Two Norwich University professors will receive awards at this year’s Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) Annual Fall Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Montpelier’s Capitol Plaza.
When Chemistry Professor Mary Hoppe earned tenure and was promoted to associate professor in 1985, she was the first woman at Norwich University to achieve that academic rank in the Division of Mathematics and Science, academic disciplines historically dominated by male faculty.
And in 2006 Hoppe became the first woman to chair the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Norwich. It was those distinctions, among many others, that Norwich colleague Prof. Cathy Frey included in her nominating letter to the VWHE. Her effort earned Hoppe the Sister Elizabeth Candon Distinguished Service Award.
The award is presented to a woman who has promoted and worked toward the advancement of women in higher education and administration and has also supported professional and/or community service organizations at the national, regional, state or local level.
“I cannot think of a more deserving recipient of this award,” Frey wrote. “She has served as mentor, role model and friend to many of the female faculty members and students in mathematics, sciences and engineering over the past thirty-three years.”
Assistant Professor of Biology Megan Doczi will receive this year’s Peggy R. Williams Emerging Professional Award.
“Since her arrival at Norwich in 2011, Megan has greatly enriched the Biology and Physical Education department through her excellent teaching, service, and scholarship, and I believe that she is very deserving of this award,” wrote colleague Karen L. Hinkle, Ph.D., in her nomination letter. Hinkle is an associate professor of biology and associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at Norwich.
Among other accomplishments, Doczi has won three consecutive Vermont Genetics Network project grants collectively totaling over $200,000 to fund independent and student research projects.
“In only three years at Norwich, Megan has mentored eight students in cutting-edge research projects, a remarkable accomplishment when considering the challenges that come with the first years in a faculty position,” Hinkle noted.
Peggy R. Williams, co-founder of Vermont Women in Higher Education, and a longtime leader in higher education, will be this year’s keynote speaker.
Vermont Women in Higher Education (VWHE) is an organization affiliated with the Office of Women in Higher Education at the American Council on Education. VWHE is dedicated to serving women at all professional levels. Its mission is to assist women in the pursuit of careers in higher education.