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Teaching
enables a faculty member to mature intellectually by interacting with
the students. Research enables a faculty member to advance professionally
and complement his or her teaching. Service enables a faculty member
to join with others to face challenges collaboratively. Since I joined
Seton Hall University in January 1994, I have been able to divide
my time among teaching, service, and research in a well-balanced fashion.
My service contribution is highlighted by my service to: (1) the Department
of Biology as Chair
(July 1999 -present), (2) the university as a member (Fall, 1998 -
present) and Co-Chair
(Fall 1999 - present) of the Petersheim Academic Exposition Planning
Committee, (3) the exchange program between Seton Hall University
and Wuhan University, China, (4) the local community as the President
of the New Jersey Chinese American Youth Chorale (Wha-Yin) [academic
year 2001 - 2002], (5) the professional community as a charter and
council member and Chair of Communication Committee of the Society
of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP), and my appointment to the National
Institutes of Health Peer Review Committee (July 1999 - present).
A. Service to my Department
Thanks to the administrative policy at SHU, a portion of the overhead
of an external grant is allocated to the Principal Investigator. Since
joining SHU in 1994, I have been continually funded by a National
Institutes of Health (NIH) grant award, and I am grateful to have
such an overhead allocation for my research lab. I have been able
to use this budget to serve the Department of Biology in the following
ways: (1) to co-sponsor distinguished neuroscientists to speak in
the Graduate Seminar series, (2) to provide stipends for both students
and faculty in the Biology Honor’s Undergraduate Program, (3)
to support students’ attendance at both national and international
scientific meetings, (4) to provide graduate students and faculty
with summer stipends, and (5) to purchase research equipment for collaborative
research projects.
In 1999, I was honored to be elected as the Chairperson of the Biology
Department. Biology is one of the largest departments on campus, and
has one of the most challenging programs on campus. Despite the initial
internal tension and subsequent unexpected external pressures, I have
been an effective chairperson, and have lived up to the expectations
listed by a senior faculty member in 1999 (please see Section 2 of
Notebook III). My philosophy as Chair of the Biology Department is
to “deal with others using my heart and deal with myself using
my brain”. My above-mentioned service to the department in the
last two years has resulted in enhancement of the research curriculum
and inclusion of new neuroscience graduate track. I have asked the
following faculty members to comment on my service as Biology Chair:
Dr. Ghayasuddin Ahmad, a senior faculty member, Dr. Allan Blake, a
non-tenured probationary faculty member (initial appointment in September
2000), Dr. Marian Glenn, a Full Professor with administrative duties
(Associate Dean of the School of Diplomacy and International Relationships),
Dr. Gerald Ruscingna, a Faculty Associate, and Dr. Carolyn Bentivegna,
a newly promoted Associate Professor with tenure (effective September
2001). In addition, statements from Dr. Linda Hsu and other faculty
member regarding my leadership as the Biology Chair are also included
for your reference (please see letters and comments included in Section
4 of Notebook I).
Summary:
1997
- present |
Chair
of Biology Department (1999 - present) |
|
Budget
Committee |
|
Curriculum
Committee |
|
Graduate
Seminar Committee |
|
Department
Honors Committee |
|
Sequential
Curriculum Development Committee |
|
Faculty
Recruitment Committee |
1995
- present |
Co-sponsor
of graduate seminar speakers including the following speakers: |
|
Dr.
John Madden (spring 1998) |
|
Dr. Toby Eienstein (spring 1999) |
|
Dr.
Sabita Roy (fall 1999) |
|
Dr.
Horace H. Loh (fall 1999) |
|
Dr.
Thomas W. Doebber (fall 1999) |
|
Dr.
MaryJean Kreek (spring 2000) |
|
Dr.
Herbert Geller (spring 2000) |
|
Dr.
Khew-Voon Chin (fall 2000) |
|
Dr.
Ilona Vathy (fall 2000) |
|
Dr.
Vincent DeBAri (fall 2000) |
|
Dr.
Jean Bidlack (spring 2001) |
|
Dr.
Linda Chang (spring 2001) |
|
Dr.
