2022-23 Wilson H. Elkins Professorships Will Support Research Initiatives in Health Care, African Studies, and African American Studies


Baltimore, MD (Sept. 20, 2022) – The 2022-23 University System of Maryland (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorships have been awarded to faculty members at three USM institutions—Towson University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; and Bowie State University.

The Elkins Professorships support professors and researchers who demonstrate exemplary ability to inspire students and whose professional work and scholarly endeavors make a positive impact at their institutions, across the USM, and beyond.

In support of the Elkins Professorships, the Wilson H. Elkins Endowment funds are intended to support compelling projects with a focus on research, scholarship, or community engagement that will allow the Elkins Professor to make an important contribution to the teaching, research, or public service mission of the institution and the entire USM.

“The quality of research and commitment to educating our students is a consistent theme throughout our university system,” said USM Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Life Joann Boughman. “It is special to recognize these select faculty members with these prestigious awards in support of their work.”

Candidates for the Elkins Professorship must possess a solid record of achievement in their academic or professional disciplines; demonstrate a desire and ability to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students; show significant achievement beyond their traditional disciplines; and demonstrate ability and intent to pursue scholarly or professional endeavors beyond USM.

This year's award winners are listed below, by professor and home institution:
  • Dr. Paz Galupo, Professor of Psychology at Towson University (TU). Dr. Galupo’s work examines the unique legal and cultural factors that influence the health care experiences of transgender and nonbinary Marylanders. Dr. Galupo’s research also entails how these factors lead to health disparities for people in these groups. This year is the second of two for which Dr. Galupo will receive a $30,000 research award.
  • Dr. Barbara Resnick, Professor and Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Nursing. Dr. Resnick will advance the development of a replicable model for successfully implementing national guidelines on pain management in older individuals in long-term care facilities—to improve assessment, diagnosis, and management pain among residents. Dr. Resnick has received a $68,000 award.
  • Dr. Heather Congdon, co-director of UMB’s Center for Interprofessional Education. Dr. Congdon will continue her Elkins Academic Transformation Professorship research from the prior academic year and collaborate with the USM Kirwan Center on a digital badging initiative. The initiative is aimed at strengthening Maryland’s health care workforce. Dr. Congdon is a professor of practice, sciences, and health outcomes research at the UMB School of Pharmacy. Dr. Congdon has received a $40,000 research award to continue her research in 2022-23.
  • Dr. Karen Cook-Bell, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Government at Bowie State University (BSU). Dr. Cook-Bell will establish the W.E.B. DuBois Center for the Study of the Black Experience—integrated with BSU's Thurgood Marshall Library—to encourage and disseminate research in the fields of African, African American, and African diaspora studies. Dr. Cook Bell has received a $75,000 award.
The Wilson H. Elkins Professorship honors the late Wilson H. Elkins, who led the University of Maryland flagship campus to new levels of distinction as its president from 1954 to 1978. The Wilson H. Elkins Endowment Fund supports the professorship awards in combination with institutional and system resources. This endowment and others like it further USM's mission of teaching, research, and public service. For more information, visit the Wilson H. Elkins Professorship web page.

###

The USM comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and the University of Maryland Global Campus. The USM also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland—at which USM universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.

USM institutions and programs are among the nation's best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the University System of Maryland, visit www.usmd.edu


 

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu