Four faculty members have been honored this year with University Scholar awards, bringing to nine the total number of University Scholars on campus.

Selected and awarded by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, the awards recognize UCR’s rising stars: early-career, tenured faculty of outstanding merit.

“The University Scholar program is geared toward helping our rising stars achieve their full potential,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ellen Wartella. “All four individuals selected for the awards this year are shining examples of UCR’s exceptional faculty members. I am honored to be able to recognize each of them for their outstanding research endeavors.”
This year’s recipients of the University Scholar awards are:

Xuemei Chen, associate professor of plant cell and molecular biology. Chen, a recipient of the American Society of Plant Biologists’ 2006 Charles Albert Shull Award, is internationally recognized for her seminal research in organ development and RNA metabolism. Her research focuses on the genetic analysis of developmental mechanisms in plants. Chen investigates how plant stem cells become specialized to develop floral organs such as sepals, petals, stamens and carpels – a cellular process common to all multi-cellular organisms. Her work is of particular interest to horticulturalists and researchers exploring the nature of stem cells.

Cheryl Hayashi, associate professor of biology. An evolutionary geneticist, Hayashi studies the molecular evolution of spider silk genes, the physical properties of different silk fibers, and the relationships between ecological specializations of spiders and the proliferation of genes in the spider silk gene family. Her laboratory does extensive mechanical testing of silk fibers from different spider species to relate silk protein motifs to material properties. Her work, which has practical applications for the development of biomaterials, has attracted considerable media attention.

Gloria Gonzalez-Rivera, professor and chair of economics. Gonzalez-Rivera studies time series econometrics and is renowned nationally and internationally for her work in the field of volatility modeling. Her widely cited research papers appear in the top econometrics journals; one of her papers has become a “classic” in time series literature. Gonzalez-Rivera’s methodological expertise has been applied to diverse research areas, including agricultural markets, developing countries, regulatory financial practice, and environmental measurement of quality of life.

John Medearis, associate professor of political science. Medearis addresses fundamental issues and definitions of democracy and democratic politics in his work. A scholar of democratic theory, he examines what constitutes appropriate democratic action and democratic processes. Recently, one of his research papers won the best paper award from the International Communication Association. He is the author of the book “Joseph Schumpeter’s Two Theories of Democracy.”

This year, 20 faculty members were nominated for the University Scholar awards. Nominations were made campuswide by deans, chairs and institute/center directors. Awardees were decided by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost with consultation from the vice chancellor for research and the vice provost for academic personnel.

“We plan to change the process next year,” said Elizabeth Lord, the vice provost for academic personnel, “when all our nine University Scholars will be asked to take part in the consultation that leads to the awards.”
Candidates for the prestigious award need to be at least associate professors and must demonstrate strong evidence of exciting and highly visible research programs. Each award recipient holds the University Scholar title for three years and receives $25,000 annually in research support.

Last year, the first time the awards were given out, five faculty members received the honor.

The University Scholars program receives financial support from the chancellor’s discretionary funds.