Page Content
Colorado State University - Pueblo honors outstanding faculty and staff at luncheon
PUEBLO
– Outstanding faculty and staff leaders at Colorado State University –
Pueblo were honored at a recognition luncheon held on Wednesday, April
18. Internship Coordinator Tanya Baird was recognized as the 2012
Outstanding Professional Employee, while Records Department Transcripts
Clerk Cindy Sufian was named the Outstanding Classified Employee. Dr.
John O’Connor, assistant professor of philosophy, earned the top faculty
honor for Excellence in Teaching. The graduate faculty in the Nursing
Department earned the Outstanding Team Award.
Also honored at
the luncheon were recent retirees of the University and individuals who
achieved a service milestone for employment during the past academic
year from five to 30 years. A moment of silence also was observed for
six staff members who died within the last academic year. Dr. Luis
Valerio was honored by the University Retirees Association of Pueblo for
his work on the renovation of the Southeast Asia Memorial and his
commitment to the University.
Outstanding Professional Staff
Three
finalists for the 2012 Outstanding Professional Staff Award were
selected from 10 nominees by a campus-wide committee appointed by the
President, Provost, Vice President for Finance and Administration and
the Dean of Student Affairs. The 2012 Outstanding Professional Staff
Award was presented to a self-proclaimed workaholic, Internship
Coordinator Tanya Baird, who has brought a true internship process to
the University, informing the faculty of the importance of stating
learning outcomes, evaluating the work sites, and making sure every
student understands their rights and responsibilities before they take
on a position. She has done significant research on the personal and
professional effects of social networking, which she presents to
classrooms across campus, but presented to a national audience at the
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities National Conference
last year. She also shares her expertise by teaching a couple on-line
business classes for Continuing Education.
Other finalists for
the Professional Employee Award were Adam Pocius, coordinator of the
Instructional Technology Center, and Frank Milavec, student technology
support specialist in Information Technology Services.
Outstanding Classified Staff
The
Outstanding Classified Employees were selected from among 13 nominees
by a panel of community leaders, Dave Feamster, Little Caesar’s Pizza;
Karen Vunovich, Beck Dental Care,
Arlene Apodaca from Dept of Social Services, Child Support Division.
The
Outstanding Classified Employee for 2012 is Cindy Sufian, transcripts
clerk in the Records Department, who was described as a “dependable,
accurate, driven, and absolutely pleasant,” employee. Nominator Katie
Velarde notes that Sufian is respected and admired by her peers for
keeping customer service at the forefront always with a smile on her
face. Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management Joe Marshall is
impressed with her dedication and high levels of customer satisfaction.
She has increased the office’s efficiency by modifying the transcript
process which now handles 12,000 transcript requests annually.
Colleague Liz Duran calls Cindy as a “total team player,” who has taken
it upon herself to learn other duties in the office and to become
familiar with many other areas on campus so as to provide the best
service to the students rather than having them run all over campus for
an answer.
The first and second runner-up for the Outstanding
Classified Employee Award were Gena Alfonso, Program Assistant I,
Student Affairs, and Liam Harty, Acquisitions Tech II, Library Services.
Students’ Choice Awards
Representatives
from Associated Students’ Government, announced the recipients of the
Students’ Choice Awards. ASG accepted nominations by students for a
faculty and staff member they felt contributed the most to their
experiences at CSU-Pueblo. Student Affairs Dean Zav Dadabhoy earned the
top staff honors, while Alegria Ribadeneira, assistant professor of
English and Foreign Languages was the students’ choice as the top
faculty member.
Faculty Awards
Nominators of Dr. John
O’Connor, assistant professor philosophy, for the Faculty Excellence
Award in Teaching, say his experiments with new teaching methodologies
in his classes, his life-long learning, and his student-centered focus
are clearly making a difference. Because of O’Connor’s innovation and
indefatigable efforts, the number of philosophy majors has quadrupled
since his arrival. There is perhaps No higher compliment than when a
student keeps taking courses from an instructor, even when they don’t
get the grade they want or think they deserve. O’Connor believes
philosophy helps students get more from their other courses and more
from life.. One student commended his creativity as a professor, his
ability to adapt to student needs, as well as his capacity to innovate
and connect with students in diverse classroom environments. “He is more
than just a philosophy professor; he has been a mentor and a valuable
asset to my intellectual growth.”
