Each year the Saint Anselm College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors presents the Distinguished Faculty Award at graduation. It recognizes excellence in teaching and scholarship, contributions to the academic community through active and positive relations with colleagues and students, and an involved concern for humanity.

Active, trusted, innovative, measured, insightful. These are some of the words faculty used in nominating this year’s honoree.

Recognized by fellow faculty as one of the best facilitators of intellectual and academic conversations on this campus, our recipient is genuinely interested in the work of colleagues across campus, regardless of discipline.

This outstanding mentor supports newer faculty in ways they characterize as “incredibly helpful.” Despite our recipient’s understated style, the most senior faculty deeply value our recipient’s insights and stop to listen when this person talks. Those who have attended faculty senate meetings will agree that this is remarkable.

After completing a doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and a three-year post-doc at New York University, our recipient spent eight years teaching as an assistant and associate professor in Pennsylvania before joining the faculty here. Our recipient served both as department chair and as a faculty senator early on once at Saint Anselm College, but this commitment to colleagues and to the college continues, uncurbed. Indeed, our honoree is currently serving as a senator and this year chaired the Rank and Tenure committee, considered by many to be the most time-consuming, but also the most consequential, senate committee.

After more than 25 years at Saint Anselm College, our recipient remains committed to working closely with students, continuing to direct advanced research and to run special study sessions (our recipient even provides the pizza). Our recipient is recognized by students as one of the most dedicated and supportive faculty members on campus.

This year’s prizewinner has published with students and, over a long career, won a number of grants, including one to improve lab-instruction here at Saint Anselm College. Although one of the most experienced teachers on our campus, this professor never stops learning—recently attending a workshop on teaching “Chemistry in the Context of our Planet” and another, organized by the National Science Foundation, on “Chemistry and Art.” The Saint Anselm community has been the beneficiary of the insatiable curiosity of this mind, which is always seeking to better understand the world with the help of his chosen discipline, chemistry, but also by going beyond it. This fall our recipient team-taught a brand new course on the Chemistry of Art with a member of the Fine Arts Department.

I would especially like to recognize our recipient’s exemplary commitment to the college. He has taught students, carried out research, and generously served the community here for 27 years. All three of his children are Saint Anselm alums. This year his little granddaughter, Claire, helped us celebrate Shakespeare’s 400th birthday with a sonnet. It is people like our recipient, and the devotion of their talent, work, and hard-earned expertise, their willingness to give of themselves, that makes Saint Anselm College what it is.

Today, I am honored to present the 2016 AAUP Award for Excellence, in Faculty Accomplishment to Professor George Parodi.