April 12, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cal Poly Public Affairs
805-756-1511
polynews@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Music Professor Receives Prestigious CSU Award
Four faculty members and one administrator to receive $20,000 each

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly music professor, master performer and composer Craig Russell has been selected by The California State University to receive a prestigious award for excellence.

Russell was among four CSU faculty members and one administrator to be named a 2007 recipient of the Wang Family Excellence Award.

The Wang award was established in fall 1998 by then-Trustee Stanley T. Wang, who provided $1 million to reward outstanding faculty and administrators. The award is designed to “celebrate those CSU faculty and administrators who through extraordinary commitment and dedication have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements in their academic disciplines and areas of assignment.” Annually, during a 10 year-period, the recipients will receive $20,000 awards. This is the ninth year the awards have been given. 

Russell, a composer, music historian, and master of guitar and lute, has been teaching at Cal Poly since 1982. He has long been recognized both at Cal Poly and by the CSU as an outstanding teacher. Almost legendary in the classroom, his teaching spans the musical field from introductory survey classes, to Mozart, to ’60s pop. He is known for creating an appreciation for music and inspiring students to take music seriously.

In 1996 Russell received the Cal Poly President’s Arts Award for “distinguishing himself through substantial contributions to the cultural life of the university and general public.” In 1994-95 he was one of two faculty members -- chosen from over 20,000 -- to receive the CSU’s highest honor, The CSU Trustee Outstanding Professor Award.

“This award to Professor Craig Russell is wonderful testimony to the excellence of our faculty.  His ability to reach students, so that they have a greater appreciation for music, is incredible,” said Cal Poly Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, William Durgin.

Russell was trained in classical guitar at the University of New Mexico. He earned his doctorate in musicology from the University of North Carolina before going on to do groundbreaking work that brought to light the forgotten musical heritage of 17th and 18th century Mexican and Californian culture. His original compositions have been recorded and performed nationally and at international festivals.

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 About the Wang Family Excellence Award:
Wang, who served as a CSU Trustee from 1994 to 2002, is founder, president and chief executive officer of Pantronix Corp., based in Fremont.. The company provides a range of manufacturing services for semiconductor components, subsystems and modules. Pantronix's consumer base is worldwide in the medical, aerospace, telecommunications, automotive, instrumentation and computer industries. A native of China, Wang also founded Amertron Inc., a manufacturing facility in the Philippines, in 1989.

The Wang Family Excellence Award is administered through the CSU Foundation. Each campus president annually may nominate one faculty member from each of the four discipline categories. Each president also may nominate one administrator annually.

About The California State University:

The California State University is the largest system of senior higher education in the country, with 23 campuses, approximately 417,000 students and 46,000 faculty and staff. Since the system was created in 1961, it has awarded some 2.5 million degrees, about 87,000 annually. The CSU is renowned for the quality of its teaching and for the job-ready graduates it produces. Its mission is to provide high-quality, affordable education to meet the ever-changing needs of the people of California. With its commitment to excellence, diversity and innovation, the CSU is the university system that is working for California. See www.calstate.edu . 

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