The Fourth Annual Institutional Values Awards were announced
in six categories at the Fall Convocation in Quirk Theatre
Sept. 29. Winners included an interim director of admissions,
three professors, a radio/television engineer and a custodial
staff.
"I would like to congratulate our Institutional Values
Award winners, both for choosing to do the right thing
and choosing to do them in an exemplary manner," said EMU
President John Fallon.
The purpose of this institution-wide award program is
to recognize the exemplary efforts of individuals or teams
working to support the EMU mission, guiding principles
and institutional values. Individual awards were given
in five categories and one award was given to honor team
excellence. Each of the awards carries a $3,500 monetary
stipend, funded by the EMU Foundation. In the case where
a team won an award, the stipend was divided equally among
the team's members.
Institutional Values Award winners were formally honored
at the convocation. Winners and their respective categories
are as follows:
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FOR THE STUDENTS: Kathy Orscheln, interim
director
of admissions, was the Institutional
Values Award
winner in the category of
Continuous Improvement,
Innovation and/or
Customer Service.
Photo by Randy Mascharka
|
Kathy Orscheln, interim director of
admissions, was the winner of the award for Continuous
Improvement, Innovation and/or Customer Service.
Orscheln has been on the front line of customer service
at EMU for nearly 30 years. She was part of the original
team that developed the FastTrack Orientation program;
helped spearhead a working group to bring 20 Saudi Arabian
students to EMU and enroll them; developed a Campus Wide
Recruiter Network for EMU professors and staff who travel
on sabbaticals abroad; was appointed to the Banner implementation
team; took a leadership role in the development of the
Pierce Hall Front Line Customer Service Team; and worked
with Alumni Relations to build the Alumni Admissions Recruiting
Team.
"Have you ever worked with colleagues who just make you
look good? Make you want to do more?" Orscheln said. "That's
what I have the privilege to do every day. Somehow, in
admissions, we have a team of people who just love to come
up with new ideas and 'team' is their middle name."
Orscheln stressed every idea she is being recognized for
includes other staff and from other offices.
"A person doesn't innovate or continuously improve or
provide good customer service in a vacuum," she said.
"Ms. Orscheln has been instrumental in coordinating a
group from very diverse departments to accomplish the enrollment
of approximately 20 students from Saudi Arabia," said Mary
Sue Marz, associate vice president for extended programs,
who nominated Orscheln. "This was done on very short
notice, and was an historic event in that it was probably
the first time everyone from these diverse had collaborated
to jointly plan and implement such a project."
"Kathy has been on the front line of customer service
for nearly 30 years at EMU," said Glenna Frank Miller,
director, McKenny Union and Campus Life, who also nominated
Orscheln. "She is well-known for her can-do attitude, her
respect for co-workers and her collaborative approaches
to problem solving."
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QUALITY CONTRIBUTION: Diane Jacobs, a
professor
of physics and astronomy, garnered the
Institutional
Values Award in the category of Contribution to
the
Quality of Student Learning Experiences. Photo
by
Randy Mascharka |
Diane Jacobs, professor, physics and
astronomy, won the award for Contribution to the Quality
of Student Learning Experiences.
Jacobs is cited for her mentoring, community outreach,
course development and service. As a mentor, Jacobs has
been a faculty sponsor for the Undergraduate Symposium
and Undergraduate Research Fair, and has given annual presentations
to students on how to successfully apply for the National
Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduate
Program.
Her outreach includes having her "Astronomy Projects for
Elementary Education" class worked with Estabrook Elementary
children, and helped develop the children's writing skills
through letters. The children wrote about what they learned
relative to space flight, planetary exploration, the constellations
and the solar system.
Jacobs also took eight of her Sigma Pi Sigma (physics
honor society) students to visit middle school students
at Spiritus Sanctus Academy to teach students about the
Mars Lander. The students did experiments to determine
the best shape for the next Lander. Their findings will
be included in a national database maintained by the American
Institute of Physics.
