SPRINGFIELD, Ohio--- In an effort to recognize notable accomplishments by people in the mid-range of their careers who can serve as role models for current students, Wittenberg University's Board of Directors has established the Wittenberg Fellows Program.
Wittenberg has named its first two "fellows" in a program that is intended to create a unique educational opportunity for its students. The fellows will spend time on campus meeting students and speaking to classes. They will be honored on Wednesday, Sept.1 at the Opening Convocation for the 1999-2000 academic year.
The Wittenberg Fellows award identifies young professionals who are nearing the top of their professions. They are young enough for current students to identify with, but accomplished enough to offer students powerful models for their own career aspirations.
The first two Wittenberg Fellows are Douglas Brown, professor of economics at Georgetown University, and A. Scott Voorhees, one of the nation's top air pollution scientists with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), based in Durham, N.C.
"The purpose is to identify men and women who could serve Wittenberg students as role models to which they can aspire, be speakers for departments and programs, and be sources for internships and career counseling. We have two outstanding examples for our students this year," Bob James, chair of the board, said.
According to James the impetus behind the establishment of the program came from the university's faculty, especially the efforts of Eugene Swanger, professor of religion, who was inspired by a similar program at Brandeis University.
According to James, the criteria for selection as a Wittenberg Fellow include: significant contribution to human welfare; significant academic achievement and/or noteworthy achievement in a chosen field of endeavor.
Befitting the significance of their selection, the two Wittenberg Fellows passed a rigorous process similar to that which is used to select honorary degree recipients. The Fellows were nominated by members of the Wittenberg faculty. They will be given Wittenberg medallions at the Sept. 1 convocation.
Brown has combined excellence in teaching with a highly productive research program that emphasizes the application of economic theory to contemporary problems.
He has studied the effectiveness of public middle and senior high schools, the optimal level of athletics in college and the redistribution of income from younger to older persons in the past 35 years.
His current research projects include such varied topics as how consumers value the attributes of wine, economic versus accounting approaches to winery profitability, whether or not the Gross Domestic Product is measured correctly, why physicians form groups, how Medicare price controls affect physicians, and the cost of providing ambulance services.
A 1964 graduate of Wittenberg, Brown earned his master's degree from The Ohio State University in 1966 and his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 1969. He is a member of the American Economic Association and the Southern Economic Association and a scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America.
Since 1995 Brown has been a member of Wittenberg's Board of Directors. He will be presented by David Wishart, professor and chair of economics at Wittenberg.
Voorhees is a specialist in international environmental issues, especially air and water problems in the China, Russia and Japan. He has published more than a dozen articles and has received several honors, including a Fulbright Fellowship for research in Japan and three Bronze medals for service from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
An East Asian Studies and biology major, he graduated with honors from Wittenberg in 1978. Voorhees earned a master's degree from Miami (Ohio) University in 1983 and is now completing a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo.
Since 1984 he has worked for the U.S. EPA focusing on developing air pollution control regulations, predicting the risks of pollution exposure and overseeing the development and implementation of a new regulatory system for major sources of air pollution.
Voorhees will be presented by Swanger, who is professor and director of Wittenberg's East Asian Studies program.
