Welcome to the ninth annual Fall Convocation. I am pleased to join my fellow faculty to celebrate the achievements of our outstanding faculty.
You can argue that CU-Boulder is a physical place, but we wouldn't exist without our faculty. Faculty are the heart of everything we do.
Computer scientist Tom Yeh is awarded the 2014 Student Affairs Faculty Member of the Year Award by Chancellor Philip DiStefano for outstanding engagement with students.
You don't have to look far to see their accomplishments. Just in the last year:
- Physicist Ana Maria Rey, was named our eighth MacArthur Fellow.
- Physics professor Steven Pollock was named a national Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.
- Geological sciences professor Robert Anderson is the 2014 Hazel Barnes Prize Winner, the most distinguished honor awarded by the university.
- Computer scientist Tom Yeh was named Faculty Member of the Year by Student Affairs for outstanding student engagement.
- Law professor Helen Norton was named a President's Teaching Scholar.
- A half dozen faculty won early-career awards from the NSF, the DOE or the White House.
And there's many more that we are honoring today. Look no farther than today's program to see the impressive and amazing work of our world-class faculty.
When we use the term "world-class faculty" it is not a cliché. At CU-Boulder it is a reality — on display daily in learning and teaching, discovery and innovation, and service to the community, the nation and the world.
I want to extend a special welcome to the parents and family members here among us, who have joined us for Family Weekend. We are glad that you are here so you can help us honor the accomplishments of our truly world-class faculty.
Today we gather to honor faculty receiving tenure and promotion, and for the presentation of the Provost's Awards and the Student Affairs Award.
Our faculty members maintain the excellent national and international reputation of the university, and mentor our students to new heights of learning and discovery.
Students especially are the beneficiaries of your work. Our students are at ground zero in new discoveries and interacting with teachers and researchers who are transforming science, innovation, technology and the arts on a daily basis.
Faculty migrate new knowledge and cutting-edge research to our students in the classroom, the labs, the hallways, and even the residence halls.
You educate, inspire and challenge students, and they expect no less of you. Students are society's greatest asset and you are their teachers and mentors. I cannot think of a job more important.
Congratulations to each of you and thank you for your service to the university, to your students and to society.