This past Friday, the University awarded President John T. Casteen, III and Medical Research Prof. J. Thomas Parsons the Thomas Jefferson awards for their excellence in service and scholarship, respectively.
The Thomas Jefferson award marks the University's highest honor and has been awarded annually since 1955.
Casteen, who was recognized for his service to the University, has served as the University's president since 1990 and will retire in August of next year. College Dean Meredith Woo praised Casteen's dedication to the University during her Fall Convocation speech.
In her speech, Woo said Casteen is "a great president who has an encyclopedic memory of the events of his tenure and a remarkable understanding of the recondite and complex nature of the University."
Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato was among the many University community members who nominated Casteen for the award.
In his nomination letter, Sabato praised Casteen's leadership abilities and his strides toward increasing diversity at the University.
"Every year the University has looked more like Virginia, America and the world, as the numbers of women, minority and international students and faculty have grown substantially," Sabato stated in his letter, according to a University press release. "The quality of life and the educational experience have been considerably enhanced as a result."
Parsons, who was recognized for his superiority in scholarship and serves as the University's microbiology department chair, was nominated for the award by his professorial peers. Parsons has worked in cancer cell signaling research and recently led the Cell Migration Consortium, which brought together researchers from around the world and won him an $80 million National Institutes of Health grant.
Martin Schwartz, professor of microbiology and biomedical engineering, praised Parson's research and leadership. Since coming to the University in 1974 to serve as an assistant professor in the Medical School, Parsons has made numerous strides toward solving many of the world's most complex medical mysteries.
"Tom has been a leader at U.Va., helping the institution rise to its current prominent place as a world leader in cancer and cell signaling," Schwartz stated in a University press release.
The Thomas Jefferson award for service was established in 1955 and recognizes excellence and long-term service to the University Community. The Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in scholarship award was created this year by The Alumni Board of Trustees and the Virginia Endowment Fund.
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