Four exceptional professors have been named to the university's most prestigious ranks as ASU Regents' Professors for 2007. The selection was ratified Jan. 23 by the Arizona Board of Regents.

The honorees are: Download Full Image

• Laurie Chassin, professor of psychology.

• Robert Denhardt, director of the School of Public Affairs.

• Subhash Mahajan, director of the School of Materials.

• Richard Rogerson, Rondthaler chair of economics.

Regents' Professors stand out for their accomplishments in many areas, including excellence in teaching, exceptional achievements in research or other creative activities, and national and international distinction in their fields. They serve as advisers to the university president and take on a broader role as consultants and teachers throughout the university.

“The four individuals chosen this year to be Regents' Professors exemplify the university's ideal for professors,” says Elizabeth D. Capaldi, ASU's executive vice president and university provost. “They are superb scholars, excellent teachers, and university and discipline citizens who build programs and work with students while changing the world through their own research. We are very happy they are here, and that we can recognize their achievements.”

Nominations for Regents' Professorships are made by faculty members and are submitted to a nominating committee in the fall. The prestigious honor includes an increase of $5,000 to the faculty member's base salary, as well as an annual grant of $5,000 to support their scholarly endeavors.

Below is a brief description of the honorees' accomplishments:

• Chassin's research in child clinical psychology has earned her a multitude of leadership positions in the field, as well as continuous funding from the National Institute of Health. As a principal investigator of a prevention-training grant and author of more than 140 publications, Chassin has been a leader in developing and conducting longitudinal studies of children and families at risk for substance abuse and associated mental health disorders.

• Denhardt, an author of 17 books and more than 60 journal articles, has earned national acclaim for his research and developments in organizational studies. He is a winner of the American Society of Public Administration's lifetime achievement award, and he has produced research in phenomenology and critical theory that helped redefine the field of public administration.

• Mahajan, a leader in electronic materials, has been recognized for his international contributions to materials science. His extensive publishing career as editor of a leading journal in the field and an author of an undergraduate textbook, coupled with his pioneering work on semiconductors, led to his being elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005.

• Rogerson's macroeconomic research and well-published work have made him a leading expert in labor economics and an important consultant to four Federal Reserve banks. His transformative papers on such issues as labor supply have appeared in the renowned economic journals Review of Economic Dynamics and the American Economic Review , for which he serves as co-editor.