September 14, 2001

Loyola honors professors for 25 years of dedicated teaching

Faculty members honored for 25 years of teaching are back row (from left to right): Robert Dewell, associate professor in the Department of Modern Foreign languages and Literatures; William Horne, associate professor in the College of Music; William Hammel, chair and professor in the Department of Communications; Dee Harper, professor in City College; and H. Jac McCracken, associate professor in the College of Music. Front row (from left to right): Anthony DeCuir, associate dean and professor in the College of Music; Kathryn Lorio, professor in the School of Law; and Fr. Leo Nicoll, S.J., associate professor in the Department of History.

_During the fall convocation August 20, University President Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., honored nine faculty members for 25 years each of teaching. These outstanding professionals arrived on Loyola's campus in the fall of 1976 and continue to inspire a generation of students with their expertise, knowledge, and care.

Those honored were James Baskett, an associate professor in the College of Business Administration; Robert Dewell, associate professor in the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures; Anthony DeCuir, professor of music therapy and associate dean in the College of Music; William Hammel, chair and professor in the Department of Communications; Dee Harper, professor in City College; William Horne, associate professor in College of Music; Kathryn Lorio, professor in the School of Law; H. Jac McCracken, associate professor in the College of Music; and the Rev. Leo Nicoll, S.J., associate professor in the Department of History.

James Baskett, who teaches accounting, is a certified public accountant and holds a certificate in management accounting. He holds a doctorate in economics from University of Arizona; a master's in accounting/taxation, a master's in business administration from West Texas A&M University, a master's in economics from Texas Tech University and a bachelor's of business administration from Texas Tech.

Anthony DeCuir, M'70, G'75, professor of music therapy and associate dean, received a doctorate from LSU, a master's degree from Loyola, and a bachelor's degree from Xavier University. Decuir has been the associate dean of the College of Music since 1990 and has served as interim dean. He is an active member of the American Music Therapy Association and has served that organization in many capacities, including president (1986-88). He is published in many professional journals and has lectured throughout the United States and abroad.

Robert Dewell teaches German language and cultural history, and linguistics (The Role of Language). He served as department chair from 1982-1987, and as director of the Ross Foreign Language Center from 1988-1993. In 1997 he received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Sciences. His primary research interest is German linguistics, particularly in the area of cognitive linguistics. His most recent publications include: "Over Again: Image-Schema Transformations in Semantic Analysis," "The Separability of German über-: A Cognitive Approach," "The Construal of Space in Language and Thought, 1996," "Construal Transformations: Internal and external viewpoints in interpreting containment" and "Case Meaning and Sequence of Attention: Source landmarks as accusative and dative objects of the verb" Dewell also has developed computer-assisted pedagogical materials. He received a doctorate in German philology from Tulane and a bachelor's degree from Davidson College. Dewell had additional studies at Philipps-Universität Marburg.

William Hammel, A'61, is serving his second tenure as chair of the communications department, having served for four years in the late 1970s. He is an associate professor of communications. He holds a doctorate degree in radio/television/film from the University of Texas and a master's degree in English from Saint Louis University. Hammel taught at the University of New Orleans and Spring Hill College. At Loyola, he has taught courses in Writing for the Mass Media, Popular Culture, Art of the Film, TV Analysis and Criticism, and Film History.

Dee Harper teaches classes on criminology in City College, and he is the graduate degree coordinator for the recently established criminal justice degree program. He received a doctorate and a master's degree from LSU and a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University. He also was a post-doctoral fellow at Tulane. Harper is working with the New Orleans Police Department on providing training to police officers on handling domestic violence calls. In this endeavor, Harper teamed with former student and NOPD Captain Louis Dabdoub as well as several local and statewide health and legal agencies.

William Horne is an associate professor of music theory and coordinator of music theory. He received a doctorate from North Texas State University, a master's degree from Yale University, and a bachelor's degree from Florida State University. Horne studied piano with Roy Johnson and Ward Davenny and composition with John Boda, Yehudi Wyner, Krystof Penderecki, and William Latham. His numerous compositions include works for voice, chorus, keyboard, various chamber ensembles, and orchestra.

Kathryn Lorio's, L'73, teaching and scholarly interests are family law and the civil law of successions and donations. She has lectured and published on the legal treatment of alternative reproductive techniques. She has chaired the section on Women and the Law of the Association of American Law Schools. Lorio is active in law reform on the national level as a member of the American Law Institute and in Louisiana as a member of the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute. She has taught with the Tulane Summer Abroad program in Greece and the Loyola Summer Legal Studies program in Austria. Lorio is the Leon Sarpy Professor of Law and served as associate dean for academic affairs at the law school for the 1996-97 school term. She received a juris doctor from Loyola in 1973 and a bachelor's degree from Newcomb College.

Hubert Jac McCracken is associate professor of piano and coordinator of keyboard studies. A student of Robert Carter, Ilonka Deckers-Kuzler, and Raymond Dudley, McCracken also studied with Byron Janis, Rudolph Ganz, and Guido Agosti. He was awarded a Fulbright Grant for study at L'Academia di Santa Cecilia from 1970-72. McCracken received a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University.

Leo A. Nicoll, S.J., associate professor of history, holds a Licentiat in Sacred Theology from Jesuit College at the University of Innsbruck, a doctorate in contemporary central European history from the University of Vienna, a master's degree in history from Fordham University, and a bachelor's degree from Spring Hill College. At Loyola he has been assistant dean, member of the Board of Trustees, and member of the Loyola Corporation. He teaches World Civilization, Ancient History, Social History of Greece and Rome, Social History of Egypt, Palestinians and Israelis, Eastern European History, and History of Catholicism. He has been associated with the Honors Program for the past decade. Presently, Nicoll is working on a book dealing with Austrian-Hungarian prisoners of war in 1917-18. Prior to joining the Loyola faculty, he taught history at Spring Hill College from 1970-76 where he was chair of the department, president of the university senate, director of a student dormitory and teacher of the year in 1975.