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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE College of Arts and Sciences awards 2011-12 Ludcke Chair to literature scholar Susan McHugh

The University of New England College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) has named Susan McHugh, Ph.D., associate professor of English, the 2011-12 Ludcke Chair.

This prestigious award is given annually to a CAS faculty member who, according to interim dean Stine Brown, "exemplifies the meaning of teacher-scholar, with a substantial scholarly track record, a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, service to the institution, and a strong sense of collegiality."

Past recipients of the award are Elizabeth DeWolfe, Ph.D. (2008), Stephen Zeeman, Ph.D. (2009) and Ali Ahmida, Ph.D. (2010).

"I'm honored and humbled by this recognition from my colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences," McHugh said, "and I'm deeply grateful to Eleanor Ludcke and her family for providing this opportunity to advance my teaching and scholarship."

The Ludcke Chair

In 2004, Eleanor Ludcke, 1926 Westbrook College alumnae, bequeathed to Westbrook College an endowed professorship to be awarded annually to a tenured member of the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of their accomplishments. The Ludcke Chair is awarded to a dedicated educator and productive researcher who has given generously of his or her time to the University over a significant period.  The recipient has a one-year tenure as chair holder, and is also awarded a stipend to use in support of his or her scholarship.

Susan McHugh

McHugh received her Ph.D. in English from Purdue University in 1999, and joined the UNE faculty in the Department of English and Language Studies in 2002.  She teaches courses in writing, literary theory, and animal studies.  Her discussion-based classes emphasize critical thinking, thus connecting her courses to an important component of the UNE core curriculum. McHugh's course - Animals, Literature and Culture - was recognized earlier this year by the Humane Society of the United States with an Honorable Mention: Distinguished Established Course Award. The award recognizes academic excellence in a college/university class that explores the relationships between people and animals.

McHugh is a prolific and internationally recognized scholar whose expertise includes literary and interdisciplinary animal studies. Her ongoing research focuses on the intersections of biological and cultural extinctions. She has published dozens of essays in edited collections and leading peer-reviewed journals in her field, and has delivered numerous scholarly and invited papers nationally and internationally. She is the author of two books: Dog (2004), which has been translated into several languages, and Animal Stories:  Narrating across Species Lines (2011).

She also has a significant commitment to service - as faculty adviser to Zephyr, UNE's journal of artistic expression; chair of the UNE Core Curriculum Committee and member of the Undergraduate Research Committee; member of the editorial board of two scholarly journals; advisory board member of Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures Book Series of Pennsylvania State University Press; and managing editor of humanities for the interdisciplinary journal Society & Animals. She also reviews manuscripts for several presses and many scholarly journals. 

McHugh will deliver the fourth annual Ludcke Lecture on the UNE campus in late 2011.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.