REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Geography
Abdi Ismail Samatar, professor, Department of Geography, Environment & Society, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, joined the faculty in his department in 1993. He is described as a world-class scholar, a global citizen, a public intellect, and a dedicated member of our University community, who through his work has promoted social justice around the world. He is credited with contributing to the reconstruction of war-torn Somalia, the strengthening of civil society in post-apartheid South Africa, and rebuilding educational sites in conflict zones in Africa. Not only did Samatar assist in securing resources to help re-establish schools and colleges, he also taught at the newly established Amoud University in Northwest Somalia. He has also served as an appointed member of the Mogadishu University advisory board and as a volunteer instructor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. In recognition of his significant contributions and efforts, Samatar was appointed by the parliament of Somalia as a member of the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission to monitor and oversee the country's recent presidential election. In addition, his contributions to the Minnesota and International Somali communities are significant. He is the author of four books, which examine the critical problems of development and the construction of sustainable societies, the meaning of effective democracy, and the role of the post-colonial state. Over the past decade, Samatar has served as director of Graduate Studies and as associate chair and chair of the Department of Geography. He also has served on numerous department, college, and University committees. One person wrote, "Abdi Samatar has personified that element of the Regents Mission on University Service, Outreach and Community Engagement. I can think of no member of our University community more deserving of the President's Award for Outstanding Service for 2018 than Professor Abdi Ismail Samatar."
Job Titles:
- Senior Lead Business Analyst, Academic Support Resources
Aileen Lively, senior lead business analyst, Academic Support Resources, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, has provided excellent service to the University for 35 years. Her contributions and accomplishments include, leading the adjustment and verification of student records during the conversion from quarters to semesters as part of the PeopleSoft implementation, creating best practices and standards for that system, creating the University's electronic degree application system, "eDegree," and most recently, leading the student records module within the PeopleSoft Upgrade. Described as a brilliant analyst, Aileen is credited with cultivating an atmosphere across the University that promotes best practices in technical developments that serve the needs of students, faculty, and staff. Because of her approach, the University of Minnesota is on the IBM Best Practices list. Aileen is most definitely an exemplary role model and the University is a better place because of her contributions.
Job Titles:
- Regents Professor of History, College of Liberal Arts
Allen Isaacman, Regents Professor of History, College of Liberal Arts, is known for his commitment to service, scholarship, mentoring of students, and institutional leadership. He has shaped the development of an international community of scholars and professionals in international affairs at the University of Minnesota and throughout the world. Since his arrival in 1970, he has been devoted to enlarging the channel for minority students, to internationalizing the curriculum, and to training a new generation of scholars from Africa and other parts of the developing world. Under his leadership, the History Department created a graduate program in the History of African Peoples, linking the strengths in U.S., African, and Latin American History. He led in the establishment of a series of partnerships with other colleges and universities and became the founding director of the MacArthur Program/Interdisciplinary Center for the study of Global Change. The MacArthur Program has had a transforming impact on graduate training across the university, breaking down barriers between colleges and schools in the humanities, social sciences, and professional education. His co-nominators wrote, "We share his commitments and have benefited from the changes his work has wrought in the university, its graduate teaching mission, its diverse student body, and its intellectual community."
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Amy Lee
, professor, Department of Writing Studies, director of First-Year Writing, and director of Faculty Engagement for Student Readiness, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, joined the University in 1999. In her many leadership roles, Lee has supported access and success for an increasingly heterogeneous population of students and been instrumental in preparing graduates for the cognitive and intercultural complexity of the 21st century, all while deeply committed to developing the capacity of scholars, practitioners, and administrators to engage and value diversity. Her drive to continuously center students, equity, and excellence supports the University community in translating vision into strategic action. As director of the First-Year Writing program, Lee's vision has led to the hiring of quality instructors who were drawn to the program due, in part, to her innovations, including the development of eight guiding frameworks in the curriculum that prioritize student equity and inclusion alongside core rhetorical principles of writing instruction. Lee has revitalized professional development paths and opportunities for the CLA instructors that she supervises, improving the annual review processes, opportunities for instructor check-ins and observations, ongoing training and support, and reflective practice groups. In her various leadership roles, Lee has helped to organize workshops on anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable teaching. Her service to the University includes membership on the Senate Judicial Committee, the Council on Liberal Education, and the Advisory Board for the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. The nomination letter included the following quote from a colleague of Lee's: "Anyone at the University of Minnesota who has been lucky enough to work with Amy Lee knows the unique and valuable perspective she brings to all of the work she does at the U. Full of energy, insight, innovation, and creativity, Amy is constantly looking for ways to improve intellectual life at the University, with a strong sense of commitment and integrity. Her enthusiasm and positivity are contagious, and she inspires others to join in making the U a better place to work, study, and learn."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor and Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Care
Amy Pittenger, associate professor and head, Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as a professor, researcher, author, advisor, confidant, and constant supporter of student and University success. Along with being a highly accomplished scholar in the areas of educational innovation, experiential learning, and learning technologies, Pittenger has devoted untold hours of service to her college, to the University, and to her discipline on a national and international scope. Pittenger's leadership roles within the College of Pharmacy include co-chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Task Force, director of the Pharmacy Learning Collaborative, and principal investigator, co-investigator, or consultant on grant funded projects totaling more than $8 million. She is the author of 43 peer-reviewed publications and one book. On the national level, Pittenger has served in elected or appointed positions in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Education Research Association, and the National Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice. Her awards include Induction into the Academy for Excellence in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the University of Minnesota Health Sciences (formerly known as the Academic Health Center) (2015), the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Award for Excellence in Experiential Education (2017), and the Teaching Excellence Award for Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems at the University (2008, 2009, 2010). Pittenger is repeatedly invited to serve on or lead committees and in situations that require masterful conflict resolution and consensus- finding expertise. She co-chaired the Provost's Child Care Advisory Committee in 2018 to such effectiveness that she was subsequently asked to serve on the Child Care Advisory Team. She also served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee (2018) and the Presidential Transition Committee. As chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee (2019-20), she deployed inclusive and action-oriented approaches to guide discussions and planning around the turbulent proposed renaming of four campus buildings, the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrupt pivot to online learning, and the University of Minnesota provost search. One nominee wrote, "Amy is able to balance the need for decisions with the need for respectful interactions with poise and thoughtful determination to advance the quality of our university."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Environmental Health and Safety
Andrew Phelan, assistant director, Environmental Health and Safety, has served the University of Minnesota with distinction for 25 years. His exceptional service has consistently been demonstrated in his efforts and commitment to advancing the University's capacity for system-changing projects, practices, and policies that advance the University's environmental health and safety, sustainability, and its mission and its goals. His primary responsibility is for the oversight of the operations and compliance aspects of chemical waste management for the University. He is also responsible for the Chemical Safety Day Outreach Program, which provides hazardous waste services to schools and non-profit organizations throughout the State of Minnesota. He was instrumental in the creation of the University-wide Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Policy. The impact of this policy moved the University to the forefront of efforts to protect the environment in operations and research on local, national and international levels. He has served as chair of the Waste Abatement and Pollution Prevention Committee, which is charged with implementing the Regents' Policy on Waste, Abatement and Pollution Prevention. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Committee on Sustainability and the TCF Stadium, serves as the staff to the Master Planning Committee's work team on Natural Features and Open Spaces, and serves as a member of the UMore Park Environmental Task Force. One person wrote, "He is trustworthy without restriction, open minded, and a pleasure to work with. He insists on quality, and excellence, and his decisions are made after broad and deep collaboration, introspection, and with long-term thinking on the decisions we make for the University community. Andy's work helps to extend the quality and reputation of the University."
Job Titles:
- Professor of Computer Science at the University of Minnesota
Angel "Andy" Lopez is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Over his career, he was the architect of Morris' campus computing plan, the founder and long-time director of the campus computing center and the key player in the development of the UMM computer science major. He and his spouse established "Info-Link," a Morris business that provided the first internet service in western Minnesota, which is an important internship teaching site for many UMM computer science majors. He has served in numerous leadership roles at Morris and all-University assignments including serving as chair of the University Senate Committee on Information Technology, the interim chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics, and on numerous search committees in and outside his division. He is known for his contributions to students of color and international students. He is described as a superb adviser with high expectations while demonstrating great patience.
Anissa Lightner is the assistant director for student-athlete welfare in the McNamara Academic Center for Student-Athletes (MAC) at the University of Minnesota. For more than six years, she has worked in the area of NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success) and student-athlete welfare. She has gone above and beyond her job duties by bringing in new ideas and programs to the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills program at the University of Minnesota. She is also credited with serving as an exemplary mentor and role model for the interns employed by the MAC. Some of the programs she has developed include the Young Professionals Dinner, Jobs and Internships, Resume Book, and Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community (MAGIC). Under her outstanding leadership, a partnership was developed with St. Jude's Medical Foundation. The Foundation generously donated a bus to support the MAGIC program, which provides student-athletes with quality outreach opportunities. The bus is used to take student-athletes into the community and to transport children to campus. She also has been instrumental in championing community campaigns such as Eat Smart, Play Hard, a program aimed at children to motivate them to exercise and eat healthy; and, Tobacco Free is the Way to Be, which sends student-athletes from the University to speak to groups of school children about the dangers of tobacco smoke and second-hand smoke. Over 500 student-athletes took part in the 300 community outreach activities organized by her and the teams. In addition, she led the athletics department's effort to honor and recognize the Native American communities during the month of November and Black History Month in February. One person wrote, "It is my hope that the President's Award Committee will realize the amazing contributions Anissa Lightner has brought to the University of Minnesota, the Twin Cities community and the lives of hundreds of Gopher student-athletes. I truly believe that Anissa embodies the spirit of this award due to her unbelievable commitment to service."
Job Titles:
- Manager of Payroll Services
Ann Beattie is the manager of Payroll Services and plays a key role in implementing the payroll aspect of PeopleSoft and subsequent upgrades. In addition to her responsibilities as payroll manager, for fifteen years she has played a major role in the success of the University of Minnesota's Community Fund Drive (CFD). This year, she was responsible for the management of collecting and reporting contributions of over $1 million dollars. She was instrumental in developing the first time ever e-donation form for the CFD Web site as well as creating new processes and streamlining existing systems. The e-donation proved to be very important to the campaign's success. She has also played a pivotal role in volunteer training over the past fifteen years. One person wrote, "I can think of no person more deserving of the President's Award for Outstanding Service - the award would seem to have been designed for Ann. The best part would be that she is the kind of person who does not extend herself for the recognition of an award but simply to be helpful."
Ann Pflaum has served the University for nearly four decades in her roles as Title IX coordinator, associate dean for external relations in the College of Continuing Education and since 2000, University of Minnesota historian. Her contributions to the University and beyond are extraordinary. She wrote a book with Stanford Lehmberg titled The University of Minnesota: 1945-2000, championed equity and diversity, contributed to the Scholars Walk, Heritage Markers, and the Wall of Discovery, and provided leadership and support for several celebratory events during the University's 150 th year anniversary. Ann was also instrumental in leading the Minnesota History Project, a collaborative initiative between the University of Minnesota and then, St. Cloud State University. This initiative, which resulted in a published book, captured the early history of Minnesota before it became a state. Ann played a vital role in the restoration of the Campus Club and Northrop Auditorium. In addition, she provided colorful on-air historical commentary during inauguration ceremonies for President Eric W. Kaler. Ann's service to the University and contributions to its culture are truly exceptional.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished McKnight University Professor
Ann S. Masten, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, is a professor in the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development. She joined the faculty ranks in 1986 and since then she has established an extraordinary record of service to her department, the college, the University and beyond. Ann is described as a dedicated, service-oriented researcher, leader, instructor, mentor, and human being. Internationally renowned for her research on resilience in children, she is credited with helping to initiate the Competence Longitudinal Study, a community-based project conducted in collaboration with the Minneapolis Public Schools. Under her leadership, this project produced a significant body of knowledge, theory, methods, and scholars devoted to understanding the development of competence and resilience in high-risk children. Because of Ann's expertise, she is highly sought after to respond to community concerns, especially where children have been exposed to extreme adversity. She has worked with the Cambodian war refugees in Minnesota that were victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide and she has trained professionals from Bosnia and Croatia on recovery programs for war-affected children and youth. In addition, she has served on numerous boards focused on the well being of children in Minnesota. She participated in statewide training for first responders in Louisiana prior to Katrina, and worked closely with faculty in New Orleans on research and policies directed at recovery post-Katrina. Ann has given of her time and expertise to the Wilder Foundation and to People Serving People. Her service to students is exemplary. Two people wrote, "No discussion of Ann Masten's service would be adequate without great attention to her care and concern for students. We could fill pages with examples of Ann going above and beyond for her graduate and undergraduate students. Ann approaches her students as people first, caring about and responding to them as individuals." Her track record of service to the University is long. She has served on many University committees such as the Regents Professorship Nominating Committee, the Graduate Education Council, the Faculty Education Advisory Committee, several search committees, and two terms as a University Senator. She is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions for her teaching and research. Ann's service on professional organizations is equally as impressive. Currently, she is the president of the Society for Research in Child Development, and is a member of the U.S. National Committee for Psychology (appointed by the National Academies), to name a few.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of History
Ann Waltner, professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts (CLA) and director, Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, has provided outstanding leadership and service to her department and college, the University of Minnesota, and beyond, for almost thirty-years. In her department, she has served as a member or chair of some its most important committees, including the Graduate Studies Committee and the Committee on Promotion, Tenure and Merit, as well as numerous search committees. Ann has also served as associate chair of the Department of History. She is the co-founder of the ongoing Workshop for the Comparative History of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and the founder of a weekly reading group at her home where students read together difficult texts of the Chinese historical and literary cannon. Her reading group has included faculty from the University and other local colleges, graduate students, undergraduates, as well as scholars from institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia. Her outstanding service to CLA includes serving on the Promotion and Tenure Committee and the Committee on Curriculum, Instruction, and Advising. As associate dean for academic affairs, she was charged with leading the process of converting the curriculum from the quarter to the semester system (1997-2000). After her term ended as associate dean, Ann was asked to take the leading role in an initiative to revitalize the study of Asian languages and literature, which she did successfully. In 2005, she was chosen as the founding director of the IAS. In this role, she is credited with bringing new forms of intellectual vitality and cross-disciplinary excitement to the entire University community and to the broader public. Under her exceptional leadership, the IAS programs present fresh, innovative, and interdisciplinary approaches to topics of compelling interest. An example of her extraordinary ability to bring disciplines together is when she helped to form the collaboration between an experimental choreographer and a cutting edge biomedical engineer, resulting in the innovative Moving Cell Project, which attracted local and national attention. One person wrote, "Her combination of seriousness, generosity, and intellectual acuity have made her one of those handful of people who sustain and foster for future generations the University's tradition of excellence. Professor Waltner's unique combination of intellectual brilliance, talent at managing and motivating people, and administrative vision has enhanced the University of Minnesota's global reputation."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Anna Wirta Kosubuski, assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, joined the faculty of her department in 2015 after receiving her doctorate in education. She is described as dedicated, devoted, compassionate, and a trusted collaborator with Native American leaders. Wirta Kosubuski's dedication not only to her students, but to the greater community of Native American students and families in Minnesota, is unparalleled. For more than 20 years she has been a mentor and advocate for Native American medical students, diligently supporting and encouraging them to become the next generation of scientists and health care providers. Her service goes beyond the University and her community, having served in the Gulf War as a United States military medic. Wirta Kosubuski was also part of a team of authors that developed the Association of American Medical Colleges' first publication addressing the critical need for Native American physicians. She is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Student Diversity Affairs, the University of Minnesota Medical School Admissions Executive Committee, the Native American Mentoring Program Executive Committee, and the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus Admissions Committee. Wirta Kosubuski was awarded three consecutive Regenerative Medicine Minnesota Education Awards (2016-2018). With funding from the awards, Wirta Kosubuski created a series of educational outreach programs for Native American communities in northern Minnesota, bringing science and learning opportunities to underserved students in the region. One person wrote, "I greatly admire her outstanding dedication to supporting and encouraging our students and working to develop the next generation of scientists and healthcare providers while ensuring equitable access to excellent education for all of our state's youth."
Job Titles:
- Professor of Neuroscience
Dr. Georgopoulos is Professor of Neuroscience, Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota. He also holds the American Legion Brain Sciences Professorship and is Director of the Brain Sciences Center at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. In addition, Dr. Georgopoulos has recently been named the McKnight Presidential Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Georgopoulos is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on neural mechanisms underlying movement. Extending his study of movement into the cognitive domain, Dr. Georgopoulos is now at the forefront of unraveling the neural basis of conceiving and planning movements. He is also the "crown jewel" of a large, successful and highly interactive group of neuroscientists on this campus who study cognitive science and motor control. He is a vital part of the fabric of the neuroscience community at the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Richard C. Jordan Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Arthur Erdman is the Richard C. Jordan Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a recipient of the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. He is also the director of the Medical Devices Center. He is credited with the success of the Design of Medical Device (DMD) Conference, a three-day conference that has grown to over 1,000 attendees annually, with the majority being from industry. He is one of the co-founding editors of the Journal of Medical Devices, which published the abstracts and papers from the DMD Conference. The impact of such activity is profound as it puts the University of Minnesota on the international map as one of the prominent academic institutions in the field of medical device design. His service to the University is impressive. As a member or a chair, he has served on dozens of governance committees, advisory committees, selection and search committees, and facility planning committees. He was a significant contributor as member of the TCF Bank Stadium planning committee. As co-chair of a subcommittee on the Campus Master Plan Task Force, he served as a staunch advocate for extending the Scholars Walk to the river and better use of the river edge. He also played a key role in making the University of Minnesota Boathouse a reality. He is known for his dedication and commitment to students and particularly to the concept of a world-class scholar-athlete at the University. He served as a resource teacher mentor for three years in the Early Career Faculty Learning Community Center, where he provided support for 36 junior faculty members annually to develop their full teaching potential while maintaining their role as scholars in a major research university. One person wrote, "Art is one of those rare faculty who not only contributes through his scholarship and teaching, but also through his exceptional service that has been critical to our department and to the University."
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, Disability Services
Barbara Blacklock, program coordinator, Disability Services, Office for Equity and Diversity, leads the development and implementation of ideas to improve the campus climate for students with disabilities across the University of Minnesota and the nation. Barbara is credited with creating and implementing the College Model, which was designed to better serve students in the Academic Health Center (AHC) because of their vastly different access needs. The College Model has been instrumental in providing exceptional service to students in the AHC and now has expanded to other colleges at the University. She consults nationally on how to develop effective "college models" of service delivery within academic settings. Barbara also is an expert in the field of student mental health. In 2005, she was asked to co-chair the Provost's Committee on Student Mental Health. In this role, she has helped raise awareness about issues related to mental health; she has been instrumental in effecting policy change; has helped to improve the conditions at the University for students with mental health conditions; and she has served as a model of collaboration for the University as well as other universities. Her highly effective efforts include the development and launching of the Student Mental Health website. An extraordinary educator, professionals in the field and other prestigious institutions seek her expertise in the field of disability services. One person wrote, "She has applied her knowledge of the field to create new models of service, worked tirelessly for student mental health awareness, supported our University and the field by educating others about disability-related topics, and has been a mentor to many. In short, we have all greatly benefited from Barb's work."
Beatrice (Bebe) Magee has worked in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development as a Senior Scientist since 1987. In this role, she has managed a laboratory known for its cutting edge molecular biology experimentation, and has served as a mentor and teacher for many junior scientists. Her research focuses on the human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans (she is the co-discoverer of mating in Candida). She is known nationally and internationally for performing one of the worlds first karyotypes of Candida albicans using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Because of her research accomplishments and leadership, the University of Minnesota has become one of centers of research excellence regarding pathogenic fungus. Her commitment to teaching, research, and outreach are extraordinary. The impact she has had on research and those she has taught and mentored will be felt for years to come.
Benjamin G. Sharpe is a senior academic advisor in the Office of Academic Advising in the Institute of Technology (IT). For more than 30 years, he has served the Institute of Technology and the University with dedication and distinction. During the reorganization of IT Student Services, he transitioned into a senior academic advisory position while maintaining his previous full-time position as IT transfer admissions coordinator. For more than a year, he assumed the responsibility of two positions. He is credited with building a database that provides course equivalencies that allow students to determine how their courses and credits transfer to the IT and how they meet degree requirements. He established equivalency tables for physical sciences, math and engineering courses for all colleges and universities in Minnesota, the upper Midwest, nationally and internationally. He is considered to be the catalyst in developing articulation agreements with several regional colleges and universities. He also played a key role in the development of dual degree programs, which includes more than 40 colleges and universities. He volunteered to serve as the IT Office of Academic Advising liaison for undergraduate student veterans and worked to educate IT staff on issues and concerns related to student veterans. One person wrote, "It is clearly evident that Ben Sharpe does not shy away from hard work, especially when the work is related to helping another. His service spreads across the globe and into the minds and hearts of students, families, and fellow colleagues. In addition, with every effort, Ben is a positive representation of the University of Minnesota and our dedication to student services."
Betsy Friesen, director, Management and Access, University of Minnesota Libraries, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as "a huge-hearted, one-of-a-kind treasure that makes an extraordinary difference for us all." She has an international reputation as a knowledge leader in the ever-changing jurisdiction of providing access to library and information resources. While her technical prowess in the access environment is remarkable, it is her ability to build relationships and foster collaborative communities of practice that has moved innovation forward for the global library community. Friesen has been deeply involved with the American Library Association, the ExLibris Users of North America, and the International Group of Ex Libris Users as an engaged, proactive, volunteer member catalyzing change not only at the local level, but with peer institutions throughout the world. The University of Minnesota's brand and reputation is continually advanced by Friesen's work in the international library systems community, where she is regularly invited to present at national and international conferences, and has led many groups toward the global betterment of research libraries and their supporting information systems. In collaboration with the Weisman Art Museum curator for collaborations, she produced an exhibit titled The Section of Disapproved Books, enlightening the campus community to books that are banned in U.S. incarceration facilities. Friesen's diversity of interests and generosity in sharing her talents is behind the extensive volunteer time and effort she contributes to her local community. She has worked with emergency response officials on disaster preparedness, teen drug and alcohol prevention, and, as "Star Wizard," has taught planetarium astronomy in her local elementary school. One nominee wrote, "At every turn, Betsy's values, professional ethos, and passion drive her to get information into the hands of those who need it, as friction-free and equitably as possible."
Job Titles:
- Executive Administrative Specialist
Betty Jo Johnson, Executive Administrative Specialist in the College of Education an Human Development's Development and Alumni Relations Office, has worked at the University for almost thirty years. During her tenure, she has worked tirelessly to promote civil service/bargaining unit employee excellence. Described as an activist and leader, she worked as an official union steward, advising employees of their rights under the bargaining unit contract. She has played a significant role in the planning and organization of the Annual Staff Day for Civil Service/Bargaining Unit employees and the years of service events. She has also served as a member and then co-director of the Civil Service/Bargaining Unit Initiative, an initiative created to improve the workplace climate for women. She is truly a champion for University staff. Not only is she is an outstanding community builder among her peers but within her college as well. Each year she is instrumental in planning the college's recognition event, which brings staff from various offices together on a social basis. In addition, she has been an active volunteer for freshman convocation and organizing blood drives. Betty Jo has contributed to the life of faculty, staff, and students in many ways. One person wrote, "She is an exceptional member of the University of Minnesota community, and a shining example of how one person can really make a difference."
Job Titles:
- Advisor and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies
Beverly Atkinson, Senior Academic Advisor and Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies, English Department, is both an alumna and a graduate student in English. During her thirty-one year tenure, she has worked tirelessly to improve the University's service to undergraduates and the professional development of the graduate students, staff, and faculty with whom she works. She has advised more than 800 undergraduate students, served on the UMTC Council for Liberal Education, CLA's Course Review Committee, and the Academic Staff Professional Leave and Promotion Committees. She was instrumental in the creation of the All-University Academic Advising Network and served on its first board. Currently, she is involved in the University Curriculum Integration for Study Abroad project. Because of her dedication, and the role she has played in creating a network of alumni and others in the community, a scholarship fund was established in her name. One person wrote... "Bev is, perhaps above all, an advocate for our students. She is always looking for ways to make the University of Minnesota a better place, and the education it provides more satisfying and effective for its students."
Bilin Tsai, professor emerita, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), joined the faculty at UMD in 1976, making her one of the pioneer women faculty in the science departments that make up the Swenson College of Science and Engineering. Tsai was instrumental in establishing UMD's Women's Studies Department and developing a mentoring program for women students in science and engineering. She has been an outstanding faculty leader at UMD, the University, and nationally, and is known for advancing student achievement through teaching and mentoring. She has made significant contributions to diversity, especially in STEM fields and to the campus climate initiatives. Tsai has demonstrated her commitment to the University through her willingness to serve in several administrative leadership roles, including department chair, assistant and associate dean, interim associate vice chancellor for Academic Administration, and interim executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, as well as her service on many campus and University committees. She served on two University of Minnesota system committees in the 1980s, the search committee for the director of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity and the Commitment to Focus Special Committee on Minority Concerns. At UMD, Tsai has served on the Sexual Assault Advisory Committee and most recently, she served on the Community of Color, Employees of Color Council. In addition, from 2010-13, she acted as co-chair of the Campus Climate Initiative, which was charged with engaging the entire campus on issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. One person wrote, "She has given countless hours to the University through her tireless dedication and strong work ethic. She is widely respected on campus and in the community as a steady voice for inclusion, strong student educational opportunities, and exceptional planning for the future. Bilin is the most solid and respected colleague I have had the fortune of working with in my career."
