Awards honor newly tenured faculty teaching, advising

College of Arts and Sciences faculty members Pedro Erber and Sarah Kreps received the Robert and Helen Appel Fellowship for Humanists and Social Scientists, and Jane Juffer received the Robert A. and Donna B. Paul Academic Advising Award at a May 23 trustee-faculty dinner that recognized universitywide teaching and advising by newly tenured faculty.

“These outstanding faculty have made important contributions to the college,” said Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “We’re proud to honor them and we’re grateful to the Appels and the Pauls for their support of excellence in teaching and advising.”

Kreps, associate professor of government, joined the Cornell faculty in 2008. She co-founded the popular International Law-International Relations Colloquium. She is a dedicated teacher and adviser; her students consistently comment on her enthusiasm, availability, and willingness to work and consult closely with them.

Kreps is one of the few women faculty at top-ranked universities nationwide working in security studies. Her research focuses on issues of international security, particularly questions of conflict and cooperation, alliance politics, political economy and nuclear proliferation. Her articles have appeared in numerous academic journals and mainstream media outlets. She is author of “Coalitions of Convenience: United States Military Interventions after the Cold War” and the forthcoming “Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know,” and is co-author of “Drone Warfare.”

Erber, assistant professor of Romance studies, has been at Cornell since 2011. His students consistently comment on the overall excellence of his courses and his deep commitment to helping them navigate the often complicated linguistic and cultural objects they must analyze.

Erber specializes in Brazilian literature, intellectual history and visual culture, and is the author of articles published in scholarly journals in the fields of Brazilian and East Asian studies, as well as comparative literature, philosophy, art and visual studies. His  most recent book, “Breaching the Frame: The Rise of Contemporary Art in Brazil and Japan,” has been described as “groundbreaking scholarship.”

Juffer, professor of English, began at Cornell in 2008. She serves as director of undergraduate studies for Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies. As an adviser and teacher, Juffer offers a sympathetic, sustaining presence that helps students integrate their educational experience and helps them navigate a large institution.

Her work in the areas of cultural studies, feminist theory and Latino studies makes her an interdisciplinary teacher and scholar who motivates students in lasting ways. Juffer is the author of three books: “Intimacy Across Borders: Race, Religion, and Migration in the U.S. Midwest,” “Single Mother: The Emergence of the Domestic Intellectual,” and “At Home with Pornography: Women, Sex, and Everyday Life.” She is writing a book about children.

Other honorees were associate professor Masha Raskolnikov, English; senior lecturer Shalom Schoer, Near Eastern studies; and graduate student Chris Dalton, ecology and evolutionary biology, recipients of Stephen and Margery Russell Distinguished Teaching Awards. The Deanne Gebell Gitner ‘66 and Family Annual Prize for Teaching Assistants went to graduate students Allison Tracy, ecology and evolutionary biology; Sarah Maxey, government; Danielle Morgan, English; and Laura Manella, neurobiology and behavior.

The Paul academic advising fellowship was established in 1992 to honor undergraduate advisers who make a difference in the lives of their students. Recipients receive a semester's leave with full salary and fringe benefits.

The Appel fellowships have recognized faculty excellence since 1995 and give recipients a semester's sabbatical leave at full salary to write, develop new courses, conduct research or otherwise enrich their teaching and scholarship.

Linda B. Glaser is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

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