4 IU professors named Guggenheim fellows\nComposer Don Freund, historian Michael Grossberg and biologists Lynda Delph and Jeffrey Palmer were all elected as Guggenheim fellows, bringing IU's total to 117. Since 1998, at least one IU faculty member has earned a Guggenheim fellowship and has more total fellows than all other state institutions combined.\nThe faculty members are awarded a grant to pursue research in their desired fields.\nDelph is planning to appraise recent work by geneticists, evolutionary biologists and ecologists to decide whether some ecological theories warrant updating. Freund is planning to collaborate with other musical artists to complete a major compositional product with grant money. Palmer plans to study the rampant exchange of genes between unrelated plants on a remote island in the South Pacific while Grossberg plans to complete a book about the history of child protection in the United States.
Dean of students wins national\nservice award\nIU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Richard McKaig has been awarded the 2005 Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a Dean by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. \n"Dean McKaig is very deserving," said Ken Gros Louis, senior vice president for academic affairs at IU and chancellor of the Bloomington campus. "He strikes the perfect balance between student advocacy and institutional responsibility. For as long as I have known him, he has been a strong advocate for student issues, a wonderful leader and a caring colleague. Dick does an outstanding job handling all types of situations that can arise from our very active and diverse student body."\nThe Goodnight award is reserved for deans demonstrating leadership in university and community affairs, competency in administrative skills and professional service in student affairs.\n"Dean McKaig is an extraordinary student advocate. He is steadfast in his support for students, and he has proven himself to be a champion for student issues and concerns," said Sarah King, a former Panhellenic Association president. "He also is wholly committed to constant interaction with IU students. I cannot think of a time when he has declined an invitation to speak to or meet with a group of students. He is exceedingly deserving of any recognition that honors his commitment and service to students at Indiana University."\nMcKaig came to IU in 1971 and has served as vice chancellor, dean and associate professor of education since 1991. McKaig oversees the Division of Student Affairs whose involvement in campus life cuts across a wide range of issues, activities and services, even as it coordinates policy, budget and personnel matters for the student services area. \n"This award shows the students of Indiana University how fortunate we are to have a dean of students that represents us in all capacities," former IU Student Association President Tyson Chastain said.