Bonnie Brysky has served the University of Minnesota at the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) for 30 years. She currently is the Coordinator of Mental Health and Social Services at Community University Care Center/Variety Children's Clinic (CUHCC/VCC), an off-campus University clinic serving primarily low income families; she is also the interim Chief Operating Officer of the clinic. Ms. Byrsky is known for her dedication to providing access to mental health services for persons who are from diverse cultures and nationality. Some of the efforts she has led include: working with the Native American community, establishing one of the largest Southeast Asian Refugee Mental Health Programs in the United States with specialty programs for Asian battered women, Asian drug abuse and gambling addictions, a growing Hispanic program, and, recently, a program for Somali refugees suffering from PTSD and depression as a result of their Civil War.
Bonnie M. Marten is a Project Assistant in Human Resource Management Systems Payroll. For twenty-six of the past thirty years, she worked for Housing and Dining Services in a variety of roles. She serves as Secretary of the Civil Service Committee and is a representative on the Compensation/Classification Committee. She is an exceptional role model for volunteerism both internally and externally to the University community. Over the years, she has consistently provided superior representation in several leadership efforts. She has been very active on many local and national organizations such as The National Association of College & University Food Services, Chair of University SAVE (Suggestions are Valued and Effective), Office for University Women, University Communicator's Forum, Chair of the Big Ten Payroll Manager's Conference, Women of Today (a non-profit community service to make the community a better place to live), and Volunteer Mediator at North Hennepin Mediation Service. One person wrote, "Thanks to Bonnie's commitment to excellence and generosity of her time, the University enjoys a strong, trusting relationship in her role as Assistant Project Manager and role model for outstanding service for the University of Minnesota."
Job Titles:
- Chief, University of Minnesota Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation
Bruce R. Blazar, chief, University of Minnesota Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation (hereafter BMT) Program, director, University of Minnesota Center for Translational Medicine, and assistant vice president, Clinical and Translational Science Programs, holds the Andersen Chair in Transplantation Immunology. He is considered to be one of the foremost translational physician-scientists in the world. Translational work is considered to be the key to the future of the health sciences. It advances basic scientific discoveries via a series of scholarly processes, which includes the design and development of new approaches, pre-clinical testing in animal models, and design and administration of therapies in humans. One person wrote, "His pioneering work had described fundamental principles of transplantation that have been the basis for major advances in the international standards of care." His career at that University spans more than 30 years. He is tremendously successful at garnering grants. He is the Principal Investigator (hereafter PI) of seven NIH RO1 grants. He serves as the PI of a Leukemia and Lymphoma Translational Research grant and project leader on two PO1 grants, both based at Harvard. The NIH has so much confidence in him as a researcher that it gave him a MERIT award that provides him with 10 years of funding. Research support from the NIH totals more than $43 million. As a speaker, reviewer and scientific advisor, he is in high demand. He has served on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Board of Scientific Counselors and co-chaired a review of the 5-10 year strategic plan for cellular therapies at the request of the director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He served as a full member of the Food and Drug Association (FDA) Cell and Gene Therapy Committee, as a full member on three different NIH study sections (for 15 years including three years as chair), and was selected to lead discussions for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He is now leading an NHLBI-sponsored "think tank" to identify gaps that limit progress in reducing BMT complications. He was selected to the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center's Academy for Excellence in Research and nationally he has been elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. In addition, he is the recipient of the E. Donnell Thomas Award, the premiere award of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He has a long track record as both a prolific and highly cited research scientist, having published more than 400 articles, with more than 1800 citations in 2009 alone. He is described as an amazing role model and a generous and focused mentor. He has mentored 47 trainees and junior faculty in his labs with two more about to begin. He has served on 21 thesis committees at the University of Minnesota and six at other leading institutions. He is considered to be an outstanding teacher whose students and postdoctoral students have gone on to make significant contributions of their own. He has served the University in a variety of leadership roles including 14 years of service on the Pediatrics Promotion and Tenure committee (10 years as chair), as chair of the University's American Cancer Society Institutional Grant committee (10 years as chair) and helped to create the University's Center for Translational Medicine. He was also instrumental in garnering the $40 million gift from the Schulze Family Foundation to establish the Schulze Diabetes Institute. The University of Minnesota is fortunate to call Professor Blazar, a world-renowned physician and researcher, as one of its own.
Job Titles:
- Director of the TRIO Student Support Services Program
Bruce Schelske, Director of the TRIO Student Support Services Program in General College, has dedicated his life to helping disadvantaged youth achieve their dream of a college education. For more than three decades he has provided legendary service in his role of an Upward Bound and Student Support Services Director, serving first generation, low socioeconomic status students, and students with disabilities. He is recognized across the state of Minnesota as a tireless advocate for the University and General College students. Because of his dedication and leadership, the University of Minnesota TRIO Program is considered the "Gold Standard" among TRIO Programs nationally. The Department of Education has recognized the program for "exemplary program practices" in the retention and academic support of low-income, first generation college students and students of color. One person wrote... "Bruce Schelske has quietly and effectively improved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of college students during his career, and his legacy will be felt throughout the broader community for years to come."
Job Titles:
- Professor, School of Social Work
C. David Hollister, professor, School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, started his illustrious career in 1971 as an associate professor in the School of Social Development at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he served in several roles, including interim dean of the School of Social Development. In 1980, he joined the faculty in the School of Social Work on the Twin Cities campus, where he has held almost every leadership position in the school, including director, director of graduate studies, doctoral program chair, and joint program advisor. He is credited with helping to lead the School of Social Work into the College of Human Ecology (1983); incorporating a Youth Studies program into the school; and, developing a dual master's degree with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs - the Master of Social Work-Master of Urban and Regional Planning program. His work in the area of international social work is compelling. He is one of the founders of the Inter-University Consortium for International Social Development, an organization that promotes international content and social development perspectives in social work education and research. Hollister's research in recent years has focused primarily on refugees and immigrants. In addition, he has led students on academic international experiences, including study tours to Viet Nam, Chile, Turkey, and Northern Ireland. He holds an adjunct appointment in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs where he taught the Neighborhood Revitalization course for 13 years and where he continues to serve on the MURP faculty committee. He also held an adjunct appointment in the School of Public Health from 1980-1996. One person wrote, "It is from him that I learned what it means in everyday practical terms to be a ‘servant leader' in this community - to be of integrity, consistency, thoughtfulness, attentiveness, and caring - for colleagues, students, and community."
Carol Chomsky joined the Law School faculty in 1986. Throughout her tenure, she has demonstrated exceptional service to the Law School and the University community through her outstanding teaching, advocacy for access and inclusion of women and minorities within the institution, and a commitment to institutional improvement through service on governance and University-wide committees. In her role as coordinator of the Law School's Judicial Externship Program, she has matched hundreds of law students with state and federal judges. Carol was the co-developer of the Structured Study Group Program, which is described as one of the most effective educational tools for first-year law students. Through her work on the Bush Faculty Development Program Advisory Committee and the Council on Enhancing Student Learning, she has contributed to the development of resources for and mentoring of newer faculty. Her commitment to the interests of women and minorities, both in scholarship and service, are unparalleled. She has served as a faculty mentor to undergraduate students of color through the President's Distinguished Faculty Mentor Program and as coordinator of the University's Early Career Teaching Program. She has contributed significantly to the planning and development of the Commission on Women (now the Office for University Women), and has served on the Senate Committee on Equity, Access, and Diversity, and most recently was elected chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee. She has also served on numerous professional organizations locally and nationally, including the Society of American Law Teachers, Association of American Law Schools, and the American Society for Legal History.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Director
Carol E. Kraus is the senior administrative director in the Board of Regents Office. She has worked for the Board of Regents for 31 years. She has served as a mentor and an advisor to six executive directors and assisted 60 Regents and five presidents. She was instrumental in coordinating the relocation of the Board Office and served as the interim executive director, chosen by the Board of Regents, when the executive director was on medical leave. She is credited with leading the implementation planning efforts of the new PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial System for the Board Office. One person wrote, "Amazingly, she took this on while also performing her own duties and those of Ann Cieslak during Ann's leave. I was able to witness Carol's leadership within her own organization as the Board Office went through this very difficult time without compromising its service to the Board and the University community." Another person wrote, "With her high degree of personal integrity and dedication to serving the University of Minnesota, I believe there are few who can match Carol's level of commitment and service." She has, indeed, demonstrated exceptional service to the governing board and to the institution through her devotion and dedication.
Carol Miller is a Professor in the Department of American Studies. She is widely known for her commitment to diversity and her University-wide leadership in improving undergraduate teaching. She has served in various administrative positions within both of her departments (American Studies and Native American Studies) and worked untiringly with graduate students, especially those from minority cultures. She has participated in numerous selection processes for faculty grants and awards as well as serving on University Senate and other University-wide committees. Through her work on these various committees, she has established an outstanding reputation as an innovative and insightful leader and, as such, she has played a role in advancing the University's overall agenda for diversity. Her work on diversity is integrated with her active support of women's issues on campus. For several years she served on the Executive Committee of the Commission on Women (now known as the Office for University Women) and helped to chart its course to improve the climate for women on campus. She is the recipient of the CLA Horace T. Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. She has served as a college consultant on writing intensive courses and created two courses for the SEAM Program, which supports minority student learners. She has also co-developed The Voices from the Gaps Web site, an award-winning online resource about the work of American minority women writers.
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Carolee Berge Cohen
Carolee Berge Cohen, associate director, Academic Resources Information Technology, Academic Support Resources, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has worked at the University for over 40 years, focusing mainly on student accounts receivables, student financials technology, and financial aid technology. She was instrumental in the University's implementation of PeopleSoft in 2000 and has been a major part of each system upgrade that has taken place through present day. Her work has touched hundreds of thousands of lives: any student that has received financial aid or their University bill, for example, has indirectly experienced the high level of work that Cohen has helped to implement. Through her technical expertise and passion for the student experience, Cohen has led teams and projects to continually make improvements across numerous technical applications. Cohen is a tireless advocate on behalf of her team, her students, and the University as a whole. During the maelstrom of data requests and fee changes due to COVID-19, for instance, Cohen put in long hours and fought hard to keep expectations reasonable. More than just proving that she is a great manager, her actions during this time prove her dedication to the University. Her focus on making certain her team had the capacity to do things right ensured that audit findings were minimal and that students saw a coordinated update to their account. Outside of the University of Minnesota, Cohen has contributed her extensive knowledge and expertise in organizations such as the Higher Education User Group (HEUG), where she is known as a nationwide expert for PeopleSoft campus solutions for student information systems. She was recently inducted into the 2023 HEUG Hall of Fame given her demonstrated commitment to leadership, service, and contributions to the higher education community. According to one of her support letter writers, "Her on-going dedication, over-and-above work ethic, technical expertise, and servant leadership should be held up as the gold standard of University service. Day in and day out, Carolee does the work that keeps this organization running and improves the experience of every student, faculty, and staff."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Caroline Clarke Hayes, professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology, also serves as the faculty liaison to the Minnesota state legislature, and plays a significant role in promoting gender equity across the University of Minnesota (U of M). Her exceptional service to the U of M is demonstrated through her teaching and research activities, and through her dedication and service to her department, her college, and the University at large. As an outstanding teacher and researcher, she advises many graduate students and provides excellent classroom instruction. As a researcher, she recently served as PI on three grants, including one with NSF for more than $325K. She serves as co-chair of the Women's Faculty Cabinet and in that role she works tirelessly to improve the climate in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) not only on the Twin Cities campus but at the University of Minnesota Duluth as well. She has authored two chapters on women in computing and she has given presentations on women in science at 3M in St. Paul, and on women in computing at Carnegie Mellon's Computer Science Department, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Her contributions to gender equity will impact the community of women faculty at the U of M and beyond, now and in the future. As a leader in her field, she is without a doubt, a role model for women in leadership positions in science. As faculty liaison, she has effectively represented the U of M to the state legislature. She has testified at committee hearings, attended countless higher education committee meetings, met with individual legislators, and talked with committee staff people. The two major legislative issues she has made significant contributions to include the funding of a solar test facility for the U of M and the impact of the light rail on research at the U of M. Because of her knowledge and expertise, President Bruininks appointed her as one of five faculty members on the President's Committee to Assess the Impact of the Central Corridor Light Rail on University research. Professor Alice Larson wrote, "Her enthusiasm and initiative in all the activities in which she is involved have made changes where progress has been slow or non-existent, improved the organization and communication within these institutions, and promoted the involvement of people who might not otherwise been active. She is a force of nature whose efforts have made an impact in a wider variety of organizations than most faculty members are able to reach."
Charles Patterson has been a Senior Laborer in Landcare since 2001. He contributes significantly by keeping the campus clean and safe throughout the year. Because of his dedication, thousands of people who are on campus or visiting each day are able to enjoy the physical beauty of the campus. His positive attitude and commitment to excellence are known across campus. He was instrumental in the successful clean up of the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood and the U Light Up the Night block party in Dinkytown. His contributions to the clean up of these areas helped in forging better relationships between neighbors and the University. He epitomizes the definition of customer service. One person wrote, "As I look at the reports from the strategic positioning culture task force, I think of Charles. Culture in not a thing. It is the manifestation of actions and behaviors that are in turn driven by shared aspirations, expectations, values, systems, and programs. It characterizes institutions but is embodied by individuals. It means different things to different people. It can be an inspiration or an excuse. It can be embraced or an afterthought." Charles represents University culture at its best. He is an inspiration and embraces the positive aspects of work. Charles is doing his part toward making us a top notch University.
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Bernard Gulachek Accepting Award on Behalf of Recipient Chris Scruton
Chris Scruton, systems analyst, Academic Technology, Office of Information Technology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has become known at the University as an integration technical expert, one who can be depended on to dig into important and intricate details. Scruton has contributed to the University's mission by serving as an expert for University-wide technical integrations, including playing a pivotal role in the successful transition from Moodle to Canvas (the University's past and current course management systems) and onboarding every college and campus into the system. Scruton's work has supported both "tried and true" as well as innovative approaches to teaching and learning that are needed for the academic enterprise to thrive. Over the last several years, Scruton has created a vetting process for learning tools that instructors have requested be integrated into the University's central Learning Management System (LMS). This process allows the University to safely integrate tools that support instructors in their teaching innovations, all while ensuring the University's technology ecosystem remains secure. The work that Scruton is leading is the foundation for the University's learning analytics platforms, which are becoming transformative tools for both faculty and students and their academic success. He is incredibly adept at advocating for the most stable and easy-to-use academic technology tools and services for the University community. During the transition between course management systems, Scruton's vision allowed the University to take full advantage of the new tool (Canvas) which resulted in a much improved experience for instructors and students. Scruton cares deeply about the teaching and learning mission of the University. He taught for years while in graduate school and has supported hundreds of instructors throughout his career. It can be easy for a group of technologists to develop a solution to a problem that doesn't take into consideration how most instructors do their day-to-day work. Scruton's experience from the teaching side of the equation allows him to effectively discuss issues with technical and non-technical University members alike, providing understandable and thoughtful solutions that can be successfully implemented. Outside of his regular duties and service to the University, Scruton has done pivotal work with Unizin, a consortium of higher education institutions with a focus on digital learning technology and student success; the Big Ten Academic Alliance; has volunteered as a web designer and HTML author for numerous groups; and has designed programs, posters, and dinner menus for the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing national conferences. One letter writer wrote that they are constantly impressed by Scruton's knowledge, thoughtfulness, and dedication, as well as his ability to put such a disparate set of pieces of digital learning technologies together in a way that soundly prepares the University for the future.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Earth
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Christina Gallup, associate professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Swenson College of Science and Engineering (SCSE), University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), began her career at the University in January 2000. Her service includes significant contributions to the SCSE and to UMD as a whole. For example, Gallup began her time as chair of the SCSE executive committee when a new dean arrived. During her tenure, Gallup transformed the SCSE faculty assemblies into a space where the faculty could have substantive discussions with executive committee members about issues of importance in the college. As a result, the assembly was able to explore matters such as teaching loads and protocols, UMD budget restructuring, and the Campus Climate Survey results, many of which were discussed for the very first time. Gallup continued working to keep campus climate issues front and center in the college's priorities, especially on behalf of women and underrepresented groups. In fall 2018, the UMD Faculty Senate held an assembly titled Gender Equity: Addressing Discriminatory Behavior and Inequitable Resources Allocations among UMD Faculty. Findings, which suggested that, in some colleges, there were zero women in department head positions, inspired Gallup to continue to work on climate issues in the college by volunteering as chair of the Multicultural and Diversity Committee. Her work on campus-wide anti-racism efforts includes the coordination of the inclusive "bottom-up" Anti-Racist Learning Community, which is intended to identify systemic inequities, carve out creative solutions, and implement these solutions by securing necessary collaborations with relevant leadership teams across the University. This work, which is ongoing, was presented at the University of Minnesota's Keeping Our Faculty symposium held on March 3 of this year. One of Gallup's colleagues wrote: "I personally witnessed her level of commitment through countless meetings, pre- and post-meetings, emails, and phone calls as we strategized agendas and action items and supported and advocated for those who suffered injustices and indignities."
Job Titles:
- Professor and Senior Executive Associate
Christine Mueller, professor and senior executive associate dean for academic programs, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as a most admired colleague who leads with wisdom, humility, and steadfast dedication. She holds the Endowed Long-Term Care Professorship in Nursing, and is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America as well as the American Academy of Nursing. In 2006, she received the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Nursing Educator of the Year Award. Time and again she has gone above and beyond expectations in her 22 years of service to the University. While in her current position, Mueller stepped into an additional leadership role as interim associate vice president for education in the Academic Health Center (AHC) during its restructure, and worked with directors in the AHC to support and advance the president's initiatives. Similarly, in the past, she filled unexpected vacancies in leadership in the Adult Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Specialty program, as well as the Nurse Anesthesia Specialty program. Mueller has advanced a number of innovations in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, including the development and implementation of the DNP Enhancement and Engagement program for improving student and faculty interaction. She has been instrumental in the advancement of best practices standards to ensure integrity in online testing procedures. When a generous donation was made to the University to advance its impact on health care, particularly in rural areas and those with vulnerable populations, Mueller led an initiative to create the largest Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in the nation. One person wrote, "Dr. Mueller has dedicated her professional life to expansive and unwavering transformation of nursing; higher education with the University, state and nation; improving the quality and state-of-the-science of education; and shaping policy to advance professional education."
Christopher Clark, East Bank team 4 building and grounds worker, Facilities Management, is considered to be a key example of superior customer service mixed with an outstanding work ethic. He is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of Folwell Hall, which is described as extraordinary. Because of his attention to detail and the great pride he takes in making sure that the appearance of Folwell Hall looks terrific, the morale of the occupants of Folwell Hall has improved significantly. He has demonstrated his consideration of others by making sure that floors are clear and dry for students who are blind and that the ramps are clear for individuals who need wheel chair access to the building. For example, after a staff member had foot surgery during the winter months, he made numerous efforts to clear the sidewalk when he knew this person would arrive and escort her from the curb to her office so she would not fall. He is ever vigilant in his efforts to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff who study, work, and teach in Folwell Hall and he is always willing to go the extra mile. One person wrote, "I cannot stress enough what an incredible difference his presence and work in Folwell have made. The service he is providing is truly exceptional and he is very deserving of the President's Award for Outstanding Service."
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations in the Department of Chemistry, Colle
Chuck Tomlinson is the director of operations in the Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The magnitude and breadth of his responsibilities are truly remarkable, ranging from oversight of all financial, human resources, and facilities issues to translating policy matters and logistics among stakeholders within the Department of Chemistry and across the University. He has provided direct support and mentorship to many staff members in and outside the Department of Chemistry and has supported the work of faculty in countless ways. The hallmark of Tomlinson's interactions with colleagues and students is the respect, compassion, and humility which guide his every interaction. Tomlinson has been integral in the development and success of the Department of Chemistry's Safety Committee. Known as the "Minnesota Model," the work of the Safety Committee has been emulated by dozens of universities across the country, and much of the success of the department's safety culture is a result of Tomlinson's collaborative approach. He repeatedly demonstrates his problem-solving talents by including all voices impacted by a situation and committing to extensive behind-the-scenes investigation and exploration to find equitable solutions for everyone involved. Because he understands the value in building partnerships and being in collaboration with others, Tomlinson is frequently sought out by colleagues, leadership, and partners in other units, for his advice. One of his strongest assets is seeing value in everyone and wanting them to see the same in themselves and others. He has been called upon to serve on both large, formalized committees, and small informal groups, including the East Bank/North Campus Advisory Committee and the Department of Environmental Health and Safety, among others. Tomlinson was an integral safety point-person during the University's COVID-19 shutdowns, not only for the Department of Chemistry, but across all laboratories on campus. Tomlinson's nominator wrote, "The phrase most often associated with Chuck is, ‘How can I help?' and then he does, regardless of the issue at hand, with skill and understanding."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture
Clinton N. Hewitt, emeritus associate professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Design, and former associate vice president for Campus Master Planning, served the University for almost 30 years. Described as one of the premier campus planners in the nation, Clint is credited with elevating the Twin Cities campus as a place of beauty, reflection, and recreation, and his fingerprints can be seen in the master plans of every campus throughout the University of Minnesota system. A visionary, he was instrumental in designing the 2,200-foot long outdoor space called Scholars Walk from the McNamara Alumni Center to the Mississippi River on the East Bank campus. He actively participated in every decision from the design, construction and naming, to the dedication in 2006. His commitment and view that the campus is a "living and breathing" entity, which interacts with the people who live, work and visit it, is evident in his life's work. For more than 20 years, Clint has taught other campus planners and managers through the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers (a national organization of over 5,000 members from more than 1,500 colleges). He is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and has chaired the ASLA's task force on recruitment of minorities to the profession. He is long-standing Gopher fan and supporter. Clint has served on the campus Jackie Robinson Fellowship Selection Committee, the Kirby Puckett Scholarship Selection Committee, and the Athletic Department Cultural Diversity Task Force. One person wrote, "Clint Hewitt is a man of indelible charm, a counselor, and an unparalleled servant of the University."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Colin Campbell, associate professor, Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has served the University since 1992. He is described as devoted, accomplished, and an innovative contributor to the service and outreach missions of the University. Campbell has dedicated his professional life to understanding mechanisms underlying DNA damage and repair - critical cellular processes relevant in many disease states, including cancer. He has been and continues to be an outstanding teacher, advisor, and advocate, and a trusted mentor to students. In addition, he has made significant contributions to the research and teaching missions of the University. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact biomedical journals, and has secured numerous lines of federal and foundation funding during his research career. His service to University governance is exemplary. He has served as a member on numerous department, collegiate, and University committees (too many to name), and as chair of several. He has emerged as a true leader in faculty governance. In his most recent role as chair of the Faculty and Senate Consultative Committees (FCC and SCC), Campbell has worked to help shape campus dialogue and institutional policy on critical issues of the day, including diversity and gender equity, freedom of speech and academic freedom, campus safety, and institutional investments in "Grand Challenges." He is only the second faculty member in University Senate governance history to chair the FCC and SCC two years in a row. One person wrote, "Professor Campbell has a penchant for superhero shirts and wears them often. I have discovered that they are quite appropriate attire for Colin. While appearing to be the quintessential laid-back research scientist, Colin is actually quite heroic in regard to his service and leadership with the University. He has, indeed, demonstrated superhuman capabilities of moving mountains where it did not seem humanly possible. He consistently places the University as a whole at the center of his priorities, demonstrating an incredible dedication to the University and its core mission."
Job Titles:
- Technology Architect, Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services
Colin McFadden, technology architect, Liberal Arts Technologies and Innovation Services (LATIS), College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as a pioneer in the higher education space, and an exemplary employee who exudes operational excellence. He earned his master's degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2016, and is credited with being instrumental in supporting various colleges and schools through his myriad time-saving computer applications. He is the innovator behind z.umn.edu, Media Mill, ChimeIn, and Elevator. Each of these were built with the purpose of providing tools that would help solve problems and push teaching, learning, and research to the next level. Currently, more than 40 instances of Elevator, a cloud-based digital asset storage repository, are in use across the University. This application allows users to easily upload, organize, share, and deliver content to their classes and constituents. McFadden's outreach efforts go beyond the University. He happily shares his time and technology expertise with local community groups such as the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association, and at the Big 10 he has helped build a community of software developers in the liberal arts and science colleges to share tools and ideas. One person wrote, "Some may confuse Colin with one of our best young faculty. He's a thought leader, he's a teacher, he's an innovator, and he actively serves our community. But Colin is too busy to be tied to a single discipline. He is already one of the most successful and exceptional staff leaders of the University."
Connie Magnuson, senior lecturer and director, Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies Program (RPLS), School of Kinesiology, College of Education and Human Development, is an exceptional teacher, an expert in her field, and an enthusiastic advocate of outdoor activity. Described as a passionate scholar and visionary organizer, Connie is responsible for the creation of the Gopher Adventure Race (GAR), a campus-wide student race, which serves as an academic teaching tool that provides real life, hands on learning to prepare students as they move into their careers. This successful annual event brings together University of Minnesota students, faculty, staff, and alumni to explore the campus. The event has also provided an outstanding opportunity to develop relationships and to create a cooperative venture with community partners. Another example of her extraordinary commitment to the University and community is through the creation of Fee-in-Lieu-of-Tuition program, which affords teachers, administrators, social workers, and others, a professional development opportunity in the Outdoor Recreation and Education program for continuing education. Connie has worked tirelessly to develop and promote RPLS internationally by leading study abroad programs in Kenya, Costa Rica, Belize, and Tanzania, and giving lectures at the American Culture Center in China. Most recently, Connie has been working with the Twin Cities school districts and the Minnesota Wilderness Inquiry to develop a boating program to reduce achievement gaps of school children. She is also actively involved in several service organizations in the community as well as professional associations. One person wrote, "Dr. Magnuson continually goes above and beyond to provide exceptional service to students in the University community and to further the University's mission in communities both locally and nationally. She is one of those rare individuals who consistently put the needs of her students and the University above her own. Her service to others is nothing short of incredible."