Lee-Yuan Liu-Chen (spring 2002) |
1996
- present |
In
charge of McNulty animal facilities |
1999
- present |
Organizer
of the Biology Journal Club |
1996
- 1998 |
Academic
advisor |
1997
- present |
Co-sponsor
of the Biology Honor’s Undergraduate Program:
stipend for student and faculty |
1998
- present |
Advisor
of the Biology Society |
1999
- present |
Ad
hoc Committee of MS in Neuroscience Development |
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B.
Service to the University
Because of my NIH funding, I have been able to provide campus employment
for the following post-doc fellows, SHU students, and faculty:
• Jitesh A. Patel (Summer
1997 - Summer 1999: SHU undergraduate)
• Nilesh A. Patel, M.D.
(Summer 2000: Post-doc project)
• Yuhui Jiang, M.S.; M.D.
(January 1999 - December 2000: Post-doc Fellow)
• Heng-wha Cheng, Ph.D.
(September 1998 - June 1999: Exchange Scholar)
• Xin Mao, M.S. (Summer
2001: Exchange Scholar)
• Bernardo Felix, B.S.
(December 1999 - June 2000 SHU graduate)
• Courtney Kiest (January
- December 2000: SHU undergraduate)
• Maria MacWilliams, Ph.D.
(July and August 2000: SHU Assistant Professor)
• Allan Blake, Ph.D. (August
2000: SHU Assistant Professor)
• RJ Clemor (January to
July 2001: SHU undergraduate)
• Jenine Anday, B.S. (2000
- 2001: SHU graduate)
• Xin Yu, B.S. (Summer
2001, 2002: SHU graduate)
• Paolo Salvatore, B.S.
(Summer 2001: SHU graduate)
• Frank Ocasio, B.S. (Summer
2001, 2002: SHU graduate)
Although I am an empirical scientist, I do not confine myself to
an ivory scientific tower. Because of my background in sociology
and social psychology, I enjoy reaching out to my non-science colleagues
on campus. I have served on various committees ranging from the
Radiation Safety Committee to the Asia Center Executive Board where
my interpersonal skills are often utilized to facilitate communication.
Inspired by the late Professor Matthew Petersheim, I began to serve
on the campus-wide exposition planning committee in 1998. In honor
of Professor Petersheim’s contribution as the faculty founder
of this worthy annual event in the spring semester, I worked with
Professor Don Wimmer in 1999 to name the event the Petersheim Academic
Exposition (please see documentation included in Section 3 of Notebook
III). It was also Dr. Petersheim’s intent to have one faculty
member and one administrator to co-chair the planning committee.
I had the honor of co-chairing the planning committee with Dean
Dawn Williams in 2000 - 2001, and
Dr. Vivienne Baldini has joined me as a co-chair for the coming
years. The exposition’s theme, “Bringing Knowledge to
Life,” celebrates the sights and sounds of knowledge and academic
achievement at the University. At the exposition, our students highlight
their research and academic works through oral and poster presentations,
recitals, performances, debates, artistic displays, and demonstrations.
It is a campus-wide scholarship of excellence event and has attracted
the SHU community and local communities. The planning committee
usually meets between early October and late April to plan the details
of the exposition. Our weekly meeting minutes and a copy of the
event schedules are provided in Section 3 of Notebook III. My service
on the Petersheim Academic Exposition has helped me to appreciate
what the faculty, students, and administrators have done for one
another.
My service as a visiting professor to the College of Life Sciences
at Wuhan University, China in 1998 was a successful task that combined
teaching, research, and service (Please see Vice President Wen-Xin
Li’s comments included in Section I of Notebook III). In addition
to presenting my research to the Wuhan faculty and students, I also
conducted a course at Seton Hall which consisted of both classroom
and on-line teaching. In September 1998, I had completed my on-line
lectures for the Signal Transduction course using the LearningSpace,
and posted them electronically. Befor I left for Wuhan, I had two
initial meetings with the graduate students at SHU. I continued
my SHU on-line lectures while I was at Wuhan to present the same
lectures to the Wuhan students in the classroom. At the end of my
visit to Wuhan, I arranged for the Wuhan students to continue taking
the course with me when I returned back to SHU. It was a wonderful
experience to conduct a “virtual” course and to present
SHU’s powerful information technology capabilities to the
Wuhan community. As a result of my trip to China, many students
applied to our Master’s program, and two visiting scholars
joined my lab to work on their research. In addition, VP Li asked
me to serve as a co-advisor on the doctoral dissertation of Ms.
