Stewart, Gilman selected as Henry Russel Lecturers

Prof. Abigail J. Stewart has been chosen as the Henry Russel Lecturer for 2000 and Prof. Sid Gilman will be the Russel Lecturer for 2001. The annual lectureship is the highest honor the University gives to a senior faculty member.

Stewart

Stewart is professor of psychology and of women’s studies, research scientist at the Center for the Education of Women, and director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

Gilman is the William J. Herdman Professor of Neurology, professor of neurology, and chair of the Department of Neurology.

President Lee C. Bollinger, in making the announcement at the November Regents’ meeting, said: “Prof. Stewart is an internationally recognized scholar whose work over the past 20 years has substantially reshaped the way psychologists think about stability and change in women’s personalities over the life course. Her articles are classics in the field.

“Her commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry has influenced scholars from many other disciplines, with whom she has team-taught courses or collaborated on research projects. At a time when much of psychology seems to fix on narrower and more specialized problems, Prof. Stewart looks at derivations from and expansions of large theoretical issues and significant social problems.

“She has brought her skills and talents to the Women’s Studies Program and, more recently, to the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, which she so ably heads.”

Gilman

Of Gilman, Bollinger said: “As chair of the Department of Neurology, Dr. Gilman has raised the national standing of the department by recruiting outstanding new faculty and acquiring substantial new research and training funds.

“At the same time, the impact of his own research on the field has been considerable. He has made numerous pivotal and highly visible contributions to the neurosciences, such as a delineation of the ataxias, their pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment, which is considered the ‘gold standard’ throughout the world. He also is an international leader in the important and rapidly advancing field of neuro-imaging.

“Within the Department of Neurology, Dr. Gilman has developed and nurtured young scholars and has mentored many faculty through the academic process. Many of his trainees now occupy important positions throughout the world.”

Stewart will deliver the Russel Lecture next March.

The Russel Lectureship and the annual Russel Award for junior faculty members were established in 1925 with a bequest from Henry Russel of Detroit who received three degrees from the U-M.