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Veterinary Technician
Curt Knutson is a Principal Veterinary Technician in the College of Veterinary Medicine. He supervises the junior surgery laboratory, the clinical skills laboratory, and the senior surgery elective rotation. He was the first Certified Veterinary Technician to be hired by the University of Minnesota. He is known for his devotion to students, faculty and administration by his exceptional attitude and work ethic. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that the laboratories "are the best of any college of veterinary medicine in the country" and has spent countless nights and weekends traveling all over Minnesota to acquire equipment necessary to make these laboratories state-of-the-art. His "deal making" has saved the College of Veterinary Medicine thousands of dollars. He is an invaluable resource for students in all of the laboratories. Because of his empathy and concern for animals he has been a role model for the students in the surgery and anesthesia laboratories. He is the driving force behind an effort to find homes through the local humane shelters for dogs after surgery. Students were then able to learn an important surgical technique, as well as placing animal patients in welcoming homes.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Teaching Professor
Daniel Svedarsky is a Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources, director, Center for Sustainability, and a certified wildlife biologist and researcher with the Northwest Research and Outreach Center (NWROC), University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). He is described as an exemplary professor, adviser, peer mentor, researcher, and a leader in his profession. Most recently, he became the first director of UMC's Center for Sustainability. A visionary, Professor Svedarsky has spent four decades promoting UMC and the University of Minnesota nationally and internationally, particularly in the area of sustainability. Because of his leadership, nine different degrees and programs have been implemented throughout his career. He has made significant contributions to undergraduate education and advising, educating thousands of students. Professor Svedarsky is a true promoter of others. He has successfully nominated and/or developed countless nominating materials for UMC faculty, staff and students as he constantly promotes a culture of encouragement, positive growth and recognition. He has served on numerous committees both within and outside of the University including the Planning Advisory Committee for the UMore Park planning project and as a member of the executive committee of the University of Minnesota Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He has served as president-elect, president, and immediate past-president of The Wildlife Society. He also served as an official representative of The Wildlife Society at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in 2009. Professor Svedarsky is the recipient of several awards, including the Torch & Shield Award, which recognizes individuals who have provided leadership and who have aided in the development of the University of Minnesota, Crookston, NWROC and Extension. Professors Thomas Feiro and Philip Baird wrote, "Dan embodies a living history of the evolving mission and work of the University of Minnesota in northwestern Minnesota. He will forever be a part of UMC, as much as UMC is a part of his being." They referenced Professor Svedarsky's own words... "How do we serve? We start as individuals, by doing good work and the work that needs to be done. We must model integrity as we brighten the corner where we are." They concluded with the following statement, "Dan has certainly brightened the lives of those who have passed through UMC."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering
David Blank, professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering (CSE), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as a top-notch researcher and award-winning teacher. He joined the University in 2000. Blank's service to the University, college, the Department of Chemistry, and the public is exceptional. He is credited with the creation, development, and leadership of one of the most impactful outreach activities in the University's history - the University of Minnesota's Energy and U Show, which was created in 2006. The original idea was to introduce K-12 students to science and engineering through a series of scientific demonstrations focused on the transformation of energy. The show started as a single performance for about 200 students and parents. Today, the show is performed in the Rarig Center for four full weeks every year to an audience of over 13,000 3rd - 6th grade students. To date, the show has been performed for over 50,000 students. He also led the design and implementation of a new series of chemistry courses specifically tailored for students interested in the life sciences - these innovative courses will serve as a model for other institutions wanting to develop similar courses. Blank has served as the director of undergraduate studies for chemistry since 2010. He has served as chair of the Chemistry Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the Honors advisor for chemistry majors, and member of the CSE Curriculum Committee and the Senate Committee on Student Affairs. In the past five years alone, Blank has published more than 15-peer reviewed research papers and received more than $1.7 million in federal research funding. One person wrote, "Professor Blank is a thoughtful collaborator and innovative leader. He is an excellent example of service to both the University and its larger community." *Blank's award was accepted by Colene Blank on his behalf
Job Titles:
- Professor of Educational Policy and Administration
David R. Johnson, professor of Educational Policy and Administration, is the associate dean for Research and Policy and the director of the Institute on Community Integration in the College of Education and Human Development. He is described as a remarkable person and professional who is committed to the field of disabilities. He has been actively involved in shaping policy and framing practices on behalf of people with disabilities at the local, state and national level for more than 20 years. As an esteemed scholar and expert in the area of employment of people with disabilities, he has been an effective leader. As a principal investigator, he has brought in more than $10 million in federal funding to the University. He has supported hundreds of graduate students through the research assistantships his training and research dollars have generated and he has employed numerous people with challenging disabilities and made sure they were supported and successful. In his role as director of the Institute on Community Integration, he has established projects such as the National Center on School Completion for Students with Disabilities, the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, and the National Center on Educational Outcomes. As associate dean for Research and Policy in the College of Education and Human Development, he designed an infrastructure to support the College to become a national leader in research and externally-supported programs; established multi-disciplinary affinity groups so the University can respond to federal priorities; established centers of technical support; and had on-going conversations with College-wide Center leadership to identify ways that the College can support the primary grant-getting entities. He has served on nine University-wide committees, 17 committees within the College of Education and Human Development, and a variety of committees outside of the University. One person wrote, "Shaped by personal and professional life experiences and driven by values of opportunity, equity, and personhood, David R. Johnson demonstrates exemplary citizenship in service to his many communities."
Job Titles:
- Distinguished McKnight University Professor
David Y. H. Pui, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, L.M. Fingerson/TSI Incorporated Chair in Mechanical Engineering, is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering. He also holds the honorific title of Presidential Chair Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen, China. In addition, Pui is the director of the University of Minnesota's Particle Technology Laboratory (PTL), one of the leading small particle research centers in the country, as well as the Center for Filtration Research (CFR). The CFR is regarded as the leading international center on air and water filtration; its members include companies such as 3M, Boeing, and Samsung Electronics. Pui is a preeminent scholar in industrial applications of aerosol technology. He is celebrated as the developer of several instruments for measuring and classifying aerosols, which are the basis for two ISO Standards. Also noteworthy is his work on air pollution abatement in China.
Pui is a truly prolific and innovative researcher. He is considered the world's leading expert in nanoparticle characterization and filtration technology of fine particles, and is well known for his groundbreaking work on electrospraying and charging of aerosols. He not only shaped the academic world in the field of particle technology, but is also highly influential in commercializing his equipment, holding 40 patents. He developed the Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), which is widely used across the world to measure particle size distribution and aerosol number concentration; advanced instruments for particle sampling and measurement continue to be developed based on his pioneering work. Most recently, his research has focused on air quality in China. He invented a solar-assisted large-scale cleaning system (SALSCS), which is based on advanced filtration technology and uses clean and renewable energy for environmental protection and pollution control. A pilot project using this system has been established in Xi'an, China, and has yielded promising preliminary results. A second generation SALSCS was recently completed in Yancheng, and a third is under construction. This technology has the potential to significantly improve the health of the people of China, the largest nation in the world. Pui has over 380 publications, and his work has nearly 13,000 citations on Google Scholar. At the University of Minnesota, he has been PI or co-PI on grants and contracts totaling over $28 million.
Because of his outstanding contributions to his profession, Pui has been the recipient of several prestigious awards. In 2013, he received the Einstein Professorship-the highest award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)-and in 2010, he was awarded the Fuchs Memorial Award, which is the highest honor conferred jointly by the American, Japanese, and German aerosol associations. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Engineers and a recipient of the Max Planck Research Award (1993), the International Aerosol Fellow Award (1998), and the David Sinclair Award from the American Association of Aerosol Research (AAAR) (2002), to name a few. In 2016, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. In the last ten years, he has given over 130 invited lectures on five continents.
Pui is also an exceptional teacher and mentor. He has taught 12 courses in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as a number of professional training short courses, which provide valuable continuing education opportunities for practitioners in the field. He has mentored 18 postdocs, 29 doctoral students, and 36 M.S students. Many of his former students and postdocs have become highly successful academics and industry leaders; one of his former students, Xiang Zhang, was named president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2018. Pui is described as an outstanding professor who is mindful and supportive of his students' and mentees' career development and known for fostering a team-oriented environment in his lab. He frequently nominates students and colleagues for professional awards.
Pui's service to the University of Minnesota and the field of aerosol science is inspirational. From 1994-98, he was the director of the University's China Center, where he worked to promote academic exchanges with Chinese scholars. In 2014, he and a colleague at CAS organized the first UMN-CAS Bilateral Seminar, gathering a group of 100 scientists from CAS and the University (led by President Eric Kaler) to discuss ways to prevent and control air pollution in Xi'an. Additionally, he has served on a number of University-wide committees, such as the Provost's Standing Committee for Dean Review and the Provost's Grand Challenges Research Strategies Team. He assisted in the foundation of several aerosol associations across the world, including the AAAR, the European Aerosol Assembly, the Korean Association for Particle and Aerosol Research, and the International Aerosol Research Assembly (IARA). In relation with his work on the SALSCS, he has given many public lectures in China to educate the general public and the scientific community on pollution control. He also served as president of the AAAR from 2000-01 and the IARA from 2006-10, and on the advisory boards of a variety of major research centers.
Job Titles:
- Special Assistant to the Associate
Debbie Nelson is the Special Assistant to the Associate Dean and Director of Curriculum Development in the Law School. She is described as someone who embodies institutional wisdom, and on a daily basis provides exceptional service to all members of the community. Her attitude and commitment to the University serves as a model to others. For more than three decades she has demonstrated exceptional dedication and commitment to the faculty and the students. She has helped hundreds of faculty teach better, and thousands of attorneys succeed in school. She is instrumental in fostering a sense of community at the Law School and beyond. Even though it is not in her job description, she plans the retirement parties, pot-lucks, and organizes care packages to members of extended Law School family serving in Iraq. In addition, she is active in her community. The dean wrote, "Debbie has provided the very best service and support to the entire Law School community. Her attitude of helpfulness, inclusion, and respect for every single member is the foundation for the positive law school experience we provide for our students. Her service is nothing short of exceptional."
Job Titles:
- Technician, Department of Biology
Deborah Shubat, Sr. Research Plot Technician, Department of Biology, University of Minnesota, Duluth, is responsible for maintaining the plant collections used in teaching laboratories, growing seedlings for specific laboratory exercises, and assisting faculty in botanical research. One of her significant accomplishments is in community service. She has conducted countless tours through the UMD greenhouses for schools, community, and civic organizations. Each month she has created educational exhibits for the greenhouse display window that features plants from the greenhouse, their history and how they relate to holidays, health, or current research. She was instrumental in organizing a Farmer's Market at UMD. The Farmer's Market brought in people from the community to interact with members of the UMD community and contributed to the positive public image of the University.
Deborah Zak is the Northwest District Director, Extension Services. She represents the University throughout the Northwest District, which now includes 13 counties. She has an office in Crookston, St. Paul and her home. She often logs over 40,000 work miles a year. Her notable accomplishments include the work she has done with the White Earth Reservation Science and Math Summer Program. The program won awards at the state and national level under her leadership. The program provides quality educational programs for underprivileged Native American students. She has profoundly touched the lives of many. Her dedication and efforts have brought about positive changes for individuals as well as organizations. She also received the USDA Secretary's Honor Award in 1988 for her work with the blizzards and flood in her district. She is described as an outstanding individual who has earned the respect, honor, and trust of others.
Dennis Jones is a teaching specialist in the Department of American Indian Studies who works tirelessly to preserve Ojibwe and Dakota, the state's two indigenous languages and cultures. He is considered to be the single most important factor in the growth of the language program at the University of Minnesota and in the rebirth of the Ojibwe language across the region. He created an Ojibwe language immersion program in Canada, his home country. Approximately six times a year, University students and community members participate in week-long immersion camps. It is because of him that former students now run programs of their own throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. He is also credited with the creation and implementation of the "language table" concept, which is designed to bring together a group of people committed to speaking a native language over a shared meal on a weekly basis. Dennis has been recognized by the Hennepin County Community Health Department for being a positive role model, from the City of Minneapolis for his outstanding contributions in the area of language and culture, and from the Minnesota Indian Education Association for teaching excellence. "Through his exceptional level of service on and off campus, Dennis has become an important ambassador for the University of Minnesota," one person wrote.
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Diane Gihl
Diane Gihl, retired executive assistant, Office for Public Engagement, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is admired and respected throughout the University of Minnesota system for her professionalism and unflagging service to the University, its people, and its mission. Gihl utilized her tremendous talents in her 31 years as a full-time employee serving six senior leaders at the University, playing a critical role that included everything from scheduling meetings, to event planning, to navigating complicated relationships and bureaucracies, enabling all she worked on behalf of to succeed in executing their collective responsibilities. The way and manner in which she carried out her complex duties was part of the inspiration for one letter writer's doctoral dissertation in which they explored the role of staff who work in an "assistant to" role for senior leaders in higher education. Since her 2018 retirement, Gihl's expertise continues to be in demand, as she is often tapped for help with special University projects, whether helping lead the onboarding processes for many University executives, to volunteering to take on the logistical work of hosting a national conference. Her knowledge of University policies and procedures, combined with her ability to work with accuracy, speed, and grace under pressure, has earned her a reputation as one of the University's most sought after executive assistants. Gihl is a loyal booster of Gopher basketball, a long-time board member and devotee of the University's Recreation and Wellness Center, an active member in the University Retirees Association, and now-in retirement-a part-time casual employee who gives far more than her allotted 15 hours a week. As one letter writer stated, "Her greatest service is and has been to so many of us faculty, staff, and students who she gladly takes under her wing, offers support to, connects to others, and generally grants us wonderful advice through her experience and wisdom."
Job Titles:
- Buyer
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Duane Johnson, buyer, U Market Services, Auxiliary Services, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has worked in his current position for six years. Johnson provides oversight for U Market stock products, confers with customers concerning items to be purchased and makes recommendations, researches and forecasts purchasing trends, collaboratively oversees vendor compliance for lab equipment and supply vendors on U Market, negotiates contracts with vendors, and analyzes data. Johnson works tirelessly advocating for minority and Black-owned businesses by connecting these businesses to the University and helping make the University more accessible to those communities. Johnson received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University and is in his 12th year as a University employee, having previously worked as an Upward Bound academic advisor in the College of Education and Human Development. As an active member of the Black Faculty Staff Association, Johnson has been a board member at the Penumbra Theatre Company since 2014, representing the University of Minnesota. Progressive and forward-thinking, Johnson co-founded Tuloko, an app that is the largest national database of Black-owned businesses ever created, while he was a full-time employee and graduate student at the Carlson School of Management. Tuloko, which is derived from Tulsa, Oklahoma - the site of the early 20th century Black business district known as Black Wall Street - was a startup winner in the Minnesota Cup competition, was featured on CNN and Chanel 5's Greater MSP Business and has been funded by the University of Minnesota's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. Recently, Johnson was recognized by USA Today as a Leader for Change for his work in supplier diversity at the University of Minnesota and with Tuloko. His editorials on business equity and diversity have been published in both the Star Tribune and the Wall Street Journal. In short, according to his nominator, "His dedication to the mission of the University of Minnesota has been an asset to not only the state of Minnesota, but also to the entire country. He embodies the attributes of equity and diversity in his work and goes beyond the talk."
Job Titles:
- Counselor for the International Student and Scholar Services
Duane Rohovit has served as a counselor for the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) in the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance since 2005. His service to international students, scholars, and their families, and to faculty, staff, departments, and the University of Minnesota is exceptional. Rohovit's work includes advising students, faculty, and departments on complicated legal matters, counseling and triaging students in crisis, creating programs and services to support international GLBT students, managing emergency aid and scholarships, and carrying a heavy immigration advising load. He has had a significant impact on international GLBT students feeling welcomed and supported at the University. He has done this through his talks at orientation about human rights and through his assistance in developing a website to address the needs of international GLBT students. Rohovit serves on the campus-wide GLBT advisory panel and is sought out by schools and programs around the country for consultation. He has also worked with transgender students on groundbreaking legal issues. If a student is charged with a crime, Rohovit works closely with University Student Legal Services to make sure the student gets the best advice and representation. His experience as a former public defender has provided him with the understanding about how immigration law intersects with other types of law. He is the creator of a presentation titled "Sex, Drugs, Rock-n-Roll," which provides students with information on challenges they may face dealing with the United States legal system. In addition, Rohovit serves on the campus-wide Behavior Consultation Team. One person wrote, "Duane is well-known for going above and beyond what is expected of him. He is collegial and a great team member who willingly takes on additional responsibilities. He is warm and caring and is sought out by many students. Duane and the work he does is highly valued not only by students and ISSS, but also by the University community."
Job Titles:
- Supervisor for the Graduate and Student Health Benefits Office at Boynton Health Service
Duncan Okello is a supervisor for the Graduate and Student Health Benefits Office at Boynton Health Service. He began his academic career in 1989 as an international student from Kenya. He has been a full time employee at Boynton Health Service since 1993. Throughout his tenure, he has provided exemplary service to the University through his exceptional dedication and commitment in assisting international students, often in crisis situations that include complicated evacuation and repatriation issues. He works tirelessly to obtain necessary information and resources to help students. Duncan makes himself available twenty-four hours a day when needed to ensure students, family, or staff receive the services they need. This extraordinary service is not a requirement of his position. He is truly an effective advocate for students. He is described as someone who is motivated by the needs of the students while juggling the concepts of excellence service to the person he is working with and keeping the larger goals and needs of the University in mind. One person wrote, "Duncan is an indefatigable and effective advocate for the University's international and scholar population. He is an enthusiastic, positive, and resourceful consultant to staff and faculty. He makes an invaluable contribution to the health and well-being of the University of Minnesota."
Elaine Hansen, described as a remarkable leader and role model, is the director of the UMD Center for Economic Development (CED), and regional director, NE and NW Small Business Development Centers. Under her leadership, the CED has become the premier regional Small Business Development Center in Minnesota. Hansen works tirelessly to create and improve programs to promote economic development in Minnesota. Her outreach includes working with other University of Minnesota campuses, eight MnSCU campuses, and the Native American community. She also extends her time and energy to special interests, such as women entrepreneurs, youth leadership, and financial literacy. Hansen has demonstrated an unusual commitment to the University community through her passion to mentor and encourage others to grow and excel. She takes the time to visit high school classrooms to teach financial literacy, facilitates Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) programs, and teaches classes on political advocacy, ethics in economic development, and business finance. She is credited with co-founding the Duluth Professional Women's Network, which was started in 1992. In February 2015, Hansen accepted the additional responsibility of acting as interim vice chancellor of finance and operations, and interim director of finance at UMD while continuing her role as director of the CED. By October of 2015, she had addressed the budget issues at UMD, as well as assisted in the Human Resource Department. In addition, Hansen manages, maintains, and hosts the Annual Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards. One person wrote, "Elaine Hansen is an amazing, dedicated, hardworking, self-sacrificing person. The University of Minnesota has greatly benefited from her tireless efforts to make a difference not only for the U of M, but also in our community, region, and state."
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus of French and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Dean
Elizabeth (Bettina) S. Blake, Professor Emeritus of French and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Dean, University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM), has represented the University as a distinguished scholar and administrator for the past twenty-five years. She was the first high-ranking female administrator at the Morris campus. Because of her dedication and commitment to excellence and her leadership on local, regional, state, national, and international levels, her work has generated great respect for the University. She has served as a role model and a source of inspiration for faculty, staff, students, and particularly for women in academia. She is credited with being the primary force in UMM's mission of excellence in public undergraduate liberal arts education. It was written in one of the letters of support that Bettina was "the architect of the plan that has placed UMM among the best public liberal arts colleges in America." She has played visible and important roles in civic and community affairs in West Central Minnesota, as well as at the state and national level, serving on numerous organizations and boards. Her dedication to the University continues even in her "retirement." Described as gracious and intelligent, this outstanding woman's contributions have made an everlasting mark on UMM, the Morris area, and the University of Minnesota in its entirety.
Elizabeth Isensee is an undergraduate student services coordinator in the International Student and Scholar Services Office. Described as a true champion of internationalizing the student experience on campus, Beth has demonstrated her passion and commitment to serving both the international student population and those domestic students who seek an international experience on campus. Known to many as the face of International Student and Scholar Services, she is credited with creating the International Student Liaison Committee (ISLC) to bring together representatives from the undergraduate colleges and related units for an ongoing discussion about international student issues. She was instrumental in creating the Advisor Resource Guide: New Undergraduate International Students, which serves as a very useful tool for academic advisers in their work with newly arriving international undergraduate students. She has worked to facilitate discussions with academic advisers and student services staff regarding students' English language issues. Because of her efforts, advisers are better able to advise and guide students through their major curriculum. Beth's other accomplishments include the development of an Ambassador Program where students are trained to work with perspective students through emails and blogs and the creation of the very successful Buddy Program, which includes both international and U.S. students as buddies to assist with the needs of new international students. She works tirelessly with the Orientation and New Student Programs Office and the Admissions and Housing Offices to ease the transition for international students to the U.S. and the University of Minnesota. Her involvement and support of the creation and development of the Students Crossing Borders Living Learning Community has brought almost 200 students together to create meaningful cross-cultural learning opportunities by housing students from the U.S. with international students in intentional roommate pairings. One of her colleagues wrote, "Beth is a great educator and advocate for improving and meeting the needs of international students." Another wrote, "The many impacts created by Ms. Isensee go beyond just reaching the students at the University of Minnesota. Over the past years of partnership between our two offices, she has also become a dedicated collaborator, a trusted confidant, and professional mentor and a valued friend."
Job Titles:
- Professor and Head, Department of Horticultural Science
Emily E. Hoover, professor and head, Department of Horticultural Science, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, has been a valuable asset to the University for over 30 years. She is a long-standing advocate for the improvement of higher education and is described as an innovative leader in teaching and education. Hoover spearheaded her department's Writing Enriched Curriculum initiative and served on the Writing Enriched Curriculum Advisory Council. She has served as a resource teacher for the Bush Program in Excellence and Diversity in Teaching, sharing her expertise and serving as a mentor to other educators. Hoover, a gifted educator, has been recognized with outstanding teaching awards from her college and with the Morse-Alumni Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. Not only has she contributed significantly to her department and college through her service on numerous committees, but she also has represented the University through her service on the American Society for Horticultural Science. In addition, she has made significant contributions as a member of University governance committees such as the Senate Committee on Educational Policy, the Committee on Committees, the Senate Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities for Women, and the Provostal Faculty Consultative Committee. Most notably, she served as vice chair (2007-08) and chair (2008-09) of the Faculty and Senate Consultative Committees (FCC and SCC). The year she was chair was particularly turbulent, as the restructuring of the Graduate School was announced during this time. She successfully navigated the myriad of strong opinions and ensured that all perspectives were heard. In all of her endeavors she has approached difficult topics with finesse and a fearless dedication. Her involvement is valuable on its own but made greater by her genuine commitment to her department, college, and the University. One person wrote, "When I started significant University service, particularly service in faculty governance, I viewed Professor Hoover as one of the superheroes who had done it all. I still do."
Job Titles:
- Professor Robert Geraghty
- Professor William Tolman
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff, the Graduate School
Etty DeVeaux, chief of staff, The Graduate School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has a remarkable record of service in her 16-year tenure as a professional staff member. In 2005, DeVeaux was a member of the President's Emerging Leaders Program (PEL) and received its inaugural Partnership Award for her service and contributions to PEL. She also served for three years as a PEL mentor. In 2010, she was selected by the Board of Regents to serve on the search committee charged to help identify and select the president of the University of Minnesota. In addition, she has served on the Northrop Advisory Committee, the University Administrative Policy Improvement Project, and several senior level search committees and awards committees. DeVeaux also served for numerous years as a hearing officer for the Office of Conflict Resolution and on the Board of Advisors for Employee Strategies. Her service to University Senate governance is exemplary. She is the current chair of the Academic Professionals and Administrators (P&A) Senate and the P&A Consultative Committee. In her role as chair, she has focused on issues such as campus climate, health and wellness, and financial issues affecting P&A staff. Prior to serving as chair of the P&A Senate, she served as co-chair of the P&A Senate Professional Development and Recognition Subcommittee (PD&R), where she and her co-chair initiated and delivered a forum titled "Developing Ourselves to Meet Grand Challenges: A future-focused discussion on the competencies needed to support the U's mission, now and into the future." She and her co-chair are also credited with increasing the awareness and stature of the P&A Senate Outstanding Unit Award. DeVeaux is considered to be an exceptional mentor. One person wrote, "Etty has a keen sense of the needs of individual employees and how best to support them. She doesn't simply lead; she teaches others to delegate, set goals, and think beyond themselves." To summarize DeVeaux's service, another person wrote, "She is, in her work, in her service, and in her way of being an example for others, a model University citizen."
