A university's ability to realize its aspirations rests squarely on the shoulders of its faculty. Undergraduate students spend four years on Grounds, but faculty members spend up to four decades here. During that time, they are instrumental in shaping the University and advancing its reputation, not only through their research and scholarship, but also by inspiring others and building lasting institutions to promote research and education.

Honored for Their Contributions
The faculty's extraordinary role in sustaining and strengthening the University is recognized through University-wide awards. Edward L. Ayers, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Hugh P. Kelly Professor of History, received the University's highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson Award. The annual award is given to a member of the University community who has exemplified in character, work, and influence the principles and ideals of Jefferson. Dean Ayers, who joined the faculty in 1980, is a superb teacher, honored by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia as well as the American Historical Association. He also has written or edited nine books and received a 2004 Bancroft Prize for his book, In the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863. And as cofounder of the Virginia Center for Digital History, he is a leader in the use of digital technologies to promote teaching and learning in history.

James F. Childress, the Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics, professor of medical education, and winner of this year's Jefferson Scholars Faculty Prize, shows similar depth of commitment to his field and to the University. During the nearly forty years he has been in residence at U.Va, Professor Childress has been chair of the Department of Religious Studies, principal of Monroe Hill College, and codirector of the Virginia Health Policy Center. He is director of the Institute for Practical Ethics and has served on numerous national task forces on such issues as organ sharing, recombinant DNA, and gene therapy. The Jefferson Scholars Faculty Prize recognizes and celebrates the commitment of outstanding University of Virginia faculty members to leadership, scholarship, and citizenship.

Another award for service to the University is the Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award, which was established by the Women's Center in memory of Elizabeth Zintl, chief of staff in the Office of the President. This year the center recognized V. Shamim Sisson, who was honored for her professionalism, creativity, and commitment to the University. Dean Sisson, who retired in June 2006 as senior associate dean of students and director of the Office of Student Life, had served in student affairs at the University since 1988, bringing to her roles longstanding professional interests in women's education, communication between men and women, leadership development, and interracial understanding.

THE CLIMATE CONNECTION Twelve hundred years ago, human beings invented agriculture and in the process wrested control of the climate from the natural world. Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum: How Humans Took Control of the Climate by William F. Ruddiman, professor emeritus of environmental sciences, is the first book to trace the full historical sweep of human interaction with Earth's climate. It received the 2006 Science Award from the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Advancing Science and Thought
Jefferson's colleague Benjamin Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among the nation's most creative thinkers. This year, Cora Diamond joined William A. Wulf, University Professor and the AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Science (see page 18), in being inducted into the society. Ms. Diamond is professor emerita in the Department of Philosophy and professor of law in the School of Law. Her principal scholarly interests include Wittgenstein, Frege, and the philosophy of language, moral and political philosophy, and philosophy and literature. Election to the society puts Professor Diamond in exalted company. The society has just 960 elected members; since 1900 more than 260 members have received the Nobel Prize.

Judy S. DeLoache, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Psychology, was similarly honored this year. She was elevated to the rank of fellow by her peers in the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Professor DeLoache was singled out for her "insights into the development of children's memory, representation, and use of symbols." She was one of only seven fellows named this year in psychology.

Distinction for Scholarship and Service

Each year, faculty members devote their talents to achieving exceptional standards of scholarship and service. The awards faculty members received for their scholarly and creative work reflect outstanding abilities and dedication to the creation of knowledge in disciplines across the Grounds.

• Sociologist Joseph E. Davis received the Cooley Award for his recent book, Accounts of Innocence: Sexual Abuse, Trauma, and the Self. The award is presented by the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
• Strategy + Business magazine hailed a new book by Paul Farris, the Landmark Communications, Inc., Professor of Business Administration, and Darden professor Phil Pfeifer as the best marketing book of the year. Marketing Metrics: 50 Metrics Every Executive Should Master provides clear explanations for key indicators used to evaluate virtually every aspect of marketing and sales.
• Assistant Professors of Architecture Nataly Gattegno and Jason Johnson received the Honor Award for Design from the Boston Society of Architects for their collaborative Energy Farm project.
• University of Virginia writing instructor Charlotte Matthews won the 2007 Fellowship of Southern Writers' New Writing Award for Poetry for her collection, Green Stars.
• Charles Wright, the Souder Family Professor of Arts and Sciences, won the 2007 International Griffin Poetry Prize for his volume Scar Tissue. The Griffin Poetry Prize is given for a single volume of poetry.

Other faculty members assumed leadership roles in professional societies. William B. Harvey, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity, was elected the first president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Jenny Strauss Clay, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Classics, is president of the American Philological Association, the principal learned society in North America for the study of ancient Greek and Roman languages, literatures, and civilizations. And Julian M. Bivins, Jr., assistant vice president for advancement in the University's Office of Development and Public Affairs, is chairman of the board of trustees for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, an international organization created to advance and support educational institutions through alumni relations, communications, marketing, and fund raising.

2007 Teaching Awards At this year's teaching awards banquet, the University presented the first Faculty Mentoring Awards to Sherwood C. Frey, Jr., the Ethyl Corporation Professor of Business Administration, and Janet S. Herman, professor of environmental sciences. Mitchell S. Green, associate professor of philosophy, received the Cavaliers' Distinguished Teaching Professorship; Stephen D. Arata, associate professor of English, received the Richard A. and Sara Page Mayo NEH Distinguished Teaching Professorship; Dr. John Kattwinkel, the Charles I. Fuller, Jr., Professor of Neonatology, received the Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award; and Margarita Nafpaktitis, assistant professor of Slavic languages and literature, received the Alumni Board of Trustees Teaching Award. All-University Teaching Awards went to Randy L. Bell, associate professor of science education; Edward J. Berger, associate professor of structural and solid mechanics; Emily J. Blanchard, associate professor of economics; Mary Margaret Frank, assistant professor of business administration; Clare R. Kinney, associate professor of English; Stephen A. Macko, professor of environmental sciences; Louis P. Nelson, associate professor of architectural history; J. H. (Rip) Verkerke, professor of law; and Dr. Brian Wispelwey, professor of internal medicine.

The Natural World of Music Matthew Burtner, an assistant professor of composition and computer music, was born in Alaska, and his heritage shapes his view of music as a force of nature. His quest to connect music to the natural world has, paradoxically, drawn him to technology, which offers an infinite palette of sound as well as an impersonal quality that he finds has its counterpart in the natural world. Professor Burtner's music has earned accolades from around the world, including first prize in the Musica Nova International Electroacoustic Music Competition.