UNCG Presents Top Service Awards to 4 North Carolinians

By Steve Gilliam, University Relations

Contact: (336) 334-5371

Posted 4-3-09

GREENSBORO, NC – The four winners of UNCG’s top awards for service were announced by Chancellor Linda P. Brady on Thursday, April 2. The recipients are:

• Ann Goodnight, of Cary, Charles Duncan McIver Award, which recognizes individuals who have rendered distinguished public service to the state or nation. The bronze medal bears the likeness of Charles Duncan McIver, the founding president of the institution that is now UNCG. Her husband, Jim Goodnight, accepted her award.

• Florence Gatten, of Greensboro, Adelaide F. Holderness / H. Michael Weaver Award, which honors North Carolinians who have rendered distinguished public service to their community or state. It is named in honor of Adelaide F. Holderness and H. Michael Weaver of Greensboro.

• Dr. Sarah Langston Cowan, of Raleigh, ’65 BA, ’81 PhD, Alumni Distinguished Service Award, presented to alumni who have rendered distinctive service on national, state or local levels, and made significant contributions to the liberal arts ideal.

• Dr. Kelly Hannum, of Greensboro, ’97 Med, ’03 PhD, Young Alumni Award, which is presented to alumni who are 40 years of age and younger, and recognizes exceptional achievement and significant contribution to the recipient's profession or community, society or the university.

The honors were presented by UNCG Chancellor Linda P. Brady during a program that also recognized leaders and volunteers of the Students First Campaign, which has raised more than $110.6 million through the end of March.

“These are the highest honors that the university awards each year to community, state or national leaders for their service, and this year we celebrate the accomplishments of four outstanding individuals,” Brady said. “This year’s recipients have helped change the state of North Carolina and the Triad for the better and they have inspired all who know them and have worked with them.”

Achievements of each recipient include:

• Goodnight, whose award was accepted by her husband, lives in Cary, and is currently director of community relations at SAS, a leading company in business analytics software and services. She is dedicated to promoting education and the arts statewide. She is currently involved with the N.C. Museum of Art, UNC Board of Governors and the William and Ida Friday Institute for Education Innovation at N.C. State University. Her volunteer and philanthropic work have had a profound impact on communities and individuals throughout the state and region. She and her husband, Jim, who is CEO of SAS, have endowed several professorships at N.C. State University. Other examples of her philanthropy include awarding $3 million in software grants to the UNC system as well as grants to at least five universities in other states, supplying students at three Raleigh public schools with personal computers and training middle school teachers in technology at Cary Academy. Her numerous volunteer efforts include one program that allows employees to earn financial donations for education through their volunteer work. Last fall, she was recognized with the A.E. Finley Distinguished Service Award by the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

• Gatten, who served three terms as a member of Greensboro City Council, was honored for her work to promote the best in community leadership at the local level. Her community activities include the Moses Cone Health System Board of Trustees, the Women’s Health Services Community Advisory Group, and the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership Board. She was also the founding director of the Greensboro Public Library Foundation. Most recently, she has become a member of the Greensboro War Memorial Commission and is chair of the board of trustees of Well-Spring Retirement Community. She was a strong advocate for the partnership between the UNCG School of Nursing and the Greensboro Housing Authority, which connects student and faculty nurses to vulnerable populations. Gatten now serves as a member of the advisory board of the UNCG School of Nursing/Well-Spring Health Centers. Her service locally has been honored with the Joseph M. Bryan Rotarian of the Year, Triad Achiever of the Year by the Greensboro News & Record and Champions Cup winner for the Communities in Schools of Greater Greensboro. She owns Gatten Enterprises, a media and public policy consulting firm.

• Cowan, a textile consultant, has a relationship of more than 40 years with Woman’s College and UNCG. She has spent the last four decades working as a student, a faculty member, a dedicated alumna and a community supporter. Her first degree from UNCG came in 1965. Later she earned her Ph.D. in the textiles department in 1981. As a textile consultant, she has taught at N.C. State University, High Point University and UNCG. She was president of the Alumni Association, headed fundraising efforts for the Alumni House, and has served on boards and committees to strengthen alumni connections and advance the curriculum. She is active in Girl Scouting. She founded and ran a program for volunteers at Price Traditional School in Greensboro and served as PTA president there. She has been a math tutor for at-risk students at Kiser Middle School and a volunteer mentor with the organization Communities in Schools. An involved member at her churches in Greensboro and Raleigh, she has dedicated her time to everything from teaching Sunday School to leading boards and committees.

• Hannum, who is manager of research at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, earned both her M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees in educational research, measurement and evaluation from the UNCG School of Education. In 1999, she joined the center as a research analyst, and she has also served as a training facilitator for executives seeking leadership development at the Center for Creative Leadership. Although she qualifies as a young alumna, she has accomplished a lot in a short time. Hannum has established herself as a thought leader in the fields of evaluation, leadership and leadership development, and was awarded the Marcia Guttentag Award for early career achievement by the American Evaluation Association. She was a consultant to NASA, designing and conducting an evaluation of the affiliate component of the NASA Space Grant Program. She was a visiting faculty member at Catholic University in Lille, France, and has been an adjunct member of the UNCG faculty since 2004. From July 2008 to this February, she was a senior leadership expert with The World Bank in Washington, D.C., serving on field missions to Timor-Leste and Burundi, where she evaluated eight leadership development initiatives in conflict-affected regions.