Meltzer remembered / Moffit teaching award / Abbey staff excellence award / 

Seaton's plays performed / Kinney sociology award / Johnson climbs Sears Tower

Bernie Meltzer remembered for work ethic, contributions to field of sociology

Bernard N. Meltzer, professor emeritus of sociology at Central Michigan University, died January 29 following a brief illness. He was 91. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Ida.

 

Meltzer served as a faculty member and chair of the sociology, anthropology and social work department for 30 years. He retired from CMU in 1987, but he remained active in his scholarship and spent hours in his Anspach Hall office until his recent illness.

 

“Prior to coming to CMU, I was well aware of Bernie’s significant contributions to symbolic interaction, an important area of study and thought within sociology,” said Harry Mika, a CMU sociology professor who was hired during Meltzer’s tenure as chair of the department.

 

“Some of the very best in this field have come through CMU, and in many respects, Bernie was their titular head.  Despite his significant reputation, however, Bernie was very modest and unassuming.  He had very little time or patience for any attention or praise directed his way, but he was always anxious to engage with colleagues in discussion or debate about sociology or social justice concerns,” Mika said.

 

Meltzer published numerous books and articles, including “The Social Psychology of George Herbert Mead” (1959), “Symbolic Interaction: A Reader in Sociology” (1967, 1972, 1978), and “Symbolic Interactionism: Genesis, Varieties, and Criticism” (1975). His most recent work will be published in Studies in Symbolic Interactionism (forthcoming) in an article he co-authored with his son, Bill Meltzer.

 

“Bernie inspired others through a work ethic that brought him to his CMU office every day until the final weeks of his life. On both professional and personal levels, and above all else, Bernie was a caring, nurturing and kind person. He was a dear friend of mine,” Mika said.

 

In addition to his wife and son, Meltzer is survived by his daughter, Iris Meltzer; daughter-in-law, Cathy Malkin; and granddaughter, Moira Meltzer-Cohen.

 

Memorial contributions in honor of Dr. Meltzer can be designated to the Bernard N. Meltzer Scholarship in care of the Carlin Alumni House, Mount Pleasant, Mich. 48859.

 

The scholarship provides a stipend to the graduate student who writes the best master’s thesis in sociology.

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Gisela Moffit receives national award

Retired foreign language professor Gisela Moffit has received national recognition for her efforts in teaching German.

 

She was presented with the Certificate of Merit award from the American Association of Teachers of German and the Goethe-Institut New York during the AATG’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas in November.

 

The award, presented annually since 1978, recognizes educators for outstanding achievement in furthering the teaching of German in schools in the United States. To be eligible for the award, recipients must be nominated by their state AATG chapter or by AATG members.

 

“It is a great honor to be chosen for this national award,” Moffit said. “I was delighted.”

 

Her many accomplishments at CMU include founding the German Club, hosting monthly German film nights, creating a German newspaper written and produced by students and sent to high school teachers throughout the state, and establishing a study abroad program in her hometown of Bielefeld.

 

“As a teacher she held high expectations for her students, but was always there helping them to succeed, including inventing mnemonic devices for grammar rules that she had students sing to themes from German composers.” said Sue Knight, a CMU Spanish professor and chair of the foreign languages, literatures and cultures department.

 

“Outside of class she took students to see plays, visit museums, and attend festivals, and she invited them to her home to learn German Christmas carols and prepare German recipes,” Knight said.

 

Other honors include the Barbara Ort-Smith Award for Lifetime Achievement—the Michigan Foreign Language Association’s highest award—and the Best Article of the Year (1998) by die Unterrichtspraxis  for “Oya? – O ja! Ein Plädoyer für Jugendliteratur,” which focused on teaching young adult literature in the German classroom. She has presented at more than 40 state and national workshops over the past 10 years.

 

Moffit began teaching German at CMU in 1975 and retired last August after more than 30 years of service.

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Denise Abbey wins staff excellence award

Faculty and staff at Central Michigan University have rewarded English department administrative secretary Denise Abbey’s dedication to the university by selecting her as a recipient of the 2007 Staff Excellence Award.

 

Each year, co-workers, supervisors and administrators nominate supportive and dedicated staff members for the university’s top staff member award.

 

CMU’s president and vice president then review the nominations. Staff members are limited to receiving the award only once during their career at CMU.

 

The recipients are recognized for exhibiting the university’s four core characteristics of staff excellence: knowledge, follow-through, care and availability.

 

Abbey, along with 15 other recipients, was honored during an award ceremony in the University Center Rotunda Sept. 6. Each recipient received an honorary plaque and a complementary 2007-08 university parking pass.

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Seaton's plays explore life of Sally Hemings

Playwright and librettist Sandra Seaton, a retired Central Michigan University creative writing professor, attended performances of her creative works at four colleges this winter.

 

The University of Colorado Denver and Skidmore College hosted performances of “Sally,” a one-woman drama in which an aged Sally Hemings recalls her life with Thomas Jefferson, on Jan. 30 and Feb. 2, respectively. Actress Mizan Nunes played the role of Sally, and Robert Graham Small directed the play.

 

Seaton’s song cycle, “From the Diary of Sally Hemings,” was performed at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Feb. 17 and Case Western Reserve University Feb. 20. She collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer William Bolcom to create the song cycle, which explores Hemings’ alleged relationship with Thomas Jefferson. Alyson Cambridge was the featured soprano.

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David Kinney receives sociology award

Sociology professor David Kinney received the Marvin Olsen Award for Distinguished Service to Sociology in Michigan from the Michigan Sociological Association during their annual meeting Oct. 27.

 

Kinney, who began teaching at CMU in 1995, pioneered the development of the Youth Studies Minor at CMU in 2002. The program—the first of its kind in the United States—is open to all CMU majors.

 

He has published numerous articles about adolescent peer groups and children’s time use. His current research focuses on urban and alternative school students’ perceptions of their school experiences and their role in designing progressive school reforms.

 

Kinney was nominated for the award by retired CMU sociology professor Larry Reynolds.

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Carl Johnson climbs Sears Tower for cancer research

Psychology professor Carl Johnson climbed the Sears Tower’s 103 flights of stairs in less than 27 minutes to benefit cancer research.

 

Johnson took part in the sixth annual Chicago Go Vertical: The Absolutely Urban Climb for Cancer on Nov. 11. Of the more than 2,000 participants who started the climb, 1,744 made it to the top with times ranging from 13 minutes, 42 seconds to 1 hour, 25 minutes, 25 seconds.

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