Faculty member
awarded Zillman Family Professorship
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Dr. Chunzeng Wang, an associate professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, is the first recipient of the Donald and Linda G. Zillman Family Professorship.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
DR. CHUNGZENG WANG, associate professor of earth and environmental science at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, was recognized recently as the first recipient of the Donald and Linda G. Zillman Family Professorship. Here, Dr. Wang discusses how the professorship is being used in researching the Nurembega Fault Line. Looking on from left is Don Zillman, former UMPI president and Edward S. Godfrey professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law, and UMPI Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Michael Sonntag.
The title was established with annual proceeds from a designated fund at the Maine Community Foundation and will be awarded every two years, beginning in 2013, to an UMPI faculty member to assist in research and faculty development.
Don Zillman, former president of UMPI and Edward S. Godfrey professor of law at the University of Maine School of law, joined Michael Sonntag, UMPI provost and vice president of academic affairs, in recognizing Dr. Wang during a meeting at UMPI this fall. The event was held in UMPI’s GIS lab, where Dr. Wang conducts a significant portion of his research.
“This honor was made a reality through Don and Linda’s gift. Chunzeng’s a perfect example to be our first recipient,” said Sonntag, noting, “Don’s often stressed that our faculty is what sets us apart from other institutes.”
“Faculty work in the classroom, the community, and the lab, field or studio demonstrates our commitment to the public good, our students and the public trust. With that in mind, we worked hard over the last six years to increase for faculty scholarship and faculty work in our community. Don and Linda’s generosity and dedication to public higher education now allow us to advance this commitment into the future and beyond what the current budget allows,” said Sonntag. “I fully expect this gift will pay dividends in faculty contributions well into the future. Dr. Wang — an exemplar of an UMPI faculty member — is the perfect choice to be the inaugural recipient of this award.”
This is the university’s first rotating professorship. Don explained that the choice to endow it came directly from his and his wife’s admiration of the best of the UMPI faculty.
He said he and Linda looked at their respective families and realized many members were the products of public universities over the past century.
“Our families would be quite different than they are today (without higher education). It’s all thanks to public education. We hope we’re paying back a little bit of the debt through this professorship. Secondly, we’re doing this because of our admiration for UMPI faculty,” said Don. “This is a marvelous place. I pushed fairly hard for this. The faculty of this institute makes it what it is.”
“The expectations of the excellent faculty member at a campus like UMPI are high and diverse,” said Zillman. “As teachers and mentors, the faculty members need to be wise and creative in the classroom and also assist outside the classroom on topics ranging from curricular planning to career choices. As scholars, they write and create for a worldwide academic and professional audience.”
“As community leaders, they bring their disciplinary expertise to everything from community events to consultation with local businesses, governments and non-profits. And they do this all at salaries that are modest at best. Our hope is that others will step forward to recognize the dedicated UMPI faculty with the establishment of future professorships,” continued Don.
Education is near and dear to the Zillmans, who hold a total of five degrees between them from public universities. Both of their fathers — Ted Zillman and Bob Goforth — also are public university graduates. So are both of their brothers, Dick Zillman and Tom Goforth. In addition, Dick’s wife, Mary Revell Zillman, is a public university graduate. Dick and Mary’s children, Chandler and Hallie, are public higher education graduates, and both Ted and Helen Zillman served the University of Wisconsin in numerous ways for 40 years.
“All of the Zillman family have benefitted enormously in their careers and lives from their access to high-quality and low-cost public higher education. We saw this as a fitting way to give back,” said Don.
Linda said UMPI “exemplifies what good public higher education should be.”
“With ready access to first-generation-to-college students, low costs of education, high quality educational programs, superb faculty and close community involvement, UMPI is a marvelous asset for the state of Maine and for Aroostook County. It was our pleasure to be a part of the campus for six wonderful years. We hope we were able to enhance those public education virtues and are pleased to be able to do so in the coming years through this professorship,” said Linda.
So far, the professorship has allowed Dr. Wang to conduct field geologic mapping around the Norumbega Fault Zone in the Horseback and Chemo Pond area of central Maine. Among a number of new findings, he and his student assistant Jared Dickinson found the “Eddington granite stock” (named after the town of Eddington by Wang), and he and his students have also mapped more independent granite dikes within the Norumbega Fault Zone. The new discoveries will change the current Maine state geological map.
“Being the first Zillman Family Professor is the greatest honor I’ve received since coming to UMPI,” Dr. Wang said. “The professorship provides excellent funds for doing high-quality research, fostering scholarship, and helping my program grow. With the professorship, I am sure I will be a better scientist and teacher and all of that is good for the university.”
Dr. Wang thanked Don for his support.
“He’s the reason I stayed at UMPI and continue to stay,” he said.
In addition to his fieldwork, the professorship is allowing for several other opportunities, from conference presentations to publications to the establishment of a seminar series. Dr. Wang presented his new research results at the Geological Society of America annual conference held in Denver, in late October. He is working on a manuscript about the Norumbega Fault Zone for publication. A research paper co-authorized by Dr. Wang on one of his Chinese projects funded by the China National Natural Science Foundation was recently accepted for publication in the international journal “Ore Geology Reviews.” His Zillman Professorship has also founded a new “Lunchtime Science Seminar Series” at the university.
“The selection of Professor Chunzeng Wang as the first Zillman Family Professor delights us and honors the Professorship,” said Don. “Chunzeng truly does it all. He is a fine teacher and mentor. His scholarly work and service to the communtiy range from funded research in geology in his native China to publications in international journals to projects all around Aroostook County. And, Chunzeng would be the first to tell us that many of his UMPI colleagues do just as much. We look forward to seeing them honored in subsequent Zillman Professorship appointments.”
