Notable

Paul Restivo, director of SIUC's Center for Environmental Health and Safety, this fall will begin a one-year term as an advisor for the National Safety Council.

Restivo will be a technical advisor on the NSC's Board of Delegates, which includes professionals and experts from across the country who make recommendations to the NSC about current safety issues.

"I'll essentially be a liaison for colleges and universities and point out how NSC's services can best relate to us," said Restivo, who will be one of three representatives from a university on the 50-member board.

"The NSC has been around a long time and is viewed as the leading safety organization in the country," Restivo said.

Restivo's specific assignment on the board will be to focus on issues surrounding safety in the workplace. This falls in line with his work at SIUC, where he has been the director of the Center for Environmental Health and Safety since 1999. He will use his expertise to help steer the course of the development of the NSC's policies and programs.

Sajal Lahiri, Vandeveer Chair in the Department of Economics at SIUC, is the editor of the latest publication in a book series produced by Elsevier, the Amsterdam-based publisher of social and physical science and health information.

The book series, "Frontiers of Economics and Globalization," provides an in-depth look at issues of global economics and is intended for professional researchers, students and policy makers. According to the publisher's description of the series, each volume tackles a different current topic and taps into leading researchers in the topic area.

Lahiri edited the second book in the series, "Theory and Practice of Foreign Aid." He also wrote the first chapter - "Conflict in the Presence of Arms Trade: Can Foreign Aid Reduce Conflict?" - with fellow SIUC Professor Zsolt Becsi. Other topics include the potential role of foreign aid in safeguarding the environment, ongoing globalization and establishment of good government. In the second section of the book, Lahiri included empirical studies on the effectiveness of aid, the relationship between aid and trade, aid and poverty and the overall effectiveness of foreign aid on long-term problem solving.

In order to edit the volume, Lahiri needed not only extensive knowledge of the subject area but also to forge solid working relationships with other scholars as well. He said he worked closely with leading authorities in the area for more than a year to get 21 papers for the volume.

Even though the book is scholarly and intended for professionals, the theories and ideas presented in it may have practical applications. "Many of the authors, including myself, are heavily involved in policy-making, mostly in African countries," he said. "I have just completed a paper on the effect of aid on fiscal policies in Rwanda with two people from the World Bank. These papers will be read by scholars who advise policy makers on a regular basis. Therefore, the policy discussions will trickle down to policy makers."

Lahiri said that all such scholarly activity helps promote the University in the scholarly community. "I think these types of books on important and topical issues published by leading international publishers do raise the profile of SIUC," he said.

Nanditha Balasubramanian, associate director for institutional advancement with the SIU Foundation, received a 2007 Outstanding Graduate Alumni Award from Eastern Illinois University. The awards recognize professional and personal achievement by an Eastern Illinois University graduate program alumnus. Balasubramanian was nominated by the graduate program in political science, and was one of nine graduate students honored.

Richard C. Robinson, a doctoral candidate in SIUC's College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, is the University of Tennessee's National Alumni Association "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" for 2007.

Recognized for outstanding scholastic achievement and academic excellence, Robinson teaches courses in radio broadcasting and public relations at the University of Tennessee-Martin campus. In 2005, Robinson was honored as "Oustanding Graduate Student in Journalism" while completing doctoral coursework at SIUC.

The university's national association annually selects a faculty member from each of the University of Tennessee campuses for the honor, which includes a $2,000 award. Robinson earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Central Arkansas in 1975, and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in 1995.

Tracy G. Mellendorf of Louisville, a 2007 SIUC graduate, has won the first George Kapusta endowed graduate assistantship, which will help her pay for graduate study in SIUC's Department of Plant, Soil and Agriculture Systems this fall.

Agronomist Bryan G. Young, who replaced Kapusta after the University's longtime weed scientist retired in 1998, announced the award July 12 as part of the College of Agricultural Sciences' annual field day at its Belleville Center. Kapusta joined the University in 1964 as superintendent of that facility and started the first field day in 1966 as a way of introducing farmers to the research that took place there.

"Dr. Kapusta is recognized throughout the world for his findings on weed control programs in all types of tillage systems," said Rebecca Stenhaug, the college associate director for institutional advancement.

"This endowed assistantship serves as a permanent testament to Dr. Kapusta's contribution to agriculture and supports excellence in recruitment and education of outstanding graduates."