Five Wayne State University professors, who have distinguished themselves through the research and writing of scholarly publications, are the recipients of the 2006 WSU Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Awards. The awards are given annually to full-time faculty members who make outstanding contributions to scholarship and learning. Each recipient receives a citation from the board, an engraved wall plaque and a monetary award.

This year’s recipients include: Dora Apel, associate professor of Art History and W. Hawkins Ferry Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art; Jorge Chinea, associate professor of history, Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies; Raouf Ibrahim, professor of Mechanical Engineering; Arthur Marotti, professor of English; and Dennis Tini, distinguished professor, Department of Music.

Apel, of Pleasant Ridge, was honored for her book titled “Imagery of Lynching: Black Men, White Women, and the Mob.” The book focuses on the literature of lynching, art photography, race and gender and provides a study on whiteness and specific historical periods from the 1880s to the present.

Apel earned dual bachelor’s degrees from the State University of New York; a master’s degree from Wayne State; and a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She joined Wayne State’s faculty as an assistant professor in 1999.

An associate professor of history and director of Wayne State’s Center for Chicano-Boricua Studies, Chinea was recognized for his book titled “Race and Labor in the Hispanic Caribbean: The West Indian Immigrant Worker Experience in Puerto Rico, 1800-1850.” He explores relations between economic development as Puerto Rico moved from subsistence to plantation agriculture over the course of the 19th century and the shifting geography of labor and capital mobilization.

A Clinton Township resident, Chinea received bachelor\'s and master\'s degrees from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. He joined Wayne State in 1996, and previously served on the faculties of Mankato State University, Metropolitan State University and Macalester College (all in Minnesota) and at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (New York).

Ibrahim, of Troy, was honored for his book titled “Liquid Sloshing Dynamics” in which he summarizes his many years of experience and surveyed over 2,600 publications on this important subject.

He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering from the University of Cairo, Egypt, and completed a Ph.D., and subsequent postgraduate work, at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Ibrahim is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He joined Wayne State University in 1987.

Marotti, a long-time member of the Department of English, was recognized for his book titled “Religious Ideology and Cultural Fantasy: Catholic and Anti-Catholic Discourses in Early Modern England.” His monograph recovers and analyzes a complex chapter in English literary and religious history – the struggle between Catholics and Protestants as England shouldered its way into active, ultimately decisive competition with better established maritime powers.

A Huntington Woods resident, Marotti joined Wayne State University in 1970. He received a bachelor’s degree from Fordham College and Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University.

Tini was honored for his efforts to aid South African musicians through professional leadership, educational workshops and performances. He was recognized earlier for these endeavors by his receipt of a Certificate of Appreciation by the South African Association of Jazz Education for Outstanding Service to Jazz Education.

A Farmington Hills resident, Tini earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Wayne State. He joined the university in 1969.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.