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Tag Archives: riordan

New CRR dean at UD

13 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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apple, farquhar, jacobson, riordan, weber

photo of Bill Farquhar
photo of Bruce Weber and Bill Farquhar after the race

CRR Bill Farquhar has been named the new Dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware, effective on November 1. Farquhar follows in a growing line of Creek Road Runners who have assumed high-ranking positions within the academic leadership of the First State’s flagship educational institution. With Farquhar’s new position, two of UD’s colleges will be led by Creek Road Runners, the other being CRR Bruce Weber, current Dean of the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.

These two academic leaders are also fast. Both were regulars in the teams that Creek Road Runners fielded in recent years past in the Delaware 4-Person Marathon Relay, including its winning marathon relay team in 2018.

CRR Eric Jacobson insists that this is “more evidence that UD leadership considers CRR membership and 5K times when selecting deans and [other high-level administrative positions].”

photo of Charlie Riordan
photo of Tom Apple

Other UD leaders among Creek Road Runners have included CRR Charlie Riordan (former Vice President of Research, Scholarship and Innovation) and CRR Tom Apple (former Provost), both of whom were on the chemistry faculty.

“Bill Farquhar is the ideal person to build on the College of Health Sciences’ momentum and strong reputation as we develop new opportunities and innovations,” said UD president Dennis Assanis. ”A nationally respected researcher and scholar, he also brings a deep knowledge of our college and our University that will serve him well in this important role.”

From 2011-17, Farquhar served as chairperson of the College of Health Sciences’ Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology. A fellow of the National Academy of Kinesiology and fellow and vice president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), he also served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology and co-chaired ACSM’s World Congress on the Basic Science of Exercise and Vascular Health.

Congratulations from the global CRR community!

> See UD article on Farquhar being named dean

Riordan moving on, moving up

20 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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deshon, Hofstra, promotion, riordan, weber

photo of Charlie Riordan

As of July 1, 2022, CRR Charlie Riordan will assume his new position at Hofstra University, in Hempstead, N.Y., as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Riordan, UD’s Vice President of Research, Scholarship and Innovation, came to the University of Delaware faculty in 1997 and quickly came onto the Creek Road running scene. CRR Mark Deshon still remembers his introduction to Riordan back then while running on Creek Road. “I was curious about who this guy was in the basketball shirt running ahead of me, so I caught up and introduced myself [and him to Creek Road Runners], and we became friends and running companions.”

1999 photo of “Millennium Men”

In 1999, Riordan was one of five “Millennium Men” who ran the initial “Wring Out the Old, Ring in the New” trail run—Creek Road Runners’ annual holiday season run at Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.

photo of Bruce Weber

Dean of UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and CRR Bruce Weber says of Riordan, whose primary role in recent years at UD has been administrative, “Charlie is one of the most principled colleagues with whom I’ve ever worked.” Weber added that Charlie has always had the best interest of the University in mind when it came to making critical decisions for the institution. That’s truly high praise from one of our fastest runners.

As a scientist, Riordan has been elected to both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Though we’ll be sad to see him move out of the area, we hope Riordan will make it one of his first priorities to initiate a Creek Road Runners outpost on Long Island.

Congratulations, Charlie!

Riordan “most influential”

28 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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riordan, science and technology, University of Delaware

In an exclusive article published in the News Journal this week about the most influential Delawareans in seven categories, CRR Charlie Riordan was one of the 15 individuals highlighted as being most influential in science and technology.

photo of Charlie Riordan

Not just a runner, Riordan, who joined the University of Delaware faculty in 1997, “oversees the university’s research office, six university-wide research institutes, and ‘core’ facilities.” Under his leadership, “more than 1,500 faculty, staff, and students have been approved to return to their research work since early June. Riordan is an internationally renowned inorganic chemist” (and all-around nice guy).

Creek Road Runners congratulate him on this recognition.

CRR co-founder Bob Bennett dies at 78

21 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by deshon in News

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bennett, cottrell, Creek Road Runners, Delaware Sports Club, deshon, fischer, kaliakin, obituary, Pike Creek Valley Running Club, riordan, rose, taggart, white

photo of votive candleIt is with sadness that we announce that CRR Bob Bennett, co-founder of the Creek Road Runners, died on Monday, March 16, at his home at age 78, after a prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Bennett grew up in Washington, D.C., where he wrestled and ran track and cross-country for St. Alban’s, the Episcopal school associated with the National Cathedral. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which time he ran track and cross-country, competing well among the rival ACC schools. He went west to Stanford for graduate school, where he continued his running with local clubs and some of the West Coast’s elite runners at the time.

photo of Bob Bennett running

Here’s Bob in his heyday in the 1988 Run For Bruce 5K.