"I have tried to help students not only to learn the classroom
material, but also how to be citizens who use their talents
to make a positive impact on society," said Jacobs, an
EMU faculty member since 1984. "That is why I have engaged
so many EMU students in outreach projects to local K-12
students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the general public."
She has developed the courses, "Astronomy Projects for
Elementary Teachers," "Electrical Experiments for Elementary
Teachers," "Milestones in Physics and Astronomy for Teachers," and "Electronic
Devices for Scientists."
Her numerous service projects include supervising a telescope
for several hours during the 2003 Mars Mania event, updating
student achievement on the department's bulletin board
and serving as Sigma Pi Sigma adviser since 1984, the year
she got the chapter chartered at EMU.
"It is certainly a delight to be recognized for the work
I have done with our EMU student body," Jacobs said. "I
will continue to do my best to provide top-notch learning
experiences in and beyond the classroom."
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EMBRACING ATTITUDE: Elizabeth Johnson,
associate
professor of teacher education, took
home the
Institutional Values Award in the category
of
Diversity, Human Dignity, and
Multicultural/International
Involvement. Photo by
Randy Mascharka |
Elizabeth Johnson, associate professor
of teacher education, took home the award for Diversity,
Human Dignity, and Multicultural/International Involvement.
"Anything we do as educators, that is void of the human
condition, is void," Johnson said after receiving her award
and telling the lesson of the "The Velveteen Rabbit," a
story about unconditional love.
Johnson has embraced diversity in her teaching, which
is chronicled in her book, "We've Gotta Reach 'Em to Teach 'Em:
Where Teaching Intersects the Human Condition." She has
worked with Native American reservation schools in Arizona,
and provided intense professional development to staff
and parents
Johnson's awards include: People Magazine's Distinction
for "Above and Beyond," Business & Professional Women's "Woman
of the Year" Award; EMU's Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Humanitarian Award and EMU's Distinguished Faculty
Teaching Award.
"There is no individual in my acquaintance who better
personifies the highest attributes of quality, collaboration
and a commitment to inclusion," said Thomas Gwaltney, an
emeritus professor of teacher education, who provided a
letter of support for Johnson. "An overwhelming number
of students have confided to me that she is the single
best individual they have ever met, and one that is a template
for furthering diversity on our campus as well as internationally."
Johnson, an orphaned Native American, and her family were
the first in the United States to adopt triplets.
"She witnessed my passion for teaching and reaching those
who have been maligned due to exclusion and bias," said
Mary Walsh, an EMU graduate student who took some of Johnson's
classes and was recently named runner-up for National Student
Teacher of the Year. Walsh also nominated Johnson for the
award. "Now, I have and am living my dream."
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SERVICE WITH A SMILE: Claudia Petrescu,
director, American Humanics, garnered the
Institutional
Values Award for Public Engagement
and Community
Service. Photo by Randy Mascharka |
Claudia Petrescu, director, American
Humanics, garnered the award for Public Engagement and
Community Service.
During 2005-2006, Petrescu increased the number of undergraduate
students to 32 in the American Humanics program. The program,
in part, requires EMU students to complete a minimum of
300 hours of field-based experiences with nonprofit organizations.
Her community service activities include Locks of Love,
a Hurricane Katrina relief trip during Alternative Spring
Break, the Students Against Hunger and Homelessness (S.A.H.A.H.)
and VISION Hunger Banquet at Holy Trinity Church, a YMCA
fundraiser, and sold Christmas cards for Senior Alliance,
and Science is for Girls.
"Her actions demonstrate that she always has the students'
best interests at heart," said Laura Schultz, a master's
in public administration candidate who has taken two of
Petrescu's courses. "She seeks out meaningful collaborations
with community partners to ensure that students will have
a unique variety of opportunities and challenges."
Petrescu said there were many people to thank, but singled
out Rhonda Kinney-Longworth, interim assistant vice president
for academic affairs; Chris Wood Foreman, director of the
General Education program; and Kathy Stacey, professor
of communication and theatre arts, for their influence.
