Two UC Santa Barbara professors, Howard Giles of Communication and John W. I. Lee of History, have been honored for their academic achievements and contributions to the campus with the most prestigious awards bestowed on faculty members by their peers.
Giles received the 2005-06 Faculty Research Lectureship award for his significant scholarship, its potential application to solving social problems, and his many contributions to the campus and the community, according to the committee of past research lecturers that made the selection.
"Professor Giles is a major scholar whose work is marked by significant international and interdisciplinary distinction," said Professor Evelyn Hu, co-director of the California NanoSystems Institute and last year's faculty research lecturer, in presenting the award at a recent meeting of the Academic Senate.
She noted that, in addition to his leadership of professional societies, the British-born Giles has recently created a new center for the study of police-community relations.
It was partly an outgrowth of his scholarly interests in social psychology and language, but also rooted in nine years of service to the Santa Barbara Police Department reserve.
Giles studies intergroup communications in different domains, including interethnic, gay-straight, between-gender, and communication between physically challenged and able-bodied people.
His current research revolves around intergenerational communication, law enforcement and civilian interactions, and community policing issues.
Lee, who is described as an "innovative, brilliant scholar in the early stages of his career," was honored with the 2005-06 Harold J. Plous Award.
The award is given annually to an assistant professor for exceptional achievement in research, teaching, and service to the university.
His areas of expertise are Greek history, the history of warfare, and archaeology and epigraphy.
Lee's first major work, soon to be published as a book, has been a nontraditional military history of the customs and practical concerns of the ancient Greek mercenary army that invaded Persia in the fourth century B.C.
Sarah Cline, a UCSB history professor and Plous committee member, described Lee as a "superb" scholar and teacher whose "contributions to the intellectual life of the campus community and beyond are truly exceptional."
In 2003-04, Lee was awarded the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award.
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