Murray Blum

Murray S. Blum, who retired as Research Professor from the department of entomology in l995, was honored by a symposium at the XV Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects in Washington, D.C.

The symposium, “Social Insect Semiochemicals: A Symposium in Honor of Murray Blum,” paid tribute to Blum’s seminal research with the pheromones and chemical defenses of social insects—ants, bees and termites. The symposium also alluded to the importance of Blum’s contributions in studies of other insects—beetles, true bugs and grasshoppers—and with the toxic venoms of medically significant insects.

Ecology professor Whit Gibbons received the Henry Fitch Distinguished Herpetologist Award at the national Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Whit Gibbons

The recipient of the award is determined from nominations solicited both nationally and internationally by the organization. The prize is awarded to an individual for long-term excellence in the study of amphibian and reptile biology, based principally on the quality of his or her research, with consideration given to educational and service impacts of the individual’s career in herpetology. The award is considered to be a lifetime achievement award in the field.

Arthur M. (Andy) Horne, Distinguished Research Professor of counseling psychology, received the Outstanding Advocate for Boys Award from Division 51 of the American Psychological Association.

The award recognizes exceptional contributions that enhance the well-being of boys or adolescent males and considers research, service or therapeutic contributions made by nominees that have improved the lives of boys.

James Nagel, J. O. Eidson Distinguished Professor of American literature in the English department, has been elected president of the international Stephen Crane Society, which involves academics from the major universities in America and Europe and sponsors programs at national conferences, including the American Literature Association convention.

Nagel has published widely on Stephen Crane, including a book entitled Stephen Crane and Literary Impressionism, and has lectured on Crane and American fiction in fifteen countries. Founder of the journal Studies in American Fiction, and co-founder of the American Literature Association, Nagel received the lifetime achievement award from the ALA in 2005.

Claudio Saunt

Claudio Saunt, an associate professor of history, won the 2006 William P. Clements Book Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America.

Saunt’s award-winning book, Black, White and Indian: Race and the Unmaking of an American Family, was published by Oxford University Press in 2005.

The Clements Book Prize, which comes with an award of $2,500, honors fine writing and original research on the American Southwest. Saunt teaches and writes about Native and early American history.