Oakland University selects four as recipients of Doris and Paul Travis Professorship

Four Oakland University professors have been selected as recipients of the Doris and Paul Travis Professorship, which recognizes OU faculty for excellence in teaching, service, and scholarship/creative activity.

The professorship is awarded to four faculty — one each from the Department of Music, the Department of Theatre, the Department of Dance, and the Department of Art, Art History and Design — for a three-year period, during which they receive an annual stipend of $5,000 and annual professional development funds of $2,000.

“I am so pleased for our faculty awardees,” said Dr. Elisabeth Honn Hoegberg, director of OU’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance, and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The extremely generous gift of the Travis family not only recognizes the outstanding contributions our faculty make to the OU community and broader arts world, but also ensures that they are supported to continue and grow in their work.”

The 2025 Travis Professorship recipients include:

• Kimmie Parker, an associate professor of graphic design and graphic design program director in the Department of Art, Art History and Design;

• Melissa Hoag, chair of the Department of Music, professor of music theory, and music theory program coordinator in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance;

• David Gram, associate professor of theatre in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance;

• Thayer Jonutz, associate professor of dance and director of the Repertory Dance Company.

“This support means a lot to me as an arts practitioner, scholar, teacher, and dedicated member of the greater OU community,” Gram said. “It also fuels my ongoing commitment to the department, the School, and the College.”