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University of Missouri Facts (PDF 8.4 MB)
The University of Missouri System recognized four outstanding faculty members for their accomplishments on May 26 during a reception in their honor in Kansas City.
System-wide committees select the winners of awards for teaching, research and creativity. Nominations for the C. Brice Ratchford Memorial Fellowship Award are evaluated by a panel that includes representatives from the four campuses, off-campus faculty and Missouri citizens. A subcommittee of the University of Missouri Press selects the winner of the Curators' Award for Scholarly Excellence.
A Curators' professor of mathematics at the University of Missouri-Columbia, S. Dale Cutkosky received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University-Bloomington in 1981 and a doctorate from Brandeis University in 1985.
Dr. Cutkosky's research areas are in algebraic geometry and commutative algebra. He has played a leadership role in establishing variation theory as a major current research area. He joined the University of Missouri faculty in 1989, after having taught at Purdue University, Columbia University, Northeastern University, and institutions in India and Germany.
Cutkosky is the recipient of multiple National Science Foundation research grants. In 1994, he was awarded the UM-Columbia Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Faculty Research and Creative Activity in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He has served as a Sloan Pre-doctoral Fellow and also as a Fulbright Fellow. Cutkosky has authored numerous publications and has served as the editor of the Illinois Journal of Mathematics. He is the author of several books, of which the most recent, Resolution of Singularities, will be published in the graduate textbook series by the American Mathematical Society this month.
In addition to his research and scholarly work, Cutkosky has been very successful in the mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Through his leadership, the Department of Mathematics at UM-Columbia has built one of the finest algebra programs in the world.
Dr. Mark Ryan, professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, received a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Minnesota in 1973. He received a master's degree in wildlife biology in 1978 and a doctorate in animal ecology in 1982, both from Iowa State University. Prior to joining the UM-Columbia faculty in 1984, Ryan taught at North Dakota State University and Iowa State University.
In the twenty years that Ryan has been at UM-Columbia, he has developed a remarkable record of teaching, advising and service. He has written and presented on the topic of problem-based learning and is recognized as the expert on the topic in his profession. He and another colleague recently developed and hosted a national conference to study teaching improvement that drew students, faculty and administrators from across the country.
Ryan was appointed the William J. Rucker Endowed Professor of Wildlife Conservation at UM-Columbia in 2003. Other honors include the Gold Chalk Award in 2002, the Missouri Governor's Teaching Award in 2000, and the Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence in 1993. In addition, he received the 2001 National Award for Excellence in Teaching from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Agricultural Sciences. He is a member of CAFNR's Teaching Scholars Program, which recognizes outstanding teachers and utilizes their expertise to address teaching improvement.
Gerald (Jerry) Hitzhusen, recreation extension specialist and associate professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1963 and a master's degree in parks, recreation and tourism in 1972, both from UM-Columbia. Hitzhusen received his certification as a therapeutic recreation specialist from the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation. He also is certified as a park and recreation professional by the Missouri Park and Recreation Association.
Hitzhusen is cited for his leadership in providing mental health education and information to practitioners, educators and persons with disabilities. Hitzhusen initiated and directs Project LIFE (Leisure Is For Everyone), a project funded by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. Among its activities, Project LIFE helps children with neurobiological brain disorders cope with their mental illness and live healthy lives. He also is the founder of the Midwest Symposium on Therapeutic Recreation, now in its 33rd year and the largest conference in the country in its field.
Hitzhusen serves as the editor of several research journals and has lectured throughout the Midwest as well as in Europe, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean and Canada. In addition, he cooperates with governmental departments and state agencies, such as the Children's Service Commission, to develop public policy that aids those with disabilities.
Dr. Walter Schroeder received a bachelor's degree in geography from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1956; a master's degree in geography from the University of Chicago in 1958; and a doctorate in history from UM-Columbia in 2000. After 38 years at UM-Columbia, he is now an emeritus associate professor of geography.
Schroeder is being honored for his book Opening the Ozarks: A Historical Geography of Missouri's Ste. Genevieve District, 1760–1830. An account of the settlement of this area, the work focuses on the acquisition and occupation of land, the transformation of the environment, the creation of cohesive settlements, and the building of neighborhoods and, eventually, organized counties. Opening the Ozarks also is the recipient of the American Association for State and Local History's Certificate of Commendation.
To conduct research for the book, Schroeder used thousands of French- and Spanish-language documents, including the Archives of the Indies in Seville, Spain, as well as documents from Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis. He also reviewed thousands of land records from the American period. In addition, he performed years of fieldwork and perused aerial photography of the area, interviewing residents and searching for vestiges of the past.
Schroeder's publications have centered on Missouri, its geography, history and natural environment. His research interests also focus on the origin and distribution of Missouri geographic names. In 1995 Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed Schroeder chairman of the Missouri Board on Geographic Names, an office he continues to hold.
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