Two Distinguished University Professors named

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Two UT faculty members have been recommended to receive the rank of Distinguished University Professor.

They are Dr. Laurie A. Dinnebeil, Judith Herb Endowed Chair of Inclusive Early Childhood Education in the Judith Herb College of Education, and Dr. Clinton O. Longenecker, Stranahan Professor of Leadership and Organizational Excellence in the College of Business and Innovation.

The honorees were selected from 11 nominations submitted to the Academic Honors Committee.

Dinnebeil, a faculty member at the University for 21 years, has a national reputation in special education, and has distinguished herself with her exceptional record of teaching excellence, extramural funding, service on national boards, and leadership of national organizations. She is nationally recognized for her advocacy in the field of early childhood special education and early intervention.

She is a recognized authority in an emerging model for preschool special education service delivery that focuses on intervention with young children in inclusive, community early learning centers and family homes. Her body of work has been cited in more than 600 academic works, including many in top-tier journals. In support of her research, she has garnered more than $10 million in external funding, primarily from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

In the area of teaching, Dinnebeil has touched the lives of many students over the years. She has designed and taught 25 different courses. She is dedicated to doctoral education in particular and has mentored 240 students both at UT and other institutions through the Division for Early Childhood’s Consortium for Innovations in Doctoral Education initiative, the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children online program for doctoral excellence that allows students to engage in collaborative learning activities with other doctoral students and faculty across the country. In recognition of her efforts, Dinnebeil received a new five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Longenecker has been with the University for 30 years as a faculty member and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in marketing and a master of business administration in management from UT. He has established a stellar reputation in teaching, research and service.

He is a globally recognized expert in the areas of performance improvement and management development. His research addresses real business and management problems that affect organizational productivity and survival. In recognition of his outstanding scholarly achievements, Longenecker was awarded the UT Outstanding Research Award in 2008.

In 2013, Longenecker was recognized by The Economist as one of the top 15 Business Professors in the world — one of only two Americans. He has an extensive management consultant portfolio with clients that include a number of Fortune 500 firms and entrepreneurial organizations, including Owens-Illinois Inc., Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Marathon Oil Corp., Dana Corp., Parker Hannafin Corp. and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His research is regularly featured in national media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, CSPAN, NPR, NBC Radio, and many local and regional outlets.

Recently, his work on leadership has become a template for ethics training across the branches of the United States military. More than 4,000 senior officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Pentagon have benefited from Longenecker’s training, and his work is required reading at service academies.