WFU presents Schoonmaker, Reinhardt and Waddill awards during Fall Convocation

Charles Richman, right, was presented the Donald O. Schoonmaker Faculty Award for Community Service by Deborah Best, dean of the College.

Wake Forest University honored two professors and two alumni with awards during its Fall Convocation Oct. 28. Lee Hamilton, vice chair of the Sept. 11 commission, delivered the convocation address in the university’s Wait Chapel.

Charles Richman, professor of psychology, was presented with the Donald O. Schoonmaker Faculty Award for Community Service. Richman, who joined the faculty in 1968, was recognized for his efforts to promote tolerance among people of different races, ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. He has testified before the U.S. Senate on competency testing, served on the National Black Child Development Board and the Winston-Salem Urban League Education and Training Board.

Sara Watts, right, was presented with the Jon Reinhardt Award for Distinguished Teaching by Deborah Best, dean of the College.

Sarah Watts, professor of history, was presented with the Jon Reinhardt Award for Distinguished Teaching. Watts, who joined the faculty in 1987, was nominated for the award by alumni. A former student who nominated Watts praised her for her ability to get students to open their minds and look at the world from different perspectives.

Wake Forest President Thomas K. Hearn Jr. also presented two alumni with the Marcellus E. Waddill Excellence in Teaching Award during convocation. The 2004 recipients, Mitchell Cox of Hillsborough and Lynne Peters of Cary, each received a $20,000 award.

Since graduating from Wake Forest in 1982, Cox has taught English in Hillsborough. He is the chair of the English department at Orange High School. Colleagues, parents and students praise his innovative teaching skills, as well as his dedication to keeping parents and students informed of class assignments and progress at all times.

Peters, who graduated from Wake Forest in 1987, teaches the fourth grade at Highcroft Drive Elementary School in Wake County. Prior to her return to North Carolina, Peters taught in Canada and Florida. Colleagues, parents and students praise her ability to get students to surpass academic expectations, and they laud her talent for reaching the most challenged members of her class.

The Waddill award is given annually to one elementary school and one secondary school teacher who are Wake Forest alumni. David Waddill of Rye, N.Y., established the award in 1994 to honor his father, Marcellus Waddill of Winston-Salem, who retired in 1997 after teaching mathematics at Wake Forest for 35 years.