Holy Cross Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Scholarship and Student Advising

Two faculty member at the College of the Holy Cross—Robert Bellin, associate professor of biology, and Stephanie Yuhl, associate professor of history—are the recipients of the College’s  Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Awards. The annual awards are made possible by a generous gift from Richard A. Marfuggi, M.D., ‘72, in honor of his mother.

Bellin received this year’s Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship, which is given to a faculty member with an exemplary record of scholarship and outstanding achievement in the creation of an original work in the arts and sciences.  A biochemist who earned his Ph.D. at Iowa State University, Bellin’s research focuses on the role of syndecan proteins in both normal and diseased cells.  His most recent work advances techniques for modifying cell growth and controlling cell adhesion, which has implications for the treatment of numerous diseases including cancer.  The recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation Grant for research and training in biology, Bellin has published articles in several of the leading science journals including the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Molecular Biology, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Nature Protocols.  A member of the biology department faculty since 2002, Bellin lives in Worcester.

Yuhl received this year’s Mary Louise Marfuggi Faculty Award for Academic Advisement, which honors faculty who have demonstrated effective academic advisement and mentorship of students that was extraordinary in quality and sustained at least three years.  A member of the history department faculty since 2000, Yuhl specializes in 20th-century U.S. cultural and social history, public history, the history of the South, and American women. 

“What makes her advising so unique,” wrote one of her students as part of the recommendation process, “is that she asks the tough, often avoided questions; the questions that challenge you to think,” adding that she has a “candid, yet endearing and enlightening advising style.”  A resident of Worcester, Yuhl earned her Ph.D. from Duke University.