The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) welcomes its 2012 class of Alumni Fellows to campus this week.
Each year, up to six CLAS alumni are honored as Alumni Fellows for their outstanding contributions to society, their professions, the college, and the University of Iowa. Each Fellow visits his or her home department to speak to classes, meets socially with small groups of faculty and students, and makes a public presentation based on his or her experiences since leaving the university. The program is made possible by funds from the UI Alumni Association Dean’s Chair in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Below are brief biographies of this year’s Alumni Fellows, with information about the public presentations they are offering to the university and community.
Jacques Bourgeacq
Doctorate 1972
French and Italian
Jacques Bourgeacq taught Francophone and French literature and cultures at the UI from 1969 to 2003. A literary critic, scholar, and educator, he is especially noted for his work in the field of Francophone studies; his bilingual collection of Malagasy literature, Francophone Voices from Madagascar, was the first of its kind to appear in the U.S. His achievements include a Fulbright Award, a U.S. Information Agency grant, and the title of Chevalier in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques, conferred by the French Ministry of Education.
Public presentation: “De la pédagogie de la langue aux littératures francophones” (presented in French), a lecture and roundtable discussion, will take place at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, in 114 Phillips Hall. Light refreshments will be served.
Lois Braverman
Master of Social Work 1976
Social work
Lois Braverman is the president and CEO of the Ackerman Institute for the Family. As a graduate student and faculty member at the UI School of Social Work, she pioneered a systemic approach to the discipline, examining the ways in which class, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability influenced family and individual functioning. She was the founding editor of the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, the president of the American Family Therapy Academy, and a recipient of the UI’s Distinguished Social Work Alumni Award.
Public presentation: “The Ackerman Relational Approach: Current Clinical Ideas,” a lecture, will take place at noon, Friday, Sept. 14, 332 North Hall. A lunch reception will follow.
Katharine Goeldner
Bachelor of Music 1985
Music
Mezzo-soprano Katharine Goeldner has established herself as a major talent in the operatic world. Since receiving her B.M. from the UI in 1985 and her Magister Diplom from Salzburg’s Hochschule Mozarteum, she has sung major roles with The Metropolitan Opera, The New York City Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago and has performed with renowned symphonies around the world. Over the past several years, she has presented numerous vocal master classes at the UI School of Music, given benefit concerts, and sung in many campus performances.
Public presentation: Master class, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12, University Capitol Centre Recital Hall.
James Hill
Doctorate 1976
American civilization/African American studies
James Hill is the chair of the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Mass Communication at Albany State University. A scholar of African American literature and the pedagogy of writing, he devotes himself to widening educational opportunity for African Americans. In 2011, he received the National Council of Teachers of English’s prestigious Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award, and he currently serves on the executive committee of the Georgia Council of Teachers of English, which recently awarded him its highest honor, the Bolton Newland Lunceford/Louise Newland Capen Lifetime Achievement Award.
Public presentation: “Flights of Fancy from the Veil: W.E.B. Dubois as a Satirist,” a lecture, will take place at 3:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, 302 Schaeffer Hall. A light reception will follow.
Mark Mattson
Doctorate 1986
Biology
As the author of more than 500 original research articles and the editor of ten books, Mark Mattson is one of the most highly cited neuroscientists in the world. He is a professor at Johns Hopkins University and chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at Baltimore’s National Institute on Aging, where he uses new technology to understand brain aging and neurodegenerative disorders. For his contributions to the understanding, prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, and stroke, he has received the Metropolitan Life Foundation Medical Research Award, the Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Award, and the Santiago Grisolia Chair Prize.
Public presentation: “Optimal Brain Health throughout the Lifespan: How, Why, and Why Not,” a seminar, will take place at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, 101 Biology Building East.
Larry Snyder
Bachelor of Arts 1968
Mathematics and economics
Larry Snyder, professor emeritus of computer science at the University of Washington, is best known for his work to promote the discipline of computer science and expand computer science education. In the 1990s, he chaired two National Research Council studies whose reports legitimized computer science as a discipline and introduced the influential concept of computational thinking. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Association for Computing Machinery and has held visiting appointments at top-tier universities across the world.
Public presentation: “The Magic of Learning the Science of Computer Science,” a seminar, will take place at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 14, House Chamber of Old Capitol Museum. The seminar will be preceded by a reception at 3 p.m.
For more information on the Alumni Fellows program, visit: clas.uiowa.edu/alumni/alumni-fellows.