The Office of the Provost has announced that Cynthia Richards, professor of English, is the first holder of the newly established Richard P. Veler Endowed Chair in English, and that Kristin Cline, professor of chemistry, is the inaugural John W. Barker Chair in Chemistry.

The Veler Chair was created by gifts from members of the Class of 1958, and the friends, students, and colleagues of Professor Emeritus of English Richard P. Veler to honor his legacy. Once described as “the conscience of the University,” he was a 1958 Wittenberg graduate, beloved professor, Mark Twain scholar, and senior administrator who passed away in 2016.

“From the first time I met Dick Veler during my interview for my Wittenberg position, he has served as a model for me of what good teaching and scholarship should be,” said Richards, who joined the Wittenberg faculty in 1995. “He was curious, funny, kind, smart, and open to new ideas. I have tried to achieve those same qualities in my work at Wittenberg and in my scholarship.”

Richards continued, “As I wrote in his citation for the 2010 Wittenberg Medal of Honor, ‘{Dick Veler] led a life of creativity, service, compassion, and integrity and achieved that elusive wholeness of person in [his] personal, professional, and civic life. [He] modeled for this English professor a faith in my students that continues to guide and sustain me.’ I am humbled to be selected as the inaugural recipient of the Richard P. Veler Endowed Chair in English and will continue to be inspired by the model he set.“

In the English department’s nomination letter, Professor and Chair Robin Inboden wrote that Richards – the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the 2021 Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award and Omicron Delta Kappa Award – embodies the same “passion for teaching and compassion for students” that Veler represented.

“Students attest to her lively presence in class, and more importantly to helping them see the stakes of what they’re studying,” wrote Inboden. “Students are also learning to develop their insights both in discussion and in writing.”

Named the Wittenberg Woman of the Year in 2014 and 2015, Richards teaches a range of courses, from English 101 to the honors seminar Monstrous Mirrors, and has presented more than 30 scholarly papers and roundtable presentations. Her research interests include 18th-century literature, women and gender studies, Mary Wollstonecraft, and pedagogy. She was a Fulbright Scholar to the Czech Republic in 2004-2005 and was recognized with an innovative course award in 2003 by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

A leader on campus, she currently serves as the director of faculty development and has served as director of writing across the curriculum and women’s studies, as well as chair of the English department. She earned her doctorate from New York University.

John W. Barker, who joined the Wittenberg faculty in 1927 and retired in 1960, was a professor and chair of chemistry, a criminalistician for the Springfield Police Department, and a veteran of both world wars. Funded through an anonymous estate gift, the Barker Chair is for “a senior faculty member at the rank of professor whose record indicates teaching excellence and distinction in the discipline.”

“I am thrilled for the department for the establishment of the John W. Barker Endowed Chair in Chemistry and honored to be its inaugural recipient,” Kline said.

“When I interviewed for a position in the department in 1993, it was clear that the department had a well-established ethos of challenging students academically while providing the support needed for their success. Though Professor Barker was no longer living and had retired more than 30 years before I arrived at Wittenberg, his contribution to this heritage was apparent. I have learned from alumni of his reputation as an excellent professor who cared about his students, for example, providing employment opportunities to students such as Virginia Ellis Franta, class of 1936, to help them complete their degrees during the difficult time of the 1930s. I am proud that the department has continued to focus on student success, and grateful that this endowed chair will help us to continue the legacy of Dr. Barker.”

In its nomination of Cline, chemistry department faculty stated that she “is a thoughtful educator who is constantly improving her craft” and who “has increasingly made use of collaborative learning in both the classroom and laboratory components.” In particular, they noted her willingness to adopt a HyFlex model of teaching to optimize student success during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to teaching courses in chemical systems, analytical chemistry, and advanced instrumentation, Cline has worked with dozens of students on research projects, many of whom have presented their findings at national meetings. Cline is an active member of campus, having served as chair of the chemistry department, Faculty Development Board, and the Program Assessment and Review Committee. A member of the board of directors of the Society for Electroanalytical Chemists since 2018, she holds a doctorate in chemistry from The Ohio State University.

The Wittenberg Board of Directors approved the nominations for both the Veler and Barker Chairs during its October meeting.