Five Women Named Distinguished University Professors at the University of Michigan

The University of Michigan has announced that nine faculty members have been designated as Distinguished University Professors. The Distinguished University Professorships were established in 1947 and recognize full professors for “exceptional scholarly or creative achievement, national and international reputation, and superior teaching skills.” Five of the nine new Distinguished University Professors are women.

Sally A. Camper was appointed the Margery Shaw Distinguished University Professor of Human Genetics and Internal Medicine. Her research has focused on the genetics of pituitary disorders, hearing and skeletal development. She holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Michigan State University. She conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia.

Sharon Herbert is the Charles K. Williams II Distinguished University Professor of Classical Archaeology. She has been on the faculty at the University of Michigan since 1973. Professor Herbert holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in classics from Stanford University. She continued her education studying at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece.

Melanie S. Sanford was appointed the Moses Gomberg Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Sanford joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2003 and was promoted to full professor in 2010. Professor Sanford holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Yale University. She earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at the California Institute of Technology and then was a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University in New Jersey.

June Manning Thomas was named the Mary Frances Berry Distinguished University Professor of Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. She is also a professor of urban planning in the university’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2007 after teaching at Michigan State University. Professor Thomas is a magna cum laude graduate of Michigan State University, where she majored in sociology. She holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan.

Valerie J. Traub is the Adrienne Rich Distinguished University Professor of English and Women’s Studies. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2006 after teaching at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author or editor of several books including The Renaissance of Lesbianism in Early Modern England (Cambridge University Press, 2002). Professor Traub is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. She earned a master’s degree and a PhD. in English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.