Three of NIU’s finest professors are being recognized.

The inaugural winners of the NIU Board of Trustees Professorships were announced at the State of the University Address Sept. 25.

Anthropology professor Dan Gebo, history professor Christine Worobec and chemistry professor Narayan Hosmane, each receive the professorships, which are accompanied by a $10,000 stipend.

“It’s another level of recognition for people who have really gone above and beyond,” said Faculty Senate President Paul Stoddard. “[The stipends] allow faculty to devote more time to their projects.”

DAN GEBO

Gebo, who joined the NIU faculty in 1987, felt privileged to receive the award.

“It’s quite an honor, especially to be an inaugural winner, since we have such a great staff here,” Gebo said.

Gebo, a recognized expert on the anatomy and evolution of monkeys, apes, humans and lower primates, was awarded the Presidential Research Professorship in 1998 and Presidential Teaching Professorship in 2008. He has won more than a dozen grant awards and authored or co-authored more than 60 publications in elite professional journals.

CHRISTINE WOROBEC

A love for her students is part of what makes Christine Worobec stand out from the crowd. Worobec wasn’t in attendance when she won the award, she was teaching class.

“It’s all about the students; interacting with them, sharing ideas and getting them to be think and be excited about history,” she said.

Worobec, who joined the NIU Department of History in 1999, conducted research on women, folklore, family, religion and social life in Russia and Ukraine. She’s written three books, and is the only multiple-time recipient of the Heldt Prize from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies.

NARAYAN HOSMANE

Hosmane, a leading expert in boron chemistry research, joined the NIU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1998. In 2001, he was presented with the Humboldt Research Award for senior scientists. He has presented more than 130 seminars worldwide and has received more than $5 million in research awards from the American Chemical Society, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

“The training of undergraduates, and preparing them for the real world, I think that is my real accomplishment,” Hosmane said in an NIU press release.