Dr. Florin Curta and Mr. Richard D. Reed Receive College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Awards
The
College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Awards program began
in 1997 as a way of reconnecting our students and faculty with our
alumni and our alumni with the College. The Awards are given in recognition
for the recipients’ achievements in their fields and for their
service to their departments.
Dr. Florin Curta earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from WMU in 1995 and 1998, respectively. He earned his B.A. in history and philosophy from the University of Bucharest in 1988 and his M.A. in medieval studies from Cornell University in 1999. Dr. Curta is an associate professor of history at the University of Florida. He is also working as a visiting research fellow at the University of Notre Dame. Along with many other publications, Dr. Curta is the author of The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D., which offers new perspectives on the origins of the Slavic ethnicity in southeastern Europe. In January 2003, this work earned him the Herbert Baxter Adams Prize of the American Historical Association.
Mr. Richard D. Reed received his B.A in political science with a minor in history from WMU in 1957. Shortly thereafter, he entered the Detroit College of Law, from which he graduated in 1961. After graduation, Mr. Reed worked to become law clerk for former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Theodore Souris. Mr. Reed has since owned his own law practice for more than 40 years. During his career, he has been a member of the board of directors for the Kalamazoo Legal Aid Bureau, chairman of the State Bar Representative Assembly, president of the Kalamazoo County Bar Association, and commissioner of the State Bar of Michigan. Additionally, he serves as a trustee of the Richard U. Light Foundation, which distributes $2 million each year in grants for academic scholarships and fellowships.