Linfield College honored five professors for outstanding achievement during a faculty recognition ceremony May 17. Awards were given for scholarly achievement, creative achievement, international scholarship and exceptional impact on the life of the college.
Recipients include Lindsey Mantoan, assistant professor of theatre, who earned the Allen and Pat Kelley Faculty Scholar Award; Henny Breen, associate professor of nursing, who received the Marvin and Laurie Henberg International Scholarship Award; Andrea Reinkemeyer, assistant professor of music, who earned the Julie Olds and Thomas Hellie Creative Achievement Award; Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, associate professor of English and the Ronni Lacroute Chair in Shakespeare Studies, who received the Samuel H. Graf Faculty Achievement Award; and Thierry Durand, professor of French studies, who earned the Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award.
Mantoan received the Allen and Pat Kelley Faculty Scholar Award, which recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement. At Linfield since 2017, Mantoan has published three books over the past year — War as Performance: Conflict in Iraq and Political Theatricality; Performance in a Militarized Culture; and Vying for the Iron Throne: Death, Gender, Power, and Performance in HBO’s Game of Thrones. The books are all related to her expertise in the relationship between performance studies and cultures of war. Additionally, Mantoan has three peer-reviewed scholarly articles forthcoming. She holds a B.A. from Princeton University; an M.A. from University of Texas, Austin; and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Breen received the Marvin and Laurie Henberg International Scholar Award, which recognizes a faculty member whose scholarly activity on an international topic has passed peer review and has been or is slated for publication. Since arriving at the college in 2011, Breen has demonstrated a strong commitment to international learning experiences for nursing students at Linfield, participating in five January Term travel courses from 2014 to 2018. Breen has developed key relationships with partners also serving the international health care community, including Health Bridges International (HBI). Over the past five years, HBI and Linfield College have provided service learning experiences for pre-licensure and RN to BSN students. She holds a B.S. from Ryerson Polytechnic University; an M.Ed. from University of Toronto; and M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Hawaii.
Reinkemeyer received the Julie Olds and Thomas Hellie Creative Achievement Award, which honors a faculty member whose outstanding creative activity has been recognized by peers and has been slated for dissemination. Reinkemeyer, a world-class composer, joined the Linfield faculty in 2014. Her music explores the interplay of visual metaphors, nature and sound to create lush textures against churning rhythmic figures. She has produced three professional recordings in the past 18 months — From Cycles of Eternity (2017), Saturation (2018) and in the speaking silence (2019). She has had premiere performances of newly commissioned pieces with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Post Haste Reed Duo, among others. She holds a B.M. from the University of Oregon and both M.M. and D.M.A. from the University of Michigan.
Pollack-Pelzner received the Samuel H. Graf Faculty Achievement Award, which recognizes a faculty member who has made an outstanding contribution to the life of the college that extends beyond his or her regular duties. His service to the college is multifaceted and impactful; his work aids in fundraising and his leadership in the intellectual life of the college elevates the discourse happening in classrooms and in the larger Linfield community. In his teaching, Pollack-Pelzner employs student-centered and innovative techniques to introduce students to canonical literature while also connecting that literature to the most contemporary voices on stage, screen and page. At Linfield since 2010, he holds a B.A. from Yale University, and both M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Durand received the Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award, recognizing a senior faculty member who has worked creatively to enhance Linfield’s commitment to academic excellence through their dedication to the intellectual growth and academic success of students within and beyond the classroom. At Linfield since 1995, Durand has taught in the Colloquium program for first-year student for many years. He has been praised by colleagues as a “consummate teacher of language, culture and first-year inquiry seminars.” Durand retired from Linfield this year as an emeritus professor, and holds a degree from Maîtríse, University of Lyon, and a Ph.D. from Washington University.
