Amy Colbert, Tippie College of Business professor of management and entrepreneurship, and Kenneth Tse, professor of saxophone in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ School of Music, have been named recipients of the 2024 University of Iowa Distinguished Chair. 

The accolade represents one of the most prestigious honors granted to faculty members at Iowa. It acknowledges scholars who are distinguished nationally and globally, and who have made significant contributions to the university, the state of Iowa, and beyond through outstanding achievements in research, teaching, and/or service. Those selected for the honor receive additional financial resources to support their professional activities, enabling them to further extend their scholarly impact. 

“We are proud to be able to add these two incredible faculty members to our group of University of Iowa Distinguished Chairs,” says Kevin Kregel, executive vice president and provost. “Each of them is recognized nationally and internationally for their exceptional work, shining a light on our campus and inspiring our students, faculty, and staff.” 

Amy Colbert, Tippie College of Business

Colbert is an internationally renowned researcher who focuses on the ways individuals connect with their work and others in their workplace to motivate and sustain them, as well as the factors that contribute to effective leadership and the mechanisms by which leaders achieve results. She has successfully brought her research into the classroom by developing one of the most popular elective courses in the Iowa MBA program, Leadership and Personal Development. She also teaches executive education on topics of leadership and motivation for companies throughout Iowa and in several of the business programs offered through Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine, College of Dentistry, and College of Pharmacy. 

Colbert has published articles in top scholarly journals, such as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Administrative Science Quarterly. She is also recognized at the top of her field as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association of Psychological Science, and the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. 

Colbert has held the Leonard A. Hadley Chair in Leadership at Tippie since 2017, served as department executive officer of management and entrepreneurship, and is currently the faculty director of Tippie’s Social Impact Community, a hub for faculty, staff, and students interested in ways that business can make a positive impact on society.

Kenneth Tse, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Tse is recognized as one of the world’s leading classical saxophonists, becoming well-known internationally after winning the New York International Artists Competitions and the Alex Award from the National Alliance for Excellence in 1996. Those awards led to his debut performances at Carnegie Hall, and he has since performed as a soloist on five continents and recorded 23 CDs with over forty works dedicated to him by noted American and international composers.

Tse has performed with renowned orchestras and concert bands in places such as Strasbourg, Hong Kong, Thailand, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, and with the US Navy Band. He has also shared expertise at prestigious institutions including the Paris Conservatory; the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory; the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, Poland; and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Moreover, he has been invited to judge at the most prestigious international saxophone competitions, representing the USA in Belgium and Andorra.

Tse has been at Iowa for more than two decades and helped create a strong musical community across the state. Under his direction, the Iowa Saxophonists’ Workshop has brought widespread recognition to Iowa’s School of Music, with its students succeeding at international competitions, earning positions at top institutions across the country, and producing CDs and videos showing their work.  Along with creating the Iowa Saxophone Unite Event, Tse has achieved the remarkable distinction of being the first saxophonist to hold concurrent, elected presidencies in both the North American Saxophone Alliance and the International Saxophone Committee.

Previous University of Iowa Distinguished Chair awardees

• Mark Blumberg, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences chair and professor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2023)
• Keri Hornbuckle, professor of engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering (2023)
• Lea VanderVelde, professor of law and the Josephine R. Witte Chair, College of Law (2022)
• Peter Thorne, professor of occupational and environmental health, College of Public Health (2022)
• Stanley Perlman, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Carver College of Medicine (2021)
• Michelle Scherer, professor of civil and environmental engineering, College of Engineering (2021)
• Corinne Peek-Asa, professor, College of Public Health (2020)
• Caroline Tolbert, professor of political science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2020)