Top educators recognized at ASU

The presentation of three faculty awards recognizing outstanding service highlighted the annual Honors Convocation at Augusta State Friday, March 22. The Richard S. Wallace Distinguished Service Award was presented to Bill E. Bompart; the Outstanding Faculty Member Award to Michele Benedict; and the Louis K. Bell Research Award to Nabil Ibrahim.

The presentations were made during an 8 p.m. ceremony at the ASU athletic complex. Bompart, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, serves as vice president for academic affairs. He joined the mathematics faculty in 1967, served as chair of the department for five years, and became vice president in 1992. He is a frequent lecturer at regional and national conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has served as president of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics and on the board of directors of the CSRA Mathematical Collaborative. He holds membership in a number of mathematics organizations in addition to Sigma XI, Phi Kappa Phi, the Academic Affairs Resource Center, and the American Association of Higher Education.

Bompart has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, masters’ degrees from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and North Texas State University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Benedict, recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Member Award, is an assistant professor of mathematics. She joined the faculty as an instructor in 1981. Heavily involved in campus life, Benedict plays in the university’s Pep Band and in a faculty-staff band called the Jammin’ Jags. She tutors mathematics students outside of class and for two years has co-chaired the campus’ annual fund drive. She has served on numerous university committees, including the current Homecoming, Budget Advisory, and Faculty-Student Judiciary committees.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree from Lambuth College, Jackson, Tenn., and a master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Louis K. Bell Research Award was presented to Nabil Ibrahim, the Grover C. Maxwell Professor of Business Administration. Ibrahim joined the faculty in 1987 and was named the Maxwell Professor in 1993. His research interests are in the areas of management and decision sciences, particularly in the application of quantitative techniques to applied and conceptual issues in management. During 2001-02, Ibrahim published 10 articles in such journals as Health Care Management Review, International Journal of Management, Health Marketing Quarterly, and International Journal of Management.

Ibrahim holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s in political science from Duquesne University, a master’s of business administration degree from Georgia State University, and doctoral degrees from Georgia State and Emory University.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi also recognized five faculty members. They include James Grayson, associate professor of management; Donald Howard, associate professor of economics; Letha Lierman, chair of the Department of Nursing; Debra van Tuyll, assistant professor of communications; and Kathy Hamrick, assistant to the president and professor of mathematics and
computer science.