Job Titles:
- Community Program Specialist in General College
Frances A. Stark is a Community Program Specialist in General College (GC). She is also an advisor for TRIO Student Support Services program, which is a program that serves first generation, low income and disabled students. She has had a tremendous impact on students who have walked through her door. She dedicates her time and energy to work with students to teach them the skills necessary to build a community and to empower themselves. She is an active volunteer on numerous committees in General College. She has organized community events ranging from bagel breakfasts and potlucks to a children's book drive to donate to Books for Africa. She is responsible for organizing the Annual Spring Ice Cream Social that brings GC students, faculty, and staff together to celebrate the successes of TRIO students. She takes students to the Festival of Nations, coordinates them to attend the MAEOPP (Mid-American Association of Equal Opportunity Program Personnel) Regional Student Leadership Conference, and teaches them to write grants. She has been a member of the GC Civil Service Committee and has been a member of the PICA (Parents in Community Action) Head Start Program in Minneapolis for twenty years. "We all need a few everyday heroes to look up to but what we all yearn for are relationships with those people who I call the extraordinary ordinary," one person wrote. "Those that are ceaseless in their dedication and commitment, and they are that person who makes us reach a little higher - that is Frances Stark."
Frank S. Bates, Distinguished McKnight Professor (1996) and head of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Institute of Technology, has achieved an outstanding international reputation for his pioneering achievements as a polymer scientist. He discovered the deuterium isotope effect in polymer blends, which had lasting effects on numerous phase behavior studies using neutron scattering. This groundbreaking work set him apart from his peers at an early stage in his career. Professor Bates is among a very small number of polymer scientists who have shaped the current field of polymer physical science and is considered the leading expert on the use of neutron scattering as a tool in organic materials science. Professor Bates has more than 260 publications in prestigious journals. Nineteen of his papers have been published in Physics Review Letters and six articles have been published in Science, the world's premier scientific journal. Of his 260 publications (220 have been published after he joined the University of Minnesota), Citation Indices credits him with some 15,739 citations. As an engineer he has invented useful products and processes for society including the manufacture and use of materials in drug delivery and other applications. Patents have been filed for a toughened epoxy and a pentablock copolymer that has properties needed for molding CD and DVD disks that he and his students and/or his colleagues have discovered. Thirteen of his fifteen patents have been filed from the University of Minnesota. Professor Bates is described as an outstanding mentor to graduate and postdoctoral students. He has advised 25 postdoctoral researchers and has graduated 38 Ph.D. and 8 M.S advisees. His students have taken positions in high-tech industries, such as 3M and Medtronic. Not only is he a conscientious and effective teacher at the graduate level but also the undergraduate level. He has taught nearly a full load during the seven years that he has been head of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. He is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including the Institute of Technology's George Taylor Distinguished Research Award, the University's Distinguished McKnight Professorship Award, the John H. Dillon Medal, and the Polymer Physics Prize. Professor Bates has been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and, in 2002, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He also has a distinguished record in the area of professional service. He has served on several search committees and task forces for the University and on many national committees and boards. Professor Bates clearly exemplifies the qualities and aspirations the University requires of its Regents Professors.
Fred Rose, impact goal manager and Acara teaching staff, Institute on the Environment, and lecturer, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, exemplifies the educator whose impact extends far beyond the classroom. He is extraordinarily committed to student development, real-world application, and service to the public good. With his unconventional, thought-provoking approach to learning, Rose prioritizes what students need to thrive in the world after college. He shows them how to build empathy, understand cultural nuance, and successfully pitch their ideas as they turn challenges into opportunities. He offers students an enormous range of experiences inside and outside the classroom, showing them how to evaluate a problem (at home or around the world) and design strategies to address it. As the co-founder and co-director of the Acara program, an interdisciplinary leadership incubator housed in the Institute on the Environment, Rose has developed opportunities for students systemwide to engage meaningfully with society's most pressing challenges. It is especially difficult to garner funding to do work at the intersection of collegiate units. However, through his strong vision and commitment, Rose has created opportunities for students to turn aspirational ideas into practical solutions. Rose's engagement with partners in India, Uganda, and Nicaragua has allowed him to offer international learning opportunities for students striving to make an impact in the areas of global health and sustainable energies. Programs developed by Rose's students in the Acara program, and with Rose's guidance, support, and leadership, include MyRain, a company that provides small-scale farmers in India with irrigation solutions, and Mighty Axe Hops, started in 2014 and now Minnesota's largest, sustainable hops farm. Rose has ambitiously brought his do-different strategy to many areas of the University and the results exemplify how a public university can serve its broader public in ways outside the traditional paths of academia. Rose's work in creating an interdisciplinary curriculum for Acara positioned him to assist in the development of the University's Grand Challenges Curriculum (GCC), and indeed, he was one of the first instructors in the GCC. One person wrote, "Fred works tirelessly, collaboratively, and with a persistent sense of care and humility. He is exceptionally generous with his time and expertise, and lifts up the work of others, especially students."
G. Edward Schuh, Regents Professor Emeritus and former dean of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota passed away on May 4, 2008. He had been a member of the faculty since 1979, served as dean of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs from 1987 to 1996, became the Orville and Jane Freeman Professor in International Trade and Investment Policy, and served as the director for the Freeman Center for International Economic Policy. He retired in 2006. His areas of expertise included agriculture and food policy, economic development, international trade and exchange rate policy, international financial markets, family policy and population, poverty alleviation and food security, and science and technology. Over the course of his esteemed career, he held a number of positions in university settings and in governmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations. He served as program advisor to the Ford Foundation in Brazil, as senior staff economist in President Gerald R. Ford's Council of Economic Advisors, as Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs and Commodity Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Carter administration, and as the director of agriculture and rural development in the World Bank. He was a member of the U.S. National Research Council's Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute, and chair of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development during the Clinton administration. He was the recipient of several professional awards including five citations from the American Agricultural Economics Society, the Doctor Honoris Causis from the Federal University of Vicosa, Brazil, and the degree of Doctor of Agriculture, Honoris Causis, from Purdue University. In 1998, he was named Regents Professor, the highest academic honor bestowed on a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota. In 2004, he was honored by the Brazilian Society of Agriculture Economics with the Legendary Member of the Society, a new award that recognized lifetime contributions to the profession. In addition, he was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Agricultural Economics Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He truly was an exceptional researcher, teacher, program developer and administrator. "G. Edward Schuh is a consummate academic who has dedicated his long career to connecting the academy and the people it studies and serves. In doing so, he has improved the lives of men and women around the world and enlarged the reputation of the University of Minnesota in innumerable ways," wrote Dean J. Brian Atwood. The University of Minnesota is a better place because of G. Edward Schuh and he will be missed tremendously by all of those whose lives he touched.
Job Titles:
- Counselor for International Student and Scholar Services
Gabriele Schmiegel is a counselor for International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS), Office of International Programs, where her primary role is advising and counseling international students and scholars. Her knowledge regarding the complex regulations and financial aid programs for international students is invaluable. Her compassion and dedication for these students and their families is unsurpassed. When an international student suffers an unforeseen setback such as serious illness, a parent's death, or economic disaster at home, she is always available. She is their advocate and has spent countless hours supporting them, even if it has meant long nights at the hospital. She has been a superb representative of the University at professional organizations such as NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She has served on several University committees such as the Senate Committee on Student Affairs, the Graduate Assistant Health Insurance Provider Selection Committee, and the University of Minnesota Graduate School Task Force on Living Expenses. She volunteered to coordinate the International Friendship Group program, which provides new international students with opportunities to develop friendships with students from other countries through intercultural learning and social activities. In January 2009, she was recognized by the Latin American Student Association for her service and received the Excellence in Student Service Award. One person wrote, "Gabi is extraordinary, and we're enormously fortunate to have her at the University of Minnesota. Her service is outstanding by every measure."
Gary Christenson, M.D., chief medical officer, Boynton Health Service, Office for Student Affairs, is described as a highly trained and skilled clinician and someone who is committed to improving the human condition. A tireless advocate for student mental health, Gary has served on the Provost's Committee on Student Mental Health since its creation 10 years ago. He is credited with the creation of the "1 in 4" Campus Poster Campaign, which promotes early intervention for mental health and helps to normalize the need for students to seek help, as well as the success of the U of M mental health website www.mentalhealth.umn.edu. He is the creative founder of Cirque de-Stress and Pet Away Worry and Stress (PAWS), two programs that exemplify how visual and performance art foster a healing environment. We are indeed fortunate to have Dr. Christenson as our champion.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Horticultural Science
Gary Gardner, professor, Department of Horticultural Science, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has shown visionary leadership in his 29 years at the University. He believes passionately in the importance of science, science literacy and science education. In 2000, Gardner led an effort to establish the Center for Plants and Human Health, starting a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists and clinicians in the disciplines of biology, agriculture, and health sciences. As the center's director, Gardner brought together input and innovation from various disciplines towards addressing issues of human health. The Center for Plants and Human Health is part of the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute, which Gardner and other University colleagues established. Along with serving on every standing committee in his department (many of them multiple times), Gardner is active in University Senate Governance. He has served on the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Consultative Committee, and as the University Faculty Legislative Liaison. He leads by example, and works to create a community of leaders where service is recognized as a noteworthy endeavor. Gardner has worked ambitiously to raise funding to improve and modernize facilities in his college. He led an effort to renovate the Plant Growth Facilities on the St. Paul Campus (an $18 million state-funded project) and received $740,000 from the National Science Foundation which was matched by the University. The improvements in the facilities have broadened the types of research that can be conducted and serve as a recruitment incentive for bringing outstanding faculty, staff, and students to the University. One person wrote, "It is one of the hallmarks of Gary's campus service to bridge across disciplines, build bridges that connect new ideas, and serve to make successes in new ways."
Gary Wilson, head coach, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, has dedicated the past twenty years to educating, motivating, and mentoring student-athletes. He is described as being an outstanding example of service to all who know him, someone who instills a true sense of community and who sets a positive example of friendship not only for his team, but also his colleagues. His standards for his student-athletes are high, both in the classroom and competitively. For more than ten years, his teams' cumulative GPA has been over 3.0. Last year, fifty of sixty-five student-athletes achieved a GPA over 3.0. Competitively, he has guided his teams to scoring performances at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in thirteen of his twenty seasons. This spring his team won its first-ever Big Ten Outdoor Championship in his tenure. He leads by example and educates his team on the importance of giving back. He has led several service initiatives with his team, including reading to school children, visiting hospitals and nursing homes, and helping with activities to raise funds for hurricane victims. When a colleague and friend was diagnosed with cancer, Coach Wilson cared for him and opened up his home to him when he could no longer live alone. During this time, he organized gatherings at his home for friends of Jack, current and former student-athletes and staff so they could say goodbye. He called these gatherings "Tuesdays with Jack." "Gary Wilson lives his values," one person wrote, "he puts his heart into everything he does." He has been recognized often for his coaching success, including the induction into the prestigious Drake Relay Coaches Hall of Fame, president of the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association, and coaching the U.S. junior team at the 1993 World Cross Country Championships. He also was instrumental in the establishment of the Roy Griak Invitational, the Gopher's annual cross country event that has grown into one of the largest single-day cross country meets in the nation. Most recently, he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year and U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association 2006 Midwest District Coach of the Year.
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Supervisor
Gavin D. Watt is an information technology supervisor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health, where he manages data processing and computer information systems for epidemiologic research. For 30 years, he has provided outstanding service to the University, not only in his position in the School of Public Health, but also in his active involvement in governance at the school and University level. Gavin served six years on the School of Public Health P&A (academic professionals and administrative staff) Senate, chairing it for two years. He was instrumental in the creation of the School of Public Health P&A Excellence Award. He has also served as a committee or sub-committee member of several committees and as chair of the Civil Service Committee. Gavin has truly demonstrated his commitment to the University through his service on the Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC). He has been a member for the past 11 years and has served as the Committee's chair for the past eight years. The primary role of the BAC is to advise the administration on the University's health and other related benefits. Approximately 18,300 faculty, staff, and early retirees, are a part of this program, so the impact of consultation by the BAC is critical to the University community. As chair of the BAC, he leads the committee through conducting plan administrator reviews, assessing detailed recommendations for plan changes presented by the administration, and reviewing UPlan financial reports. Under his leadership, BAC members have supported the University in increasing generic medication use from 50.4% to 75.2% over the past six years, a change that has saved the UPlan $55 million in claim dollars not spent. In his role as chair, Gavin represents University employees and the BAC at Board of Regents meetings, at the University Senate, and at other important discussions related to health care benefits. As a member of the Pharmacy Program Clinical Committee, he assists with the development of the UPlan formulary. Because of Gavin's role as chair of the BAC, he also serves on the Administrative Working Group for Health Care Programs (AWG), which provides advice and counsel for the President and the Employee Benefits Department related to the administration of the University's Health Care programs. One person wrote, "Gavin Watt has worked on issues of health benefits for University employees as long as anyone in the University - since the establishment of the first task force in the early 1990's. He has served as chair of the BAC longer than anyone else. He has made these great contributions from a civil service/P&A position that offers less flexibility than a faculty position does. His volunteer work has been truly outstanding. Gavin Watt richly deserves the accolade that this award provides."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Classical
George A. Sheets, associate professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies (CNES), College of Liberal Arts (CLA), has served the University of Minnesota with distinction for 35 years. He also has held a courtesy appointment as an Associate Professor of Law in the University of Minnesota Law School since 2002. His record of service is outstanding. He has given tirelessly of his time and energy. In his department, he spent 12 years as department chair, navigating and leading through challenging times. Through his calm, thoughtful, and firm leadership, the CNES department was merged with the Department of Ancient Near Eastern and Jewish Studies. He is credited with bringing a major national Classics conference and an international conference of Hebrew-language educators to Minneapolis. He also is credited with developing department promotion guidelines for P&A's (Academic Professional and Administrative employees). Sheets' commitment to University governance is exemplary. He has served on the Faculty and Senate Consultative Committees (FCC/SCC), the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs (serving two years as chair), the Senate Judicial Committee (serving more than a decade with five of those years as chair), and most recently (2012), he has served as one of the faculty legislative liaisons. As legislative liaison, Sheets spends a significant amount of time at the Capitol while the Legislature is in session, talking to lawmakers, observing committee meetings, arranging for testimony, and reporting back to the FCC and the University Senate. In each of these endeavors, Sheets has done an extraordinary job. One person wrote, "George is a wonderful example of a rigorous scholar who had dedicated himself not only to his academic field, but also to academia writ large. He has been a tireless contributor to the greater good of the University (and in so doing, to that of Minnesota and beyond). I admire George enormously for the degree to which he has embraced service as a scholarly imperative."
Gilbert Ben Huie, tribal elder in the Fond du Lac Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, is a laboratory machinist specialist in the Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Technology. His commitment and dedication to the University and its communities are extraordinary and go well beyond his regular responsibilities. He joined the Department of Civil Engineering in 1991 and immediately began cultivating and developing excellent working relationships with faculty, students, staff, and the broader community. He was instrumental in the design and fabrication of a plane-strain apparatus; in the building of plastic molds for membranes strands, fixtures, and various water reactor tanks used for experiments; and in the renovation of a research space. He has worked tirelessly to cultivate a positive working environment and has served as the public marketing model for the College of Continuing Education in his pursuit of lifelong learning. He has contributed significantly towards the promotion and support of cultural diversity. He was instrumental in collecting information for the University's comprehensive report on diversity resources for the Sesquicentennial celebration. He provided bibliographic information, contacts, and resources from his own private library and his master's degree research in liberal studies related to his Chinese and Ojibwe heritage, which can now be found in the University's archives. He has contributed to the creation of the Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) Student Association and he has served as an active participant with American Indian cultural celebrations within and outside the University. Most recently, he has served as a volunteer technical support liaison for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, an outreach event for K-12 students held on the University of Minnesota campus. "He should be recognized for his outstanding service to the department and the Institute of Technology through his machining and engineering skills; his generous contributions to the University and outside organizations through his support of cultural diversity; and his leadership and mentoring of students with whom he has interacted, and the lives whom he has enriched through his numerous activities," wrote one person.
Gregory M. Vercellotti is the senior associate dean for education at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He has served on the faculty since 1982 and is recognized as an outstanding academician, researcher, and clinician. His activities in the areas of creative innovation and community interaction are extensive. For example, he is responsible for the "On Doctoring" program that connects medicine and society and deals with ethics, culture, and the law; the "White Coat Ceremony" in which white coats, a reflection of the importance of professionalism, are given to first year medical students; the "Academy of Medical Educators" for outstanding teachers and/or role models; cultural diversity programs for recruitment of students and multicultural interactions; and, advising and mentoring programs. He is also recognized for his leadership of the television program "Health Talk and You," designed to provide health information to the public, and the "Mini Medical School," a series of six lectures and discussions for the general public led by some of the top faculty in the Academic Health Center. In addition, he had led educational programs for high school students to encourage interest in science for other professional organizations such as the American Society of Hematology and the American Federation of Clinical Research. His nominators wrote, "His ebullient passion for excellence; his protean talents in education, research and administration; his collegiality and good humor; and his irrepressible commitment to improving the human condition are a great treasure for the University of Minnesota."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President
- Chief
Gregory S. Hestness, assistant vice president and chief of police, has served the University with dedication and distinction since 2003. He is described as a problem solver, a bridge builder, and a compassionate leader. As chief of police, one of his top priorities has been to build relationships with the University student body. Toward that effort, he created "Donuts with Cops," which has been a big hit on campus. The safety and quality of life on campus and the surrounding areas has improved significantly because of the Chief's commitment and dedication. Chief Hestness never stops working for the University. He implemented the Bike Bait Program, worked to improve multi-modal safety, video surveillance, and building access; and, he organized the Community Response Team to improve safety in the neighborhoods near campus for the thousands of students who live there. Chief Hestness' contributions are truly outstanding.
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Regents Professor
Regents Professor Gunda Georg, an outstanding and prolific scientist, is the head of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and the director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development (ITDD) in the College of Pharmacy. She holds the Robert Vince Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and the McKnight Presidential Chair. She is described as an exceptional researcher, scholar, teacher, mentor, leader, and editor, who has brought remarkable recognition and distinction to the University of Minnesota. Georg has dedicated her academic career to the application of synthetic medicinal chemistry with a focus on identifying from the millions of natural products those with a potential to cure currently intractable diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy; provide non-hormonal male contraceptives; and improve anesthesia. Known as a preeminent internationally recognized leader in her field, Georg is credited with building strong interdisciplinary teams on the local, national, and international levels with physicians and biologists from across academia and industry who are experts in the diseases she is tackling. Because of her collaborative approach, her work has made a significant impact on worldwide human health problems.
Georg's service in and outside of the University is exceptional. In her role as department head, Georg has created a department that exhibits both success and mutual respect. Under her leadership, grant funding and research productivity has shown a dramatic increase and faculty members have contributed greatly to both the graduate and professional student education, resulting in the recruitment of high caliber and diverse graduate students. She also has increased the diversity of the department--there are now five tenured women faculty members in the department. She has served on numerous selection committees, including the McKnight Professors, Regents Professors, and the AHC Academy for Excellence in Health Research. Georg also served on the Provost's Grand Challenges Research Strategy Team. In 2012, she was selected as co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, the most prestigious journal in the field of medicinal chemistry; in 2000, she co-chaired the 27th National Medicinal Chemistry Symposium; and, she is active in serving on NIH student sections as well as the editorial boards of a variety of scientific journals and the steering committees for the National Cancer Institute Chemical Biology Consortium and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development UO1/U54.
Professor Georg's career is exemplary, and we are fortunate to have her as part of our intellectual community.
Gyles Randall is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate, at the University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center located in Waseca. He is described as the "soil scientist with the greatest impact on development and adoption of improved agricultural practices leading to the economic viability of agriculture and the preservation of natural resources for future generations." The contributions he has made in the field of soil fertility and nutrient management have significantly benefited the economy of Minnesota as well as other states. He has played a pivotal role in the development of policy and in the education of decision makers, which has lead to the improvement of agriculture production and to the quality of our environment. He has served on numerous University committees and professional organizations and has served his local community as well. He is considered to be an excellent communicator and thus creates a positive image for the University. One person wrote, "Dr. Randall is a great ambassador for the University of Minnesota wherever he goes. He interacts well with people of all backgrounds, speaks exceptionally well, and is always a gentleman. He is widely known throughout Minnesota, the Upper Midwest, and indeed the national and international scientific community. He has served his community, his state, and the world exceptionally well."
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Howard Oransky
Howard Oransky, director, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Department of Art, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has consistently exceeded expectations since he joined the University. Oransky is the consummate collaborator, building partnerships within the University and with other institutions and communities. The exceptional quality of all of Oransky's projects, featuring local, national, and international artists, as well as the artwork of students, staff, and faculty; his mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students and his service to many high school and cultural art communities; and his creation of a diversity scholarship for first-year students in the Department of Art are defining features of his service to the University. Through a combination of vision, determination, compassion, and a deep knowledge of contemporary art, Oransky has transformed the Katherine E. Nash Gallery and the Department of Art's overall exhibition program into a nationally and internationally recognized venue. One of the stand-out exhibitions in a list of many powerful and innovative projects organized by Oransky was Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta, presented in 2015. With funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, this groundbreaking exhibition traveled to museums in California, Florida, Sweden, Germany, and France, with over 200,000 people attending the exhibition. The exhibition was reviewed hundreds of times, and was twice selected as among the Best Exhibitions of 2016 by the journal Artforum. In 2015, Oransky also initiated a partnership between the Department of Art, the Weisman Art Museum, and the Art Educators of Minnesota to bring the annual Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards program to the University of Minnesota. Now in its ninth year at the University, this program has featured the work of approximately 4,500 high school students. In addition to his curatorial duties, Oransky also supervises and mentors staff, graduate teaching assistants, undergraduates interns, gallery attendants, and many students who have gone on to pursue careers in the art museum field. Oransky's students and mentees hold positions at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Katherine E. Nash Gallery. One letter writer noted: "Howard has been an exemplary ambassador for the University, working tirelessly to represent and to model the world-class research and creative practice of the faculty, staff, and students nationally and internationally."
J. Brian Atwood, former dean and professor (on leave) in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, is currently serving as chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a permanent forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that coordinates international development policy. As chair, he serves as the official representative of development stakeholders from the 24 DAC member nations, who collectively contribute more than $120 billion per year in official development assistance. The chair of the DAC is an elected position chosen by the DAC member states. He served as dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs for eight years where he directed the academic, research, and outreach activities of the School. Under his leadership, the School was transformed and the culture changed. During his tenure as dean, the rankings rose from a tie for 21 st to 6th overall among public policy schools. Not only did he improve the national ranking but he also increased the student body and the number of faculty. He added two new endowed chairs, three new research centers, one new degree program, and three new certificates. He expanded undergraduate course offerings and added four new joint degrees. In addition, he increased scholarship funding for students and established the Dean's Strategic Initiative fund to support innovation and seed grants for research. He is credited with inspiring and mobilizing everyone on behalf of the common good of the School and the fulfillment of its mission in the state, nation and world. He strived to provide outstanding and innovate service to students and alumni that included attending numerous recruitment events, teaching courses, serving as a guest lecturer, and holding many formal and informal seminars and discussions. He created the Dean's International Policy Forum in response to students' desire for a forum to discuss international policy and current international events. He brought new life into the Humphrey Alumni Board as well as a chapter in Washington, D.C. He is known to speak regularly with alumni, both locally and nationally. One person wrote, "In Brian Atwood's eight years at the University of Minnesota, his leadership practice has most certainly advantaged the University at large as well as the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Of course, any dean is expected to be a leader. But, Brian is a truly exceptional, thoughtful leader whose work has affected not only the Humphrey School but the entire University and the community outside of our borders."
Jacqueline "Jaki" Cottingham-Zierdt is an equal opportunity consultant in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. For more than fifteen years, she has served the University in a variety of positions working to improve academic and work environments and the academy's commitment to diversity. She is the creator of many innovative programs such as Film Fridays, a film and discussion group focusing on specific discrimination issues; and Flaming Rainbow, a traditional American Indian woman's group, which strives to improve family finances and provide a culturally-appropriate structure for discussing challenging life circumstances. Jaki has served as a member on as many as 25 committees, councils, and commissions including the University Senate, the Senate Consultative Committee, the Strategic Positioning Task Force on Collegiate Design, University Women of Color, and the Aurora Center for Education and Advocacy, to name a few. She has served as chair of CAPA (Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators) for the past two years. Described as a persistent advocate, role model and adviser, Jaki has devoted much of her time outside of the regular workday to meet with students, to speak on behalf of minority communities, and to reach out to the broader public in the state, region, and around the country. One person wrote, "Jaki has the qualities that make an excellent employee, a dedicated servant to the University, a passionate advocate for the disempowered and underrepresented, and a grand and loyal friend."
Job Titles:
- Director of Information Technology
James MacDonald is the director of information technology in the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. For more than 30 years, he has dedicated his career to advancing the University through innovative technology and unwavering leadership. Faculty, staff, and students have benefited from his innovative ideas to make the University more efficient, his pioneering approach to keep the University on the cutting edge of technology, and his creative ideas for funding these much needed services, which is why he is considered to be one of the best IT managers at the University. During his tenure, MacDonald was confronted with some of the first "hacker" attacks aimed at the University. Once the hack was discovered, he and his team analyzed the data left behind and found that the hacker had successfully broke into several Department of Defense computer systems, including the Naval Air Warfare Center, Naval Air Test Center, and a number of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Navy servers. He contacted the FBI and worked with their cyber-crimes office in San Francisco to provide them with the information his team had collected, including the usernames the hacker used to get into the sensitive government systems. This experience led MacDonald to implement cyber security standards that influenced the first University-wide policies on IT security. Since that first hack, he has repeatedly acted as a first-responder to high-level attacks. MacDonald is described as an extraordinary mentor and is credited with providing outstanding training and development for staff. He also has been active in University Senate governance - serving for six years on the Senate Committee on Information Technologies, two of which he served as chair. One person wrote, "The initial excitement that each of us had individually about nominating Jim for this award was magnified in our discussions as we all heard new stories of Jim's contributions to the department, college, or University of which we were previously unaware - "Jim did that too; I didn't know," was a common refrain. This speaks to both Jim's tremendous impact and his inherent modesty."