Bennett met his wife-to-be, Joan, in graduate school, and they came to the University of Delaware for his faculty appointment in the English department in 1969. Bennett’s love of Shakespeare professionally and the environment as a citizen were second only to his love of running.

Early into his time here in Newark, he joined forces with other advocates to block the proposed reservoir project that would have turned much of one of the areas of what is now White Clay Creek State Park from a natural woodland into a big lake. We Creek Road Runners remain beneficiaries of this civic victory, made possible by Bob and others having fought this proposal.

photo of Bob Taggart, Bob Bennett, and YoUDee

Bob shares the podium at the 2013 Blue Hen 5K with CRR Bob Taggart and YoUDee.

In terms of running, Bob was always one of the best in his age group in the area; his main competitors were CRR Bob Taggart and the late Doug White. In the fall of 1980, he met a young runner who had recently joined the staff at the University of Delaware—Mark Deshon. Together, they conceived of and began organizing the Creek Road Runners.

CRR Mark Deshon remembers:

Bob and I had great times together, beginning when we met nearly 40 years ago after a race on campus. He won the race, and I came in third that day. He and I began training together and remained training partners for the next 20 years.

photo of Bob Bennett running

Bob loved the downhills, shown here in the 2004 Turkey Trot.

In our second race together, the 1980 Turkey Trot 10K, we each achieved a personal breakthrough. Bob and I battled most of the way, he stretching into a lead on the downhills and me catching up to him on the uphills, until the final turn for home onto Barksdale Road. Seemingly out of nowhere, Bob blasted by both Doug White and me—a youngster of 24 at the time, out-sprinting us and clocking in at 34:01 (at age 38!).

I also remember how valuable Bob was to me as I trained for my one-and-only marathon in 1991, sharing both his vast experience and energy on my behalf. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve that milestone without him and others with whom I was running at the time. He and I shared many runs and races together, both on the roads and trails.

photo of Bob and Mark

Bob and Mark Deshon pay homage to CRR Jim Fischer in 2012.

Bob was one of my dearest friends, and it was sad to see his decline over the past several years. I’m glad I got to spend some of that time with him—early on jogging in the park, later walking the trails, and most recently (when he neither could get around very well nor remember me), just visiting him.

photo of “Millennium Men” on Dec. 31, 1999

Bob (center) ran the initial Fair Hill trail event in 1999 with CRR Mark Deshon, CRR Vic Kaliakin, CRR Skip White, and CRR Charlie Riordan.

photo of Bob Bennett and other CRRs

Bob shows off our 10th anniversary trail run–event shirt among other Creek Road Runners at UD in 2012.

CRR Skip White remembers:

I remember, starting the fall semester at UD in 1987, suiting up in the (old, old) general locker room around noon and going outside to stretch, where I ran into Mark, Bob, and CRR Steve Cottrell and asked if I could join them. I was instantly welcomed into “the club” and had new friends for life.

Bob and I were a little less than five years apart, so, unluckily for me, every five years we were in the same age category. I can’t remember how many times Bob beat me, but I do remember the two times that I beat him!

 

CRR Bill Rose remembers:

I first met Bob and Joan Bennett at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church around 1990. I quickly appreciated that Bob was a gentle soul who loved teaching at the University of Delaware and sharing with students his love of literature, especially Shakespeare.

I first raced against Bob at a 5K at St. Thomas’s in October 1993. I remember it because it was my fastest 5K ever, and he beat me. My last run with him was a very nice couple of miles at the end of December 2014, at the annual Fair Hill trail event.

photo of Mark Deshon and Bob Bennett

Bob is at peace and having fun on Creek Road with Mark Deshon in 2017.

Bob wrote a book, Romance and Reformation: The Erasmian Spirit of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, which was published by the University of Delaware Press in 2000. The “Erasmian” in the title refers to the great Dutch humanist Erasmus. Like Erasmus, Bob was a scholar and a humanist. I am glad I knew him. I will miss him.


Bennett leaves behind his wife, Joan, and adult children Miriam and Aaron, their spouses, and three grandchildren.

> University of Delaware memorial article
>
Bob Bennett’s obituary

Riordan will shine

07 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by deshon in Kudos, News

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Tags

Dunkin' Donuts, riordan, UD

photo of Charlie RiordanCharlie runs on Dunkin’Congratulations to CRR Charlie Riordan who was just appointed Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Innovation at the University of Delaware. These three areas certainly cover a lot of ground on campus. We know that Charlie will shine; the question is… Will he still run? Could depend a lot on corporate sponsorship (see image at right), although with his new position, we imagine a bit of a bump in that category too. See you on Creek Road, Charlie.

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