Annual Faculty Reception Recognizes Accomplishments of Faculty in the Liberal Arts

UM College of Arts & Sciences’ Professors Hermann Beck, Tomas Lopez, and Daniel Messinger Named Cooper Fellows

By UM News 05-07-2014

Cooper Fellows Daniel Messinger and Tomas Lopez with Dean Leonidas Bachas. (Not pictured: Hermann Beck)

The annual A&S Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activities Recognition Reception acknowledged the many accomplishments of faculty at the University of Miami College of Arts & Sciences over the past academic year. Scholarly and creative works- including display books, articles and artwork- were showcased and applauded by fellow colleagues in the liberal arts.

Dean Leonidas Bachas, of the College of Arts & Sciences, called this event “one of the many happy traditions within the College,” before announcing one of the most awaited honors of the night: the three newly appointed Cooper Fellows—Professors Hermann Beck, Tomas Lopez, and Daniel Messinger. Cooper Fellows are tenured full professors appointed by the Dean to receive a quasi-endowment to support faculty research and teaching activities to recognize and reward some of Arts & Sciences’ most valued faculty.

History Professor Hermann Beck is one of the leading authorities on Prussian history and the building of the German state. In his book The Origins of the Authoritarian Welfare State in Prussia: Conservatives, Bureaucracy, and the Social Question, 1815-1870, he demonstrates the bureaucratic underpinnings of the nation state that would eventually give rise to Nazi ideology. His next major book, The Fateful Alliance: German Conservatives and Nazis in 1933, continues the exploration of the origins of the Third Reich. He has also published a number of path-breaking articles in some of the major journals of European history. Beck is an excellent teacher and exemplary colleague in every respect.

Art & Art History Professor Tomas Lopez is a recognized expert in the field of large-scale digital printing. Three portfolios of his work have recently been acquired by prominent institutions: two by the Library of Congress and one by Bibliothèque nationale de France. In addition, his prints are part of prestigious collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of American Arts, and the International Museum of Photography. He has won the Cintas Fellowship and the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship. Lopez is always in demand as a teacher and lecturer, and has contributed a great deal of service to UM.

Psychology Professor Daniel Messinger is an active member of the Developmental Area of his department’s Child Division. He is engaged in a comprehensive program of research on social communication and development. Funded by NIH and NSF, among others, he is a local and national leader in autism research. Currently an associate editor of Developmental Science and a member of the Editorial Board of Infancy, he is actively pursuing multi-disciplinary research with computer scientists, music engineers and physicists. Messinger is also an innovative teacher at the graduate and undergraduate levels and generous in his service to UM and the community.

The event also celebrated the work of junior faculty with the Scholarly & Creative Activities Recognition Award. This year’s award winners were: Jennifer Britton, Psychology; Nathan Timpano, Art and Art History; and James Wilson, Chemistry.

Dean Bachas also recognized and congratulated the newly promoted and tenured faculty, including the lecturers who have been promoted to senior lecturers, as well as retiring faculty.

The College honored retiring faculty for their service to the University.

Tribute to Arts & Sciences Retirees:
- Steven Green, Biology (retiring May 2014)
- David Wilson, Biology (retiring Dec. 2014)
- David Ellison, Modern Languages and Literatures (retiring Dec. 2014)

Faculty who received promotions were also recognized: