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Honored graduating seniors in turn honor their most influential teachers

Cornell's Merrill Presidential Scholars Program honored 35 Cornell undergraduate students this week, while also recognizing and honoring the high school teachers and university faculty members who made unique contributions to the honored students' lives.

Merrill Presidential Scholars are graduating seniors who have demonstrated outstanding scholastic achievement, strong leadership ability and potential for contributing to society. Each spring semester, 35 scholars, representing approximately 1 percent of the graduating class, are named to receive this honor by the deans of each of Cornell's seven undergraduate colleges. Each Merrill scholar, in turn, recognizes a high school teacher who most inspired his or her scholastic development, as well as a Cornell faculty member who most significantly contributed to his or her college education and experience.

The Merrill scholars, and the teachers they chose to honor, were recognized in events on campus this week, May 25 and 26. The high school teachers were brought to Cornell, as guests of the university, to participate in two days of events -- some traveling from as far away as Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program is made possible by funding from Philip Merrill, Cornell Class of 1955. The STAR (Special Teachers Are Recognized) Scholarship, established in 1989 with support from the late Donald Berens and his wife, Margi Berens, both members of the Cornell Class of 1947, and supported through additional gifts from alumni and friends, honors the chosen high school teachers. A one-time $4,000 scholarship is established in each teacher's name for a Cornell student with financial need from the teacher's high school or geographical area.

The 2003 Merrill Scholars are listed below by college, with their hometowns, followed by the names of the secondary school teachers and the Cornell faculty members the students selected for recognition:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

  • Catherine E. Carey, New Rochelle, N.Y.; Nancy M. Manzino, Albert Leonard Middle School, New Rochelle, N.Y.; Dean Krikorian, visiting professor, Communication.
  • Lauren Elizabeth Curry, Bethpage, N.Y.; Chryseis Corson, Bethpage High School, Bethpage, N.Y.; Jeffrey T. Hancock, assistant professor, Communication
  • Rebecca Leona Fuchs, Suffern, N.Y.; Paul Furey, Suffern High School, Suffern, N.Y.; Nava Scharf, senior lecturer, Near Eastern Studies
  • Daniel J. Greenberg, Plainview, N.Y.; Jane Behrens, Plainview Old Bethpage JFK High School, Plainview, N.Y.; Brent Gloy, assistant professor, Applied Economics and Management.
  • Matthew Morgan Moake, Montrose, Colo.; Pam Lillard, Paonia High School, Paonia, Colo.; Randy W. Worobo, associate professor, Food Science and Technology.
  • Lina Nafisah Mohamed, Unionville, Ontario; Sherry E. St. Denis, Dr. N. Bethune C.I., Agincourt, Ontario; Elizabeth A. Oltenacu, professor emerita; Animal Science.
  • Catherine Jane Wei, Niskayuna, N.Y.; William Bandura, Niskayuna High School, Niskayuna, N.Y.; Cindy L. Van Es, senior lecturer, Applied Economics and Management.
  • Leah Brett Wittman, New York, N.Y.; Chris Chanin, Bronx High School of Science, Bronx, N.Y.; Richard T. Curtis, lecturer, Applied Economics and Management.
  • Stefanie S. Wu, Penfield, N.Y.; Lynn Mutch, Penfield High School, Penfield, N.Y.; Carolyn M. DeSilva, visiting associate professor, Mathematics.

    College of Architecture, Art and Planning

  • Daniel Anthony Gass, St. Louis; Ching-Ling Tai, St. Louis University High School, St. Louis; Val K. Warke, associate professor, Architecture.
  • Li Ann Ho, Singapore; Eric Lee, Raffles Jr. College, Singapore; Ann-Margaret Esnard, associate professor, City and Regional Planning.
  • Orlando Dumond Soria, Yosemite, Calif.; Richard A Keller, Mariposa County High School, Mariposa, Calif.; Jean N. Locey, professor, Art.

