JMU math, marketing professors earn state’s highest award for faculty

Dr. Caroline P. Lubert, a professor of mathematics and statistics, and Dr. Theresa B. Clarke, a professor of marketing, were among 12 recipients of the Outstanding Faculty Award presented by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and Dominion Resources.

The Outstanding Faulty Awards recognize superior accomplishments in teaching, research and public service at Virginia’s institutions of higher learning. Nominees are selected by the institutions, reviewed by a panel of peers and chosen by a final selection committee. In all, 97 nominations were received this year, slightly more than last year. The field was narrowed to 28 finalists and then to the 12 recipients.

Clarke, who has taught at JMU since 2001, and Lubert, a JMU faculty member since 1999, are the 12^th and 13^th award winners from JMU since the award was first presented in 1987. Physics professor Chris Hughes was a winner last year.

A ceremony honoring the recipients will be held in February 2017 in Richmond. Each recipient will receive an engraved award and $5,000 underwritten by the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources. The Outstanding Faculty Award program is administered by SCHEV and funded by a grant from the Dominion Foundation, which has fully supported the OFA program since 2005.

SCHEV is the Commonwealth’s coordinating and planning body for postsecondary education. The agency provides policy guidance and budget recommendations to the governor and General Assembly, and creates the statewide strategic plan, The Virginia Plan for Higher Education. SCHEV has administered the Outstanding Faculty Awards since the program’s creation by the legislature in 1986.

The Dominion Foundation is dedicated to improving the physical, social and economic well-being of the communities served by Dominion companies. Dominion and the Foundation support nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, support education and promote community vitality. For more information about Dominion (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond and one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, visit www.dom.com.