James Mullin served as a senior engineer for more than 20 years at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He was hired to help develop the first experimental facility ever built to study the interplay of crustal subsidence and sedimentation - the basic processes that create the earth's sedimentary strata, which is known as Experimental EarthScape (XES) and is called the crown jewel of SAFL's experimental facilities. He led the development of highly innovative robotic data-collection carriages, referred to as the Magic Cart, which has had a tremendous impact on research and innovation not only at the University, but also all over the world. Under Mullin's leadership, SAFL has built systems for eight universities around the United States and the world, and for two major oil companies. These data-collection carriages have generated almost $2 million of external sales revenue for the University of Minnesota. Throughout his career, he has imagined and built some of the most innovative laboratory instrumentation and data collection systems of their kind in the world. These types of innovations he has developed are very complex systems that blend computer programming, control engineering, structural design and fabrication, and mechanical and electrical engineering. One person wrote, "Jim is that rarest of creators - a person who can both imagine solutions that are stunningly original and creative, and then turn around and build what he has dreamed to exacting standards. He worries tirelessly about how to build things the right way, and he sees potential problems, and their solutions, before anyone else does, and before they happen. His ferocious and unflagging commitment to quality has rubbed off on everyone around him, and perhaps more importantly, on the hundreds of students and visitors from all corners of the globe, academia, government, and industry, whom Jim has worked with during his many years at SAFL."
Job Titles:
- Director of the Aurora Center for Advocacy
Jamie C. Tiedemann is the Director of The Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education. Under her leadership, the Aurora Center has grown from an office of two staff with the responsibility to provide advocacy to victims of sexual assault during the working hours, to an organization of 4.5 staff and 30 volunteers who provide crisis intervention and advocacy to victims of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The Aurora Center serves about 200 clients in crisis and over 2,000 people through educational efforts annually. She has created numerous partnerships within the University and with community agencies. Because of her efforts, the Aurora Center was the first campus sexual assault program in the country to have a joint policy with a campus police department for their investigators to conduct interviews in the program office, provide transportation for victims and advocates, and accompany victims and advocates to court hearings and trials. . She has been a committed advocate for all students for more than ten years. She is regarded as a national leader for campus violence awareness and prevention. She worked with Congressman Jim Ramstad to introduce legislation on the "Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights." This legislation was passed in 1992 and later signed into law by President George Bush. She also wrote the University of Minnesota's Sexual Assault Victim's Rights Policy. This policy provides guidance for all the University of Minnesota campuses regarding services for sexual assault victims. In recognition of her many accomplishments in campus violence prevention, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded the Aurora Center with the National Crime Victim Service Award. It was the first higher education program ever to receive the award. One person wrote, "She is an extremely valuable asset to the University of Minnesota. If all of us worked with the dedication, fervor, and commitment for others that Jamie does, our world would be a more wonderful place."
Job Titles:
- Director of Community Relations in University Relations
Jan Morlock, director of community relations in University Relations, is described as an exemplary representative of the University to both internal and external constituents. She is considered "the face" of the University and her exceptional work invaluable to the University's relationship with surrounding neighborhoods, the City of Minneapolis, and the state legislature. Because of her leadership, commitment, and dedication, efforts such as "Light Up the Night, " a program conducted by sororities to develop awareness of safety and security issues in neighborhoods, have been implemented. Jan also serves on the Community Board of the University YMCA, as chair of the Strategic Planning and Board Development Committee and as a mentor to student board members. Her effective leadership for the Stadium Area Advisory Group has resulted in a better understanding of the impact of the new football stadium on the University's neighbors. She served as the primary author of the Neighborhood Impact Report. Mayor R.T. Rybak wrote, "Most recently I witnessed her work on the Neighborhood Impact Report. Her leadership style gracefully brought together many interests and resulted in one of the most collaborative efforts I have seen as Mayor. She has earned a reputation for someone with a vision for the future who takes her work to a new level of commitment and cooperation. Our City is deeply affected by the strength and success of the University of Minnesota and Jan is a unique asset in this relationship."
Job Titles:
- Principal Engineer in Facility Management 's Energy Management Group
Jay M. Denny is a principal engineer in Facility Management's Energy Management Group. One of his first extraordinary contributions to the University of Minnesota was the start-up and initial testing of the St. Paul campus central chilled water facility. Through his efforts, 24 separate St. Paul campus buildings were connected to a single central chilled water system, saving the University over $1 million annually in energy and maintenance costs. Most recently, he has spent most of his waking hours working on the University's newest high technology research building, the Medical Biosciences Building (MBB) to bring it online and to make it a safe environment for researchers. Mr. Denny is always looking for ways to save energy while ensuring that the faculty, staff and students who live or work in the University's buildings are as comfortable as possible. His mantra is "Anyone can save energy by making people uncomfortable or by making them do without. A clever engineer's goal should be to save energy without anyone noticing." The Energy Management Group established a goal in the fall of 2008 to reduce energy consumption on campus by five percent, or approximately $2.25 million per year by the end of fiscal year 2010. With a few months to go, the University is within striking distance of reaching that goal. Jay Denny is credited with the effort, vision, and engineering expertise to save the University more than $2.1 million per year in reduced energy consumption. A dedicated and committed employee, Mr. Denny rarely takes time off for himself. The majority of his vacation hours are donated to other University employees in need of extra vacation time for medical reasons. On one occasion he took time off to support the University's 2009 Solar Decathlon Team. He volunteered his time and expertise to the University of Minnesota's student team that designed and built the University's solar powered house for the Department of Energy's sponsored international competition. It was selected as the top award winner in engineering and lighting among 19 entrants. His knowledge and expertise has had a positive influence on organizations and firms critical to the University's success such as Xcel Energy and the design and construction community throughout the Twin Cities area. Jim Green, Jay's supervisor wrote, "Jay's selection for this award would recognize one of this institution's true unsung heroes. During the course of my professional life I've had the good fortune of working with a handful of individuals whose extraordinary professional skills and knowledge were surpassed only by their commitment and dedication. I put Jay Denny at the top of that 28 year-in-the making list of all-time game changers."
Jean Freeman served as the head coach for the University of Minnesota Women's Swimming and Diving team for 31 years. She is described as an outstanding pioneer, leader, teacher, coach, mentor, volunteer and the kind of person who makes everyone around her better and who always brings a positive attitude, humor and dedication to any endeavor. During her tenure as head coach, she produced 27 winning seasons; won two Big Ten Championships in 1999 and 2000; won 208 dual meets; coached two national championships; 14 Big Ten Championships; 175 All-Americans, and over 1,000 student-athletes. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including being named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times; she received 20 American Swimming Coaches Certificate of Excellence Awards; and was inducted into the Minnesota Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame. She was also the recipient of the 1999 National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy. In 2000, she was inducted into the University of Minnesota "M" Club Hall of Fame and the University of Minnesota Aquatics Hall of Fame in 2006. She served as the coach of the USA National Team at the World University Games in South Korea. The Jean Freeman Endowed Scholarship was established in 1998 and is awarded annually to a female swimmer who signifies the "total person" concept, and who shows strong motivation, commitment and dedication to personal growth. Coach Freeman has made a significant impact in the implementation of Title IX and the promotion of equal opportunity for female student-athletes at the University of Minnesota and beyond. She has also been very active in promoting and developing programs for inner city and minority youth. For example, she put together a plan for a swim clinic held annually at the University Aquatic Center for youth in the community and Greater Minnesota. Joel Maturi, director, Intercollegiate Athletics, wrote, "Jean Freeman bleeds Maroon and Gold. She possesses a fierce pride in Minnesota. Her service as an educator and coach for 30+ years touched and influenced many lives. Each one of those individuals carries a part of the message learned from the many facets of Jean's broad philosophy of life and learning."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Family Social Science
Jean W. Bauer, professor, Department of Family Social Science (FSoS), College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), has demonstrated extraordinary leadership to her department, her college and to the University. She served as FSoS Director of Graduate Studies for six years where she provided programmatic leadership and student-focused leadership and mentorship. She is credited with establishing a graduate minor in family policy. To do this, she coordinated the planning and implementation efforts of faculty in the former College of Human Ecology (CHE), the Law School and the Humphrey Institute. The family policy minor is considered one of the few successful cross-college efforts at the University. She has served as the director of the Twin City Family Policy Graduate Minor since 2005. In 2006, when the new CEHD was founded and three colleges were merged, Jean was called upon to serve as the chair of the Graduate Committee of the CEHD Curriculum Committee, one of two major committees in the new college. And, she served as a key member of a group that drafted a temporary constitution for the new college. As chair of the college Promotion and Tenure Committee, she led a large and diverse group of faculty to consensus. Her colleagues unanimously acknowledged her as a skillful facilitator in overseeing one of the most critical tasks of a college. Her service to the University is outstanding. She was elected to the Faculty Senate, served on the Senate Judicial Committee, the Committee on Committees, and the Senate Finance and Planning Committee. In 2003, she was elected to the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) and during the final year of her term, she served as chair. As chair of the FCC, she also served as chair of the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC) and the Business and Rules Committee. In addition, she both served and chaired the Social Science Policy and Review Council and was a member of the Executive Committee for the Graduate School. One person wrote, "Jean Bauer is one of those faculty members who does exceptional work no matter what you ask of her. She does it with skill and with a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect with her colleagues. Her leadership skills are legendary. Her contributions to the University of Minnesota far exceed what we might expect of any individual faculty member."
Jeanne D. Markell, Assistant Dean & Director, Extension Services, has served in roles ranging from educator to key spokesperson for the University. She has served in major leadership roles to a variety of programs such as Commission on Women; University in the Community outreach programs; University Consortium on Children, Youth and Family; Minnesota Rural Futures; and president of both the Minnesota and National Council on Family Relations. She continues to play a significant role in the restructuring of Extension Services. She has demonstrated her commitment to serving staff and stakeholders during these years of change through leadership, focus and direction. University outreach to the people in Minnesota communities has been at the heart of her work since she began her career as an Extension home economist and county Extension director in Carver County. This provided her with a foundation for her work on the University Outreach Council and the strategic plan for outreach she co-authored in 1990. In addition, she has a reputation as a coach and a mentor throughout the University community. Through her unending dedication to her work she has helped to make the University and greater Minnesota communities a better place for all.
Job Titles:
- Executive Secretary, Department of Postsecondary Teaching
Jennifer Franko, executive secretary, Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, College of Education and Human Development, has served the University with an outstanding level of professionalism, commitment, and excellence for more than 26 years. Her dedication is demonstrated through her continuous efforts to improve systems, processes, and policies that will enhance student and faculty success. Her commitment to serving students is extraordinary. Students view her as someone who will always act on their behalf and produce the very best outcomes. Because of this, she is given credit for the high retention rate of the graduate and undergraduate programs in her department. Jennifer's commitment to academic integrity is well known and had led to University-wide adoption of plagiarism protocols. Jennifer's commitment to her department, her college, and the University is extraordinary.
Jennifred G. Nellis, emeritus professor, Studio Arts, Division of Humanities, University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM), provided 33 years of truly outstanding service to the University and the Morris campus. She is a sculptor and an artist. Considered to be one of the pioneer faculty women at UMM, she has helped to shape the lives and careers of many junior faculty and students and has been an extraordinary mentor to them. She played a pivotal role in increasing the number of female faculty at UMM, the kinds of leadership opportunities afforded to women, and the gender of those in leadership positions. When she was hired at UMM in 1978, there was fewer than 20% full-time female faculty (on all in tenure lines). Before her retirement, those numbers more than doubled. Throughout her career she has actively advocated for diversity and because of her efforts and successes, she has opened many doors for others. She was the first female in the campus' history selected to serve as chair of the Division of Humanities at UMM in 2000. Under Jennifred's leadership, the department flourished. Her reputation to build on possibilities and improve experiences led campus leadership to seek her out to chair and serve on important committees such as the Athletics Task Force, the Budget Task Force, numerous Curriculum Committees, Scholastic Committees, Grievance Committees, Student Services Committees, the Minority Experience Committee, and the Consultative Committee, to name a few. At the University level, she served on several Senate Committees such as the Retirement Subcommittee, the Library Committee, the Physical Plant and Space Allocation Committee, and she served as a University Senator for three years. Jennifred is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition including the Horace T. Morse Alumni Teaching Award. Her influence on the art community in Minnesota is significant. She has been actively involved in the College Art Association where she helped raise funds that support the scholarship, publication, and professional development of other artists and students. She is credited with influencing and collaborating on the Herman Iron Pour (a program that continued for ten years) and the Women, Fire and Iron Conference. In addition, she has co-taught several MAX/WARM classes across Minnesota. One person wrote, "Nellis' tireless and inspiring service has resulted in contributions that have significantly shaped and that will continue to shape UMM, benefiting students, her colleagues, the arts, and the regional community at large. Nellis is the type of professor whose exceptional reputation, achievement, and dedication to her craft, set the standards by which others can only hope to follow."
Jenny Casper, director of community engagement and career development, University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR), has been on staff at UMR since the campus first enrolled students in 2009. She is credited with contributing significantly to UMR's success by streamlining the multi-layered course registration processes, growing community partnerships, developing more internship placements and contacts, increasing student research opportunities, enhancing career development programming, and engaging alumni in career initiatives for students, all in a single-person office. Over the past decade, Casper has held three official long-term positions spanning across academic and student affairs and has juggled multiple add on or short-term appointments to assist during staff transitions or to advance a specific initiative. One such initiative was her revamping of how UMR showcased career offerings to students. Because of her vision and leadership, the quality and attendance of the programs increased, as did regard for these career and community related offerings. In all of her efforts, students are at the forefront of her vision. Casper's contributions to the construction of UMR's student-centered approach to innovative practices both inside and outside of the classroom are significant. One person wrote, "Jenny has contributed to it all. She operates with such efficiency and puts out amazing results but is also the first to credit those around her. Her humility often masks the incredible amount of work and quality of work she put out. There is no other person that I think deserves this award more than Jenny."
Job Titles:
- Director for the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs
Jenny Meslow is the director for the Center for Health Interprofessional Programs. She has dedicated more than twenty-five years of service to the University's Academic Health Center. Throughout her service, she has mentored countless students in the development of their leadership skills. She was instrumental in the creation of CLARION, a student-led organization focused on developing future leaders to improve quality and patient safety in healthcare. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement has endorsed the program as one of the most promising new initiatives in healthcare education. She was also instrumental in the creation of the Students Committee on Bioethics. One student wrote, "Amongst the abundance of greatness at the University of Minnesota, Jenny Meslow truly stands alone. Her vision is clear, her resolve is without question. Jenny has helped me and many others understand what our professions encompass and identify our role in the world of healthcare." Her dedication to students and their professional development outside of the classroom is described as "unsurpassed." Her commitment to the University and the Academic Health Center is demonstrated through her service. She served as chair of the Fairview University Medical Center Turtle Derby for ten years. The Derby is a fundraiser to support children's services at the hospital. Since 2004 she has served as chair for the University's Relay for Life. And, in 2001, she was selected as one of the 25 members of the inaugural class of the University of Minnesota President's Emerging Leaders Program.
Jerie S. Smith, volunteer coordinator, The Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education in the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs, has served the University with distinction for the last 40 years. The Aurora Center serves victims/survivors and concerned persons with regards to sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking for the University. Through Jerie's dedicated work around sexual violence prevention and intervention, Jerie has doubled the awareness of The Aurora Center on campus. She has organized and coordinated film festivals, Domestic Violence Awareness Month events, Sexual Assault Awareness Month events, as well as other programmatic efforts. She is a member of the University Crisis Response Team and is available at any hour if a tragedy happens to a student. In her role as volunteer coordinator, Jerie works with almost 60 student volunteers. As the volunteer coordinator of Active Minds, a mental health outreach student group whose goal is to reduce stigma surrounding mental illness on campus, she has mentored and trained students to be activists. With her able assistance, Mental Health Awareness Day was created in 2010. It grew from five student coordinators to 10 student groups and University organizations such as Boynton Health Service and University Counseling and Consulting Services. Jerie is considered to be a champion for women, the LGBT community, people with disabilities, and people of color. She is a founding member and the driving force of two very important campus initiatives, the Social Justice Leader Retreat and the Coalition for a Respectful U. She has also spearheaded the Social Justice Film Festival that takes place twice a year and coordinates campus conversations around issues such as disabilities, sexual violence, and mental health. Jerie is credited with building community and fostering collaboration among faculty, staff, and students, to address student needs as well as creating opportunities for student service providers. One person wrote, "Jerie's work demonstrates that one person can change the world; she has changed the University of Minnesota, one person at a time. She humbly empowers others to value themselves, challenges them to connect with colleagues and is strategic about how she encourages individuals to step up and use their power to make a difference. Her service has been exceptional because she always reached beyond the scope of her position title to connect people and issues together, often addressing social justice issues that are complex and ambiguous. Her commitment is unusual because she does her work in service to others one person at a time, and empowers them to reach their own personal potential as they address social justice issues on our campus."
Jerry Meier, lab supervisor, Soudan Underground Laboratory (Laboratory), School of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science and Engineering, is responsible for managing all aspects of the Laboratory. The Laboratory, one of the University of Minnesota's premier outreach facilities, is described as one of the largest of a half-dozen facilities around the world that house highly sensitive physics experiments and the detectors that need to be shielded from cosmic rays from the sky. It is comprised of two large underground rooms, each nearly the size of a football field, located one-half mile underground in Soudan, Minnesota, about twenty-five miles from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Over 200 scientists, students, and engineers from several countries participate in experiments with detectors at the Laboratory. Jerry facilitates the work of the visiting scientists, interacts with the State Park staff, and reaches out to visiting K-12 school groups and members of the general public, with about 5,000 people visiting each year. Jerry knows the community extremely well, knows every inch of the facility, every piece of equipment, and is an expert in many of the most advanced physics detectors. One example of his extraordinary efforts was demonstrated late one night when the mine shaft leading to the lab had caught fire. First on the scene, Jerry assessed the problem and coordinated the response until the DNR's firefighters arrived. He worked seventy-two hours straight. Days later, he was the first person back, pushing through tunnels filled with firefighting foam while wearing a full rebreather pack, to assess the damage. Because of his outstanding leadership, almost all of the equipment was recovered and experiments were operating within about two months. One person wrote, "Jerry Meier demonstrates the best qualities of University staff members. Every day, Jerry Meier contributes directly to making the University of Minnesota not just a better place, but also an international leader in research at the frontiers of knowledge about the Universe in which we live."
Job Titles:
- Maintenance Supervisor in the Facilities Management Department at the University of Minnesota
Jerry Rude is a retired landscape maintenance supervisor in the Facilities Management Department at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). His contributions to the beautification of the Crookston campus are renowned. Over the course of his 36 years of service, Jerry designed every flower bed differently every year. He also designed the current mall for sidewalks, lighting, and irrigation. In addition, he played a key role in parking lot, street, sidewalk, and athletic field development. His dedication and hard work has been acknowledged by alumni, students and UMC faculty and staff through awarding him with the Outstanding Alumni Award in 1985, the UMC Award for Distinguished Civil Service, AFSCME Clerical/Technical, or Teamster in 1992, the Torch and Shield in 2003 (the highest and most prestigious award presented on the Crookston campus), and he was selected by students for the faculty/staff of the month award in 2008. In addition to Jerry's visible work on the landscaping, he made significant contributions that were not as noticeable. He made sure roads and parking lots were clear after a blizzard and before people arrived on campus. He would often spend much of the night following weather reports and different radar sites so he would be prepared to recommend whether the campus should remain open. He would spend countless hours on campus to ensure the safety of others during and after these storms. He was also known for his willingness to share his expertise and support for the faculty, staff, and students. He worked with students in various horticulture classes, supported the forestry program and athletics. He touched the lives of many students. He supervised work-study students each year and would supervise students on internships. One person wrote, "Jerry Rude truly loved his job and the University of Minnesota, Crookston. When people speak of Jerry they use the words dedicated, respectful, knowledgeable, hardworking, unselfish, character and professional, just to name a few. It is not an exaggeration to say it would be difficult to find an individual on or off campus who didn't know of the contributions Jerry made to the University of Minnesota, Crookston."
Jigna Desai, associate professor in the Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, began her academic career at the University of Minnesota in 1992. She has played a pivotal role in developing an Asian American Studies undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Currently, she serves as the director of the Asian American Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts. She is the Midwest representative to the Association of Asian American Studies, which is the national professional organization in the field. She is also a leader in the establishment of a new consortium for Asian American Studies with the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). She spearheaded a CIC Asian American group charged to develop best practices in the consortium (the CIC is comprised of the Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago). In addition, she has worked collaboratively to strengthen ethnic studies through the establishment of a CLA minor in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies and by drafting a major proposal for fellowships to recruit graduate students of color. This initiative became part of the College's Strategic Plan. Professor Desai has served on numerous College and University committees and is the author of Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film (2004). A colleague wrote, "Jigna's sustained efforts in creating an institutional space for this kind of richness have been considerable, and they demonstrate not only her loyalty and dedication to the University, but also her capacity for vision and her commitment to the hard work of turning dreams into reality."
Job Titles:
- Roger F. Noreen Professor of Law, Associate
Joan S. Howland, Roger F. Noreen Professor of Law, associate dean, Information and Technology, and director, Law Library, Law School, is the first Native American to serve on the faculty of the Law School. Her service to the Law School, its students, the University and to the American Indian community is exceptional. In addition to her responsibilities as director of the Law Library, Professor Howland teaches American Indian Law and History, and serves as a recruiter and mentor for Native American students and faculty. Because of her passion and commitment to diversity, she recruits students from other underrepresented groups as well. Her service to the Law School is unparalleled. Professor Howland is credited with single-handedly transforming the admissions function from a mechanical process to one that is prospective-student oriented. She has served on many important committees in the Law School, including three dean search committees, the Admissions Committee, the Strategic and Self-Study Committee, and the Dean's Consultative Committee. In addition, her service to the University includes membership on a number of Senate committees including the Judicial Committee, the Senate Committee on Committees, ROTC and the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs. Her service to her profession includes playing a key role in the work of the American Association of Law Libraries, serving as a member of the American Bar Association's Council of Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, and on the Accreditation Committee. Professor Howland is also one of the authors of the McCrate Report, an influential document that has a profound impact on how best practices in legal education are thought about. She has also served on the American Indian Library Association for more than 20 years and has been its treasurer since 1992. Provost Sullivan wrote, "Across the professional career of Professor Howland, it is clear that she has made exceptional contributions to the Law School, to the University, and to the broader community, both locally as well as beyond. Anyone who has worked with or knows of Joan Howland's reputation will attest to her unyielding standards, her impeccable character, and the breadth and depth of her contributions throughout the community: academic, professional, and social. She honors all of us by her continued presence and contribution to our University and its extended communities."
Job Titles:
- Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Public Health
John Finnegan Jr., professor and dean emeritus, School of Public Health (SPH), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, served the school for more than 40 years, beginning as a University student (PhD ‘85, Journalism) working on community health promotion campaigns, and ending with his retirement on January 31, 2022. As a faculty member, Finnegan moved into leadership positions, serving as associate dean for academic affairs, associate dean for research and academic affairs, interim dean, and, in 2005, dean. In each role, Finnegan advanced the school's strengths and academic mission, including increasing enrollments, substantially diversifying the faculty and student body, and improving national rankings of key programs. What is equally important, however, is the unifying professional vision that has directed Finnegan's efforts and the passion that has fueled them: a vision of health and well-being. One example of Finnegan's commitment to a broad vision of well-being can be seen in his leadership of the President's Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct (PIPSM). In 2017, Finnegan was asked by then-president Eric Kaler to chair the effort to develop a comprehensive University plan for the prevention of sexual misconduct. Finnegan oversaw the initiative's implementation during the last few years of his time at the University, and the fact that this work is still going strong is a testament to the resiliency of Finnegan's general plan, one aimed at both individual and cultural transformation. Additionally, SPH established a leadership position in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2002 and, during Finnegan's tenure, the school's DEI efforts grew in size and focus. The murder of George Floyd led the school to a soul-searching process about racism as a public health emergency and the school's own role in sustaining structural racism. The school's five-year Strategic Plan for Antiracism is one result of this exploration. Schools and colleges across the nation have sought guidance from Finnegan and SPH's DEI office on how to enact similar efforts. Finnegan was also an active leader of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (1998-2022). One of Finnegan's most significant and lasting contributions to academic public health was his visionary leadership as chair of the 2012-2015 Framing the Future: The Second Hundred Years of Public Health Education Taskforce examining all aspects of public health education. His efforts led to the adoption of revised accreditation criteria by the Council on Education for Public Health, resulting in the transformation of the master of public health (MPH) curriculum in schools and programs of public health in the United States and internationally. His nominator wrote: "His service to SPH was heartfelt and progressive, and his contributions were created in the genuine spirit of doing what is right and best for the people in our school and larger community."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Anthropology
John Hamlin, professor, Department of Anthropology, Sociology & Criminology, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Duluth, has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to his department, college, and the University. He is described as a legendary role model University citizen, respected scholar, esteemed educator, and tireless servant. Over the course of his 35-year tenure, Hamlin has served on too many committees to list; however, just in the last five years, he has served as chair of the Faculty Council (now Faculty Senate), chair of the Executive Committee of the Campus Assembly, and president of the faculty union. Earlier in his career, he acted as coordinator for the Criminology Program; served on the Women's Studies Advisory Board; was department head; and took a leadership role in web development and helped design Grad Planner. In addition, he has been active in initiatives to combat sexual harassment and support Title IX, serving on task forces, committees, and boards. Hamlin has also served on numerous hiring committees and has earned distinctions for his work with students with disabilities and students of color. Hamlin's record of service is extraordinary. One person wrote, "The sum of Dr. Hamlin's service work at the University of Minnesota Duluth is unequivocally superb in its quantity and quality. He exemplifies all the President's Award for Outstanding Service stands for."
