Charles D. Moody Sr., executive director of the South Africa Initiative Office (SAIO), recently received the 1994 Merit Award from the Northwestern University Alumni Association. The award is presented to alumni who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in a profession, field or endeavor. Moody is recognized for his work in the area of education and distinguished record in minority affairs.
James W. Vibbart, foreman in maintenance services and renovation in the Plant Department, has been appointed by Gov. John Engler to the state’s Elevator Safety Board.
Vibbart will represent owners and lessees of elevators in Michigan on the 10-member board, which meets five or six times each year to issue licenses and variances, and to update the safety code.
Thomas P. Slavens, professor of information and library studies, has published his 25th book, Sources of Information for Historic Research, a 577-page treatment of resources on five continents.
Robert A. Bender, professor of biology, has been elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. The Academy recognizes distinction in all areas of the microbiological sciences.
Barbra S. Morris of the English Composition Board, Residential College and the Department of Communication has received a grant from the U.S. Information Agency to provide a seminar at the University of Ghana (with a faculty member from the University of Hawaii) on development of a universitywide writing program. Morris will spend six weeks on the collaborative research and teaching project.
Richard I. Ford, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and professor of anthropology and of botany, has been selected to receive the top international medal in ethnobotany, the Janaki-Ammal Medal, from the Society of Ethnobotanists (SEB). SEB, with membership in about two dozen countries, will present the award in Lucknow, India, in November. Ford also is curator of the Museum of Anthropology.
Richard E. Czarnecki, the Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting and professor of business administration at the U-M-Dearborn School of Management, has been re-elected to a third term as chairman of the Michigan State Board of Accountancy. Czarnecky was named Michigan Accounting Educator of the Year in 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1990, and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Association of CPAs in 1991.
Kay Clifford, interim director of the International Center, has been elected national chair of the Council of Foreign Students and Scholars section of
NAFSA: the Association of International Educators. The national organization is concerned with all aspects of international educational exchange.
Gwendolyn Chivers, chief pharmacist and clinical instructor at University Health Service, recently was elected to a two-year term on the American Society for Pharmacy Law Board of Directors. The national society’s purpose is to communicate accurate legal information to attorneys and pharmacists, in addition to furthering and fostering knowledge and education pertaining to the rights and duties of pharmacists.
John Lowe, associate professor of pathology, will serve as a member of the Pathobiochemisty Study Section, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health (NIH). His term of office runs through June 30, 1997. Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on these applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of research in their scientific fields.
Kevin D. Cooper, associate professor of dermatology, has been appointed 1993 chairman of the Dermatology Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Committee. The 16-member panel reviews applications for grants and fellowships for original research and research training in cancer and other disease of the skin, hair and nails.
Mary L. Brake, associate professor of nuclear engineering; Joe G. Eisley, professor of aerospace engineering; and Keki Irani, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, are the 1994 recipients of the College of Engineering’s Service Excellence Award.