An outstanding committment to education
LU faculty member Kirk, from Port Arthur, one of four honored with Merit Award

Edythe Kirk

Lamar University has recognized four faculty members as University Merit Award recipients for their outstanding commitment to education.

The 2008 award recipients are assistant professors Monica Bellon-Harn of Lumberton, speech and hearing sciences; Jiangjiang "Jane" Liu, Beaumont, computer science; Edythe Kirk, Port Arthur, psychology; and associate professor John Payton, Beaumont, health and kinesiology.

Award recipients were decided upon by the University Professor and Merit Award Selection Committee, which includes faculty from each college. Stephen Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs, presented the awards during a reception and ceremony April 16 in the University Reception Center of the Mary and John Gray Library. James Westgate, professor of earth and space sciences, was honored as the 2008 University Professor.

"Academic excellence is the goal and mission of every university, and, on every campus, there are those faculty members who stand apart, distinguish themselves, and are recognized by their peers and students, as exceptionally outstanding teachers, scholars, and mentors," said Doblin. "It is vitally important in the culture of any institution of higher education to pause during the academic year and recognize those whose efforts exemplify the goal of excellence."

Monica Bellon-Harn, who is completing her fifth year at Lamar, earned a bachelor's degree from McNeese State University and master's and Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. She has taught six undergraduate and six graduate courses while at Lamar.

She is admired by her students and continually receives excellent reviews from them. "She works well with all students and has become a magnet for attracting people to the program," said Russ Shultz, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

Bellon-Harn frequently utilizes educational technologies in the classroom, making her classes a popular choice among students. She developed a DVD to enhance her teaching effectiveness and makes wide use of software programs to enrich her web-enhanced courses.

Her skills go far beyond the classroom, however. Some of her projects include an autism workshop, summer language enrichment program for children with disabilities and a Lamar partnership program with Port Arthur Independent School District that assists children with disabilities. "On the service front, Dr. Bellon-Harn shoulders a hefty load," said Doblin.

In addition, she serves as a consultant for language and reading programs for children with speech and language disorders and is a member of the Board of Examiners for Speech- Language Pathologists and Audiologists. She is licensed by the American Speech Language and Hearing Association.

Jiangjiang "Jane" Liu, now in her fourth year at Lamar, earned a bachelor of engineering degree from Beijing University of Posts & Telecommunications and master of science and doctorate in computer science from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Her area of expertise is computer architecture design for chip micro-processing and embedded systems. Lui uses the latest animation, graphics and simulations to illustrate course materials.

"Dr. Liu is a fine teacher, a person who has dedicated herself to her work at Lamar and to the field of computer science," said Larry Osborne, chair of the Department of Computer Science.

Outside the classroom, Lui serves as the co-director of the INSPIRED and WIRED programs, which aim to mentor underrepresented groups in computer science concepts.

Also an active researcher, Lui has been the principal or coprincipal investigator on five grants, bringing more than $500,000 to Lamar University. She has published 17 referred papers in prestigious national and international journals and proceedings and stays active in her discipline by regularly attending national and international conferences.

Lui has been a driving force in recruiting students to Lamar by participating in Mathfest, Open House, Week of Welcome, West Brook's Career Day and Rotary's Career Day.

"Dr. Liu's excellent record of teaching, research and service demonstrates that she is welldeserving of a 2008 University Merit Award," said Brenda Nichols, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Edythe Kirk, now serving her 12th year at Lamar, earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Lamar before receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Her areas of expertise include research methods and statistics. Kirk has taught eight undergraduate courses and two at the graduate level.

When she is not in the classroom, Kirk commits her time to undergraduate studies. She has sponsored the annual Student Research Symposium for the past five years and mentored eight McNair Scholars and supervised seven honors students.

"She takes pride in her commitment to undergraduate research," said Doblin. "Her student evaluations are consistently positive and well above the norms for her department, college and university."

Kirk's professional pursuits are also noteworthy. She was named the McNair Scholars' Program Faculty Member of the Year in 2003 and has served as manuscript reviewer and president of Sigma Xi scientific research society. Kirk also received a Lamar Research Enhancement Grant.

In addition to participating in many associations and honorary societies, Kirk also authored or co-authored five refereed articles, two statistical textbooks and 11 paper presentations.

"Because I can see Edythe's office door from my office, it is clear that much of her teaching goes on outside of the classroom, from the time she spends meeting with students in her office, to the extra time she spends with students who are struggling, to the time she spends setting up labs, to the time she spends supervising lab assistants and to the time she spends working with the department's software," said Randy Smith, department chair and professor of psychology.

John Payton, who is completing his 38th year at Lamar, earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Prairie View A&M University.

In his nearly four decades at Lamar, Payton has taught nine courses in health, kinesiology and physical education. His area of expertise is in sports officiating, and he regularly offers workshops on the subject.

Payton is also well-known in the sports community. He is a frequent guest speaker at athletic events and regularly attends state and national coaching clinics, workshops and meetings to maintain currency in his field. He has also conducted research on basketball officiating in Southeast Texas and co-directed a $55,000 grant to support the National Youth Sports Program.

In addition, Payton also stays active in professional societies and organizations. He serves as a consultant for the Texas Association of Sports Officials and is a member of BISD's Athletic Council. He serves as faculty sponsor of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

For his service, Payton has received numerous awards and accolades including the State's Distinguished Service Award for Basketball Officials and the Livingston school district's Outstanding Graduate Award. He has also been inducted into several Halls of Fame, including the African-American Hall of Fame, Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame, Lamar University Cardinal Hall of Honor and Southeast Texas Coaches Association Hall of Honor.

"John Payton is a stellar representative for Lamar University and is very deserving of the University Merit Award," said Hollis Lowery-Moore, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.