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Associate, School of Dentistry
John O. Look, senior research associate, School of Dentistry, joined the faculty in the School of Dentistry in 1977. Prior to 1977, Dr. Look provided health care services and set up and trained health care providers in the People's Republic of Congo. In addition to dentistry, he was licensed to provide health care services for ophthalmology, leprosy, tuberculosis, and other tropical diseases. Since 1998, he has served as director of Global Health Services, which provides services in ten countries around the world. He has set up clinical programs for the detection and treatment of sleeping sickness and leprosy in the Republic of Congo, and medical and dental services in the rural areas in Honduras, Belize, and Boliva. He has also been involved in remodeling a hospital in the Republic of Congo, which includes a hospice service for HIV/AIDS patients. Most recently, Dr. Look began working on a centralized community health care facility in India. His future plans include the development of a hospital in Sierra Leone and medical and dental care in rural areas of Burma. One of Dr. Look's colleagues wrote, "The intellectual, clinical, and service contributions of Dr. Look would be extraordinary for any group of people, let alone a single humanitarian. He is truly a citizen of the world and more than deserving of any recognition he is given."
John S. Anderson is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, and the Director of the General Biology Program. He has taught at the University for almost forty years. He is an accomplished scientist whose studies focus on bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. Over the course of the last decade, he has directed his work towards the educational development of students and faculty in the biological sciences. Described as a selfless leader in the college and the university, John has served fourteen years in the Faculty Senate, seven years as the director of the General Biology Program, and two years as interim associate dean of the College of Biological Sciences. In addition, he led the Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program (LSSURP) for thirteen years. The objective of this program is to inspire students from under-represented groups to pursue a career in research. Under his leadership, the College of Biological Sciences created a program for its incoming freshmen called the "Nature of Life." The goals of this program are to help students transition to college level work, engage in a molecular to ecosystem experience with modern biology, and develop a true community. For the past two years he has taught freshman in the Nature of Life Program not only about biochemistry but also about University of Minnesota traditions. The impact of his contributions is significant, and he has touched thousands of students and faculty alike.
Jonathan Campbell, director of jazz studies and assistant professor of saxophone, University of Minnesota Morris, exemplifies what it means to go above and beyond. Not only does Campbell thoroughly and enthusiastically fulfill his job requirements, he has become an indispensable element of the music discipline, the institution, and the local community as he tirelessly develops support and engagement from these constituencies and beyond. Campbell has developed and oversees numerous jazz programs, including the Visiting Jazz Artists Program, the Summer Jazz Mentorship Program, an annual jazz recruiting tour, the "Doc" Carlson Jazz Scholarship, and a new Jazz Studies Minor at the Morris campus. He is currently developing a new course called Introduction to Music Technology, and, in conjunction with the Humanities Division, is securing funding for a music state-of-the-art technology lab and recording studio. Along with being a dedicated and gifted teacher and performer, Campbell creatively builds relationships in the community and the region. Monthly jazz nights at the Stone's Throw Cafe and the Old No. 1 Restaurant, led by Campbell, develop not only his students' performance experience, but the community's creative and musical culture as well. He participates in regular collaborations with the Morris Area High School Jazz Band, has served as guest clinician at the Central Lakes Region Jazz Contest, has been invited to perform on numerous occasions throughout the Midwest, and is frequently sought as a guest conductor. One nominee wrote, "Campbell goes beyond the traditional means and thinks much more creatively about how he can make music in general - and jazz in particular - a part of the very fabric of the community that is Morris, Minnesota."
Job Titles:
- Director, Department of Chemistry
Joseph (Joe) Franek, lecture demonstration director, Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Engineering, has provided exceptional service to the University of Minnesota for twenty-one years; four years at the Morris campus and the years following, on the Twin Cities campus. Joe's enthusiasm for sharing chemistry and supporting the educational mission of the University is outstanding. He has contributed to the learning outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students through his effective and exciting demonstrations that serve to enhance, facilitate, and strengthen the teaching of important fundamental as well as advanced concepts of chemistry. Joe is credited with helping to create, develop, refine, and deliver "Energy and U," an outreach program where elementary school children come to the University and watch a fifty-minute presentation filled with explosions, light shows, music, and amazing transformations of energy from one form to another. Currently, this signature event is performed for over 10,000 children annually. The grand finale of the show is designed and constructed by Joe, where energy from food is converted sequentially to electricity. Not only are these performances awesome, it teaches children the first law of thermodynamics and also puts the idea of college and STEM topics on the radar of some children that may have never met someone that has attended college. Joe also takes the time to speak to students and teachers after the shows. The Department of Chemistry has received notes from students enrolled in its undergraduate programs referring to the motivation they got from attending "Energy and U." One person wrote, "Joe is essential to the teaching and outreach missions of our department. I would assert that Joe Franek is a crucial part of the U of MN's College of Science and Engineering public relations! He helps us all be more generous with our time and energy by tirelessly, generously, and passionately working to improve and develop demonstrations of chemistry and beyond. He reaches people from pre-school through adulthood, contributing to curriculum development, outreach, teaching, and research."
Job Titles:
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
- Professor, Department of Computer Science
Joseph A. Konstan, professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and associate dean for research, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, began his career at the University in 1992. Since then, he has established himself as an exceptional scholar, teacher, and leader. As a scholar, Konstan is considered a world leader in human-computer interaction and a founder of the field of recommender systems, which is software that uses community preference data for personalization (individuals who place orders through Amazon or watch movies on Netflix may be quite familiar with this software). Konstan is also a highly awarded and innovative teacher who transformed his department's introductory and service teaching, while serving as an early adopter of massive online instruction and creating a curriculum in human-computer interaction. His multiple teaching awards include the University of Minnesota Award for Outstanding Service to Graduate and Professional Education (2010), the George Taylor/CSE Alumni Society Award for Distinguished Teaching (2013), and designation as a McKnight Distinguished Teaching Professor (2010). Konstan has also accepted calls for service to the University of Minnesota from the very first year he joined the institution. He has been extremely generous with his time and talents and has significantly and positively shaped our institution in countless ways. During his time as the director of Graduate Studies for the Master of Science in Software Engineering program, for example, Konstan played a key role in removing a significant impediment to graduation for working professionals in the program by adding a Plan-C (coursework only) master's degree - a change which is now an option for all graduate programs. Konstan has served the broader University community through his membership on the original strategic planning workgroup appointed by former president Eric Kaler and former executive vice president and provost Karen Hanson, as well as his invaluable service to shared governance. As chair of the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs as well as his later service as vice chair and chair of the Faculty and Senate Consultative Committees, Konstan fostered constructive campus and University engagement with an exceptionally daunting number of important equity, climate, and social justice issues, including, but not limited to, child care, student mental health, the reexamination of honorific building names, non-discrimination policy on gender identity and pronouns, and parental leaves. Leaders from across the University system continue to seek his wise and steady counsel on issues affecting our community. According to one of his colleagues, "He is especially skilled at finding connections across the system to create unique ways to address some of the most complex issues this institution has faced, [which is] why Dr. Konstan is continually sought-after for his vast knowledge of the system and how it works to create strategies for some of the most complex issues this institution has faced."
Job Titles:
- Member of the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth
Joycelyn Dorscher has been a faculty member of the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth since 1997. Dr. Dorscher is currently the director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health and an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine. One of her major contributions is the development of programs to attract and retain minorities in the Medical School. Because of her leadership and dedication, the University of Minnesota's Medical School now has the second largest contingent of Native American medical school graduates in the nation. She is recognized nationally for her accomplishments and is considered an expert in physician work force diversity. She has served as a member on numerous committees both at the University and on national organizations. Dr. Dorscher has also participated in a variety of national forums regarding the mentoring of minority physicians. She has served her local community through her membership on the Duluth American Indian Commission and by serving on the local reservation's cancer education team, and through her work with the Duluth-Superior area Community Foundation. One person wrote, "Dr. Dorscher has personally mentored a number of young, Native American physicians over the past several years and we have seen them, in turn, continue the mentoring process themselves.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for K - 12 Outreach and Civic Engagement, Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence
Juavah Lee, assistant director for K-12 outreach and civic engagement, Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence, Office for Equity and Diversity, is a member of the University community who leads by example. He also teaches Youth Studies and has led groups of students on study abroad experiences. The courses he teaches include "Hmong Language and Culture," "First-Year Seminar on Hmong: Life in America," and "Multicultural Health." Committed to his community, Lee developed the Hmong Men's Circle, a program for young Hmong men to be together in community, to support each other, and to receive guidance, coaching, and mentoring from him. He is also an exceptional supporter and mentor for the Hmong Minnesota Student Association, which sponsors activities for Hmong students and refugees. He has been a vital part of a training program at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) developed for refugees who came to the United States in 2005 from the Wat Tham Krabok refugee camp in Thailand. Lee is dedicated to the mission of Tsev Hmoob, the University's living-learning community for students who are interested in having an authentic Hmong experience on campus. Generous with his time and expertise, Lee conducts workshops and guest lectures on Hmong culture and the Hmong community. He demonstrates his dedication through service on both University and community outreach committees including the Community Engagement Advisory Board, the President's Asian Advisory Committee, and the National Association for Asian and Pacific American Education. One person wrote, "As an immigrant to this country with the odds stacked against him, Juavah persevered and attained a strong education and has had a successful career serving students and the community, which is a great role model for our students. He is a man of great integrity, a hardworking professional who is committed to keeping students first, and an exceptional family man and advocate for the community."
Judith A. Martin is a professor in the Department of Geography and director of the Urban Studies Program. One person wrote, "Judith Martin has parlayed her expertise in urban studies into a remarkable record of service to the University of Minnesota and its surrounding community. That record in turn parallels a record of significant contribution to the University governance in areas that do not draw directly on her professional expertise. The combination has been consequential for the University to a degree that is rare among U of M faculty." Described as "the complete University citizen," she has received prestigious teaching awards such as the Morse-Alumni Award for Contributions to Undergraduate Education, the College of Continuing Education 2005 Teaching Award, the Jerome Foundation Books Arts Award (with Rob Silberman in 1993), and she was named an Academic Fellow in the Scandinavian Urban Studies Program in 1997. In 1999, she received the University of Minnesota Community Service Award for her valued work with Twin Cities communities. She has been a tireless contributor to faculty governance at the University. Her service includes chair of the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP), chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Planning (SCFP), co-chair of the Campus Master Planning Committee, and chair of the Senate and Faculty Consultative Committee (SCC/FCC). For more than twenty years, she has served as the director of the Urban Studies program. In addition, she has served on numerous department, college, university, and community search committees, advisory committees, planning committees and boards. During the University's conversion from quarters to semesters, she served as chair of SCEP, where she played a critical role in revising and creating policies on course contact hours and requirements. In her role as chair of the FCC (2003), she provided faculty leadership during challenging budget cuts and now in 2009, she is providing faculty leadership in her role as chair of the SCFP. She also serves on the Financing the Future Task Force. Another person wrote, "Throughout her distinguished career, she has demonstrated time and again that the best interests of the University of Minnesota and the greater Twin Cities are closest to her heart."
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the University of Minnesota Foundation
Judy Y. Kirk is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the University of Minnesota Foundation. She has devoted more than thirty years of service to the University. She is described as a visionary and an outstanding leader. She was instrumental in creating systems, processes, and personnel critical for the creation, maintenance, and growth of the University's top-ranked development effort. Under her leadership, the Foundation's information technology has been transformed and is a national model. The highly successful Campaign Minnesota was in large part a result of her efforts and the structure she created. Planned gift production increased by 300%. It is the most successful completed campaign of any public university. She has been an outstanding advocate for Deans, Chancellors, Directors, and Collegiate Development Officers regarding fundraising challenges and opportunities. She serves as a member on numerous boards and committees such as the United Way Education Cabinet, the American Council on Gift Annuities, and the Rotary Club of Minneapolis. "Where necessary or appropriate, she presided with grace and elegance. She is truly an asset to the University of Minnesota," one person wrote.
Julie Westlund, director, Career and Internship Services, University of Minnesota Duluth, has provided extraordinary support to students and professionals at the University for more than 40 years. With creativity, boundless energy, and tenacity, she has made significant contributions to all branches of career development and elevated the standards for career services at the University. Westlund will be remembered for her leadership role in the design, implementation, and launch of the University of Minnesota Job and Internship Fair, which began in 2004 and has grown to be a statewide collaboration supporting University of Minnesota students, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. Building on the success of the Job and Internship Fair, Westlund coordinated efforts to collect data from the fair and developed the first comprehensive Fair Annual Report. Westlund has also served thousands of University of Minnesota education candidates through the Minnesota Education Job Fair since its inception in 1987. She has been an active member of the Minnesota College and University Career Services Association since 1982, serving as president and Executive Board member. She has served on many department, Duluth campus, and University committees including the Executive Board of the University of Minnesota Job and Internship Fair, University of Minnesota Duluth Campus Governance, the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee for Academic Support and Student Life, the Student Development Assessment Team, and the Core Values Team. She is a founding member and past president of the Northland Career Development Professional Association, and a member of the Minnesota Leadership Group for development of the GoldPASS software system. Westlund has been honored with numerous awards during her distinguished 40-year career at the University. They include the University of Minnesota Career Development Network Lifetime Achievement Award, the Minnesota Career Development Association Jules Kerlan Outstanding Achievement Award, the Minnesota College and University Career Services Association Distinguished Service Award, the University of Minnesota Tate Award for Outstanding Advising, and the University of Minnesota Duluth GLBT Services Staff Member of the Year Award. One person wrote, "There is so much more I could say about all that Julie does and has done. What I have mentioned is only scratching the surface of a career focused on innovative service to students and the University. She is a remarkable person who would never seek recognition for herself, and yet, her actions affect so many."
Job Titles:
- Director, Interdisciplinary Center
Karen Brown, director, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC), Global Programs and Strategy Alliance, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, earned her master's degree (1984) and her PhD (1997) from the University. She was one of 12 MacArthur Fellows in the inaugural year of the MacArthur Program. After completing her PhD, she assumed the position of coordinator of the MacArthur/ICGC, then went on to become assistant, associate, co-director, and now, director, of ICGC. Throughout her career, she has spearheaded, encouraged, and enabled outstanding modeling of transnational, cross-border, and path-breaking interdisciplinary intellectual work for promoting social justice. For over 20 years, Brown has served as a mentor to students, many of whom have gone on to assume leading academic positions across the globe. In her role as director of ICGC, she has helped to reposition the University's international standing, especially in relation to the Global South, which has also helped to shape University policy. She has been a principal investigator on many grants that have linked University faculty and staff with funding agencies nationally and internationally. She is credited with securing a five-year grant of almost $1 million from the Mellon Foundation to support an academic partnership with the University of Western Cape, which includes fellowships for University of Minnesota students undertaking doctoral research in southern Africa. Brown is also active and committed to international arts exchanged with South African artists. Her service to the University is exemplary. She is a member of a team charged with producing a strategic plan for accomplishing the University's engagement mission as well as playing a key role in shaping the University's Grand Challenges Research Initiative. Brown has served on numerous committees, organized conferences, and participated on panels. Her nominators wrote, "We can think of no other administrator on campus who has done as much as Dr. Brown has to build, lead, and nourish a diverse, engaged, and innovative community of students and faculty members who are committed to fostering social justice at the University of Minnesota, in the wider community, and across the globe."
Job Titles:
- Associate to the Dean, Institute of Technology
Karen M. Wolterstorff, associate to the dean, Institute of Technology (I.T.), has served as chief of staff in the Institute of Technology for the past fifteen years. She serves as the chief advisor to the dean, associate deans, department heads and department administrators. In addition, she plays an important role in establishing and implementing policy, provides administrative oversight and leadership to the college, acts as a primary contact to many Twin Cities campus administrators, and works to ensure that the College's directives and initiatives are followed. She is considered to be an expert in labor relations, human resources, physical resources, and on administrative policy. She is described as someone who is dedicated to the University and cares deeply about its future. Ms. Wolterstorff is a compassionate leader who strives to bring people together to work toward a common goal. She is credited with leading the effort to develop an I.T. Administrators-of-the-Future training program, designed to groom future leaders of the College. She also volunteered to manage the re-branding of the Institute of Technology as the "College of Science and Engineering." Dean Steven Crouch wrote, "Karen's contribution to the re-branding effort so far has been enormous, and I am confident that she will help steer us to a highly successful outcome." Her commitment to the University has been demonstrated through her service on numerous committees and task forces. She has served on the University's Benefits Advisory Committee (5 years), as a collegiate representative for the Community Fund Drive (5 years), and has served six times on the contract negotiations team. She has also volunteered at the University's staff day event and I.T.'s Sneak Preview for visiting high school students. She has served on the President's Policy Improvement Project Committee, the Strategic Positioning Committee and as a mentor in the President's Emerging Leaders Program. Professor Fotis Sotiropoulos wrote, "Karen is a major asset for the Institute of Technology and the University community as a whole because of her exemplary dedication and tireless and unwavering commitment to excellent service."
Karen Miksch is an associate professor of higher education and law, and serves as coordinator of Higher Education Programs, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She has served the University since 1999 when she was hired in General College as a fellow and a pre-law advisor. Since her arrival, Miksch has demonstrated her dedication and commitment to student success through her ability to work with first generation students and students of color. Because of her leadership on access issues, Miksch was awarded the Rising Star Award by the CEHD Women's Philanthropic Leadership Circle. Her service to University Senate governance is noteworthy. She is credited with being one of the primary people to consult on issues related to academic freedom, tenure policies and practices, and legal issues in higher education. Miksch was the first assistant professor to serve on the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AF&T), and has served as co-chair of that committee twice. Under her leadership, AF&T wrestled with issues related to some of the most visible cases on campus, including the Markingson case and the film Troubled Waters. In addition, she was instrumental in developing directions and guidelines for college constitutions across the University, and in rewriting the constitution of her college. Miksch served on the planning committee for the 2016 Graduate and Professional Education Assembly (GPEA), an annual event hosted by The Graduate School, which provides an opportunity for the members of the University's graduate and professional education community to convene around important issues relating to how students are admitted and educated. She also co-facilitated a discussion at an event on avoiding implicit bias in graduate/professional student admission. In addition, Miksch played a key role in shaping the national Keeping Our Faculty of Color conference in 2016. One person wrote, "I believe Karen dedicates herself to service because of the depth of her belief in the University of Minnesota as an institution, her positive outlook, and her deeply held conviction that if we work together, all can be accomplished."
(Pictured to the left: Professor Heidi Barajas accepts the award on behalf of Karen Miksch who was unable to attend the reception).
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Kat Hayes, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, joined the University community in 2008. Since that time, her program-building work within and across departments, between colleges, and at the intersection of academic and community organizations, evinces her passion for advancing equity and diversity. She has played a leading role in two important initiatives that have transformed the University in significant ways: the Heritage Studies and Public History (HSPH) program and the Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Hayes led the process of conceptualizing, planning, and implementing HSPH, resulting in its launch in fall 2017. This interdisciplinary program (masters and PhD minor) is the only one of its kind in the world, featuring an innovative curriculum that trains practitioners in historical archaeology, historic preservation, and public history through collaborations with the Minnesota Historical Society and other community organizations and heritage institutions. Importantly, it supports BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and first-generation students in multiple ways, including focusing on social justice and the study of historical narratives. She was also an active member of the President's and Provost's Advisory Committee on University History, a group that did tremendously valuable work uncovering concerning actions and attitudes of a number of figures who played central roles in the history of the University of Minnesota, which helped set the foundation for the recently revised Board of Regents Policy: Namings and Renamings. Hayes has also committed herself to the process of making the University a more just institution, one that acknowledges and addresses its complicity in historical harms in the pursuit of justice. Collaborating with Indigenous faculty, students, and staff, and engaging with stakeholders far beyond the University, she has been tireless in her efforts to repatriate Mimbres remains and associated funerary objects still held by the University. In addition, those fortunate enough to be mentored by Hayes expressed their appreciation in her nomination dossier for her openness and her ability to recognize those she works with as whole people as compared to solely a colleague. As one of her colleagues wrote: "Professor Hayes is, simply put, the best of multiple worlds. A dream colleague, she is a brilliant scholar, a wise leader and fierce advocate, a dogged and thoughtful program-builder, and an inspiring teacher - and she manages to navigate all of the above with a generosity of spirit, unparalleled humility, steadfast and sustained commitment, and a disarming sense of humor. In all of her endeavors … Hayes creates spaces of critical thought, reflection, and pedagogy, with an attention toward social justice and community engagement."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor and Associate Program Director
Kathleen Anderson is an assistant professor and associate program director in the Division of Physical Therapy, Medical School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Her career has been a remarkable demonstration of selfless dedication to her discipline, her students, and the University. Anderson's teaching has been admiringly described as a mixture of empathy and tough love. She holds regular open laboratory sessions, in addition to her teaching schedule, to bolster student confidence before exams, and has led her students to consistently perform above the national average on their licensure examinations. She has been selected by students to be the honored speaker at ten graduation ceremonies. For the past five years, Anderson has taken small groups of students to Niger, Africa to provide physical therapy education and services to local communities. Remarkably, as a part of her University faculty service, Anderson has independently managed and mentored all of the Division of Physical Therapy's associated and affiliated faculty. In 2001, Anderson was named a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists, an accomplishment that less than 2% of practicing physical therapists obtain. She has served on the Education Committee of the American Physical Therapy Association Minnesota for 36 years, chairing for two of those. In describing Anderson's commitment to service, one nominee wrote that she has integrated service into every facet of her career, and is "an ever present fixture at professional and advocacy events." Anderson annually participates in the Physical Therapy Legislative Day at the Minnesota State Legislature, meeting with state senators and representatives on behalf of physical therapy initiatives. At the University, she has served on the Division of Physical Therapy's Admissions Committee, chaired numerous student progress committees, and facilitated the development of the Division of Physical Therapy's Faculty Practice Committee. In addition, in 2018, Anderson took on the role of her division's associate program director and successfully led students, faculty, and staff through a period of leadership transition. One nominee said, "Her honesty, wisdom, and integrity have proven a grounding force in my professional life."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Kathryn Pearson, associate professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a gifted and devoted educator whose contributions have advanced the undergraduate mission at the University. She is an exemplary role model for how citizens can engage civilly in a deeply polarized state and nation and is frequently invited by media outlets and political organizations to moderate political discourse. In the classroom, Pearson is a devoted and tremendously effective teacher, and her classes are among the most popular offered by the Department of Political Science. She has served on either the thesis committee or as an advisor for more than 40 undergraduate students, advised seven PhD dissertations, and served on 15 additional PhD dissertation committees. These and other contributions to the University's educational mission explain why Pearson was awarded the highest award the University bestows for undergraduate education: the Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education (2012). Pearson's current research centers on the role of women in legislatures, analyzing how changes in the gender composition of legislatures affects political polarization, legislative voting, and oversight. When, in 2019, Congress decided to study ways in which to modernize its operations, the American Political Science Association formed a task force to advise the relevant subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pearson was appointed to chair the Task Force Subcommittee on Staff Retention and Diversity. The resulting report was so well-crafted and insightful that the House subcommittee asked to hear her testimony. Hundreds of professors study Congress, but only a very select few lead national task force subcommittees and testify before the U.S. House of Representatives. Pearson's commitment to both University service and public outreach are extensive, and she has served in the following capacities at the University, among many others: member (2014-2019) and chair (2020-present) of the Council on Liberal Education; co-chair of the University of Minnesota Child Development Center (UMCDC) Parent Advisory Committee (2018-2020); keynote commencement speaker, College of Continuing and Professional Studies (2018); and member of the Provost's Grand Challenges Curriculum Issue Team (2014). Pearson's national outreach and service include membership on the executive board of the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), service on the editorial board of the Politics and Gender journal (2007-2010 and 2013-2016), and service as the faculty associate and co-chair of the Board of Advisors of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a center jointly funded by the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. One letter writer wrote, "I can think of no congressional scholar, and very few political scientists more generally, across the United States who have shown Pearson's commitment and skill at communicating what our research has to say to a broader community, and at providing context for ordinary citizens as they seek to understand the political world."
