MARQUETTE, Mich.—Northern Michigan University Professors Timothy Compton, Alec Lindsay and Suzanne Standerford are recipients of the 2013 Distinguished Faculty Awards honoring their university and professional contributions.

Compton joined the NMU faculty in 1989 and has served as head of the modern languages and literatures department since 2000. He recently completed one year as interim director of International Programs. Compton administers the international studies major and minor, supervises secondary education foreign language student teachers, is academic coordinator of the ESL program, directs the NMU language laboratory and organizes the annual Spanish language field day for advanced high school Spanish students from the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. Compton has done extensive research on Mexican theater.

Lindsay began his teaching career at NMU in 2002, shortly after earning his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He has spent more than 18 years studying the evolution and behavior of the common loon and began a genetic analysis of the loon population through his 2012-13 Peter White Scholar Award. During a previous sabbatical, Lindsay received National Science Foundation support to collaborate with Boston University researchers on a related genetic sequencing project, which allowed him to familiarize himself with the technology and data analysis he would use in studying the loon genome. He has many ornithology-related presentations and publications to his credit and serves the Michigan Audubon Society as vice president and executive committee member.

Standerford had worked 19 years in K-12 education as a classroom teacher and elementary reading/math specialist before earning her doctorate. She was hired by NMU in 1992. Standerford was the founding director of the Upper Peninsula Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project based in Berkeley, Calif. She led efforts to assess and improve graduate programs in the School of Education as a member of the NCATE accreditation team in 2006-07 and now directs NMU’s graduate programs in reading. She has supervised efforts to develop online options and is responsible for restructuring, revising and promoting graduate programs in reading. Her research has focused on issues of literacy and school reform.