5/5/2008 - Western presented its top faculty and staff awards for teaching, research and service for the 2007-08 academic year on Friday, April 25, at the annual spring General Faculty Meeting and Awards Convocation.

Burton Ogle, director of the environmental health program, is recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. The Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Award for faculty went to Mickey Randolph, professor of psychology, while the Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Award for administrative staff went to Bill Studenc, senior director of news services in the public relations office.

Mario Gaetano, professor of music, won the University Scholar Award, while the Academic Program of Excellence Award went to the School of Music.

The Integration of Learning Award was given to a living and learning project titled “The Spanish House: A Living and Learning Experience.”

Other major awards recognized at the convocation included the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching, won by Will Peebles, professor of music; the Excellence in Teaching Liberal Studies Award; the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, the Jay M. Robinson e-Teaching Award, the Scholarly Development Assignment Program awards; and the new Last Lecture Award. The honors were announced by Chancellor John W. Bardo; Kyle Carter, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student affairs.

DISTINGUISHED TEACHING AWARD

Burton Ogle

Ogle, winner of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, is completing his sixth year as a faculty member with the health sciences department, where he has taught courses including “From Black Death to Bioterrorism: The Public Health Solution” and “Bioterrorism and Biosafety.” Ogle is able to excite and empower students to take action to protect human health and the environment in their own communities and around the world, said Bardo. Western’s environmental health graduates go on to work in health departments in North Carolina, with the U.S. Public Health Service, and with the Peace Corps in Africa addressing basic issues such as water quality and deforestation.

“Burt’s passion and enthusiasm is infectious,” said Bardo. “He connects with students and creates strong relationships that last long past their time at Western. It is this quality of teaching and learning that make his students lifelong learners, stewards of the earth, and a continued source of pride for Burt, and for Western.”

REID SERVICE AWARDS

Randolph, winner of the Reid faculty award and a faculty member since 1988, has been praised by colleagues as someone who goes

Mickey Randolph

above and beyond in all she does. Randolph has served as psychology department head and school psychology graduate program director.

Her research interests include development of Life Fit, a program designed to foster a lifelong approach to addressing obesity in pre-teens. She is a member of the board of directors for the REACH domestic violence shelter in Sylva and of Full-Spectrum Farms, which provides advocacy and assistance to families of children with autism. Bardo said that one family has described Randolph’s work as “nothing short of amazing,” and “thanks to the distinguished service provided by Dr. Randolph, the chances of success are far greater than they were before she agreed to become our child’s friend, advocate and ally.”

Studenc, winner of the Reid staff award and a member of the staff since 1988, gathers information about the university from faculty, staff

Bill Studenc (left)

and students, and writes, edits and distributes it for publication in newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, the Web and other venues. Faculty and staff credit Studenc for his outstanding ability to communicate university news in a way that appeals to a wide audience and to generate local to national publicity for events, programs or achievements – a job he does “with competence, integrity and a keen sense of humor,” one colleague stated.

“Another colleague explained that when he expressed appreciation to Bill for helping publicize a project, ‘Bill just said that he was doing his job. In my opinion, Bill went way beyond simply doing his job,’” said Bardo.

SCHOLAR, SUPPORT AWARDS

Gaetano won the University Scholars Award, which recognizes faculty who sustain research and creative activities recognized at the

Mario Gaetano

regional or national level. A member of the faculty for more than 29 years, Gaetano has taught, performed solo, researched percussion pedagogy and methodology, and composed more than 40 original music compositions and arrangements that have been performed extensively throughout the United States and in 17 countries.

“Nearly all of these works were premiered here on campus with performances involving Mario, his fellow WCU faculty and his students,” said Bardo. “Many of his compositions and arrangements are designed for teaching a particular compositional device or performance technique. His compositions and arrangements have been performed in formal concerts at 65 universities and schools of music throughout the United States, including UCLA, Harvard and Brigham Young.”

Bardo also presented the Academic Program of Excellence Award to the School of Music, which he described as one of the top music schools in North Carolina. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize to enhance program services.

“The School of Music collaborates with a variety of entities such as the Jackson County Arts Council and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra,” said Bardo. Musical theatre productions include faculty and students on stage, in the orchestra, and conducting. Members of the faculty have served as guest clinicians and performed workshops nationwide. The marching band logged more than 9,000 community service hours, and members of the Concert Choir and Trumpet Studio have performed in Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.”

“The accomplishments of the talented faculty and staff of the School of Music are incomparable in our community,”said Bardo.

PROVOST AWARDS

Below: Chancellor John W. Bardo congratulates the winners.   April Tallant

Cynthia Deale

Sharon Dole

The Excellence in Teaching Liberal Studies Award honors a faculty member for regularly promoting significant student learning in teaching liberal studies. Provost Kyle Carter presented the award to April Tallant from the health sciences department. Carter said she challenges her students to think critically, to write well, to collaborate with others and to synthesize their learning experiences.

