This year's recipients, approved Thursday by the Board of Regents and effective July 1, are Aline J. Cotel, Fiona Lee, Joanna M. Millunchick, Kathleen H. Sienko, Arthur M. Verhoogt and Patricia J. Wittkopp.

Criteria for Thurnau professorships include a strong commitment to students and to teaching and learning, excellence in teaching, innovations in teaching and learning, a strong commitment to working effectively with a diverse student body, a demonstrable impact on students' intellectual or artistic development, and contributions to undergraduate education beyond the classroom, studio or lab.

Lee, professor of psychology, LSA, and associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, is described as "an exemplary educator" who takes a "careful and deliberate approach to teaching excellence" with a deep commitment to teaching about diversity.

Her 300-person Introduction to Organizational Psychology class offers a unique "step-up" approach that allows students to engage with complex social issues. The result is an in-depth discussion of race, ethnicity, class and gender that is quite rare in a class of this size.

As one colleague notes, "Professor Lee has created a culture where students from minority groups feel they can speak up, that their experiences are valuable, and they can take on leadership roles directing research in her lab."

Read the full article "Six faculty members honored as Arthur F. Thurnau professors" at The University Record.