Xin Mao, one of the two scholars mentioned above. In summary, my
trip to Wuhan was fruitful in that it not only strengthened the
intellectual relationship between our two institutions, but also
extended my collaborative network to Wuhan University, China (Pleas
see Section 1 of Notebook III).
Summary:
1995
- present |
Member
of Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) |
1995
- present |
DEA
Officer for Schedule I and Schedule II substances |
1996
- present |
Member of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
|
1998 |
Visiting
professor at Wuhan University, China |
1998
- present |
Co-chair
and member of Petersheim Academic Exposition Planning Committee
|
1999
- present |
Member
of Research Committee, School of Graduate Medical Education
|
1998
- present |
Senior
Fellow of Asia Center: Member of Executive Board, Chair of Scholarship
committee, Member of Fellowship Committee |
1999
- 2000 |
Member,
Election and Nomination Committee (College of Arts and Sciences)
|
1999
- 2002 |
Academic
Marshall |
1999
- 2002 |
University
Open House |
2000
- 2002 |
Freshman
preview |
2000 |
Co-sponsor
of China Week, the Department of Asian Studies |
2000 |
Member,
Ad hoc Committee: Department Chair’s Roles |
1999
- 2002 |
Freshman
orientation |
2000
- 2002 |
Member
of Faculty Senate (Faculty Grievance Committee) |
2000
- 2002 |
Member
of College Planning Committee (College of Arts and Sciences)
|
2001
- present |
Director,
Dual Degree Program in Biology |
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C.
Service to my Profession
Service to my profession is one of the effective mechanisms through
which I present my scholarship outside Seton Hall University. As
a neurobiologist with biomedically related research projects, one
of my highest academic honors was to be appointed as a regular member
of the National Institute of Drug Abuse Initial Review Group (NIDAIRG)
in 1999. I had served as an ad hoc member on several National Institutes
of Health peer review committees. This national service opportunity
not only represented a national recognition of my research accomplishments,
but also enhanceed the reputation of my department and Seton Hall
University as sources of highly respected scientists. As a result
of this prestigious service that involved the review and critique
of research proposals, my own grant writing skills and award request
strategies have been further improved. Intensive discussions with
well established scientists on the panel changed my vision from
one as a pure scientist to a strategy-oriented grant writing scientist.
Such a transformation enabled me, as the Chair of Biology, to effectively
supervise the grant writing of my Biology faculty.
Establishing the new Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP)
with my colleagues in the fields of neuroimmunolgy, neurovirology,
neuropathology, and neuropharmacology is another of my contributions
to my profession. As a charter member of SNIP, I have been able
to list Seton Hall University as the beneficiary of my donations.
By serving as the Chair of the Communications Committee, I have
been able to recruit a biology graduate, Mr.
Kenneth Smith, to serve as the Webmaster for SNIP. Because of
my intensive contribution to SNIP, my Master’s graduate students
have been considered for annual travel awards in order to present
their research projects at the SNIP annual symposia. Normally only
graduate students in doctoral programs are eligible for such an
opportunity. Jennifer Graf, Rong Kong, Bernardo Felix and Jenine
Anday are SNIP Travel Award recipients.
All of these national service opportunities have been greatly rewarding
experiences. They not only gave me the opportunity to work with
world class research scientists on the NIH peer review panels, but
also allowed me to present my students and my university to a national
forum.
Summery:
1993
- present |
Independent
Reviewer on VA Merit Review Board |
1995
- present |
Reviewer
for Brain Research |
1998 |
Visiting
professor to Wuhan University, China |
1998 |
Invited speaker and Chair, the 6th Brain Immune Axis Symposium
|
1998 |
Who's
Who Among American Teachers |
1998 |
Co-sponsor,
Workshop on Developing Professional Interests for Future Chinese
American Leaders, Seton Hall University |
1998
- 1999 |
Member,
National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Drug Abuse
Study Section (ZDA1-MXS-M-09) |
2000 |
Chair, Oral Communication: No One’s Immune, 62nd Annual
Meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence |
1998
- 1999/
2000 - 2001 |
Faculty
sponsor to house the Wuhan Exchange Scholars in my research
lab |
2000 |
Sponsor
for UMDNJ Robert Woods Johnson Medical School Summer Research
Fellowship Program.
