LINDA JANUSEK - FACULTY MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD (2015)

Good evening, I'm Tim Classen the Chair of the Loyola's Faculty Council, one of the four bodies of shared governance at the university. I am delighted to be here today to present the award for Loyola's Faculty Member of the Year to Linda Janusek, the Niehoff Endowed Chair for Research at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. We had numerous highly deserving faculty nominated for this award, but in the end Linda's research productivity, teaching quality, mentorship and service to the school and university were identified by the committee as truly exceptional.

Following her doctoral studies at UIC, Linda joined the faculty at Loyola in the Department of Maternal Child Health in the School of Nursing. She has since been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and was recently given the Senior Scientist Award by the Midwest Nursing Research Society for her contributions to nursing research and mentoring of students who have gone on to careers in science.

Her research has been supported by numerous grants, including several R01 awards from the NIH's National Cancer Institute as well as awards from the National Institute of Nursing Research and other agencies. This has led to an impressive body of published research on topics including breast cancer, mental health with a focus on stress, and epigenetics. And her efforts have secured numerous grants to support students during their studies at Loyola. As well she has assisted faculty in obtaining external research funding. Reviewing her resume reminded me as a health economist just how little I know about the field of health and health care! And her work on stress reminded me to temper my response when I see such prolific research output and to be more mindful.

Her teaching has continued to evolve with a recently developed course covering cutting-edge research in psycho-neuro-immunology. She has chaired numerous dissertation committees for doctoral nursing students over the last 15 years, while also mentoring and guiding the research of undergraduate students. Her work with students across disciplines and at both graduate and undergraduate levels is impressive. It's clear her passion for collaborative education has paid off in substantial learning and growth among her students both in the classroom and while working on research.

Linda has provided service on the University's Rank and Tenure Committee for the last decade and led initiatives in the School of Nursing including an External Mentorship Program and Faculty Writing Institue. She has helped organize numerous conferences and has been involved in numerous research societies.

All of this is reflected in a letter we received that read that Linda has a "unique willingness to seriously work for the benefit of all."

On a personal note, I had the pleasure of having Linda's son Mike in my Econometrics class a few years ago. From his work in this research and writing-intensive class, it was clear that Linda passed on a talent for research to her son. Whether this should be attributed to genetics or environment is the kind of question that makes research so fun!

So, without further ado, please help me in congratulating Professor Linda Janusek as the 2015 Loyola Faculty Member of the Year!