Job Titles:
- Manager, Benefit Operations
Kathryn Pouliot, manager, Benefit Operations, Office of Human Resources, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has served the University for more than 30 years. She is credited with creating an excellent professional benefits service center and a service tracking system, fostering a tremendous learning environment for her staff, and playing a key role in the transition of University health and welfare programs from the State of Minnesota to the University as a self-insured employer. She is described as the voice and the heart behind the University's health, dental, and wellness benefits. She is a tireless advocate to the more than 20,000 employees and their family members. She is a creative, hands-on problem solver who always wants to do what is best for employees and their families. Pouliot and her highly trained staff respond to more than 50,000 contacts annually. For almost two decades, Pouliot has served as an advisor to the Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC) and the Administrative Working Group for Health Insurance Benefits, again, always working for the best interest of University employees. Pouliot's service on these two important benefits committees has been exemplary. One person wrote, "The University is a better, more compassionate place as a direct result of Kathy and her commitment. She exemplifies the idea of exceptional service to the University."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Keisha Varma is an associate professor, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development, and associate vice provost, Office for Equity and Diversity (OED), University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She has served the University since 2008 when she joined the University community as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2014. Prior to her current appointment, she served as a faculty fellow in OED's Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy. Varma's service to the University and its community is broad and deep with an emphasis on advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Varma was instrumental in enrolling the University of Minnesota in the University of California's Partnership for Faculty Diversity, which led to launching the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (PPFP) at the University of Minnesota. PPFP is designed to attract the best underrepresented new doctoral graduates to the University and subsequently facilitate placement in tenure-track positions within the University and across the nation. Varma has worked tirelessly to build a sense of community, belonging, and inclusion, not only for the postdoctoral fellows recruited through the PPFP, but for everyone she interacts with. She unstintingly gives of her time and resources to the students she advises. She supports junior faculty by creating pathways for advancement toward tenure and promotion through seminars, programming, community-building opportunities with affinity groups, mentoring programs, and developing a rapport with them as individuals. She created the University's Social and Racial Justice Scholar Directory to not only highlight the work of the University's scholarly community, but to generate collaboration in its collective action. Varma was the organizing force behind the 2022 Keeping Our Faculty of Color and Indigenous Faculty Conference, leading the planning committee in conceptualizing and ultimately operationalizing the national event. One letter writer wrote, "What is perhaps most remarkable is how much she seems to truly love this work-to be involved, to make things better for others, to make a difference. She does these things every single day, and I have the privilege of seeing her impact in the way that she selflessly devotes her time to service to this institution and the people in it."
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Kelsey Torgerson is a STEM academic advisor in the Student Success Center (SCC), University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC). In addition, she is an adjunct teaching specialist for teaching first-year experience courses and a master tutor for math and science. Colleagues have called her a dedicated, efficient, and resilient academic advisor who shows compassion and empathy for the students she serves. Building and nurturing relationships with faculty, supporting students - especially in times of crises, and developing and refining systems and processes for supporting students are the hallmarks of Torgerson's involvement on campus. In recognition of the number of online students attending UMC, Torgerson became a driving force for promoting quality online tutoring services. When the SCC was looking to formalize its tutor training program, Torgerson was instrumental in developing measurable learning objectives that helped UMC earn (in 2016) and recertify (in 2017 and 2020) the International Peer Tutor Training Certification recognition through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). In 2021, UMC became one of only three universities in the United States to be recognized for their certified online tutor standards and training, due in large part to Torgerson's focus, resourcefulness, and passion for supporting students. In 2018, Torgerson began submitting conference presentation proposals and was soon a sought-after presenter for events held by the CRLA, the Association for the Coaching and Tutoring Profession, the Higher Learning Commission, and the National College Learning Center Association. Her expertise in developing online tutor training was called on often throughout the pandemic and she was recruited by Innovative Educators to offer multiple presentations on how to develop and enhance online tutoring. One letter writer wrote, "Kelsey has always stepped up when needed and takes a leadership role by example. Her dedication, not only to the Student Success Center but to the campus as a whole, goes well beyond what is expected of her role."
Kenneth L. Gilbertson is an associate professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and the director of the Center for Environmental Education, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He received a bachelor's degree (1978) in Teaching Biology and a master's degree (1984) in Outdoor Education at UMD. He went on to earn a Ph.D. at The Ohio State University (1990) in Outdoor Education with a Clinical Counseling emphasis and returned to UMD as a faculty member. He is credited with developing the first Emergency Care curriculum at UMD, a program that thousands of students have gone through. And, because there was no Master's of Education with a concentration in Outdoor Education, he created one. Today, it is called Recreation-Outdoor Education. Under his leadership, the UMD Recreation-Outdoor program has become one of the leading programs in the nation. His tireless efforts to improve environmental education have been expanded to Finland, New Zealand, Australia and Europe. He currently is working with Finland and New Zealand to establish a consortium of outdoor educators interested in developing a partnership for research and teaching practices. It will be the first of its kind. He has effectively created partnerships with state and national parks and corporations to promote the well being of the environment and in the process, enriching the lives of students and citizens. For example, he was instrumental in establishing and maintaining a whitewater recreational area in collaboration with Minnesota Power. Through these efforts, the National Kayak Center at Thomson, Minnesota was developed, construction of the UMD Outpost Building ensued, and the public whitewater sports access/take-out on the shore of Thomson Reservoir was developed. One person wrote, "Dr. Gilbertson has been very much like the mythic Johnny Appleseed, wherever he goes, programs bloom and lives change."
Job Titles:
- Electromechanical Systems Specialist
Kevin G. Roberts is an Electromechanical Systems Specialist in the Microtechnology Laboratory (MTL), a research center in the Institute of Technology. In addition to his work as a processing specialist in MTL, he is a scholar and researcher. His extraordinary commitment and level of service has had a significant impact on a diverse group of people both within the University and greater communities. His commitment to improving the education of University students, his professional dedication to the improvement of knowledge in his field and disseminating this knowledge and his tireless efforts are examples of his willingness and ability to make significant contribution to MTL, the students, faculty and research groups of the University of Minnesota. These efforts have contributed to the economic growth of many companies. He is described as an extraordinary mentor and a wonderful ambassador for the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of External Relations, College of Science and Engineering
Kim R. Dockter, senior director of external relations, College of Science and Engineering (CSE), is considered to be an exceptional leader and role model. She is a driving force for positive change in development practices not only in CSE but campus-wide. The development practices she has implemented for her team in CSE have been duplicated and adapted across the campus. These practices helped launch the Principle Gift Workgroup, a major achievement of the U of M Foundation. Gifts like the $25 million commitment from Land O'Lakes would not have happened without the input from this workgroup. Her commitment to engagement led to the establishment of an external advisory and support board for the student-led Solar Vehicle Project. She is an innovator and a collaborator. The University is proud to call her one of its own.
Job Titles:
- Director, Office of Student Finance
Kris Wright, director, Office of Student Finance (OSF), Academic Support Resources, joined the University of Minnesota in 2002. Since her arrival, she has been a tireless advocate for students and has put the University of Minnesota on the map as a leader in financial aid management. She is credited with developing and creating various systems that have significantly benefited the entire University system, especially its students. These systems include STAR (Scholarship Tracking and Reporting), an online TILA (Truth in Lending Act) application, and a new Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, to name a few. STAR is a donor management tool that allows colleges and departments to identify available scholarship funds and connect those funds to students who are the best match for the scholarships' criteria. It also allows OSF to connect students to their donors so they can tell their stories and thank their benefactors. The online TILA application was developed with input from students and staff and uses the current Financial Aid Step process as a guide. This process has proven to be less confusing and less time consuming for students. The new Financial Aid Shopping Sheet will help students better understand the type and amount of aid they qualify for and compare aid packages offered by other institutions. Wright also sponsored and led a team that developed Scholarship Search, an online tool that allows students to search for scholarship opportunities that are the best fit for them, as well as Net Price Calculator, a tool that allows current and prospective students to obtain accurate estimates of financial aid eligibility early in their decision-making process. Wright advocates for students on both the state and federal levels. She is actively involved in the National Direct Student Loan Coalition and has served as a representative for the institution on a federal negotiated rulemaking session. In addition, Wright played a pivotal role in the success of the 2013 P&A Women's Conference Leading Through Change. One person wrote, "Kris Wright is a leader whose work has made a critical difference to the University of Minnesota and the students on all of our campuses. She has advanced the University's financial aid so that our model has become an example for our peer institutions. We would do well to recognize her for what she has done for the University and, most importantly, for our students."
Job Titles:
- Distinguished International Professor, Academic Health Center
Kumar G. Belani, Distinguished International Professor,Academic Health Center; professor of anesthesiology, medicine and pediatrics, School of Medicine; adjunct professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has served the University for almost his entire career (40 years). He earned his master's degree (1983) and did his residency (1976-1979) at the University of Minnesota. Belani pioneered the development of pediatric solid organ transplant anesthesia and is a leader in this field. He has worked tirelessly to build health care provider capacity in India by creating medical education programs at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences and other international health care organizations. In addition to setting up a bone marrow transplant center and the Child Family Life Services in Bangalore, India, Belani has been the driving force in organizing the Transesophageal Conference (TEE) in India, which trains hundreds of young faculty from throughout Asia. Belani has also organized local community and health care community events, which facilitate dialogue with world dignitaries who bring affordable healthcare to the poor. Because of his commitment to the University's visibility and progress in the global arena, medical students have experienced rotations in different nations with many different cultures. He has led numerous faculty programs to India as well. Belani has served in key leadership positions of several charitable organizations, including president of Friends of St. John's; board chair, Priyanka Foundation; trustee, Hindu Society of Minnesota; volunteer consultant for the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States; and as an honorary consultant for the U.S. Medical Aid Foundation. Belani's service to his college and the University is outstanding; he acted as interim department chair and has served on many department and University committees, including the Admissions Committee for over 10 years. One person wrote, "He is an exemplary individual dedicated not only to the caring of his patients but also to the community here in Minnesota within and outside the University with individuals from all over the world."
Lance Brockman is a professor in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, he was a member of the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs, CLA Advisory Committee for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, CLA Assembly, Council of Chairs, College Executive Committee, the Budget Advisory Committee and served as chair of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Under his leadership as department chair, funding for the Barbara Barker Dance Center was completed, and the Dance Program grew into one of the top four programs in the nation. He was instrumental in the University's collaboration with the Guthrie Theatre, the success of the Minnesota Centennial Showboat project, and the creation of the West Bank Arts Quarter. He also helped CLA partner with "Project Success" - a program that brings Minneapolis high school students to campus and theatre. He is nationally renowned for his artistic work and scholarly research. His research and passion for historical design has inspired thousands, including his students who come to the University to study with him. One person wrote, "In addition to his daily activities as teacher, administrator, fundraiser, scholar and artist, he is a great leader and motivator of people. I think his greatest gift is not only that he contributes greatly to the University in these roles, but he inspires and motivates others to do so as well."
Laurel E. Hirt, director, Service-Learning and Community Involvement, Career and Community Learning Center (CCLC), College of Liberal Arts, has provided exceptional service to the University of Minnesota for more than a decade. The core work of the CCLC is to connect University of Minnesota students with community-based organizations through volunteering and service learning. She has been dedicated in her work to recruit faculty members, engage students, and cultivate relationships in the community. Under her leadership, the CCLC has grown and expanded from 20 community organizations to more than 200. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Campus Community Coordinators Alliance (CCCA), a campus group working to connect the campus and the community. She is considered the leading campus figure in developing and implementing a means of acknowledging student success in community engagement. Because of her work, the Community Engagement Scholars Program was launched in 2005, with over 400 students enrolled. Considered to be a highly successful collaborator, Laurel has given presentations about service-learning and civic engagement to new faculty, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Academic Health Center, the Office for Public Engagement, and the Vice Provosts for Undergraduate and Graduate Education. She is an active member of Educators for Community Engagement, a national service-learning organization. She hosted its national conference at the University of Minnesota in 2003. Her successful participation in a national pilot program with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching resulted in Carnegie recognizing the University of Minnesota as "community engaged" in categories of "Curricular Engagement" and "Outreach and Partnerships." One person wrote, "Laurel is a valued and trusted colleague. Her input into decision-making is critical, and she is productive and unfailingly available to students, community partners, and her colleagues, far beyond the call of duty."
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
Lee Munnich, senior fellow, Humphrey School of Public Affairs (Humphrey School), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, brings more than 20 years of state and local government experience to the study of public policy issues at the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the University, Munnich had an outstanding career in public service, including serving as a Minneapolis City Council member, the research director for the Minnesota Business Partnership, and deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development. His exceptional contributions in the field of transportation policy and economic development have led to new areas of expertise, new graduate programs, and countless research projects. His focus is on transportation policy and finance, congestion pricing, rural road safety, regional economic development, and industry clusters. Munnich is credited with advocating congestion pricings as a solution to traffic congestion. He helped establish Minnesota's first high occupancy lane tolls on I-394 and subsequently became a national leader in the field. He has published numerous papers on political and institutional issues associated with congestion pricing. He also has become known worldwide for regional industry cluster studies, which have shaped economic development policies at both the state and local level in Minnesota. Recently, he and others at the Humphrey School have been running the Transportation and Economic Competitiveness Project (TECP), studying concepts such as driverless vehicles, advanced freight transportation systems, and alternative transportation infrastructure mechanisms. His 25 years of service and contributions to the University of Minnesota are enduring. Munnich retired from his position as the director of the State and Policy Program in 2015, but he continues to teach and to do transportation and economic development research at the Humphrey School part time. One person wrote, "Lee Munnich has been an indefatigable and effective servant of the state, the metropolitan area, and the University. He brings a warm, optimistic, and infectious enthusiasm to everything he does. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this very high award than Lee Munnich."
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Ann Higgins
, research assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Medical School and College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, was recruited to the University in 1999 as a postdoctoral researcher. She brought unique expertise in the use of advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation to study proteins, an approach commonly called "proteomics." Working as the lone expert in this area at the time, Higgins skillfully implemented these advanced methods and began working with University faculty who could benefit from this technology in their research. Her skill and dedication led to the eventual creation of the Center for Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics (more recently renamed as the Center for Metabolomics and Proteomics). Another example of her dedication includes her ability to help with experimental design of projects "hunting" for biomarkers in children with rare diseases. Higgins is able to assist in all aspects of experimental design, including establishing cohorts, samples storage, sample processing, and data analyses, in spite of the fact that she is only responsible for a fraction of this process. She single-handedly is responsible for generating several biomarkers in this work which have been proven and published to be associated with rare disease outcomes. Higgins has always been willing to go above and beyond to ensure that projects are successful and the data she delivers to researchers are of the highest quality and integrity. Because of her dedication, Higgins has spent many weekends and late nights in the laboratory troubleshooting operating problems. She always remains resilient and optimistic, even in the face of significant challenges that may come up in the course of research. Higgins combines her technical skills with a wonderful caring personality that exudes collaboration and community. In the words of one letter writer, "It is LeeAnn's willingness to go above and beyond with her time, energy, and expertise at the University that sets her apart from everyone else. I know of no other person with her dedication, drive, and passion for science."
Job Titles:
- Professor of Slavic Languages
Leonard A. Polakiewicz is a professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures in the Institute of Linguistics, English as a Second Language, and Slavic Languages and Literatures, in the College of Liberal Arts. He has served the University for more than 30 years as a teacher and scholar and has contributed in service to students and faculty with an interest in Eastern Europe. He has been instrumental in program development and in the creation of opportunities for students and colleagues to study, teach and conduct research abroad, specifically in Poland and Russia. Through his tenacity and under his leadership, the undergraduate major program in East European studies was created and funded with external grant monies. He enlisted thirty-five faculty from twenty University of Minnesota departments to develop and teach forty new courses for the East European studies curriculum. During a very difficult political time in Poland, he forged ahead and worked with the Polish authorities and the University's Global Campus program; which led to the establishment of the Polish in Lublin Summer in Language and Culture Program at Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland, in 1984. People writing letters of support praise his innovative efforts and tell how the exceptional opportunity to study abroad changed their lives.
Job Titles:
- Retired Grounds Superintendent
Les Potts, retired grounds superintendent, Landcare Central Services, Facilities Management, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has dedicated 40 years of service to the beautification and development of sustainability practices on the Twin Cities campus and likes to introduce himself as the "U's chief weed puller." Because of Potts' leadership, commitment, and dedication, the Twin Cities campus is known for being welcoming, functional, and beautiful in every season. Most recently, the Twin Cities campus was rated #1 in the "18 Most Beautiful Campuses" by BestColleges.com. He is credited with the creation of the Living Lab Program, which utilizes campus grounds for research; for developing a sustainable talent pool for the Landcare department; and for employing over 200 students every year. Under his leadership, Landcare instituted "Beautiful U Day." He is also known for his ability to "stretch a dollar." A recent survey of Big Ten peer institutions showed that the Twin Cities campus spends less on landcare materials per acre than any of these peer institutions. Landcare has won two Star Performer group awards, one for snow removal in a very difficult winter, and one for creating laboratory opportunities. We all have benefited from Potts' contributions - students, faculty, staff, and visitors alike. His two nominators wrote, "Above all else, it has been a true delight to work with Les. His dry sense of humor, his deep regard for his employees and colleagues, his aesthetic eye, his quiet, unobtrusive demeanor, and his financial acumen have made him an invaluable colleague. Les is truly deserving of this honor."
Job Titles:
- Manager for the Research Animal Resources
Les Westendorp is the manager for the Research Animal Resources (RAR) in the Academic Health Center. For more than 35 years, he has served the University in his role in animal care and husbandry. He is credited with training new graduate students in biosecurity for conducting animal experiments, developing biosecurity policies for the infectious agents they use, and ensuring that the animals are comfortable, workers are safe, and the RAR facilities meet all standards. He is known for cultivating superb relations with faculty, students, and staff in various departments. For example, when isolators for poultry research were built in the College of Veterinary Medicine, he contributed a significant amount of time in their design and construction. One person wrote, "His customer service ethic has also been exemplary and brought many outside companies to the RAR/CVM facilities, enhancing our service to the business community while generating revenue that aids in cost control for university customers. " His abilities and knowledge include crop planting/rotation/sales at the Rosemount Farm, managing inventories of rodent caging for veterinary biomedical researchers, farm building design, waste gutter mechanics, inventory systems, and budget planning. He is described as a true Renaissance man in the field of animal care and use management.
Linda DeBeau-Melting, associate University librarian for organizational development, college equal opportunity/affirmative action liaison and human resources director, University Libraries, has served the University community for the past 44 years spanning various roles. She is credited with contributing to the strong relationship between the Libraries and the Office for Equity and Diversity. Recently she demonstrated leadership in addressing the Libraries' organizational structure. This resulted in a reduction of layers, investment in professional development, and the department's recognition for excellence by University leadership. She has shown dedication to students and in 1990 she was recognized with the Gordon L. Starr Award for outstanding service to students. DeBeau-Melting's expertise in employee relations is evidenced in her membership in the Human Resources Academy and in her role in the implementation of one of the first University AFSCME Technical Unit labor management committees, which has continued to meet for nearly 20 years. On numerous occasions she has provided counsel and analysis to the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Human Resources: she conducted an assessment of CLA Human Resources in 2008, provided mentorship to the CLA Office of Information Technology interim director in 2011, and served on the search committee for the CLA human resources director in 2012. DeBeau-Melting's service extends beyond the University. She initiated and continues to organize the biennial Institute for Early Career Librarians from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups, and she served in a leadership role in the International Institute of Minnesota. One person wrote, "Linda exhibits many of the greatest personal values: compassion, connection, respect, and wisdom, to name a few. She is one of the brilliant gems of the University; we are all made better by her presence."
Job Titles:
- Clinical Supervisor, Department of Speech - Language - Hearing Sciences
Linda R. Hinderscheit, clinical supervisor, Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has, for 37 years, focused on the core missions of her job: to provide hands-on clinical training to graduate students in speech- language pathology, and to deliver clinical services to individuals with communication disorders. Her deepest commitment is demonstrated by the work she does to improve the lives of people who stutter. Hinderscheit has developed programs and outreach to improve the quality of life for those who stutter, moving beyond the clinical aspects of treatment and supporting their emotional growth and well-being. To that end, Linda conceived of and developed the Kids Who Stutter Camp, the focus of which is on the social, emotional, and attitudinal aspects of stuttering. The goal of the camp is for kids to accept themselves as people who stutter who can also be very good communicators. Hinderscheit has served on over 35 committees at the University of Minnesota, many of them for multiple years. Since 2006, she has been the co-facilitator of the Twin Cities Chapter of the National Stuttering Association, which is a self-advocacy, self-help group for people who stutter. Beyond the University, Hinderscheit has devoted many years of service to the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association (MNHSA). She has served on numerous MNHSA committees and as the association's president, and received its highest award, Honors of the Association. She has also been a MNHSA liaison to the Minnesota Department of Health and a member of the Legislative Council of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. One nominator wrote, "To see the heartfelt caring, dedication, commitment, and enthusiasm Linda and her staff demonstrate at the camp is such an inspiration. Linda's service to the people in the greater community, the profession of Speech-Language Pathology, and the University has been immeasurable."
Mary Lisa (Lisa) Berg is a library assistant III in the Veterinary Medical Library and Magrath Library, Health Sciences Library. For more than four decades, she has provided exceptional service to the University of Minnesota and its broader communities. Her primary focus has been on serving student employees, the students, and faculty and staff in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Lisa is highly regarded by researchers as well as veterinarians in private practice for her remarkable collections and resources. She has made significant contributions to the University Digital Conservancy project (UDC) by uploading almost 1,300 files to the UDC. Because of her efforts, a wide variety of information is available to students, faculty, and an international audience. Not only is she dedicated to the library's collections and services, but she is also recognized for her commitment to how her work relates to the University Libraries' mission and strategic goals. In addition, Lisa is a dedicated volunteer for the Minnesota Veterinary Historical Museum and a member of the Museum Board. One person wrote, "Lisa has been an exemplary employee of the University for forty-some years. She is dedicated to her work, always cheerfully exploring ways to improve service to the University. Along the way she has positively impacted many of us, enabling us to improve our own contributions to the University."
Job Titles:
- Vice Chancellor
- Dean of Students
Lisa Erwin, vice chancellor for student life and dean of students, Division of Student Life, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), joined the University in August 2011. Her primary focus and drive are centered on what is in the best interest of students, and under her leadership, Student Life at UMD focuses on commitments to learning, well-being, inclusion, stewardship, and service. Her compassion for students is exemplified by her role as chair of the Student Care Team, which is responsible for addressing issues related to student behavior. Over time, Erwin shifted the primary vision of this group away from monitoring threats and towards providing support for students in need of care or who are experiencing distress. She recognizes that, with the right resources, students can bounce forward from difficult situations and thrive. Erwin's colleagues frequently cite her initiative and her willingness to assume leadership both within UMD and within the University of Minnesota system. For example, Erwin convened the UMD COVID Operations Team in 2020 to allow for collaborative strategizing and clear communication. Together with that team, she guided UMD through various service modalities, safety protocols, budgetary impacts, and human resources processes - all while many of her counterparts departed the institution and interim leaders were named. Her willingness to guide the campus through the pandemic made a momentous difference in the UMD community. As Erwin's tenure has grown, so has her responsibility and the recognition that she can successfully lead in a breadth of areas. When the Office of Sustainability and Alumni Relations were struggling, she stepped up and assumed supervisory responsibility. In addition, Erwin proactively convened the student affairs leadership from each of the five campuses. In this time, Erwin called their monthly meeting, prepared the agenda, and managed their numerous collaborative projects, which she continues to do. Also, in addition to her own departments, Erwin actively supports UMD Athletics, many academic initiatives, and campus community celebrations. Her expertise also expands into Title IX and student affairs law and policy, and she has worked at the national level on the Violence Against Women Act and various Title IX issues and served as UMD's previous Title IX coordinator. Her national professional service is extensive, and in 2021 she received the Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Performance as a dean, the highest award the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators bestows on individuals who serve as a senior student affairs officer, and only one of the multiple significant honors she has received from them. Even though her portfolio of Student Life departments is large and complex, she provides energy and innovative leadership to them all, and her passion and love for UMD students never waivers. One of her letter writers wrote that "Erwin is the most caring colleague I have known. She is sincerely concerned about everyone's well-being, whether it is students or colleagues. She is the first one to offer ideas and support and she has an amazing sense of humor. I know the students on the Duluth campus absolutely adore her. She truly exemplifies leadership, caring, and a ‘can-do' attitude in all she does."
Lisa Fitzpatrick, director, Viz Lab and Motion + Media Across Disciplines Lab (MMAD Lab), School of Fine Arts, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), fosters collaboration across disciplines, forges connections between people that might otherwise not meet, and brings faculty, staff, and students together to help them produce innovative research they could never create working alone. She is called an ambassador for higher education. The labs she directs are considered to be the nexus of interdisciplinary and creative research on the Duluth campus. Her effort to connect outside of the University is equally as impressive. Her support for an annual UMD IT event called Steps to the Future, a higher education college/career fair that targets the greater Duluth community, and specifically, families who might not always consider college as a possibility, is highly successful due to Fitzpatrick's fun, eye-catching equipment, such as 3D printers and virtual reality video games that have been built and developed in her labs. She also works to make connections between UMD and the local community through the service and resources that the MMAD Lab and Viz Lab can provide. Fitzpatrick has worked tirelessly with Duluth's Great Lakes Aquarium and UMD students to create interactive exhibits that allow aquarium visitors to explore topics related to the various invasive and non-native aquatic species that are in the Great Lakes. In addition, she is actively involved in projects at the Duluth Children's Museum and the Duluth Art Institute. Because of her fluency in multiple languages, she is often instrumental in helping UMD researchers form international connections. One person wrote, "What Lisa does in her job is impressive and represents the highest level of efficiency. But it's how Lisa does her job that is her most impressive feat. She accomplishes all this with a smile, a sly turn of a phrase, good humor, endless patience, and a desire to make sure the faculty and students get what they need to further their work."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President and Chief of Staff, Office
Lisa M. Warren, assistant vice president and chief of staff, Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has the unique ability to bring together diverse groups of colleagues, for which she is well known across the institution. Warren is consistently asked to serve on committees and working groups associated with complex policy, and organizational and operational issues. As a member of the President's Health Sciences Restructuring Workgroup, Warren's commitment to collaboration encouraged innovative solutions across varied departments. Her superior project management skills were instrumental in helping the workgroup and the President's Health Sciences Restructuring Steering Committee coalesce around common goals and recommendations to support all units involved in the restructuring. She is a notable champion for diversity and inclusion, as is evidenced by her chairing of the Equity Lens Subcommittee of the Policy Advisory Committee. The subcommittee was charged with implementing an equity lens process for analyzing the impact of the design and implementation of University policies on marginalized individuals and groups. Warren's tireless leadership and work on the subcommittee resulted in system-wide implementation that now includes a seamless review of all University policies with the application of the equity lens. Warren is an executive committee member of the Campus Club Board of Directors, and has served on numerous committees, including the Issues Management Committee, University Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), President's System-wide Strategic Planning Implementation Committee, Academic Health Center Restructuring Workgroup, and steering committees for Enterprise Data Management and Human Resources Analytics. Warren is also frequently sought out as a mentor at the University, and gives generously of her time and expertise to guide staff members who are interested in advancing their careers into leadership roles at the University. One person wrote, "I have grown to admire…her genuine interest in and caring for people, her vision and commitment to ethical leadership, her willingness to listen deeply and respond thoughtfully, her creativity and innovation, her common sense and good judgement, and her willingness and stamina to consistently go beyond what is expected to get work done on task and on time."