“April’s deep connection with her students allows her to shape their transition to college life and to instill a lifelong love of learning,” said Carter.

The provost also presented the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award – which emphasizes the integration of research about teaching and learning and the practical application of that research to teaching itself – to Cynthia Deale, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management. Deale earned the award for her study of a semesterlong project in an undergraduate tourism planning class. As students worked in groups and collaborated with the Mountain Heritage Center to help develop a Scots-Irish Heritage Trail, Deale examined the process of learning as students interacted with the subject matter, an outside partner and with each other.

The Jay M.Robinson e-Teaching Award for an online teacher who represents the best the university offers was awarded to Sharon Dole of human services. “Dr. Dole was selected on the basis of excellence in online instructional design, exceptional course organization and enduring, imaginative engagement with her students,” said Carter. “Dr. Dole employed a rich variety of techniques for course delivery, and led her scholars to the highest standards of academic performance.”

In addition, Carter announced Don Livingston of political science and public affairs as the winner of the newly created Last Lecture Award. The award, sponsored by the Committee on Student Learning, honors faculty who inspire students with passion and enthusiasm in their teaching. Livingston will deliver a “last lecture” – the words he would share if it was the last lecture he were ever going to give – this fall during Homecoming week.

Carter also announced faculty selected for the Scholarly Development Assignment Program – Nyaga Mwaniki, Constance Victoria Faircloth, Maurice Phipps, Annette Debo and Mimi Fenton.

STUDENT AFFAIRS AWARD

The Integration of Learning Award recognizes faculty members who work directly with student affairs professionals both to promote the integration of teaching with student affairs activities and to achieve jointly developed student learning outcomes consistent with the mission of student affairs and Western’s teaching-learning goals.

Miller presented the award, which comes with a $2,000 cash prize, to James Davis, modern foreign languages; Mistie Bibbee, residential living, and Lynn Mathis, residential living; for their proposal “The Spanish House: A Living and Learning Experience.” Sixteen students enrolled in Spanish 481 will live together in Central Drive Residence Hall and have peer mentors who are native speakers of Spanish. They also will develop and complete a service-learning opportunity with the community’s Hispanic population.

“The program will be administered in an authentic educational environment, in which students can put language skills acquired in class to immediate use in meaningful contexts,” said Miller. “Moreover, it will augment cultural awareness and understanding of students’ roles as bilingual individuals in changing demographic environments.”

 

OTHER AWARDS

In addition to the major university awards presented at the spring General Faculty Meeting and Awards Convocation, numerousnother faculty awards are presented at the endnof the semester. Here is a list of the awards and recipients:

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Instructional Improvement Awards – Candace Roberts, Jayne Zanglein

Microgrants – Arledge Armenaki, Marsha Lee Baker, Julie Barnes, Carroll Brown, Beverly Collins, Cynthia Deale, Linda Eargle, Dan Grube, Glenda Hensley, Nina Jean Hill, Michael Hubble, Cheryl Johnston, Harold Littleton, David McCord, Larry Myers, Phyllis Robertson, Jack Sholder, Susan Stewart, Erin Tapley, James Ullmer, Pavel Wlosok, Susan Barbour Wood

College of Arts and Sciences

Board of Governors’ College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Award – Sloan Despeaux

College of Business

College of Business Professor of Excellence – Robert Carton

Board of Governors’ Creative and Innovative Teaching Award – Stephen Jarrell and Jayne Zanglein

College of Education and Allied Professions

Botner Superior Teaching Award – Terry Rose

BOG Awards for Superior Teaching – Mary Jean Herzog, Gayle Wells, Kelly Kelley, Alvin Malesky

CEAP Dean’s Research Award – Meagan Karvonen

Exemplary Service Award – Mary Deck, Denise Royer

College of Fine and Performing Arts

James Dooley Excellence in Music Teaching Award – Brad Ulrich

Board of Governors’ College of Fine and Performing Arts Teaching Award – Claire Eye

Graduate School

Faculty Research Grants – Kathleen Brennan, Todd Collins, Cheryl Johnson, Jeffrey Lawson, Peter Nieckarz

Hunter Scholar Award – Marsha Lee Baker

Teaching-Research – Meagan Karvonen

College of Health and Human Sciences

Board of Governors’ Innovative Teaching Award – Georgia Hambrecht

Donald C. Morgan Faculty Scholar Award – Tracy Zontek

Faculty Student Engagement Award – April Tallant

Faculty/Staff Leadership Award – Marie Huff

Faculty Service Award – Lisa Briggs

Faculty Scholar Award – Billy Ogletree

Maintained by the Office of Public Relations
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 6, 2008