The 2010 Excellence in
Scholarly/Creative Activity was presented to Dr. Brian Vanden Heuvel,
associate professor of biology, who over the last three years has
written two primary research articles, one book chapter, and five
chapters in the Jepson Floral Project. His research interests are as
diverse as nitrogen-fixing bacteria such as Frankia and the herbaceous
plants they support such as Dryas, as well as the aquatic Zebra
mussels, and plant uptake of pharmaceuticals, has He has been active in
writing grant proposals and implementing funded grants as well as an
invited grant review for the National Science Foundation. Interim Dean
David Lempuhl calls Vanden Heuvel the “poster-child for the
Teacher-Scholar model of a faculty member,” due to his enthusiasm for
including student involvement in research.
The 2012 award
for Faculty Excellence in Service was presented to Michael Mincic,
associate professor of civil engineering technology and program
coordinator of construction management for his extensive, exceptional
service and leadership to the department, CSU-Pueblo, his profession as
an engineering technology educator, and the land surveying professional
community. At state level, Mike serves as chair of the Colorado Faculty
Advisory Council and as the state wide faculty representative to the
Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He has become well known as an
educator in Colorado, a respected professional in the land surveyor
community of southern Colorado, and a trusted mentor to his students.
Mincic is a two-term senator on the CSU-Pueblo Faculty Senate, and
academic advisor to the Associated General Contractors student club,
academic advisor to as many as 40 students annually in the Civil
Engineering Technology program, as well as the primary academic advisor
to the construction management students. He is one of lead instructors
for the Summer Transportation Institute program for secondary school
students and is the CSU-Pueblo representative to the Pueblo Area
Contractors Association. He also has served on the Board of Directors
for the Southern Chapter of the Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado.
The award for Faculty Excellence in Advising/Mentoring was
presented to Dr. Carol Foust, department chair and professor of exercise
science, health promotion, and recreation, who serves as the primary
advisor for more than 70 exercise science students. She has extensive
contact with students and assists them with internships, graduate
schools, as well as professional positions. Students trust her
wholeheartedly with their academic needs and they recognize “she teaches
life altering techniques for change which we can utilize for ourselves
as well as in our future careers in health and wellness. She lives a
life I want to model, not only in her professional ventures, but in her
personal life.” Students say she is quick to encourage and guide, as
well as to amend any wrong she may make along the way. Another student
noted that “she has emulated what a health educator is, and the type of
health educator I strive to be. She helped me develop my skills and
knowledge base and introduced me to numerous people in the community
that helped build my networking base. She not only teaches and advises
these positive aspects of life but she also lives them. She has been an
inspiration not only to my future in my education but also in my life.”
The
following faculty members were honored as the top faculty member(s) in
their respective colleges for the 2011-12 academic year:
•
Christine Rochester, associate professor, Exercise Science, Health
Promotion, and Recreation, College of Engineering, Education, and
Professional Studies
• Carol Langer, associate professor and chair of Social Work, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Karen Fowler, professor of business, and Seong-Jong Joo, associate professor of business, Hasan School of Business
• Igor Melnykov, associate professor of mathematics, College of Science and Mathematics
• Shahrzad Khosrowpour, instructor, Library Services
Outstanding Team Award
The
Outstanding Team Award was presented to the Department of Nursing
Graduate Program Faculty who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles
to create the first doctoral program at CSU-Pueblo. With the assistance
of Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, Interim President Julio Leon, Senator Angela
Giron, and Representative Keith Swerdferger, SB 205 was signed in June
2010, changing the mission of the university and paving the way for
degree approvals by the Cap Board, Board of Governors, and Colorado
Department of Higher Education. The timeline was tight, but the graduate
faculty contributed their unique expertise and exception experience to
produce quality proposals and curriculum necessary to make the Doctor of
Nurse Practice a reality. Throughout the incredible journey, the
faculty demonstrated cooperation, collaboration, and open communication
along the way. They spent last summer creating a rigorous curriculum
based on national competencies and will spend this summer further
exploring best practices and lessons learned to prepare for national
accreditation visits. Due to their efforts, the first cohort of 30
doctoral students will begin their degree programs in the fall. The
graduate nursing faculty has paved the way for other doctoral programs
to be offered by the University. Nominated team members included Joe
Franta, Susan Williams, Dorothy DeNiro, Peg Rooney, Ann Galloway, Nancy
Whetzel, Libby Samaras, and Donna Wofford
Five individuals
received special notice for the longevity of their service to the
University: Martin Atteberry and Nancy Whatley, 25 years; Anthony
Bonfiglio, Sandra Lundahl, and
Barb Ramirez, 30 years.