During its most recent meeting the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors conferred the emeritus title on the following faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences:

Katherine Allen, professor in the Department Human Development and Family Science, was recognized for her scholarly contributions to family diversity, family gerontology, feminist family studies, and LGBTQ families, authoring eight books and more than 200 articles, book chapters, and reviews. She was recognized with the Ernest W. Burgess Award for Outstanding Scholarly and Career Achievement in the Study of Families and the Alexis J. Walker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Feminist Family Studies from the National Council on Family Relations. Allen taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level; she received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Excellence in Graduate Academic Advising in 2015. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

Mary Alice Barksdale, associate professor in the School of Education, made significant contributions to the fields of elementary education, literacy education, and teacher education through work in preservice teacher preparation, the teaching of reading and writing, and education development in Malawi. She traveled to Russia in 1995 and to South Africa in 2009 as the recipient of two Fulbright Scholar Awards. Barksdale served as the elementary education program leader and leader of field supervision of education interns in the School of Education. She chaired the committees of 29 doctoral and 300 master’s students and served on an additional 51 doctoral and 11 master’s students’ committees. Barksdale earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Clemson University and her Ed.D. from Virginia Tech.

Peter Graham, professor in the Department of English, was honored for his contributions to the fields of British literature, literature and science, and literature and medicine. He served as author or coauthor of six books, 30 articles, 23 book chapters, and 34 reviews, and editor or coeditor of four additional books. Graham played a significant role in the establishment of the Messolonghi Byron Research Center Library in Greece and its Byron Conference for international students; he also held the positions of president, vice president, and secretary of the Byron Society of North America. In 2016 he was the recipient of Virginia Tech’s William E. Wine Award. Graham, who joined the Virginia Tech community in 1978, earned his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Duke University.