B.A. program, the principal avenue for students aspiring to enter medical school after graduation.
“The pioneering work that Prof. Livingstone began during his graduate studies has paved the way for an understanding of the relationships between falciparum malaria, sickle-cell anemia, ecology and cultural history.”
Pape, who joined the faculty in 1971, has served as director of several of the dental clinics in the University and the School of Dentistry. “He has participated in the department’s teaching and clinic activity and has served on the pathology committee, the preventive dentistry committee, the community dentistry committee, and the interdisciplinary coordinating committee on prevention and nutrition.
“He also has served the School as a member of the library committee; the appointments, promotions and tenure committee; and as chair of the table clinic committee in 1989-94.”
Seger became assistant librarian in the Dentistry Library in 1965 and was promoted to head librarian in 1966. “In 1971, the library moved to the new clinic building and research tower,” the Regents noted. “Following the move, the dramatic growth of the student body and the implementation of a new curriculum put Seger’s abilities to the test. This she surmounted admirably, and her collection-building effort really got under way.
“Building on the achievements of her predecessors, over the past 30 years Seger has created what is arguably one of the largest and most varied dental collections in the country, one that has a national and even international reputation.”
Shields joined the University Library as an administrative assistant in 1982. She was promoted to assistant librarian in 1983 and associate librarian in 1991. “She has contributed to the library profession on several levels throughout her career,” the Regents said. “Her accomplishments include helping to oversee the addition of a campus computing site to the Art and Architecture Library in 1985 and its later expansion in 1988. In her role as slide librarian, she doubled the size of the Art and Architecture Library’s image resources. She was an active participant in helping to plan the Art and Architecture Library’s merger with the Media Union.”
Patterson, who joined the faculty in 1970, “introduced courses into the School of Natural Resources and Environment curriculum in resource management and environmental science emphasizing the use of operations research and applied mathematics in environmental problem solving,” the Regents said. “He was principal investigator on many sponsored research grants and was a consultant to numerous organizations, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Within the School, he served as chair of the graduate policy and management program, acting associate dean, and as a member of a number of school and campus-wide committees.”
