Dr. Ralph Budd, professor of medicine and director of the Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, and Major Jackson, Richard Dennis Green and Gold Professor of English, have received the 2016 University Distinguished Professor Award from the University of Vermont.

Budd’s achievements in scholarship, leadership, mentoring and service are among the most impressive on the University of Vermont campus. An internationally recognized physician-scientist, he has made significant contributions to our understanding of the immune system. His research on the mechanisms of autoimmunity has garnered him numerous awards and research grants totaling over $60 million.

In 2012 Budd was elected a member of the prestigious Association of American Physicians, whose members are recognized for their pursuit of medical knowledge and advancement of basic and clinical science through experimentation and discovery. He is the only AAP member on the UVM faculty.

Budd has served in a variety of leadership roles at UVM. He was the chief architect of what is today the university’s highly successful Immunobiology Program, and of a recognized Center of Excellence -- the Vermont Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases. He is a dedicated mentor and role model to countless junior faculty and students and a visionary leader who has gained the admiration of his peers.

Jackson has achieved national and international eminence in the field of poetry. He is widely recognized as one of the leading poets in America today and an influential voice in contemporary American poetry.

Jackson has authored hundreds of poems and five books and has contributed to more than 40 published anthologies. His work has appeared in many online and print outlets, including the New Yorker, American Poetry Review, Boston Review, and the New York Times. Jackson’s work has received critical attention in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, and on National Public Radio. He is the recipient of some of America’s most prestigious awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Artist Fellowship.

The University Distinguished Professor Award, founded in 2009 by Provost John M. Hughes, is the highest academic honor that the University of Vermont can bestow on a member of the faculty. Holders of this title are recognized as not only having achieved international eminence within their respective fields of study but for the truly transformative nature of their contributions to the advancement of knowledge. Only 10 individuals may hold an active appointment as University Distinguished Professor at any one time. The University of Vermont has approximately 1,500 faculty.

Current University Distinguished Professors are Rex Forehand (Psychological Science), Judith Van Houten (Biology), Mark Nelson (Pharmacology), Susan Wallace (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), Brooke Mossman (Pathology), Wolfgang Mieder (German and Russian), and Jerold Lucey (Pediatrics).

PUBLISHED

05-23-2016
University Communications