"Mostly, I would like to thank the county nonprofit agencies.
Everything they do touches our lives every minute of the
day," Petrescu said. "It is a very big honor to contribute
to their missions, to make lives better."
For Petrescu, the award's meaning is three-pronged in
nature.
As director of American Humanics,
she said the award means recognition and appreciation of
the importance of student engagement in the community.
As assistant professor, she said the award means recognition
of the efforts that the political science department, her
colleagues in the Master of Public Administration program,
and herself have put into developing a new area of teaching,
respectively, "in creating a minor in nonprofit administration
and in strengthening the graduate nonprofit certificate."
"As a person, I am honored and humbled by this important
award," Petrescu said. "But, I also feel challenged by
it. Now, I will need to work even harder, to do better
and more since the bar has been raised."
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MR. FIX-IT: Steve M. Martin, radio and
television
engineer in communication and theatre
arts, won
the Institutional Values Award for Support Role in
Teaching, Learning, Scholarship Research and/or
Creative
Activity. Photo by Randy Mascharka |
Steve M. Martin, radio and television
engineer in communication and theatre arts, won the award
for Support Role in Teaching, Learning, Scholarship, Research
and/or Creative Activity.
"I am very grateful to people who nominated me, and to
all those who took the time to write letters and comments
on my behalf. It is gratifying to know so many people find
value in my activities, the projects I have undertaken,
and the services I do my best to provide," Martin said. "At
the same time, it is difficult to feel worthy of such recognition,
when I think of all the people I turn to when I need information,
or help with a project or problem."
On what was described as a shoestring budget. Martin designed
eight portable carts with video (Internet) projection units
with VCR and sound for classroom use in Quirk and Pray-Harrold.
He also maintains, repairs and inventories all equipment
for the department of communication and theatre arts. In
addition, he maintains software and computer more than
50 CTA faculty and staff and assists with audio and video
productions for EMU Theatre plays.
"My position requires me to be somewhat of a Jack-of-All-Trades
at times and, of course, I can't be a master of them all
as well," Martin said. "I have been fortunate to have good
knowledgeable friends and contacts, both within and outside
the University Community, to whom I have been able to turn,
and thus have contributed in no small measure to my success
in my position here at EMU. With this in mind, I
will continue to do my best to serve those who might come
to me for assistance."
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TEAM TOGETHERNESS: The McKenny Union Custodial
Staff was touted with the Team Excellence
Institutional
Values Award. The team is (above, from
left) Greg
Tisdale, Louis Dumas, Cynthia Jones,
Marvin Bechtol,
Terry Blackmon, Robert Hall, Kenneth
Rice and Terry
Johnson. Photo by Randy Mascharka |
The McKenny Union Custodial Staff was
touted for Team Excellence. The group includes Marvin Bechtol,
Terry Blackmon, Louis Dumas, Robert Hall, Terry Johnson,
Cynthia Jones, Kenneth Rice and Greg Tisdale.
"We thank you with great pride and with great honor. We
thank Glenna (Frank Miller, director of McKenny Union)
and her staff," said Jones. "You create an environment
that makes it easy to give customer service. They also
make it fun."
The custodial staff looks forward to providing good, quality
work and customer service after the move to the new student
center in November, Jones said.
"On a daily basis, the McKenny Union custodial team supports
the University community in so many ways that it is hard
to account for them all," said Carlos Costa, associate
director of McKenny Union and Campus Life, who nominated
the custodial team. "However, in all they do, there is
one common thread: they see themselves as responsible for
helping create and maintain an inviting and friendly environment
for all the students, staff, faculty, alumni and community
people that use McKenny," Costa said.
The custodians have met the call in many ways: providing
student tours after hours; coming in over winter break
to clean up for winter orientation; and traveled to other
universities to visit their student unions and gather ideas
for the new student center.
After the convocation, winners were invited to join President
Fallon for lunch at University House.
