COLLEGE STATION, April 28, 2011 – The 2011 Bush Excellence Awards for international teaching, international research and public service are presented this year to faculty in the Mays Business School and the College of Science at Texas A&M University.
Julian E. Gaspar (right), M. Suhail Zubairy (left) and S. Kerry Cooper (center) received their awards at the spring meeting of the Texas A&M International Board Wednesday (April 27). Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin and Executive Director of the Bush Foundation Roman Popadiuk presented each recipient with a plaque and a check for $2,500 during an awards dinner.
Zubairy, professor of physics and holder of the Munnerlyn-Heep Chair in Quantum Optics in the College of Science, is the 2011 recipient of the Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Research. Zubairy is widely considered to be the top of his field in quantum optics, quantum communication and quantum computing.
His nominator said Zubairy has an exceptional publication record and has received many prestigious awards, such as the Humbolt, Khwarizmi Prize, Outstanding Physicist Award by the Organization of Islamic countries and two Medals of Honor from the president of his home country of Pakistan. He is known worldwide for the textbook he co-authored with colleague Marlan Scully, Quantum Optics, which has been translated into Chinese and Russian and is now in its fourth printing. His nominator said that Zubiary’s most outstanding contribution is that he continues to have a great impact on the development of quantum optics programs in many countries around the world.
Gaspar is the 2011 recipient for the Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in International Teaching. He is the director of the Center for International Business Studies (CIBS) at Mays Business School and clinical professor of finance. Nominators noted that throughout his 19 years of service, Gaspar has gone above and beyond the expected to enhance international education at Texas A&M.
In addition to his regular teaching and research agenda, Gaspar has developed and implemented internationally focused courses and international business certificate programs. He has served on committees that develop university-wide study abroad policy while developing his own study abroad initiatives in India and France as well as managing reciprocal exchange programs with 30 foreign institutions worldwide. He has served as co-principal investigator for the Center for International Business Education and Research Grants since 1990 with CIBS Executive Director Kerry Cooper.
Cooper, the Cullen Trust Professor of Finance and executive director of the Center for International Business Programs of Mays Business School, is the recipient of the 2011 Bush Excellence Award for Faculty in Public Service Award. He was chosen on the basis of his service to Texas A&M and its students and the national role he has played in bringing the benefits of study abroad to the forefront. During his career, Cooper has authored numerous articles and books, received numerous awards for excellence in teaching and service and served Texas A&M with distinction in several key administrative positions, his nominators noted.
As head of the Department of Finance, Cooper developed relationships with banks and other private sector corporations that led to job opportunities for students and financial donations to the department. In 1982 he served on a task force of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business helping to redesign the role of business education in what was then viewed as the “emerging” global economy. Capitalizing on his strong leadership skills, Cooper was asked in 1988 to become the director for CIBS to create programs that would prepare business students for careers in a global economy.
Along with co-principal investigator Gaspar, Cooper has raised $7.5 million in Centers for International Business Education and Research funding for CIBS. One of his most significant contributions came at the national level when in 2005 Cooper was appointed to the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Commission to recommend a major federal funding initiative that would enhance the level of international studies by U.S. students.
The Bush Excellence Awards were established through the vision and support of President and Mrs. George H.W. Bush in 2002, with financial assistance from the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. Since that time 30 awards have been presented to Texas A&M faculty. To view recipients from previous years visit http://intlcenter.tamu.edu/content/bush-excellence-awards-faculty.
Contact: Linda Edwards at 862-6700
Tags: Gaspar, Julian E, M. Zuhail Zubairy, S. Kerry Cooper