Scholars selected for distinguished teaching program

Three scholars have been selected to hold 250th Anniversary Visiting Professorships for Distinguished Teaching in 2001-02 at Princeton University.

They are: David Colander, the Christian Johnson Distinguished Professor of Economics at Middlebury College; Richard Hanson, the Leonard and Jean Skeggs Professor of Biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; and Donald Moon, professor of government at Wesleyan University.

The three were selected on the basis of their excellence in teaching and their capacity to foster innovation in undergraduate teaching. During their time at Princeton, they will teach undergraduate courses and organize activities for faculty members and graduate students on the art of teaching. The program was established as part of teaching initiatives associated with the University's 250th anniversary in 1996.

Colander will be the Stanley Kelley Jr. Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Department of Economics. A faculty member at Middlebury since 1982, he teaches courses in introductory economics, in macroeconomic theory and in the history of economic thought.

He has written, co-written or edited 30 books and more than 80 articles on a wide range of topics. His recent contributions include "The Complexity Vision and the Teaching of Economics" (Edward Elgar) and the fourth edition of "Economics" (Irwin-McGraw Hill).

Colander has been a consultant to Time-Life Films, a consultant to Congress, a Brookings Policy Fellow and a visiting scholar at Nuffield College, Oxford University. He has served as president of the Eastern Economic Association and as vice president of the History of Economic Thought Society. He received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.

Hanson will be a Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in the Department of Molecular Biology. He joined the Case Western faculty in 1978 and served as chair of the Department of Biochemistry until 1999. Currently, he also is an adjunct professor of biochemistry at Meharry Medical College and an adjunct member of the Cleveland Clinic Research Foundation.

Hanson has received several awards recognizing his teaching skills. This year, he earned Case Western's Frank and Dorothy Humel Hovorka Prize for exceptional achievement, teaching and scholarly service. In 1990, he was presented with the Student Committee on Medical Education Faculty Teaching Award for Preclinical Teaching at Case Western. And in 1982, medical students honored him with the Kaiser-Permanente Award for Excellence in Teaching.

An expert in the molecular biology of metabolism and nutrition, Hanson also has been conducting research on gene therapy. He has served as president of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and is the author of more than 200 scientific papers. He earned his bachelor's degree from Northeastern University and his master's and doctoral degrees from Brown University.

Moon will be the Laurance Rockefeller Visiting Professor in the University Center for Human Values. A faculty member at Wesleyan since 1970, he teaches courses on such topics as "The Moral Basis of Politics" and "Caring, Rights and Welfare," along with "Modern Political Thought." In 1999, he won Wesleyan's Award for Teaching Excellence.

Moon is the author or editor of several books, including "Constructing Community: Moral Pluralism and Tragic Conflicts" published by Princeton University Press. He has written numerous articles for professional journals, and he has served on the editorial board of Polity and as a consulting editor to Political Theory.

He earned his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota and his master's degree from the University of California-Berkeley.

Contact: Marilyn Marks (609) 258-3601