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May/June 2007
Wig Award Winners
Students honor five Pomona professors for excellence in teaching. |
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Pomona College professors J. Raymond Buriel, Robert Gaines,
Fredrick Grieman, Jerry Irish, and David Menefee-Libey
have been elected to receive the 2007 Wig Distinguished Professor awards
for excellence in teaching, by a vote of students at the College. The
awards recognize exceptional teaching, concern for students and service
to the College and community.
The recipients of the Wig Awards are elected by the junior and senior
classes and then confirmed by a committee of trustees, faculty and
students. The awards were announced at the May 13th Commencement. They
were established by Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Wig in 1955.
J. Raymond Buriel, the Harry S. and Madge Rice Thatcher Professor
of Psychology and professor of Chicano Studies, joined Pomona in 1977
and teaches Psychology of the Chicano, The Psychology of Multicultural
Education, a seminar in Comparative Ethnic Psychology, and a seminar in
Cultural Psychology. This is his second Wig Award.
 Student
comments included:
• “He teaches compelling classes that push students to critically
consider the world beyond Pomona. His openness allows him to be a role
model and mentor to students in his class.”
• “As a faculty mentor, he is both wise and approachable. His mentoring
isn't limited to academic work and he is a prominent ally for students
of color.”
• “The first class I took with him, Psychology of the Chicano, instilled
a passion in me that will last a lifetime. Since then I have taken every
other course he has offered…. The courses that he teaches prompt
students to want to make a genuine difference in society and to apply
the course material to real experiences and instances.”
Buriel focuses his research on Chicano psychology, children who
translate for their parents, multicultural education, and immigration
and sociocultural change. He is a member of the editorial boards of the
Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Science, Journal of Genetics
Psychology and Journal of Family Psychology. He holds a Ph.D.
and B.A. from the University of California, Riverside.
Robert Gaines, assistant professor of geology, joined the faculty
in 2004 and teaches Evolution of Earth’s Biosphere, Introduction to
Geology: Paleontology and the Evolution of Earth’s Biosphere, Research
Methods, Earth History, and Sedimentology. This is his first Wig Award,
and the first year he was eligible.
Student comments include:
• “A man whose enthusiasm is so contagious that one can't help but look
at the Earth differently after hearing him talk about rocks.”
• “Bob has inspired a new generation of geologists. Field trips with Bob
to Utah have become the signature Pomona Geology experience, awakening
students to the beauty of the desert and the intellectual excitement of
field work.”
• “He really understands what is necessary to get non-science majors to
love and be engaged by science.”
• “An enthusiastic, creative professor, and the only person I know who
can link earth history to a Snickers bar.”
In his research, Gaines focuses on the paleontology and paleoecology of
early life with a focus on the “Cambrian Explosion,” Burgess Shale-type
deposits, fossil Lägerstatten, and sedimentary geology. He received his
B.S. degree from the College of William and Mary, his M.S. from the
University of Cincinnati and his Ph.D. from the University of
California, Riverside.
Frederick Grieman, the Roscoe Moss Professor of Chemistry, joined
Pomona’s faculty in 1982 and teaches General Chemistry, Physical
Chemistry, and Group Theory in Chemistry. This is his second Wig Award.
 Student
comments include:
• “Truly devoted to both his students and his research…. Aside from
being a great lecturer he cares a lot for the school and the student
body. I always see him at school sporting events too.”
• Professor Grieman made the complicated and ethereal field of quantum
mechanics make sense. Despite teaching an incredibly challenging class,
he kept everyone from being discouraged.”
• “He genuinely cares about his students, whether it concerns course
material comprehension, or life in general.”
• “Simply put, the most professional, demanding yet understanding
professor I've come across at Pomona.”
Grieman’s research interests involve gas-phase spectroscopy of molecular
ions and transition metal compounds via electron impact and laser
excitation of free-jet expansions. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. from the
University of California, Berkeley, and his B.A. from the University of
California, Irvine.
Jerry Irish, the John Knox McLean Professor of Religion and
Religious Studies, joined the faculty in 1986 and has taught Religious
Ethics, The Idea of God, The Experience of God: Contemporary Theologies
of Transformation; Feminist Theology and Ethics; Spirit Matters: In
Search of a Personal Ecology; and Religion, Ethics and Social Practice.
This is his third Wig Award.
Student comments include:
• “He is thoughtful, intelligent, passionate, encouraging, and most of
all, dedicated to his students.”
• “He really challenges us to think about how we interact with the world
around us, and what our responsibilities are to society.”
• “It is inspiring to see how Professor Irish integrates his
intellectual interests with his personal actions. He truly lives out the
concern for humanity that the texts we read in his class express.”
• An amazing professor and an inspirational human being.”
• “No one is expected to leave a class believing anything that they did
not going in, but rather to have inspected on a personal level as well
as an intellectual one. No one at Pomona has challenged me to grow so
much in both of these spheres.”
Irish’s expertise centers on religious ethics, feminist theology and
ideas of God. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University, his B.D. from
Southern Methodist University and his B.A. from Cornell University.
David Menefee-Libey, professor of politics, joined the Pomona
faculty in 1989 and teaches Introduction to American Politics, The
United States Congress, Campaigns and Election, Policy Implementation
and Evaluation, Education Politics and Policy, Education Policy Data
Workshop, and the Public Policy Analysis thesis seminar. This is his
fourth Wig Award.
 Student
comments include:
• “He has single-handedly spurred my interest in politics and policy
issues and has consistently been available for help with papers,
projects, or just to talk about life.”
• “Professor ML must be the only professor that can make a Congress
class entertaining.”
• “He cares about every single one of his students and truly enjoys
learning from his students almost as much as teaching them.”
• “He teaches because he loves it and it shows.”
• “He…will take the time to talk to someone who needs him--whether it's
for advice about their major, going abroad, their thesis, or their
future.”
Menefee-Libey’s research has focused on the politics of reform in urban
public school districts, particularly in the Los Angeles region, and in
the area of campaigns and elections, especially candidate and party
strategy and campaign finance. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of Chicago and his B.A. from St. Olaf College.
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