The University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences will hold its annual awards banquet Saturday, May 19, to honor outstanding former faculty and alumni at the UW Conference Center and Hilton Garden Inn. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m.
Outstanding former faculty members are Professor Leon E. Borgman, posthumous, (departments of Statistics and Geology and Geophysics); Professor Robert A. Jenkins, posthumous, (Department of Zoology and Physiology); and Professor Arthur L. Simpson Jr., (Department of English). Outstanding alumni are Nancy J. Guthrie, Michael W. Hager, Anne Siren Levig and Judith A. Muhlberg.
For more information about the banquet, call Janice Romsa at (307) 766-2755 or send an email to jromsa@uwyo.edu.
Outstanding former faculty biographies:
Distinguished Emeritus Professor Borgman was known as the "father of modern ocean-wave statistical analysis." In 1999, Borgman was the first UW faculty member to be inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, the highest honor an engineer can receive.
Due to his extensive research and dedicated teaching, the International Association of Hydraulic Research recognized Borgman as a distinguished lecturer. He was awarded the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty award; received the International Coastal Engineer Award from the ASCE; and was inducted into the Offshore Energy Center Technology Hall of Fame in 1998.
Professor Robert Jenkins founded the UW Microscopy Facility that assists researchers and students in their imaging needs of fluorescence and electron microscopy. Jenkins won many awards, including Outstanding Faculty Award from the Honorary Business Fraternity, Standard Oil Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching and the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty award. Jenkins participated in almost every committee on campus and helped found the UW Faculty Senate.
Professor Emeritus Arthur L. Simpson Jr. taught at UW for 28 years. Although dedicated to his own research of Victorian poetry and American literature, Simpson committed his life to helping undergraduates to succeed in college-level English. He was the founding director of the Wyoming Conference on Freshman and Sophomore English, and served as the conference's organizer multiple times throughout his career. In 1970, he chaired the Freshman Textbook Committee, coordinating the orientation and work of teaching assistants.
Outstanding alumni biographies:
Nancy Guthrie, Jackson, received a B.A. in sociology and later earned a J.D. from the UW Law School. After graduating from law school, she worked for Secretary of State Thyra Thomson as head of the Securities Department. Running a private law practice in Basin, she became the state's first woman county attorney. In 1995, Guthrie achieved her childhood dream of becoming a district court judge. At the time, she was the only woman serving as a district judge in Wyoming, representing Wyoming's 9th judicial district.
Guthrie also is highly involved in the UW Alumni Association, where she was elected to the Board of Directors in 1986 and served as UWAA president from 1990 to 1991.
Characterized by energy, imagination, creativity and leadership, Michael (Mick) Hager has positively impacted the national museum community. After receiving a Ph.D. in geology and paleontology from UW in 1973, Hager worked at small museums and now serves as president and CEO of the San Diego Natural History Museum. He was one of the founders of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership and a member of the board's executive committee.
As president of CinemaCorp of the Californias, an educational film company, Hager produced an award-winning film, "Ocean Oasis." The movie has won many awards including the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Best Theatrical Program Award.
For 35 years, Anne Siren Levig influenced students and colleagues through her enthusiasm for languages and cultures. Levig received a B.A. in English, French and German, while also participating in the UW Honors Program. Levig earned an M.A. in English and German, and later received a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in second language instruction.
Levig taught six different languages -- French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Norwegian and English, as well as journalism and humanities. Throughout Levig's career, she frequently led student programs to Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, Sweden, Peru, Guatemala and Quebec. She is a lifetime member of the Laramie Plains Museum Association.
After receiving a B.A. in communication, Judith Muhlberg went on to receive a J.D. from Michigan State University. Currently working at Gagen MacDonald, a strategy execution firm, Muhlberg helps drive results for many Fortune 500 companies. She also is an adjunct instructor in the master's degree program for public relations and corporate communications at Georgetown University.
Muhlberg began her career in the White House during the Ford administration as an aide to two chiefs of staff -- Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney -- and as assistant to the director of the White House communications office, Dave Gergen. She joined Ford Motor Company and progressed through a series of positions in government affairs, corporate contributions, and communications and public affairs during a 22-year career, culminating in becoming the director of public affairs for the automotive company.