Student: Jitesh A. Patel Project title: Morphine actions on
endothelial/immune interactions |
2000 |
Honored
lifetime member, Lexington Who's Who |
2001 |
Ad
hoc reviewer for Molecular Pharmacology |
1999
- present |
Member
of NIH study section on Training and Career Development Special
Emphasis Panel (NIDA-K) |
2000
- present |
Charter
member of the Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (SNIP)
Council and Chair of Communication Committee of SNIP |
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D.
Service to the Community
Besides teaching, research, and service, my remaining time is mainly
devoted to: (1) biblical teaching in my church, the Chinese Christian
Church in New Jersey (CCCNJ),
(2) extra-curriculum teaching at local grade schools, and (3) Chinese
American student activities. I volunteered as a Sunday School Teacher
at the CCCNJ for grades 4-6 between
1995 - 1998. From 1998 - 2000, I served as a substitute teacher
because I had taken a Children’s Evangelism Fellowship course
entitled “Teaching Children Effectively” (tce1). In
September 2000, I was honored to become a certified Sunday School
Teacher, grades 1-6. This academic year, I resumed my regular Sunday
School Teaching responsibilities in the CCCNJ.
Because of my experience in biological science, my participation
in the extra-curriculum science courses for local students is always
welcome. I have presented a small portion of the biology curriculum
to students at a local grade school in order to enrich their science
learning. In addition, I was invited to serve as a judge at the
science fair for Oak Knoll School in Summit. This service opportunity
not only allowed me to reach out to their students, but also allowed
me to interact with the other judges who were local scientists from
various biotechnology companies.
As a parent of two American born Chinese children, I take advantage
of their dual cultural foundation in raising them. I also realize
that it is a challenge for them to face the cultural and social
diversity and internal identity tension within themselves. To extend
my care and love for my children to other American born Chinese
children, I co-sponsored two workshops for Chinese American youth
at the American Chinese Professional Association. During the current
academic year, I am also serving as the president of the Northern
New Jersey Chinese American Youth Chorale (Wha-Yin). Wha-Yin was
founded in October 1989 with the goal of nurturing, enriching, and
broadening the cultural horizons of children through music education.
They have weekly rehearsals on Sunday, and participate in many local
cultural events. This group is an active participant in many cultural
events in the New Jersey area. They have also performed at charity
events sponsored by the American Cancer Society, at homeless shelters,
nursing homes, and the New Jersey Foundation for the Blind. Wha-Yin
has been invited to attend international choir festivals, including
one in Prague in 1997 and one in Canterbury in 1999. Wha-Yin believes
that music is a universal language, and singing can transcend cultural
barriers and communicate feelings deep in the souls of people everywhere.
They sing to remind us that we are able to love and share our love.
Thanks to Professor June Yoon, Director of the Asia Center at SHU,
Wha-Yin has been invited to participate in the 50th Anniversary
Celebration of the Asia Center at Seton Hall University. It is my
hope, as a Biology faculty member and Chair and Senior Fellow of
the Asia Center to introduce SHU to Wha-Yin. It is also my great
honor, as their President, to present Wha-Yin to Seton Hall University
on April 27-28, 2002.
Summary:
1998
- 2000 |
Sponsor
for Millburn Middle School Science Fair, and 3 Northern New
Jersey Chinese students |
1995
- 2000 |
Visiting
Instructor for the Extra Science Curriculum at Deerfield School
in Short Hills, New Jersey |
1995
- present |
Sunday
School Teacher at the Chinese Christian Church of New Jersey
|
1996
- 1998 |
Chairman
of Children's Services of the Chinese Christian Church of New
Jersey. |
1998 |
Sponsor,
Workshop on Developing Professional Interests for Future Chinese
Americans |
2000 |
Judge
of the Science Fair at Oak Knoll School in Summit, New Jersey
|
2001
- present |
President
of Northern New Jersey Chinese American Youth Choir |
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