O. Max Gardner Award - Minutes - 2008-2009
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION ITEMS/ACTIVITIES OF COMMITTEE
The O. Max Gardner Award Committee met twice, on September 22, 2008 and December 8, 2008.
Meeting of September 22, 2008: Members present: Lloyd Fleisher (Chair), Charles Jones, Wayne Robarge, Ron Sederoff, Todd See, Oliver Williams
The first meeting of NC State’s O. Max Gardner Award Committee was held in room B-222 of the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. The meeting was presided over by the Chair, Dr. Lloyd Fleisher. Committee members were provided copies of Chancellor’s appointment memorandum containing guidelines for the nomination process, the “Call for Nominations” describing the format for nominations and indicating that nominations will be closed on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, a draft of a letter of invitation to potential nominators, a copy of the committee roster, and a list of recipients of the O. Max Gardner Award from 1949 to 2007. The committee discussed its charge, which is to recommend to the Chancellor from one to three faculty members as nominees for the O. Max Gardner Award. There was considerable discussion of the Board of Governors guidelines for selecting nominees, in particular the phrase “…during the current scholastic year, has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” There was general agreement that it would be difficult to restrict a nominees’ contributions to the “current scholastic year,” but the committee would make every effect to adhere, as closely as possible, to this guideline.
There was discussion of the propriety of re-nominating individuals from previous years. In particular, Drs. Jo Ann Burkholder and Reuben Carbonell (the two top nominees from the previous year, in that order) were considered excellent candidates and the committee concluded that their nominations should be encouraged. The committee decided that the Chair would contact all Deans, Department Heads, Directors and the general faculty in order to recruit the best nominees for the award. Furthermore, each committee member will contact his/her Department Head, College Dean or other relevant supervisor to recruit the best nominees for the award. The consensus of the group was that the more notices everyone gets, the more likely we are to recruit the best individuals.
The committee plans to meet in early December to discuss the nominees and determine which will be approved and forwarded to the Chancellor. The committee’s report and recommendations must be received in the Chancellor’s office no later than December 15, 2008.
Meeting of December 8, 2008: Members present: Lloyd Fleisher (Chair), Marcia Gumpertz, Charles Jones, Sylvia Nassar-McMillin, David Ollis, Ron Sederoff, Todd See, Oliver Williams, Rui Zhou (Graduate Student Representative); Mark Megalos and Wayne Robarge cast votes electronically
The committee met in room 301 of Administrative Services III to discuss the 4 nominees and determine which would be forwarded to Chancellor Oblinger. The nominees were Dr. Reuben Carbonell, Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, Dr. Marie Davidian, Professor of Statistics, Dr. Ralph A. Dean, Professor of Plant Physiology and Dr. Todd R. Klaenhammer, University Distinguished Professor and William Neal Reynolds Professor of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. The committee considered several factors, but perhaps the single most important criterion was the charge in Governor Gardner’s will that the individual receiving the award “has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” After lengthy discussion of each of these outstanding nominees, the committee selected Dr. Todd R. Klaenhammer as its choice for the 2009 Oliver Max Gardner Award. Dr. Klaenhammer has excelled in research and shown visionary leadership in the national and international research agenda in the area of food science and microbiology. The significance of his research and its impact on the welfare of the human race has been profound and far-reaching.
The committee elected Dr. David Ollis, Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering as the committee Chair for the 2009-2010 academic year.