NSU's Circle of Excellence winners to receive awards April 26

(Tahlequah, Okla.)--Three outstanding faculty members will be inducted into the Circle of Excellence at Northeastern State University.

Dr. Dan Savage will be recognized for teaching, Dr. Roger West for research and Dr. Brian Cowlishaw for service.

The presentation ceremony is April 26 at 3 p.m. in the Branscum Alumni Center. The Circle of Excellence is a way of acknowledging the outstanding dedication of faculty.

I and the entire NSU community congratulate these exceptional faculty for their induction into the Circle of Excellence, said Dr. Steve Turner, NSU president. Their dedication to teaching their students within and beyond the classroom is phenomenal. Their enthusiasm is inspirational.

The Circle of Excellence awards recognize outstanding faculty for accomplishments and commitment to educating students. Each recipient is honored with a brick bearing their name and award to be placed within the Circle of Excellence in front of Seminary Hall. In addition to a permanent place in NSU history, recipients receive their choice of a new computer or $2,500 to use toward professional development.

Savage, associate professor of political science, teaches political philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts. He holds a Ph.D. and masters degree in political science from the University of California-Santa Barbara and a bachelors degree in government from East Central University.

I genuinely love the subject I teach so it is easy for me to be enthusiastic, Savage said. In my opinion the Socratic Method, in which students are made to argue for or against a position, is still the best way for students to learn because it requires them to think critically and creatively.

West is a professor for the NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry where he teaches optics and supervises students in clinic. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois. He conducted post-doctoral research in retinal anatomy at John Hopkins Hospital, followed by two years at Harvard University. He earned his O.D. degree before joining the faculty at NSU.

My current research has been to uncover the cues that we use to determine the direction of gaze, West said. "This has been particularly rewarding since it uses my background in both psychology and optics.

Much of my research has been funded by NSU Faculty Research Grants, which are available to all faculty and show NSUs commitment to research. I thank the Faculty Research Committee and the administration for the effort and resources that have made these grants possible.

Cowlishaw is an associate professor of English. He served three years as assistant chair of the Department of Languages and Literature and sponsors the OK Bollywood Club, screening films from India on campus. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Oklahoma, and masters degrees in English and counseling and a bachelors degree in English from Idaho State University.

The past few years Ive tried to share the culture of India with NSU students through showing films and teaching classes in Indian literature, and Im learning Hindi, Cowlishaw said. I am also an area chair and conference organizer for the Popular Culture Association. In that capacity I have helped some of our graduate students make conference presentations and get published.

The Circle of Excellence is NSUs top faculty honor. Only full-time faculty are eligible.