President Teresa A. Sullivan presented the Thomas Jefferson Award - the highest honor bestowed upon University faculty members - to its 59th and 60th recipients during Friday's Fall Convocation.
The awards were given to Richard Guerrant, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Global Health, and Darden Prof. John Colley, Jr.
"These awards have generally gone to our most outstanding faculty members," said Milton Adams, Jefferson Award Committee chair and vice provost for academic programs.
Previously, only one Thomas Jefferson Award was awarded annually, but since last year, two awards are given - one to someone who embodies the ideals of the University and advances the objectives for which the University was founded and one in recognition of scholarship in any field.
Guerrant received the award for excellence in scholarship, which is sponsored by the Alumni Board of Trustees of the University of Virginia Endowment Fund, Inc. and has been awarded since 2009.
He has contributed to a worldwide effort to understanding gastrointestinal pathogens that can be fatal to young children. After fellowships at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University, he established the University's Center for Global Health in 1979.
"Here's someone who contributes across the University, world-renowned scholar saving thousands of lives, giving our undergraduates a chance to do the same thing," Adams said.
Meanwhile, Colley received the award for excellence in service, which has been awarded since 1955 in part by a sponsorship from the McConnell Foundation.
A faculty member at the University for 43 years, he has not confined his efforts merely to the Darden School. In addition to his contributions toward publications and business teachings, he has an unparalleled ability to connect with undergraduates and graduate students as well as other organizations at the University, such as the Honor Committee, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and the athletic department, Adams said.
Both professors are grateful for the recognition.
Guerrant considers it "an incredible honor to receive the Thomas Jefferson Award."
"This Jefferson Award is the ultimate prize for anybody at U.Va. and I am grateful to my college and alumni and former students who made it possible," Colley said.
Winners are chosen by the Thomas Jefferson Award Committee, which consists of eight at-large faculty members, the vice president and chief student affairs officer, Student Council president and the student member of the Board of Visitors.
"I think both members of the faculty, Mr. Colley and Mr. Guerrant, are inspirational to students and it makes sense to me that their achievements be recognized with this kind of award," Student Council President Colin Hood said.
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