    College of Arts and Sciences

  • Julien A. Appignani, Cambridge, Mass.; Jeffrey A. Fast, Belmont Hill School, Belmont, Mass.; Slava Paperno, senior lecturer, Russian.
  • Jennifer R. Basarab, Lancaster, Pa.; Garrett W. Woznicki, Manheim Township High School, Lancaster, Pa.; James B. Maas; professor, Psychology.
  • Robert S. Fenning, Ringwood, N.J.; Kathleen Chervenak, Lakeland Regional High School, Wanaque, N.J.; Gerald W. Feigenson, professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics.
  • Peter S. Flynn, Yorktown, N.Y.; Scott Schneider, Yorktown High School, Yorktown, N.Y.; David I. Schwartz, assistant professor, Computer Science.
  • Michelle Alison Fullwood, Singapore; Nadine Teow, Victoria Junior College, Singapore; Carol G. Rosen, professor, Linguistics.
  • Cynthia Erika Thuy Koppe, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Jennifer C. Whitcomb, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Mass.; Paul Byron Suber, senior lecturer, Theatre, Film and Dance.
  • Brian Lukoff, Lafayette Hill, Pa.; Genevieve M. Nelson, Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia; Dawn E. Schrader, associate professor, Education.
  • Michelle W.S. Ma, Roslyn, N.Y.; Peter F. Jacobsen, Herricks Senior High School, New Hyde Park, N.Y.; Thomas D. Hill, professor, English and Medieval Studies.
  • Tian Tian (Grace) Qiu, Shen Zhen, China; Barbara Sutcliffe, Padworth College, Reading, England; John H. Hubbard, professor, Mathematics.
  • Arthur Turko, Southington, Conn.; Colleen M. Wells, Southington High School, Southington, Conn.; Jeffrey J. Doyle, professor, Plant Biology.

    College of Engineering

  • Joshua James Conlon, Niskayuna, N.Y.; Michael S. Jones, Niskayuna High School, Niskayuna, N.Y.; Matthew P. Miller, associate professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
  • Joseph A. Cua, Lutherville, Md.; Albert A. Logan, The Boys' Latin School of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.; Jery R. Stedinger, professor, Chemical and Environmental Engineering.
  • Paul Anthony George, Purchase, N.Y.; Bernard Gill, Mamaroneck High School, Mamaroneck, N.Y.; John C. Belina, senior lecturer, Electrical and Computer Engineering.
  • Eric Louis Margelefsky, Sylvania, Ohio; Michelle A. Mininger, McCord Junior High School, Sylvania, Ohio; T. Michael Duncan, associate professor, Chemical Engineering.
  • Scott P. Nolan, Warwick, R.I.; Alan Ostrow, Wissahickon High School, Ambler, Pa.; Charles H. K. Williamson, professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
  • Sara Tien-Mei Parker, Brecksville, Ohio; Linda C. Schrader, Cuyahoga Heights High School, Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio; George G. Malliaras, assistant professor, Materials Science and Engineering.

    School of Hotel Administration

  • Benjamin D. Cadwell, Murrysville, Pa.; Carol Schneider, Franklin Regional High School, Murrysville, Pa.; G. Scott Gibson, assistant professor, Hotel School.
  • Lindsey A. Cragg, Vancouver, British Columbia; Siew Yiaw Lau, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, Vancouver, B.C.; Craig R. Snow, senior lecturer, Hotel School.

    College of Human Ecology

  • Tiffany Hope Cohen, Syosset, N.Y.; Yvette Caracciolo, Syosset High School, Syosset, N.Y.; Judith Ross-Bernstein, senior lecturer, Human Development.
  • Kathryn Helen Howell, Ithaca, N.Y.; Louise O. Vignaux, Charles O. Dickerson High School, Trumansburg, N.Y.; Barbara M. Koslowski, associate professor, Human Development.
  • Christopher J. LaPage, Rochester, N.Y.; George Wolfe, Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School, Rochester, N.Y.; William Rosen, senior lecturer, Policy Analysis and Management.

    School of Industrial and Labor Relations

  • Betsy Catherine Cooper, Amherst, N.Y.; David L. Ulrich, Amherst Central School, Amherst, N.Y.; Kate L. Bronfenbrenner, director, Labor Education Research.
  • Paul Wagner Stuart, Auburn, N.Y.; Gerard E. Martin, Auburn High School, Auburn, N.Y.; Jefferson R. Cowie, assistant professor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

    May 27, 2004

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