Sinche Named First Recipient of Ribicoff Endowed Professorship

Bryan Sinche

President Walter Harrison sent the following email to faculty and staff on Wednesday, May 1.

Dear Colleagues:

It is with great joy and excitement that I write to announce that Bryan Sinche, associate professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as the first recipient of the Belle K. Ribicoff Endowed Professorship. He will hold this rotating endowed professorship for three years; the professorship brings with it a salary supplement of $25,000 and $15,000 in research and scholarship support annually for each of the three years Bryan will hold the professorship.

Belle Ribicoff endowed the professorship because of her strong belief in the importance of great teaching and great teachers and her commitment to creating a prestigious position for a person who was in the early stages of his or her career. In doing so, Belle demonstrates her profound commitment to the University and her understanding that we are, first and foremost, a university that values and supports student development through great teaching.

In selecting Bryan as the first Belle K. Ribicoff Professor, the selection committee of Maria Arroyo '13, a graduating senior in politics and government and our student body president, Provost Sharon Vasquez, and I believe we have chosen someone who demonstrates the high ideals that Belle envisioned in creating this endowed chair. We were aided in the process by an advisory committee made up of professors Humphrey Tonkin, Stephen Gryc, and Ivana Milanovic.

An accomplished scholar of 19th century American literature, Bryan has made an enduring impact on the students he has taught here and, in turn, been influenced by his students to create a course in the Black Arts Movement, challenging himself to begin an ambitious new scholarly agenda. He receives uniformly outstanding teaching evaluations and draws praise from his faculty colleagues for his leadership positions in faculty governance and University citizenship.

We chose Bryan from among the first three Belle K. Ribicoff Junior Faculty Prize winners, a group that included Michael Robinson, associate professor of history in Hillyer College, and Catherine Balco, assistant professor of painting in the Hartford Art School. As those of you who know any of these three candidates realize, this made our choice exceedingly difficult. These three faculty members are all outstanding teachers, great scholars, and a great artist. We are graced to have all three of them on our faculty, and our students will attest to the effect that each of them has had on their lives. In a greater sense, Bryan, Michael, and Cat exemplify the great teachers we have throughout our faculty ranks. It made all three of us proud of this university and our outstanding faculty.

Please join me in congratulating Bryan, who will be formally recognized during the undergraduate Commencement on May 19. And please also congratulate Michael and Cat for their accomplishments and commitment to their students. And, if you have an opportunity, please join me in thanking Belle for her commitment to the University and our faculty.

Sincerely,

Walter Harrison
President