The College of Arts and Sciences has announced the 2015–2016 recipients of the Outstanding College Service Awards: Professor Susan Hildebrandt, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Professor Ross Kennedy, Department of History; and Professor Jun-Hyun Kim, Department of Chemistry. Service awards are presented to faculty members who demonstrate excellence in professional service. Service includes both professional service and strong citizenship.
Hildebrandt is the teacher education coordinator of her department’s nationally recognized teacher education program, which has about 75 teacher education majors and is one of the largest in the country. She has held virtually every office over a period of years in American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language’s (ACTFL) Teacher Development Special Interest Group. Her impressive efforts in establishing a service-learning component for Spanish, French, and German teacher candidates at the Unity Community Center in Normal have resulted in the program being named as one of only 11 programs nationwide recognized by ACTFL for its “Global Engagement Initiative.” In addition, Hildebrandt compiled and wrote the three required annual reports about the teacher education programs for the Illinois State Board of Education each year since she arrived in 2009. Furthermore, she routinely spends a great deal of time mentoring every single one of the department’s teacher education students through the complexities entailed in pursuing a teacher education major.
Kennedy is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the presidency and foreign policy of Woodrow Wilson. Kennedy has served on his department’s Graduate Committee, Planning Committee, and Civil War Committee. He has also served as chair of the Curriculum Committee; graduate coordinator; co-editor of the journal of student papers, Recounting the Past; department minutes secretary; and director of assessment. He has also served on the Department Faculty Status Committee (DFSC) and currently serves on the College Faculty Status Committee (CFSC). At the university level, Kennedy was an active member of the University Curriculum Committee from 2012–2015. In his discipline, Kennedy has reviewed manuscripts for several of the leading journals in his field; in the local community, he has given numerous media interviews and public lectures. In every assignment, Kennedy exhibits selflessness, loyalty to the institution and its students, good interpersonal skills, a capacity for hard work, knowledge of procedures, the ability to produce results on schedule, and an awareness of the importance of self-governance.
Kim’s most significant contributions have been as a long-serving advisor to the Department of Chemistry’s award-winning registered student organization, Chem Club. Under his guidance, the Chem Club has been involved in many outreach activities and significant fundraising endeavors, and expanded support of student travel and research. During his time as co-advisor, the Chem Club was recognized twice as Commendable and twice as Outstanding by the American Chemical Society. The Chem Club was also named a Green Chapter for its sustainability efforts on two occasions. Kim has also served on the Department of Chemistry’s Undergraduate Programs Committee, among other committees, and is currently the chair of the biochemistry faculty search. He has served the discipline as an ad hoc reviewer, reviewing nearly 40manuscripts in the discipline, as well as grant applications.
