Professors receive faculty awards

Allison Kerwin, assistant professor of Biology, has been selected as the 2024 Boehlke Fellow and Social Work faculty members Jim Kunz, Nicole O’Reilly, and Michelle Young ’01 are recipients of the college’s Nora Roberts Faculty Award.

Allison Kerwin Student Research — Assistant Professor of Biology Allison Kerwin assists rising senior Angalyn Strouse, a Biology major from Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, during student-faculty summer research.

McDaniel faculty members have received awards from the college.

Boehlke Fellow

The Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., Engaged Faculty Fellows program was established in 2017 with a gift from Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., a 1978 alum of the college and current member of the McDaniel Board of Trustees. A McDaniel faculty member is selected annually for the award in recognition of their exceptional commitment to their students, not only in classrooms and research labs but also with career and internship experiences.

Allison Kerwin Assistant Professor of Biology

Allison Kerwin, assistant professor of Biology, has been selected as a Charles A. Boehlke, Jr., Engaged Faculty Fellow. As a Boehlke Fellow, she receives a stipend of $5,000 per year or a course release, plus up to an additional $2,000 per year for professional development or other engagement-related work. Each Fellow is selected for a two-year period and is not eligible to reapply for a five-year period.

Kerwin joined McDaniel in 2019 and has taught various courses in the Biology department, including Principles of Biology, Microbiology, and Marine Biology, among others. Her research is focused on the microbiome, including host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions, bacterial genomics, and environmental impacts on marine symbiotic systems.

She is a mentor to students, stressing the importance of undergraduate research opportunities and encouraging students to pursue science careers. Currently, she is conducting student-faculty research as part of a three-year National Science Foundation (NSF) grant on the effects of insecticides on jellyfish development.

Kerwin earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Smith College and a master’s degree in Marine Biology from Northeastern University’s Three Seas Professional Master’s Program. She also received a doctorate in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut. Prior to coming to McDaniel, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Pennsylvania State University.

Nora Roberts Faculty Award

The Nora Roberts Faculty Award provides McDaniel faculty members with financial support to establish or build upon a social justice, service-learning, or community project. It was first awarded in 2015 and is inspired by acclaimed author and friend of the college Nora Roberts, and the Nora Roberts Foundation, which works to promote literacy and humanitarian efforts.

Jim Kunz, Nicole O’Reilly, and Michelle Young ’01 Faculty in the Department of Social Work

Social Work Professor Jim Kunz, Associate Professor Nicole O’Reilly, and Senior Lecturer Michelle Young ’01 are the recipients of the college’s Nora Roberts Faculty Award.

They will utilize the $800 award to support initiatives related to food insecurity in Carroll County, while engaging McDaniel students in service-learning and community service, and enhancing community partnerships, which is a focus of McDaniel’s strategic plan, “Reaching New Heights: McDaniel College Strategic Plan 2022-2027.”

As part of a new First Year Seminar, titled “Being a Changemaker,” taught by Senior Lecturer Michelle Young in fall 2024 and a new “Introduction to Social Work” course to be offered in spring 2025, taught by Associate Professor Nicole O’Reilly, students will have the opportunity to collaborate with food providers in Carroll County by planning community service projects and engaging in service-learning at a food provider site.

(Pictured is Michelle Young and Jim Kunz with Provost Flavius Lilly during McDaniel's Academic Symposium)

Jul 30, 2024