UMD hosts Faculty, Staff and Years of Service Awards
Written by Tyler Schendel | Archived Nov. 10, 2020
A number of UMD staff and faculty members were honored for their work in front of a packed crowd in the Kirby Ballroom. Photo by Tyler Schendel.
UMD faculty and staff from many different departments gathered together at the Kirby Ballroom on Wednesday, April 18 for the Faculty, Staff and Years of Service Awards Ceremony. Years of Service Awards, the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Public Service were just a few of the honors given out during the event.
In addition to those recognitions and awards, the event also honored the winners of various prestigious awards. Tracey Bolen, director of the Labovitz School of Business & Economics (LSBE) Advising and Academic Services, was recognized for receiving the John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.
LSBE Dean Amy Hietapelto spoke to the audience about Bolen’s extensive work at UMD, such as helping implement the Passport to Professional Success Program in LSBE, which is designed to help students develop leadership, problem-solving, motivation, creativity and more.
“Tracey exemplifies the epitome of excellence in undergraduate advising,” Hietapelto said. “Over the years, Tracey has spent countless hours working with students to help them find their professional goals and creating an appropriate academic plan that leads students to attaining these goals.”
The event also recognized both of UMD’s recipients of the Horace T. Morse Award, associate professors Mitra Emad and Geoffrey Bell, for their outstanding contributions to undergraduate education. Emad led efforts to establish the UMD Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning while Bell was instrumental in creating LSBE’s sustainable organization minor.
Hietapelto spoke to the audience about Bell’s contributions to the university’s mission, praising him for the impact that he has had on his students through both teaching and advising.
“As best articulated by his students, he excels in the realm of teaching and inspiring the love of learning,” Hietapelto said.
The award ceremony also acknowledged winners of other prestigious awards, like the Horace T. Morse Award. Photo by Tyler Schendel.
Emad, who works in the fields of Anthropology, Sociology and Criminology, has researched students’ naturalized technology practices to help shape college classrooms. Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Olaf Kuhlke gave a speech for Emad, crediting her for having a tremendous impact on the use of technology in CLA.
“Mitra has really shown in so many different ways with so many different initiatives that integration of technology in the liberal arts and our curriculum is not just desirable, but it’s absolutely necessary,” Kuhlke said.
Among one of the more interesting awards was the Outstanding Staff Team Award, which is awarded to groups who implement special projects to significantly enhance campus objectives. UMD’s web management team, formally called the Drupal Migration Team, was introduced by Chancellor Lendley Black before receiving the award.
“This team, comprised of both ITSS and marketing employees, gets a lot of feedback, and that’s an understatement I’m sure,” Black said. “They always act with excellence in mind.”