Faculty and staff honored at Lehigh Appreciation Dinner

Nearly 500 Lehigh community members gathered in Stabler Arena on April 29 to celebrate the university’s staff and faculty at the annual Lehigh Appreciation Dinner. Associate Professor Kashi Mae Johnson served as emcee for the evening’s awards and recognition program.

In her welcoming remarks, President Alice Gast noted that the dinner’s theme this year was “In The Spirit Of One Lehigh.”

“'One Lehigh' is emblematic of the great work we do together in teams and as colleagues throughout the year, she said. Some years ago our strategic thinking led to a strong call for 'one Lehigh.' We have made good progress ... We have unified our admissions recruiting and candidates’ day, and we present ourselves as one Lehigh to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. We continue working on becoming truly one with one another as we celebrate our different backgrounds and our unity in the common mission at Lehigh.”

The presentation of the 2014 Lehigh University Awards once again demonstrated the breadth and depth of faculty and staff scholarship and activity. Among the winners were an expert in Chinese archaeoastronomy, the chief of the university’s police force, and a department coordinator with 40 years of service.

The following faculty members were honored with awards:

Sabrina Jedlicka, Materials Science and Engineering, received the Hillman Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Student Advising.

Parveen Gupta, Accounting, was awarded the Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Award for Excellence in Teaching. This award goes to a member of the faculty who has demonstrated not only mastery of his or her field and superior ability in communicating it to others, but also an exceptional talent for encouraging students.

Kerney Jebrell Glover, Chemistry, and Jeetain Mittal, Chemical Engineering, received the Eleanor and Joseph F. Libsch Early Career Research Award, honoring a faculty member (or members) early in their research career demonstrating the potential for high-quality research and scholarship.

David Pankenier, Modern Languages, and Michael Stavola, Physics, was honored with the Eleanor and Joseph F. Libsch Research Award, given to a faculty member (or members) conducting distinguished research.

Grace Caskie, Education and Human Services, received the Hillman Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Advising.

Kathy Olson, Journalism, received the Deming Lewis Award, presented to the faculty member judged by the 10-year reunion class to have had the most significant impact on their educational experience.

Parvathinathan Venkitasubramaniam, Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Alfred Nobel Robinson Faculty Award for achieving excellence in teaching or research and advancing the interests of the university.

Saladin Ambar, Political Science, received the Robert C. and Virginia L. Williamson Award for Social Science Research for his book How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012).

Holona Ochs, Political Science and Mark Snyder, Chemical Engineering, received the Lehigh University Early Career Award for Distinguished Teaching, which is presented to a junior member (or members) of the faculty for distinguished teaching.

Elizabeth Dolan, Health, Medicine and Society Program and English, was honored with the R.R. and E.C. Hillman Faculty Award. This award is given to a faculty member for achieving excellence in teaching or research work, or for advancing the interests of the university.

Frank Pazzaglia, Earth and Environmental Sciences, received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for distinguished teaching.

David Griffith, Marketing, received the Carl R. and Ingeborg Beidleman Research Award in Business and Economics. This award highlights quality research and refereed scholarship in business and applied economic disciplines at Lehigh.

Yung-Yu Ma, Finance and Law, received the Robert and Christine Staub Faculty Excellence Award in Business and Economics, given to a faculty member who has made a positive difference in the lives of students, the college community, or among fellow faculty members.

The following staff members were honored:

Michele Bennyhoff, Accounts Payable, received the John W. and Barbara R. Woltjen Award, which is presented to a member of the nonexempt staff in the Finance and Administration area who showed commitment and dedication to Lehigh and demonstrated exceptional service to the campus community.

Linda Dreisbach, Sherman Fairchild Center, received the Hillman Nonexempt Staff Award for excellence in performance and advancing the interests of the university.

Grant Hittinger, Library and Technology Services (LTS ) Client Services, received the Employee Relations Advisory Committee (ERAC) Distinguished Service award which recognizes outstanding service of an exempt or nonexempt Lehigh employee.

Patricia Ward, LTS, received the Louis and Helen Zirkel Library Staff Award, established to honor outstanding performance and service by library staff.

Mary Yotter, College of Education, received the Perry and Carol Zirkel Nonexempt Staff Award, which recognizes outstanding performance and contributions by a member of the nonexempt staff.

Brian Slocum, Wilbur Powerhouse, received the Hillman Exempt Staff Award, for excellence in administrative, teaching, or research work or for advancing the interests of the university.

Sara Rodgers, LTS, was honored with the Lehigh University Award for Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes significant contributions to the Lehigh community.

Stephen Michael Anthony, LTS Client Services, was awarded the Alfred Nobel Robinson Staff Award for outstanding performance in service to the university and unusual promise of professional achievement.

Edward Shupp, Lehigh University Police, received the Paul J. Franz Award recognizing a professional staff administrator who combines excellence of performance with a service of dedication and devotion to Lehigh University.
 

The university bid farewell to employees who have retired in the past year:

• Laura J. Cambiotti, Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Patricia A. Chase, Facilities Planning
• Elaine M. Clymer, Admissions
• Norman J. Girardot, Religion Studies
• Janice E. Kish, Accounts Payable
• Dolores A. Krause, Accounts Payable
• Rosemary H. Krauss, Martindale Center
• Elizabeth S. MacAdam, Engineering Research Center – ATLSS
• Helen P. Mack, LTS Library Access
• Lisa Masterson, Athletics
• Shirley Matlock, Modern Languages and Literature
• Jacqueline Matthews, Human Resources
• John G. Nyby, Biological Sciences
• Janet T. Pfingstl, Development Office
• Kathyrn S. Plotts, Dean’s Office, PC Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
• Ricky L. Rupp, University Police
• Sally A. Schray, Chaplain’s Office
• William R. Scott, History
• Barbara H. Traister, English
• Ramamirtham Venkataraman, Mathematics
• Susan A. Verbalis, Dean’s Office, College of Arts and Sciences
• S. David Wu, Dean’s Office, PC Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science

Employees who attained 25 years of service were also honored:

• Stacey Alderfer, LTS Technology Management
• Peter Bryan, Engineering Research Center – ATLSS
• Helen Columba-Piervallo, College of Education
• Constance Cook, Modern Languages and Literature
• James Dearden, Economics
• Gary Falasca, Facilities Services
• Eileen Gorzelic, Provost Office
• Lizanne Hurst, LTS Technology Management
• David Jones, LTS Technology Management
• Irene Jones, Athletics
• Richard McGarr, University Police
• Thomas Meischeid , Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
• Kathleen Milmine, Finance and Administration
• Linda Muckey, Bursar’s Office
• Rebecca Navedo, DOS – Student Life
• Mary Nicholas, Modern Language and Literature
• Barbara Pavlock, English
• Allen Quier, University Police
• Richard Sause, Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Arnold Spokane, Education and Human Services
• Nancy Speck, College of Business and Economics
• Michael Stavola, Physics
• Nicola Tannenbaum, Sociology and Anthropology
• Samuel Weaver, Perella Department of Finance
• George White, Education and Human Services

The event program also recognized the recipients of 2013-2014 Spot Bonus Awards and 2013 Tradition of Excellence Awards. In addition, attendees participated in a moment of remembrance for the 20 members of the Lehigh faculty and staff community who passed away during the past year.

More photos and coverage of the 2014 Lehigh Appreciation Dinner and awards ceremony will be included in the June issue of Spotlight.