Basehart Recipient of Regents Faculty Award

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Harry Basehart, professor of political science in Salisbury State University's Fulton School of Liberal Arts, is one of only three professors throughout University System of Maryland to receive the Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Service. The award includes a plaque and $1,000 grant.

Basehart will be recognized at a ceremony this spring for his long-standing commitment to public service through SSU's Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement (PACE); development of student internship programs at local, state and national levels; and service to Maryland on Governor Parris Glendening's Special Committee on Voting Systems and Election Procedures, created after alleged voting misconduct in Florida during the 2000 presidential race.

"Few faculty members have invested so much energy and expertise in making the possibilities of the highest levels of citizenship real for our students," said SSU President Dr. Janet Dudley-Eshbach.

PACE, co-founded with Dr. Francis Kane, SSU philosophy professor, sponsors undergraduate research in the area of government and also serves as a resource for local officials.

One of PACE's most successful initiatives was a student voter registration drive that resulted in more than 1,000 completed registration applications and absentee ballots.

PACE also was an important information resource during Salisbury's debate on whether to adopt a city manager or remain with a city council-mayor form of government. Basehart and Kane prepared a 45-page background report--Mayor-Council vs. Council-Manager: Two Forms of Self-Government--that explained the advantages and disadvantages of each.

During his 27-year tenure, Basehart has become one of SSU's most respected professors; he is winner of Distinguished Faculty Award, which is voted on by the faculty.

He is also a Vietnam veteran who has worked to establish ties of understanding between that country and the United States.

Through PACE internships, student-conducted election polling, and personal community service work, Basehart has engaged a whole generation in political action.

"In this community he has exemplified the belief that a part of each life is made complete be service to the common good," said Salisbury Mayor Barrie Parsons-Tilghman.

For information call 410-543-6030 or visit the University's Web site at www.salisbury.edu.