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Hard work, dedication push Arnold School faculty, students, alumni to top of class
May 12, 2010
Julius Fridriksson
Kara Montgomery
Russ Pate
The Arnold School of Public Health recognized exceptional achievements by students, faculty and alumni during its 2010 Hooding Ceremony, held May 6 at the Koger Center for the Arts.
The school also acknowledged new members of the Mu Chapter of the Delta Omega Society, the national honorary public health society.
Dr. Julius Fridriksson, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, received the Faculty Research Award.
Fridriksson has been instrumental to the campus-wide neuroscience development in the area of stroke recovery and brain imaging. His recent work, currently funded by two prestigious grants from the National Institutes of Health, addresses how localized brain function changes and adapts after a brain injury, such as stroke. His studies have tremendous potential for how brain stimulation can be used to further stroke recovery potential.
Dr. Kara Montgomery, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, received the James A. Keith Excellence in Teaching Award.
Her peers describe Montgomery as an outstanding classroom instructor by any metric. She brings energy and enthusiasm to every class with creative learning experiences both in the classroom and in the community. One letter of recommendation noted that “what separates Dr. Montgomery from other professors is her genuine interest in students’ lives, goals and future aspirations.”
The award is made in memory of the late James A. Keith, an Arnold School professor and associate dean.
Dr. Russ Pate, a professor in the Department of Exercise Science, received the Faculty Service Award.
Pate, who has been with the school since its humble beginnings in 1975, served as exercise science department chair for more than 10 years. Since then, he has been associate dean for research in the school. At the University level, he has served as associate vice president and vice provost for Health Sciences. An avid runner, Pate was the first president and the primary founder of the Columbia Marathon. Pate is one of the leading researchers in physical activity and public health and has utilized this role to develop and lead an annual CDC-funded Physical Activity and Public Health Research Seminar for researchers and practitioners.
He has been a member of several expert panels to develop U.S. Dietary Guidelines and Physical Activity Guidelines. He is a leader in the development of the National Physical Activity Plan, released May 3 in Washington, D.C. The USC Educational Foundation awarded its Outstanding Service Award to Pate last month.
Kolby Taylor of the Department of Health Services Policy and Management received the Jeffrey Keith Mattison Outstanding Achievement Award.
Taylor, who earned her master’s degree in health administration, maintained a strong academic record, chaired the Healthcare Executive Student Association and served as student liaison to the S.C. Chapter of the Board of American College of Healthcare Executives. Her work extends abroad, most recently leading her to Haiti to participate in relief efforts after the January earthquake.
This annual award goes to the master’s-level graduating student who best exemplifies the special characteristics of Jeffrey Keith Mattison, an epidemiology and biostatistics student who died in the fall of 1987.
Dr. Andrey Bortsov, a student in the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, received the Doctoral Achievement Award.
Bortsov, a physician trained in Russia, completed his PhD in epidemiology. His adviser described him as independent and talented, noting that in his doctoral research he explored advanced quantitative statistical methods beyond the standard curriculum for an epidemiology student.
He earned a prestigious American Heart Association pre-doctoral fellowship for this work and already has multiple presentations and publications in his name. Peers consider him to be an extremely promising researcher and has the potential to make a great impact on the field of epidemiology.
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Individual departments of the Arnold School also presented honors, including:
Communication Sciences and Disorders – Shannon Batson, MSP Outstanding Student Award; Carole Jacocks, MCD Outstanding Student Award.
Environmental Health Sciences – Michelle Anne Johnston and Ann Elisabeth Vandiver, Outstanding Doctoral Students.
Epidemiology and Biostatistics – Outstanding Biostatistics Student: Ahmed Yahya Al-hadhrami; Outstanding Epidemiology Student: Andréa Lynn Maslow.
Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior – Ali Hoffman, Master’s Student of the Year; Holly Pope, Doctoral Student of the Year.
Health Services Policy and Management – Emory Frazier, Susie Yates Scholarship; Mary Jones, Michael D. Jarrett Award; David Stephen Pankau, Michael E. and Sandra P. Samuels Distinguished Alumni Award.
Exercise Science – Jennifer Grubb O’Neill, Outstanding Doctoral Student.
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Twenty new members of the Delta Omega Society also were recognized.
They included faculty members Dr. Matteo Bottai and Dr. Stacy L. Fritz and Class of 2010 graduates Amanda Marie Ayers, Emory Thesmond Frazier, Rui Liu, Cecile Hart Scott, Kyle Rajat Shah, Megan Kathleen Wallner, Elizabeth Elliott Wingard, Michael David Wirth and Li Zhou.
Alumni members were Daheia Julina Barr-Anderson, Dawn Watkins Blackhurst, Kathleen Brady, Ann Pringle Washington, Sharon Michelle Smith, Babgaleh Bilo Timbo, Duvel William White, Zhao Yang and Keith J. Zullig.
Founded at the School of Hygiene and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University in 1924, Delta Omega is equivalent to Phi Beta Kappa for undergraduate studies in letters.
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The school also awarded Certificates of Appreciation to members of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council. They are Morgan Dampier, Stephanie Day, Francine Davis, Sean McGee, Katherine Carpenter, Mitra Yousefi, Michael Mize, Megan Wallner, Sara Mahoney, Kathryn Rawlings, Jon Hand, Andre Walker, Megan Coy and Laura Rooney.
