How IE is Bringing Lynton's Dream to Fruition

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Associate Dean Richard Cherwitz and UT's Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program (IE) were among those who received the 2002 Ernest A. Lynton Award for Faculty Professional Service & Academic Outreach presented annually by the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE). Founded in 1988, NERCHE is dedicated to improving colleges and universities as workplaces.

2002 Lynton Award Honorable Mention: Richard Cherwitz, Ph.D., Associate Dean of the Graduate College and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Cherwitz is being recognized for the innovative program entitled the Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program. This program involves faculty and graduate students from across the campus in developing innovative, collaborative and sustainable ways for universities to work with their communities to solve complex problems. Each year hundreds of students and faculty are involved in their community and are putting the knowledge that is created to work to benefit the larger society.

BACKGROUND

Ernest A. Lynton raised the profile and status of faculty professional service both nationally and internationally. He championed a vision of service that embraced collective responsibility, a vision of colleges and universities as catalysts not only in the discovery of new knowledge but also in its application throughout society. In the past five years, over 400 faculty members have been nominated for this prestigious award, from every institutional type and location and from a broad range of departments and disciplines.

This year's winner and honorable mentions are noteworthy in the diversity and scope of activities with which they are involved. The panel of peer reviewers was impressed with the nominees' credentials and the impact of their service. This year we received nominations of 58 faculty members who represented every type of academic institution, and from over 20 states, from Maine to California. The nominees' experience in outreach activities ranged from four to thirty-five years. The academic disciplines represented by the nominees covers nearly the scope of those offered by higher education: medicine; architecture; planning; theater and dance; physical education; mathematics; international studies; foreign language; education; natural sciences; humanities; information technology, political science; psychology; business and economics; and law.

The service of these faculty members not only benefits the community outside academe, but also has a real and lasting impact on their institutions through the development of courses and curricula, and collaborative research ventures with colleagues. Perhaps most impressive is the clear connection between the outreach activities of these faculty and the involvement of their students. Each of the faculty members enhances and deepens their understanding of their fields and therefore their teaching. The award winner and honorable mentions exemplify this connection between extending their own knowledge to enhance the lives of others in our society and to motivate their students to follow their lead.