RELEASED: May 22, 2003

DANVILLE, KY—Two Centre College faculty members have been appointed to endowed professorships at the college, while five others have been named Centre Scholars.

Steve Asmus, assistant professor of biology and biochemistry and molecular biology, has been appointed to the Elizabeth Dowling Professorship in Science. The Dowling Professorship was created by an estate gift from a Centre alumna in the class of 1907. It is a three-year appointment.

Brian Cooney, professor philosophy, was named the NEH Professorship of Philosophy, an endowed professorship made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is a three-year appointment.

For their excellence in teaching, scholarly work, and contributions to the College community, Rick Axtell, Chris Barton, Mary Daniels, James Morrison and Marshall Wilt have been named Centre Scholars.

Centre Scholars are selected from Centre's full-time faculty for a term of two years. Each scholar 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 David Grissom, a Centre alumnus and Louisville businessman who chairs the College's board of trustees.

Asmus has taught at Centre since 1996. He has special expertise in the field of developmental neurobiology, which focuses on how the brain develops. Asmus has authored or co-authored professional papers in journals including Developmental Biology (1997 and 2001) and the Journal of Neuroscience (2000). He earned a bachelor of science degree from Cleveland State University, a doctorate from the University of Michigan, and conducted a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University before coming to Centre.

Cooney has taught at Centre since 1980. He has pursued research in the field of philosophical psychology and the mind/brain relationship. He is the author of several journal articles, and A Hylomorphic Theory of Mind, published by Peter Lang Inc. in 1992. He has edited and provided commentary for an anthology of readings in the philosophy of mind titled The Place of Mind from Wadsworth Publishing Company (1999). Cooney is completing a book to be titled Posthumanity, which deals with the ways in which future technology will enable us to alter our minds and bodies. It will be published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers in the spring of 2004. Cooney holds a bachelor's degree in classics and philosophy from Saint Louis University and master's and doctoral degrees in philosophy from McGill University.

College chaplain and assistant professor of religion, Axtell initially taught at Centre during 1992-93 and returned to the college in 1995. Concerned about issues of hunger and homelessness, he has served as director of Louisville United Against Hunger and also was a case manager working with homeless men through the St. Vincent DePaul Society. Axtell has traveled and studied hunger, sustainable development and liberation theology across the globe. Axtell holds a bachelor of arts degree from Mississippi College. He earned a master of divinity degree and a doctorate from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he's completed other advanced studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Barton is associate professor of biology at Centre, where she has taught since 1981. Currently, she's serving as the chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics. With research interests in the area of aquatic ecology, Barton has been actively engaged in collaborative research projects focused on predator-prey interactions and mate selection strategies in freshwater fish species. Barton is also committed to improving the quality of science education at the elementary- and secondary-school levels. She has served on a local site based council and has directed a wide range of outreach activities, ranging from science camps for area school children to science workshop opportunities for both elementary and high school teachers. Barton's commitment to excellence in the classroom was recognized by the Kentucky Academy of Sciences in 1998 when she was awarded the Distinguished Teacher of the Year award. Barton earned a bachelor of arts degree in biology from the University of Vermont and a master of science degree and a doctorate in fisheries biology from Oregon State University.

Daniels has taught Spanish at Centre since 1996. She earned a bachelor's degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, completed a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin, and in 1998 received a doctorate from the University of Kentucky. During the 1998 fall term, Daniels, assistant professor of Spanish at Centre, served as the first resident teacher for Centre's international program in Latin America. She has pursued advanced research and made scholarly presentations delving into the role of women in the theater in 17th-century Spain.

Morrison is an associate professor of classics at Centre, where he's taught since 1993. He teaches courses in Greek and Latin language, history, literature, culture, and mythology, as well as freshman humanities. In January 2000 he led a group of Centre College students to Greece, and he led a group to Italy in January. Morrison is the author of Homeric Misdirection: False Predictions in the Iliad (University of Michigan Press, 1992) as well as numerous other articles and reviews for academic journals. Later this year, his second book on Homer will be coming out: A Companion to Homer's Odyssey (Greenwood Press). His research interests include Homer and ancient epic, Thucydides, Greek literature and philosophy, and Late Republican and Augustan literature. Morrison holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and history from Oberlin College, a master's in classics from the University of Washington and a doctorate in classical studies from the University of Michigan.

This is the second time Wilt, professor of physics, has been named a Centre Scholar. He was a member of the inaugural class of Centre Scholars. He has taught at Centre since 1967 and has directed a summer science program at the College for gifted high school students and a physics institute for high school teachers. Wilt also has chaired the science and mathematics division at the college. A rigorous scientist and dedicated teacher, Wilt was honored in 1990 as Kentucky's most outstanding science teacher at the college and university level. Wilt routinely involves his students in collaborative research and has had at least one student pursue research with him in each of the last five summers. He has published 20 papers in internationally recognized refereed journals, often with Centre undergraduates as co-authors. Wilt earned a bachelor's degree from Centre summa cum laude and completed a doctorate at Vanderbilt University.

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