Citation read by Frederick L. Hord, Professor of Africana Studies.

The Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence is awarded each year by the Faculty Personnel Committee from among faculty members who have been nominated by their colleagues as exceptional with respect to their contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service to the college.

This year’s recipient comes from a department whose discipline has been taught at Knox since its founding, and who has also actively participated in the development and approval of the newest departmental major. This recipient has had a long connection with Knox, not only as a faculty member since 1986, but also as a Knox College alum and as the parent of a Knox College alum.

This recipient is popular in the classroom. According to one student, "He is exactly what you want in a college teacher. He knows his stuff extremely well; he is involved in campus life, and he cares about students. You'll be surprised by the amount of writing in his classes, but it really helps you to understand and apply what you're learning. He is open-minded and always solicits student opinions about his courses."

The recipient is also active in scholarship. He has regularly published in his discipline and also made conference presentations, both in that discipline and in conference panels regarding a variety of issues in higher education such as "Assessing Liberal Education Goals" and "Assessment of Majors and Minors."  During his time at Knox, this recipient has distinguished himself by authoring four major textbooks in his field.

This year's recipient especially stands out among his peers in the area of service to Knox. His contributions in faculty meetings and committee meetings are invariably cogent, thoughtful, and respectful. When he stands up to speak, the faculty listen. He has served to great effect on elective committees, including the Executive Committee; he has chaired the Curriculum Committee and the Assessment Sub-committee and has served effectively and enthusiastically on numerous other regular and ad-hoc committees. Finally, and most notably, this year's recipient has served with extreme distinction for two separate terms as Registrar of Knox College.

I am pleased to present this year's recipient of the President's Award for Faculty Excellence, from the Department of Mathematics, Professor Kevin Hastings.