Dr. Judith Haas, associate professor of English at Rhodes College, was presented the 2016 Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service at Opening Convocation Aug. 19. The program marked the start of the college’s 168th session.
The Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service honors a current faculty member who has rendered exemplary service and provided leadership to the Rhodes community. It is presented in memory of Dr. Jameson M. Jones ’36, who served as professor of moral philosophy and dean of the college from 1955 to 1971.
Haas joined the Rhodes faculty in 2002 after earning a Ph.D. in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has served as co-director of the college’s post-graduate fellowships and scholarships initiatives; secretary-treasurer for the Rhodes chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; and director of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. In the past several years, she stepped forward as a faculty leader on the steering committee that wrote the college’s Sex/Gender Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct Policy. “In these and so many other official and unofficial capacities at the college, Professor Haas has been a campus leader with a strong commitment to ensuring that Rhodes is an excellent and challenging academic institution and a safe and diverse setting for all of us to work, learn, and thrive as humans together,” said Dr. Milton Moreland, dean of the faculty, who presented the award.
Haas works long hours with individual students throughout the year, mentoring them on how to apply for national and international scholarships; writing lengthy recommendation letters to help applicants stand out from the crowd; and coaching them on how to succeed in the interview process. One nominator wrote, “Professor Haas guides our students through a multi-year preparation and application process that has resulted in many of our students receiving these coveted awards.”
During the past decade, Haas has redesigned the college’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and a colleague noted that she “brings not just a commitment to our students through her teaching, but also a commitment to the way they think about the world and how they develop as 21st century citizens.”
Other colleagues have described her as a thoughtful and conscientious advisor, an unwavering advocate for the liberal arts, and a dear and trusted friend. Professor Haas “serves as a bridge between the first-year experience and post-college academic study,” wrote a nominator. “She is somehow able to seamlessly and fruitfully weave together her intellectual life and her active service. Her integrity as well as her commitment to the liberal arts and to social justice make her an ideal Rhodes citizen.”