Karen Orren, a political science professor, said jokingly that
since coming to teach at the UCLA campus 37 years ago, certain
faculty members now have campus buildings named after them,
referring to former Dean Paul Dodd.
“I’ve been here in Los Angeles for so long,
it’s about time I was chosen,” said Orren, who was
honored Thursday as the 100th UCLA faculty research lecturer.
Being named a faculty research lecturer is considered a rare
distinction and honor for professors and their research.
Notables who have been honored as UCLA faculty research
lecturers include those whose names can still be seen on campus,
such as Arnold Schoenberg, Lily Campbell, Shepherd Franz and
Charles Haines.
The faculty research lecture program began in 1925 when biology
Professor Loye Miller delivered the first lecture, which was on
California’s bird fossils.
For 81 years, the lectures have spanned the scope of
UCLA’s new research and academic innovations, from the
evolution of the Earth to functions of the brain to global
security. Orren’s lecture Thursday was on the U.S. Supreme
Court and constitutional law.
In her lecture, titled “”˜A Single French Fry’:
The Supreme Court and the Depletion of Constitutional Law,”
Orren expounded on the impact of constitutional law within the
Supreme Court, analyzing current rulings and examining methods of
applying the constitution correctly to modern-day society and its
policies.
Each year, the UCLA Advisory Committee on Research and a special
committee ““ whose members consist of past faculty research
lecturers ““ choose two professors, one to speak during fall
quarter and one to speak during spring quarter.
One speaker is chosen from South Campus to discuss the natural
sciences or engineering, and one is picked from North Campus to
speak on topics in the humanities, social disciplines or creative
arts.
Though the program began in 1925, the tradition of choosing two
people from campus began in 1986, said Carroll Johnson, a Spanish
and Portuguese professor and one of the 2004-2005 faculty research
speakers. She said choosing two speakers is a way to recognize
professors from various fields of study within a given year.
Because this was UCLA’s 100th research lecture and it was
expected to draw a large audience, Academic Senate chairwoman
Adrienne Lavine said the committee was especially careful to choose
someone who was an eloquent communicator, a role she said Orren
satisfied.
Since coming to UCLA, Orren has served on the Executive Board of
the UCLA College, the Legislative Assembly of the Academic Senate,
the Council on Academic Personnel and the statewide Committee on
Privilege and Tenure.
Andrea Ghez, a physics and astronomy professor who was selected
in 2003-2004, said the prestige of the award is due in part to the
fact that it is so competitive and speakers
are chosen by other faculty members.
“Your peers are viewing your research as important, but
not with a narrow view from just your departmental colleagues, but
from the university as a whole,” Ghez said.
She said she also felt honored to be added to a list of
distinguished people ““ people for whom she said she has a
great amount of respect, such as Margaret Kivelson, who also did
research in Ghez’s field of astronomy.
At the beginning of the 100th faculty research lecture, Lavine
invited the audience to “go back in time,” requesting
that about 20 previous lecturers in attendance stand up and be
recognized for their contribution to the academic community.
“One-hundred professors have been honored by sharing their
research, their passion … and their excitement (for) his or her
field. This is the greatest honor,” Lavine said.