By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 5-7-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Faculty, staff and students at UNCG received awards for teaching, research, scholarship and service during the Excellence Day program on May 6. The award winners are:
• Staff Excellence Awards – Brooks G. Graham, director, Office for Adult Students, and Rose Smith-Marsh, officer, UNCG Police.
• Alumni Teaching Excellence Awards – Dr. Matina Kalcounis-Ruppell, assistant professor, Department of Biology, and Dr. Heidi Carlone, associate professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
• Research Excellence Awards – Michael Parker, professor, Department of English, and Dr. Olav Rueppell, associate professor, Department of Biology.
• Gladys Strawn Bullard Awards for Service – Staff, Miriam C. Barkley, retired director of web communications; faculty, Dr. Daniel Winkler, professor, Department of Accounting and Finance; and student, Issa Gakou of Greensboro.
• UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching – Amy Lixl-Purcell, associate professor, Department of Art.
• UNCG Service Pins – For 35 years, Maggie Davis, Political Science; Joshua Hoffman, Philosophy; John Maggio, Art; William Tullar, Business Administration; Jerry Vaughan, Mathematics and Statistics; Jennifer Brown, Financial Planning and Budgets; Lynne Crye, Facilities; and Cathy Roberts, Intercollegiate Athletics; and for 30 years, Nanny Foster, Teaching & Learning Center; Connie Prater, Theatre; Tomi Register, Education; Kenneth Caneva, History; Mary Ellis Gibson, English; Ginger Karb, Nursing; William Karper, Exercise & Sport Science; Elizabeth Lacey, Biology; Stephen Layson, Economics; Paul Mazgaj, History; Sharon Nash-Sellars, Continual Learning; Venus Pinnix, Counseling & Educational Development; Ellen Redmond, Enrollment Services; Mark Schumacher, University Libraries; and Wallace Perdue, Buildings & Trades.
Graduate student awards
• Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards – Regan Burney, School of Human Environmental Sciences; Charles Robison, School of Health & Human Performance; Nathaniel Ivers, School of Education; Cynthia L. Wagoner, School of Music; Elizabeth Walton, College of Arts & Sciences; M. Naveed Baqir, Bryan School of Business & Economics.
• Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award – Jessica Kaczorowski, Department of Psychology, “Neurological Soft Signs in Psychometrically Identified Schizotypy.”
• Outstanding Dissertation Award – Dr. Yu Kai Chang, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, “Exploring the dose-response relationship between acute resistance exercise intensity and cognitive function.”
• George and Beatrice Goldman Fisher Thesis Award – Brandi McCullough, Department of Sociology, “’React and Go With It’: Interviewing Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease about their Friendships.
Student Excellence Award Winners
The following UNCG students received Student Excellence Awards, the institution’s top honor, at the annual Honors Convocation. Only juniors and seniors are eligible to receive the awards. The students were chosen from more than 6,000 UNCG juniors and seniors and represent a select group. Nominees for the awards must have overall grade point averages of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. Speaker for the event was Dr. Porter Aichele, professor of art history. The awards were established in 1971 to recognize UNCG juniors and seniors, and recipients must be judged "superior to other able students" in such qualities as intellectual talent, analytic or critical ability, creativity, originality and initiative, and perseverance in academic pursuits.
Winners and their academic majors are:
• Alamance County – Ashley Andrews, interior architecture, and Jack Walleshauser, chemistry, both of Burlington; Rebecca Fecher, history, Graham.
• Buncombe County – Megan Hughes, human development and family studies, Asheville; Katherine Vish, philosophy, Weaverville.
• Brunswick County – Alegria Rodriguez, dance education, Phoenix.
• Carteret County – Jill Sollenberger, biochemistry, Morehead City.
• Catawba County – Benjamin Shook, psychology and philosophy, Hickory.
• Chatham County – Jordan Brafford, human development and family studies, Bear Creek.
• Clay County – Katy Landis, recreation and parks management, Hayesville.
• Craven County – Melinda Alston, communication studies, Havelock.
• Davie County – Ashley vonClausburg, dance, Mocksville.
• Davidson County – Michelle Martin, exercise and sport science, Lexington; Rebekah Sanders, nursing, and Chad Workman, exercise and sport science, both of Thomasville.
• Durham County – Dillon Bono, economics, Taishika Knight, sociology, and Sterling Taylor, political science, all of Durham.
• Forsyth County – Casey Strange, sociology, Winston-Salem; Kyra Haifley, marketing, Joshua Long, biology, and Katie Scott, nursing, all of Kernersville; and Joshua Johnson, philosophy, Tobaccoville.
• Franklin County – Hannah Bristow, speech pathology and audiology, Franklinton.
• Guilford County – Jodi Bennett-Bradshaw, anthropology; Meghan Fitzgerald, biology; Jacqueline Hobbins, chemistry, Meghan Hoffman, drama, Elizabeth Nemitz, nursing; Thomas Patterson, special programs, Robert Shimer II, Spanish, Donna Smith, anthropology, Janice Swanson, nutrition, and Ayshia Waddell, speech pathology and audiology, all of Greensboro; Kassandra Miller, health education, and Robert Norris, sociology, both of Oak Ridge; Erin Andrews, English and women’s and gender studies, of High Point; Sarah Gaffney, exercise and sport science, Jamestown; Joseph Neal, classical studies, Colfax.
• Lincoln County – Megan Wilson, dance and French, Denver.
• Mecklenburg County – Candace Lapan, psychology, Charlotte; Matthew Wilhelm, mathematics, Cornelius.
• Randolph County – Brittany Atkinson, international business, Asheboro; Tamoor Asif, biochemistry, and Lauren Sher, mathematics, both of Archdale.
• Vance County – Margaret McCaskill, mathematics, Henderson.
• Wake County – Alyson Gustin, speech pathology and audiology, and Stephanie Rinehart, media studies, both of Cary; Rachel Pullen, political science, Raleigh; Jill Sharpe, nursing, Garner; Christine Gould, history, Fuquay Varina.
• Wilkes County – Dana Shumate, nutrition, Moravian Falls.
• Maine – Chelsea Litalien, business administration, Biddeford, Maine.
• Maryland – Lauren Stevens, chemistry, Bowie, Md.
• Nebraska – Allison Conley, interior architecture, Omaha, Neb.
• New Jersey – Samantha Bardarik, English and classical studies, Somerset, N.J.
• Mexico – Johanna Cochran, business administration, Veracruz.
