May 8, 2014
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At the Spring Faculty Luncheon, from left: S. Griffith, J. Garvey, L. Tentler, L. Wortham, L. Poos, S. Margeton, P. Taylor, J. Gatwood, J. Brennan. Retiring faculty members with an accumulated 177 years of service to The Catholic University of America were honored during the Spring Faculty Luncheon held May 6 in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center. James F. Brennan, provost, spoke briefly at the event, thanking all faculty members for their service. "I think it's important that we as an academic community of scholars come together from time to time to remind each other of our contributions to this University and to simply enjoy the company of one another as we celebrate our bond of common dedication to student success at this University," he said. Brennan shared highlights of the retirees' academic careers and lauded their contributions to Catholic University. He also acknowledged L.R. Poos, who will be stepping down as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences after 12 years. Poos will continue serving the University as a professor of history. University President John Garvey also addressed the faculty. The seven retiring faculty members include: Joseph (Jody) Gatwood, professor of music, Benjamin T. Rome School of Music Gatwood has dedicated a long and productive career to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, while simultaneously maintaining a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral violinist. For 25 years, he served as concertmaster of the prestigious National Philharmonic and as a member of the University's own Rome Trio. In 2011, upon his retirement from the National Philharmonic, the organization instituted the Jody Gatwood Education Fund, which is used to preserve and perpetuate the educational and outreach programs of the National Philharmonic. Every summer, Gatwood serves on the faculty of the National Philharmonic's String Institute and this month, he is giving a master class for the organization. He has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the National Gallery of Art. Paul Taylor, associate professor of music, Benjamin T. Rome School of Music Taylor received his Ph.D. in music theory from The Catholic University of America and has dedicated his entire professional teaching career to the music school. He was assistant dean for 17 years, from 1985 to 2001; chair of the Curriculum Committee; and a trumpet player for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra for many years. Stephen G. Margeton, emeritus professor of law, Columbus School of LawMargeton earned his A.B. degree from Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., in 1967, his J.D. degree from George Washington University in Washington in 1970, and his master's degree in library science from Catholic University in 1973. After working as a law librarian, a reference librarian, and a legal research instructor, Margeton was appointed librarian of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1985, where he also served as a statutory officer of the court until 1988. He served as the director of the Judge Kathryn J. DuFour Law Library of the Columbus School of Law from 1988 to 2013. Leah Wortham, emerita professor of law, Columbus School of LawWortham graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., in 1970 and earned her J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1973. She joined the faculty of the Columbus School of Law in 1981 and served as associate dean from 1990 to 1995. She is an editor and co-author of Learning from Practice, the first textbook for general externship clinical programs. Since 1996, she has maintained a relationship with Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, where she has done considerable training of law teachers and students regarding legal ethics, clinical education, and legal education reform. Wortham has also worked extensively with the bar of the District of Columbia in a number of capacities regarding legal ethics and the regulation of the legal profession. Rev. Sidney Harrison Griffith, professor emeritus, Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, School of Arts and SciencesFather Griffith earned a B.A. in philosophy from the Holy Trinity Mission Seminary in Winchester, Va., and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the same institution in 1965, the same year he was ordained a priest. He received a master's in library science from Catholic University in 1966, followed by the Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1967 and a Ph.D. in Semitic and Egyptian languages and literatures in 1978. He has been a member of the CUA faculty since 1977 and an ordinary professor since 2001. Father Griffith has published over 120 articles and seven books, including The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam, which won the Albert C. Outler Prize of the American Society of Church History for the Best Book on Ecumenical Church History, 2006-2008. Father Griffith was the director of the Early Christian Studies graduate program from 1984 to 1999 and served three terms as chair of the department. He has been secretary of the Institute of Christian Oriental Research continuously since 1978. Leslie Woodcock Tentler, professor emerita, Department of History, School of Arts and SciencesTentler received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1975. She served on the faculty of the University of Michigan at Dearborn from 1973 to 1998, and as a visiting professor of history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1983 and 1990. Tentler came to Catholic University as an ordinary professor in 1998 and served as the chair of the Department of History from 2005 to 2007, as director of the Center for American Catholic Studies from 2001 to 2005, and as campus coordinator for the Collegium Summer Institute on Faith and Intellectual Life from 1999 to 2009. Tentler is the author of several books and has published more than 25 articles and chapters in scholarly works, including several widely noted articles on the challenges and dilemmas of writing American Catholic history. She is the recipient of the Jerome Award of the Catholic Library Association for her contributions to Catholic scholarly life. Tentler serves on the editorial boards of U.S. Catholic Historian and Washington History and was the recipient of the James E. Dornan Memorial Teacher of the Year Award.