Ten Professors Given University Distinguished Honor

Professors given one of university's highest honors

Ten Professors Given University Distinguished Honor

Professors given one of university's highest honors

Ten Michigan State University professors have been given the honor of University Distinguished Professor. The designation—one of the highest honors for an MSU faculty member—recognizes outstanding scholarly achievements.  

Asgi Fazleabas is one of the new University Distinguished Professors. Read his story here.

The distinguished title is only given to faculty members whose work rises to the national and international level for teaching, outreach and research. Faculty who hold the professorship receive $5,000 per year for professional development activities, in addition to their salary.  

Introducing the newly-named University Distinguished Professors of Michigan State University: 

  • Shanker Balasubramaniam: Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering; associate chair, Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
  • Pero Dagbovie: Professor, Department of History, College of Social Science; associate dean, the Graduate School
  • Thomas Dietz: Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Social Science; professor of environmental science and policy; professor of animal studies; Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability
  • Diane Ebert-May: professor, Department of Plant Biology, College of Natural Science
  • Asgerally Fazleabas: Professor and associate chair for research, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Health, College of Human Medicine; director, Center for Women’s Health; co-director, Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program
  • Gregg Howe: MSU Foundation Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Science; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory
  • Venkatesh Kumar Kodur: Professor and chairperson, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering; director, Center on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics 
  • Douglas Landis: Professor, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Mark Meerschaert: Professor, Department of Statistics and Probability, College of Natural Science
  • Sandi Smith: Professor, Department of Communication, College of Communication Arts and Sciences

Learn more about the importance of supporting faculty at MSU.