RELEASED: May 2, 2002

DANVILLE, KY-Four Centre College faculty members have been honored by appointment to endowed professorships at the college. And five Centre professors have been named as recipients of an honor that recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarly work and contributions to the college community.

Nayef Samhat has been appointed junior NEH Professor of Government and International Studies, one of two endowed chairs created by a 1987 grant to the college from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Sheldon Tapley was appointed to the Paul L. Cantrell Professorship in Art. In 1997, J. David Grissom, a former student who is now chair of Centre's board of trustees, established a professorship in Cantrell's name. Cantrell, who died in 2000, was a beloved professor of English who taught at Centre for 40 years.

Jane Joyce was appointed the Charles J. Luellen Professorship in Literature. The award bears the name of a member of the Centre board of trustees who is retired as president and chief executive officer of Ashland Oil. The chair was made possible by gifts from Luellen and the Ashland corporation.

Tom McCollough, currently a Centre Scholar, will relinquish that position to take up the Nelson D. and Mary McDowell Rodes Professorship in Religion. This professorship was given in memory of their parents by the Rodes' four childen, including Nelson D. Rodes of Danville, a member of the Class of 1954 and vice chair of the board of trustees, and Joe Rodes of Louisville, a member of the Class of 1953.

Steve Asmus, Beth Glazier-McDonald, Dan Manheim, Peggy Richey and Milton Scarborough comprise the next class of Centre Scholars, the second in the series. The Centre Scholar awards are rotated among Centre's full-time faculty on a biennial basis. Each honoree receives a stipend above the normal salary. The Centre Scholars program was made possible at Centre through a challenge gift to the college endowment from Grissom.

Samhat, associate professor of government and international studies who has taught at Centre since 1996, has particular expertise in the theory of international relations, international political economy and the political economy of environmental policy. An expert on the Middle East, Samhat has had columns published in newspapers around the country. Samhat holds a bachelor's degree in international economics from George Washington University's School of International and Public Affairs, a master's degree in international finance from Columbia University and a doctoral degree in comparative political economy from Northwestern.

Tapley, professor of art, has taught at Centre since 1983. Tapley is a nationally recognized artist. His paintings are held in museum, academic, corporate and private collections across the United States. Tapley currently has an exhibit at Tatistcheff Gallery, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He has exhibited his work there many times through the years. Tapley regularly speaks at art events and judges competitive exhibitions. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate holding a 1980 bachelor of arts degree from Grinnell College, Tapley received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1983.

Joyce is professor of classics at Centre. A scholar with wide-ranging interests, Joyce regularly teaches classes in Latin language and literature, ancient epic and lyric poetry, Greco-Roman drama, classical mythology and creative writing. She played a key role in establishing Centre's major in the classics and chairs the college's humanities program. Joyce, who began teaching at Centre in 1978, holds a bachelor's degree from Bryn Mawr College and master's and doctoral degrees in classics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Professor of Religion McCollough has taught at Centre since 1980. He was recently awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to conduct research this year at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Israel. He will complete a book on the Roman theater at Sepphoris, where he will begin his research this summer and will continue in residence there in the fall. Since 1985, Centre students have assisted McCollough each summer in the excavation of Sepphoris. McCollough received a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame. He also has a master of divinity degree from Duke University.

Asmus has taught in the biology and biochemistry/molecular biology programs at Centre since 1996. Centre students have collaborated with him on extensive research. Asmus earned a bachelor of science degree from Cleveland State University and a doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Glazier-McDonald is professor of religion at Centre where she has taught since 1988. She is a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and biblical literature and has authored a number of articles. Glazier-McDonald is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of George Washington University and earned her M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from The University of Chicago. She served as assistant professor of religious studies at The Pennsylvania State University before coming to Centre.

Manheim, associate professor of English, has a scholarly background in American literature, and he has taught Centre courses on major American writers, African-American literature, American autobiography and poetry. Manheim, who has taught at Centre since 1991, holds a bachelor's degree from Amherst College and master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia.

Richey is associate professor of biology and biochemistry at Centre, where she has taught since 1989. Her primary area of research interest involves the study of the biochemistry, physiology and molecular biology of plant disease. Richey has published her research in numerous academic journals. A magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Kentucky, Richey also holds a master's and a doctorate in plant pathology from UK.

Scarborough is professor of philosophy and religion. In addition to his teaching and scholarly interests in myth and the human imagination, Scarborough has taught world religions, Buddhist thought, philosophy of religion, philosophy of science and phenomenology. He has received study grants and fellowships from the Kentucky Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Scarborough has taught at Centre since 1969. A graduate of the University of Mississippi (bachelor of arts in English), Scarborough holds a bachelor of divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctorate in Christianity and culture from Duke University.

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