Named Professors in the

College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy

Distinguished Professor of Public Policy
School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy
Research: Energy, environmental policy.
Distinguished Professorships recognize deserving senior members of the faculty.

ARAMARK Chair in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management
Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management
Research: Food service management, international management, cost control, total quality management.
The chair is supported by a gift from ARAMARK Corp., an international company that specializes in food services for stadiums, arenas, campuses, businesses and schools.

Robert Edelsohn Chair in Disabilities Studies
Department of Individual and Family Studies
Research: Disabilities, community inclusion.
The chair was established by Lanny and Micki Edelsohn and named for their son Robert, who has developmental disabilities.

Emily L. Phelps Director of The College School
School of Education
Research: Students with learning differences.
The named directorship was endowed by benefactors Lisa and David Spartin, in honor of Emily L. Phelps, Lisa Spartin's grandmother.

H. Rodney Sharp Chair in Human Services, Education and Public Policy
School of Education
Research: Early childhood language acquisition and development.
The H. Rodney Sharp Chair, made possible by an endowment provided by the Unidel Foundation, is named for one of the University's most generous benefactors. Sharp's financial contribution to UD was one of the largest from a private donor to any American university, and he also took a personal interest in the details of the campus where he was graduated in 1927. He worked with the landscape architect to create portions of The Green that are unchanged 70 years later. He is the namesake of Sharp Hall and Sharp Laboratory.

Robert J. Barkley Professor of Educational Development
School of Education
Research: Mathematics education, processes of learning and teaching in mathematics classrooms.
The professorship is named for Robert J. Barkley, a 1919 UD alumnus who joined the Hercules Inc. engineering department in 1940.

Dr. Irma Ayers Professor of Human Services
Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies
Research: Online visual merchandising, social perception as a function of dress, customer service, consumer behavior.
The professorship is named in honor of Irma Ayers, who served from 1948 until her retirement in 1972 as chairperson of the then home economics program.

H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Educational Studies and Psychology
School of Education
Research: Applied cognitive science.
The professorship is named for H. Rodney Sharp, one of the University's most generous benefactors. Sharp's financial contribution to UD was one of the largest from a private donor to any American university, and he also took a personal interest in the details of the campus where he was graduated in 1927. He worked with the landscape architect to create portions of The Green that are unchanged 70 years later. He is the namesake of Sharp Hall and Sharp Laboratory.

Charles P. Messick Chair of Public Administration
School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy
Research: Education, school reforms, accountability.
The chair was established by the University to honor Charles Messick, a 1907 graduate who for more than 40 years devoted his talents to the problems of governmental administration in the state of New Jersey and the nation.

L. Sandra and Bruce L. Hammonds Professor in Teacher Education
School of Education
Research: Teacher education
The professorship is named for L. Sandra Hammonds, who graduated from UD in 1987 with a major in education and has served as chairperson of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy Campaign Steering Committee, and Bruce L. Hammonds, a Bank of America executive who has served as a member of the Lerner College of Business and Economics Visiting Committee.

Louis L. Redding Chair for the Study of Law and Public Policy
School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy
Research: Civil rights law and policy.
The Chair honors Louis L. Redding, a Delaware civil rights pioneer committed to using the law to achieve social justice for all Americans.