Grant recipients honored

The opportunity to mentor undergraduate students while also pursuing meaningful research make JMU special, Kristen St. John said Friday, Oct. 6, after receiving a lifetime achievement award during the Office of Research and Scholarship's Recognition Reception.

Friday's event was the OSP's second annual Recognition Reception, held to honor faculty and staff for their work in securing external funding and to raise awareness of the grant process. St. John, a professor of geology and environmental science, was among more than 100 faculty and staff honored for securing external funding during the 2017 fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, and for their careers.

The OSP asked deans to nominate faculty for the lifetime achievement award based on criteria in areas of teaching; research and scholarship; and service through their externally funded projects throughout their JMU careers. St. John has earned more than $500,000 in external funding since arriving at JMU in 2003.

Conducting research in paleoceanography, St. John has published more than 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Science and Nature, and her scholarship has rewritten the geologic history of Arctic ice, information that is critically important as scientists seek to understand contemporary dynamics of climate change.

In 2004, St. John was selected to serve as part of an international research team for an Arctic coring expedition, a project she will lead in the 2018-19 academic year. Since 2012, she has been editor-in-chief of the Journal of Geoscience Education and in 2016, she was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. She has mentored more than two dozen undergraduate students, providing them with opportunities to learn about the geosciences through cutting edge research in the field.

"I feel like JMU is walking a very important and fine line where we're able to maintain this really excellent undergraduate education but the faculty are also able to do research that’s highly respected and valued at many different levels," St. John said.

For faculty and staff who are considering seeking grants for the first time, St. John said sitting on a grant review committee will provide valuable insight. She also commended the OSP staff for its assistance.

The following faculty and staff received outstanding faculty awards for met criteria in teaching, scholarship, service and mentoring through their externally funded projects during fiscal year 2017:

• Daniel Downey, chemistry and biochemistry
• Mark Gabriele, biology
• Kim Hartzler-Weakley, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services
• Elizabeth Johnson, geology and environmental science
• Jonathan Monroe, biology
• Gerald Weniger, health professions
• Steven Whitmeyer, geology and environmental science

The OSP also recognized faculty and staff for various funding tiers, including:

• $20 million — Cheryl Henderson, Training/Technical Assistance Center
• $15 million — Kim Hartzler-Weakley, Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services
• $10 million — John McNaught, Training/Technical Assistance Center; Ken Rutherford, Center for International Stabilization and Recovery; Rhonda Zingraff, College of Health and Behavioral Studies
• $5 million — Bob Kolvoord, College of Integrated Science and Engineering; Jonathan Miles, Integrated Science and Technology

A full list of award winners is in the event program.