Job Titles:
- Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor
Lou Pignolet, Institute of Technology Distinguished Professor, has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry for thirty-six years. Described as an innovator, a mentor, and a model citizen, Professor Pignolet has made outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and service. He has made a notable impact on science education in the state. In the 1970's, he created the Lando Summer Research Program, which brought sophomores and juniors from other institutions to spend a summer doing research at the University of Minnesota. He also was responsible for a summer program in chemistry created for Native American junior high school students and the Chemical Outreach Program, a program in which undergraduates in chemistry and related fields demonstrate chemical experiments to classrooms, scout troops, and family events. "Chem Day," another initiative he created, attracted more than 600 high school students and teachers annually. Not only have these programs brought publicity to the University, but have also taught kids that science is fun and interesting. He has served on numerous committees at the department, college, and University level, including the Graduate School Research Advisory Committee, the Special Committee on K-12 Education, the Student Judicial Affairs Committee, and the President's Distinguished Faculty Mentor Program. He is the recipient of several awards and recognition such as the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education and has been named eight times "Best Chemistry Professor of the Year" by the IT Student Organization. One person wrote, "Lou Pignolet has cheerfully and steadily carried out heavy service responsibilities for over a period of decades, while at the same time exhibiting the highest degree of excellence in his teaching and mentoring of both undergraduate and graduate students."
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Lucinda Johnson
Lucinda Johnson, senior research fellow, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, is a talented and accomplished scientist who is admired and respected by her peers, a forward-thinking researcher, and an inspiration for the local and broader scientific community. Her leadership at NRRI continually pushes the field of aquatic and environmental science forward, and her engagement and service at the state, federal, and international levels bring recognition to the excellent research conducted at NRRI and the University of Minnesota. She has pursued internationally recognized aquatic ecosystem research programs, mentored many students and colleagues, worked to evolve her institutional leadership, broadened her expertise and perspectives, contributed significantly to cross-system collaborations and centers, and supported the journey to create the next-generation version of the NRRI and its leaders. Johnson was a pioneer in the application of geographic mapping system (GIS) technologies for the translation and communication of complex ecosystem data, just one example of her determination to propose forward-thinking research in anticipation of state, regional, and national natural resource needs. One recent example of her pioneering spirit is the development of the Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas which provides free and easy access to extensive layers of data regarding the state's natural resources; users can access, visualize, and analyze the data without the need for GIS skills. Johnson has mentored multiple undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, and research colleagues at NRRI and across the University system. She is described by a former student as someone committed to staff career development, the success of early career scientists, and mentorship to students. One of Johnson's most lasting contributions at the University is the creation of the Institute on the Environment (IonE). She was a critical member of a 12-person working group that established IonE, a group commissioned by the provost to design an interdisciplinary, intercollegiate, and inter-campus unit to advance, celebrate, support, and catalyze environmental scholarship and teaching. Johnson serves on multiple boards, commissions, and committees. She is the vice chair of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) Board of Scientific Counselors, co-chair of the Great Lakes Science Advisory Board Science Priority Committee of the International Joint Commission for the Great Lakes (US and Canada), and a selected member of the Governor's Advisory Council on Climate Change. Her nominator wrote, "Dr. Johnson's exemplary and ground-breaking research accomplishments, her productive teaching and mentorship contributions, her strategic leadership development, and her stature on the state, national, and international stages on behalf of NRRI and the University of Minnesota clearly exceed expected contributions and set an example for the next generation of contributors."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, College of Liberal Arts
Luis A. Ramos-Garcia, associate professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a leader of policy and curriculum development related to Hispanic literatures, cultures, and language. He is a human rights scholar and advocate. He is well known for his collaboration with theater and arts groups in Colombia, Cuba, Peru, and Spain and for his work to raise awareness of political and gender injustice. Most recently, Ramos-Garcia's scholarship in this area was recognized when he received the Grand Challenge's Exploratory Research Award for his work in understanding violence, human rights abuses, indigenous communities, and the power and potential of art and artists in Latin America. Ramos-Garcia is described as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and volunteer. He is credited with promoting the advancement of human rights and social justice through his involvement on campus and in the external community. He has organized and raised money to fund The State of Iberoamerica Study Series, a symposium on human rights, for over 20 years. Ramos-Garcia also has an outstanding record of service to CLA, including volunteering every year since 1994 to represent his department by teaching Freshmen Seminars, participating in service learning programs, working with research student programs, working with student-professor minority projects, being a mentor, and chairing the Fulbright Committee for five years. One person wrote, "I will outline his deep commitment to service and outreach that far exceed expectations of faculty members and mark him as a true asset to our community; his efforts to support a diverse student body, numerous departmental programs, the campus and surrounding community, national policy, international collaborations, and human rights initiatives reveal how Dr. Ramos-Garcia always puts others first and uses his position to improve the world around him."
Lyndel King, director and chief curator, Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, earned her master of arts degree (1971) and her PhD in art history (1982) from the University of Minnesota. She has served the University for more than 40 years and will step down from her position in July 2020. Described as a passionate advocate for the arts, King is credited with taking the museum from the mezzanine of Northrop Auditorium to a world-class art museum in a building designed by Frank O. Gehry. She led the program planning, fundraising campaign, architect selection, and design phase of the museum, and opened the museum on time and under budget. The museum was built entirely on private funds. Its stellar reputation is due in part to King's outstanding work, scholarship, broad network, and advocacy. Under her leadership, the collection has grown from 9,000 to over 25,000 works of art, and she has overseen more than 200 exhibitions. The museum is one of the top teaching university museums in the country. In addition, King has served on numerous boards and committees, both at the University and in her field. One person wrote, "Dr. King advances museum scholarship locally, nationally and internationally, and leads a myriad of programs that allow students, faculty, staff, and our greater community to gain a deeper understanding of art, and our particular collections, through exhibitions, publications, advocacy, lectures and symposia. Her commitment to the arts and to the role of the arts in higher education is inspirational."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Lynette M. Renner, associate professor, School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as a superb researcher, inspiring educator, exemplary academic, and dedicated citizen of the University. She is passionate about her work, and willing to take on projects and complete them with an unparalleled level of integrity. In recognition of her strong research portfolio, national prominence, and unwavering standard of excellence, Renner was appointed as the School of Social Work's director of research in Fall 2019. As a leading national scholar in the area of family violence, Renner has published extensively in high-quality, peer-reviewed journals, and her expert knowledge has real-world impacts on the lives of people who are affected by various forms of violence. Her service to the field of social work at her college, the University, and the state of Minnesota is unparalleled. In the CEHD, Renner has served on the CEHD Consultative Committee, the CEHD Global Initiatives Grants Review Committee, multiple faculty search committees, numerous PhD committees, preliminary examination committees, and the Clinical Mental Health and Families and Children Concentration Committees. At the university level, she has served as chair for the University's two central judicial bodies in all cases involving violations of the Student Conduct Code: the Campus Committee on Student Behavior (CCSB) and the Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee (SSMS). She firmly believes it is crucial that students at the University adhere to the Student Conduct Code and that all students receive fair and balanced treatment throughout the hearing process. Renner has helped to develop creative and insightful training for members serving on both CCSB and SSMS, in order that they are well-trained and that hearings remain respectful, even- handed, and professional. At the state level, Renner has been a member of the Crime Victims Reparations Board since 2016, and its chair as of 2019. In light of her commitment to training the next generation of social work practitioners, researchers, and educators, Renner volunteers to share her expertise with staff at the Domestic Abuse Project, a program that focuses on advocacy and therapy services for families affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). One nominator wrote, "She is the hardest working faculty colleague I have ever known. Her service contributions far exceed those of a typical faculty member."
Lynne R. Shuman is the director of career services in the Graduate Programs Office of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She is described as a dedicated professional who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and creativity and has gone above and beyond to provide the highest quality of service to graduate students and alumni. She developed the Humphrey Institute's mentor program, which has served more than 1,000 students; and has launched several other significant projects in student and career services in collaboration with others both within and outside of the University. She has demonstrated effective leadership on University committees and within national and state associations. She was instrumental in organizing P&A's to form the Humphrey Institute chapter of CAPA, which has now helped to shape the future direction of the Institute. One of her colleagues wrote, "Lynne Schuman is one of the best and most supportive colleagues with whom I have ever had the opportunity to work. If we can get more people working to the examples and standards she sets, the University of Minnesota will achieve its goal of becoming a top three public research university."
M. Janice Hogan is a professor in the Department of Family Social Science. Over the course of her tenure at the University of Minnesota, she has made a tremendous impact in several areas. She has been a teacher and an administrator, having served as department head on two occasions and as associate dean in the College of Human Ecology. Her scholarly work is recognized nationally and internationally. More recently, as she began a phased retirement, she made the decision to increase her teaching load to help the department financially. In addition, she established a fellowship for graduate students and developed a new Web-based course, currently the only one in the department. Her service to the broader University is extensive. She has served on approximately 40 university committees and about 20 committees at the college and department level. She has a reputation for being a strong advocate for women and the less fortunate, both on campus and in the community. She has been an advocate and mentor for minority, international students, and other students who needed guidance. Her contributions to professional organizations are far reaching. For example, she served as the National Council on Family Relations President and is known throughout the world for her contributions to the International Home Economics Federation and American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is described as "one of the University's premier citizens who contributes in many ways to serve our community well."
Job Titles:
- Member in the Industrial Relations Center of the Carlson School of Management
Mahmood Zaidi has been a faculty member in the Industrial Relations Center of the Carlson School of Management since the fall of 1965. He is described as a highly productive teacher and scholar in his field of international labor market analysis, human capital and multinationals, and international human resource management. Over the past fifteen years, he has established valuable exchange programs with top business schools around the world, which has afforded Carlson School students the opportunity to study at highly acclaimed European, Pacific Rim and Latin American business schools. He was instrumental in the creation of short-term summer programs in Lyon, France, Vienna, Austria, and Costa Rica designed to prepare students to be leaders in the global economy. He also developed research exchange opportunities and international teaching opportunities as well as securing the funding to support these efforts. He has been very active in university service, having served on numerous governance committees and as chair of the Social Science Policy and Review Council of the Graduate School as well as serving on numerous University committees for international programs. In addition, he has been heavily involved in developing professional organizations such as the North American Economics and Finance Association and the Industrial Relations Research Association. One person wrote, "Mahmood Zaidi has truly been a citizen of the university community. As much as anybody I know, he has been the supreme "colleague" for the many of us who have had the good fortune of getting to know him, and been the recipients of his many kindnesses."
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Regents Professor
Regents Professor Marc Jenkins, one of the world's most distinguished immunologists, is a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology in the Medical School, the director of the University of Minnesota Center for Immunology, and a Distinguished McKnight University Professor. His groundbreaking research has advanced the entire field of immunology. His crucial contributions establish basic immunological principles for broadly solving human health problems, from developing more effective vaccines; to better treatments for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes; to improved success in transplantation and cancer immunotherapy. Jenkins' career has been devoted to understanding how particular lymphocytes, called CD4 T cells, orchestrate the entire immune response to pathogens and cancer cells.
Jenkins is an outstanding teacher and mentor. He was instrumental in the creation of what is now known as the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology PhD program and served as its first director of Graduate Studies. He received the University's award for Outstanding Contributions to Post-Baccalaureate Graduate and Professional Education (2003) for establishing the program's national reputation as a "premiere training environment in biomedical research." He has been a mentor to 17 doctoral students and 24 postdoctoral fellows. Jenkins was awarded the 2018 American Association of Immunologist's Excellence in Mentoring Award, which is given annually to one of the organization's members who has profoundly influenced the lives of many people; in this case, his many predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. He also serves as a mentor and advisor to many of his faculty colleagues and received the Carole J. Bland Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award for his efforts in this area.
Professor Jenkins has proven to be an eminent representative of the University of Minnesota and exemplifies the qualities of a Regents Professor in all respects
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Marcia Nichols
, associate professor, Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR), joined the University in 2010. As one of the early faculty members of UMR, Nichols, while managing her teaching and research responsibilities, attended to the heavy lifting of establishing culture, practices, guidelines, and norms for a thriving, new campus focused on undergraduate education. She has provided an extraordinary level of leadership and service to the University and has been a key leader in establishing systems of faculty governance and faculty advocacy at UMR. Nichols has been a mainstay of the Rochester campus, serving in almost every capacity as a mentor to instructors and faculty, on hiring committees, creating curriculum, building campus committee processes and departmental roles, and on and on. Her commitment to the campus is outstanding. Nichols distinguished herself in the spring of 2020 when she demonstrated willingness to take on the outsized problems facing the University, including the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, building renaming controversies, changing faculty retirement benefits, and faculty salary reduction. She routinely addressed conflict by designing solutions to problems based on collaboration, advocacy, and conflict management. Nichols has long been at the helm of building the governance infrastructure for UMR. She is currently serving a four-year term as chair of the Directorship Committee, a system of shared governance with representatives from both tenure-stream faculty and P&A faculty-like staff. She has worked tirelessly with collaborators to affect changes to the charge and bylaws of the Directorship Committee to improve decision-making, communication, and departmental procedures for annual review practices. Additionally, as chair of the Directorship Committee, Nichols represents faculty in a variety of contexts, meets and consults with senior leadership and faculty on issues and policies, steers and coordinates faculty committees, brings new policies and procedures to the All Faculty (UMR's faculty governing body), has executive responsibility including chairing the annual reviews of tenure-stream faculty, and leads the All Faculty and its meetings. Her astounding record includes service on 55 unique department-level committees, working groups, and task forces. She has also served on governance committees at the University-wide level, including the University and Faculty Senates and the Faculty Consultative Committee. One letter-writer wrote: "Nichols is not afraid of working through conflict and attempts to do so in ways that build bridges toward our common goals. She has dedicated herself tirelessly and unselfishly to making UMR a campus that students, faculty, and staff are proud of."
Margaret O'Neill Ligon, director, Personal Enrichment Programs, College of Continuing Education, is an alumna and an invaluable member of the University community. One of her earliest contributions was the development of the "Great Conversations" series that was held from 2002 to 2010. O'Neill Ligon designed this series and masterfully highlighted the University faculty to a wide range of audiences that far exceeded the usual scope of attendees. "Great Conversations" was just the beginning of her brilliance, and she continues to develop thriving programs such as: "Headliners," "Witness to History," "Century of Ideas," and most recently "Saturday Seminars." The success of these programs is due to O'Neill Ligon's keen understanding of the talent and topics that bridge the gap between academics and those outside of the field. The series consist of in-depth intellectual content, yet they creatively apply to the needs and interests of extremely broad audiences. This connection has also been nurtured by O'Neill Ligon's ability to attract media sponsors like MinnPost and MPR and through the relationships she has made with the Minnesota History Center, the Guthrie, the Walker, the Science Museum, and public libraries, to name a few. She has served outside of the University as a member of several committees for organizations like the Weisman Art Museum and the Goldstein Museum of Design. One person wrote, "It takes a rare individual who can connect the big ideas pursued by the talented workforce of the University to the broader interests and needs of the general public. Margy has done so superbly, and by doing so, strengthened the connection of literally thousands of citizens to the important mission and work of the University of Minnesota."
Maria Gini, College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a world-renowned scholar and researcher in the field of computer science. She is an outstanding teacher, advisor, and mentor and has been routinely recognized with teaching awards, including the University-wide Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, the College of Electrical Engineering Distinguished Award, the Distinguished Women Scholars Award, the Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholars Lecture, the Mullen Spector Truax Award, the University of Minnesota Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education, and the National Center for Women and Information Technology Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award. In 1982, she joined the Department of Computer Science at the University as its first female faculty member. Since then, she has worked tirelessly for over 35 years to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in the computing field. Gini has sought to make involvement in the computing field more accessible to these populations at every stage of education-from K-12, to undergraduate and graduate students, to faculty and researchers, at the state, national and international levels. To that end, she has regularly pursued graduate assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) funding from the Department of Education, with which she has supported 19 PhD students, most of whom were women or from underrepresented populations. Another of Gini's initiatives has been to redesign entry level college courses in the computer science field to make them more accessible and inviting to students who are undecided or changing majors. As a result of her efforts, the number of women in the computer science major at the University has grown from 11% in 2013 to 17.5% in 2017. She has a stellar international reputation for her research in robotics and artificial intelligence, and her work with autism detection in young children has been featured in the University's Driven to Discover campaign. One person wrote, "I am impressed with the breadth of her vision, and the amazing work that she puts into making our field welcoming to all."
Mark Karon, director and attorney, University Student Legal Service (USLS), Office for Student Affairs,University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a mentor, teacher, and lawyer. For more than 36 years, he has provided extraordinary support to students who are facing difficult legal situations. He is credited with developing programs such as the Careers in Law Fair, which annually brings in local, state, and federal agencies to meet with and recruit students; and Emerging Leaders in the Law, which recruits high school students of color to job shadow and learn more about law related opportunities. His exemplary service on University committees includes the Alcohol Policy and Abuse Prevention (APAP) work group and the Office for Student Affairs Committee. He has given a wide variety of presentations on campus, including 15 risk management programs for fraternities, sororities, and other student groups. He has been a guest lecturer in many different classes at the University each year. Karon has also advised the Pre-Law Mentor Program and he is currently the advisor for the USLS Student Board. He has served as the president of the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association - Student Legal Services (NLADA-SLS) Section since 1984, and has organized annual conferences for 343 NLADA-SLS affiliated colleges and universities. He and two other SLS leaders from other universities have set the standards by which student legal service programs are run. In addition, Karon is also actively involved in the local legal community. A judge wrote, "As a person committed to equal justice and fairness, I am most pleased that Mark Karon continues to watch over students. And when I see one of his attorneys come into my courtroom with a student, I know that the client is in good hands, and that the good name of the University of Minnesota will continue to be upheld in the community. Because as he has done for decades, Mark Karon continues to provide outstanding service to the University community, and well beyond."
Mark Rosenberg, professor and vice dean for education and academic affairs, Medical School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus, has provided exceptional, steadfast service to the University for nearly four decades. He has dedicated his career to fostering faculty and staff success in service of the academic mission of the Medical School by promoting an inclusive and equitable environment, persistently seeking opportunities for collaboration, and leading with humility, grace, and humor. Rosenberg has served in numerous impactful leadership roles and his willingness to take on extra work has helped to ensure that the Medical School operates efficiently and effectively. He has served as director of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, chief of medicine at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, and vice dean for education and academic affairs. He has also frequently stepped in when there is a vacancy in leadership to provide stability during transitions. His interim leadership roles include associate dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, associate dean for faculty affairs, and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education. Rosenberg is a brilliant educator and leader, and has transformed education in the Medical School by ensuring that, while essential core infrastructure is in place, there is also room for innovation. He has spearheaded innovative programming including the Academic Adviser Program and the Confidential-Bridging Counseling Services. Rosenberg founded the Medical Education Outcomes Center (MEOC) which provides data integration and scholarly support for medical education research. Additionally, he has over 100 peer-reviewed publications related to his research on the pathophysiology of kidney diseases and on various aspects of medical education. Rosenberg's service to the national medical community, and in particular the field of nephrology, is unstinting. His involvement with the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) includes three years as chair of the ASN Training Program Directors Executive Committee, the highest level leadership position for nephrology training in the United States; six years as education director for Kidney Week; and service as chair in 2019. As chair of ASN, Rosenberg interacted with the White House leadership of Health and Human Services (HHS), and through his efforts, spurred the Executive Order on Advancing American Kidney Health (AAKH); initiated KidneyX, a partnership between HHS and ASN to advance collaboration among patients, health professionals, innovators, industry, and government; and advanced new HHS rulings to increase the supply of donated kidneys as well as financial support to cover expenses associated with kidney donation. In 2013, Rosenberg was awarded the Eric G. Neilson, MD Distinguished Professor Award from the Association of Specialty Professors, and in 2014 received the Robert G. Narins Award from ASN which honors individuals who have made substantial and meritorious contributions in education and teaching in the field of nephrology. One writer said of Rosenberg, "He is remarkably supportive and all it takes is a good idea to know that Dr. Rosenberg will go to bat for you, whether that's garnering additional resources, helping write a grant, or just providing moral support."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Soil
Mark W. Seeley, professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, College of Food Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), is a climatologist by training and is among the most widely recognized and respected University of Minnesota faculty members in the state. His commitment to his college, the University, and the state of Minnesota is extraordinary. For almost 20 years, he has had a weekly radio program on Minnesota Public Radio on weather related topics that more than half million listeners tune in to. Mark is the author or co-author of two popular books on Minnesota weather: Minnesota Weather Almanac and Voyageurs Skies: Weather and the Wilderness of Minnesota's National Park. Because of his popular radio show and books, he is a sought after speaker. Mark is generous with his time and efforts, responding to requests to speak at alumni events, donor events, and other events where citizens interact with the University. He has served as the keynote speaker for "Classes Without Quizzes," a successful alumni event in CFANS, and for the last 19 years has coordinated a yearly seminar on issues related to climate and meteorology called the "Kuehnast Lecture Series," in honor of one of his mentors, Earl Kuehnast, a former state climatologist. He has also been an instrumental champion in the Bell Museum of Natural History's efforts to bring the Smithsonian's highly acclaimed exhibit DigIt: Secret of Soils to Minnesota. Within his college, he has served on numerous committees including the Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Faculty Development Committee, the CFANS Faculty Consultative Committee, the Social Committee, the Facilities Committee, and the Graduate Committee, to name a few. Mark has also served as the chair of the Kuehnast Endowment Committee and Baker Travel Scholarship Funds since 1994. In addition, he has served on the Senate Committee on Faculty Academic Oversight of Intercollegiate Athletics. One person wrote, "Simply put, Mark is the best ambassador of the University we could hope for in the public sphere. A defining characteristic of Mark is that he strives to share his knowledge and passion for Minnesota with others in as many forums as possible, and in his service that goes beyond his professor-extension appointment. He is ever the most modest, unassuming person. Importantly, he is an incredibly supportive, enthusiastic team player with the University - he is truly a Gopher."
Marlene Zuk, acclaimed scientist in the fields of animal behavior and evolutionary biology, is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior in the College of Biological Sciences, as well as the college's associate dean for faculty. She came to the University of Minnesota in 2012, after 23 years at the University of California, Riverside. Zuk is described as an innovative thinker, an exceptional researcher, and a skillful and supportive mentor and advisor. She is credited with defining new questions, as well as developing theories and procedures that are now considered foundational in the discipline. Zuk is also celebrated as a prolific and engaging writer and communicator; in addition to her numerous scholarly publications, her many forays into popular media have brought scientific fact and processes to bear on the issues of our time in a way that is accessible to the general public.
From the start of her career, Zuk has made groundbreaking contributions to her profession. As a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, she and her PhD supervisor, renowned evolutionary biologist William Hamilton, proposed one of the first and most influential theories of the role of parasitism on sex selection, known as the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. Her work has played a key role in connecting parasitology with modern thinking about evolution, ecology, and behavior, and she is considered a pioneer in researching the evolution of immunity and immune response. Zuk has published over 150 research papers, many in top-tier scientific journals such as Science, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, and theJournal of Evolutionary Biology. Her work has more than 14,000 citations in the literature-five of her papers have over 500 citations each; the Hamilton-Zuk paper alone has over 3,700. These figures are truly remarkable for a researcher in this area. Zuk is also lauded for bringing science to the general public; she has published several highly successful books on sexual selection and evolution that are of interest to general readers, and is a regular contributor in the op-ed sections of such esteemed popular media publications as the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.
Zuk has received a variety of prestigious awards for her exemplary scholarship. In 2017, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and also holds elected fellowships in the Animal Behavior Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She holds honorary doctorates from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland (2016) and Uppsala University in Sweden (2009), both of which are leading universities in the field of evolutionary biology, and she is a recipient of the Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award from the American Society of Naturalists (2015). In the last five years alone, Zuk has given over 50 invited lectures around the world.
Zuk is an inspirational and respected mentor and teacher. Students describe her as a dedicated mentor who is skilled at drawing out her mentees' strengths and encouraging their creativity, and who genuinely values the many perspectives her students bring to class. Her students and advisees also credit her with helping them improve their writing and fostering a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Many of her doctoral students have gone on to become notable scholars in their own right. In addition, Zuk is a champion of undergraduate research, serving as an adviser for several honors and directed research students each year and supervising both undergraduate and graduate students in her lab. She also teaches the department's graduate foundations series, a two-semester course for first-year graduate students.
Zuk's service to her discipline and the University are also exceptional. At the University, she serves as a governing board member for the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science (MCPS), and she has held numerous leadership positions in her field, including president of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology (ISBE) (2004-08), vice president of the American Society of Naturalists (2013-16), and editor of Behavioral Ecology (2002-06)andAdvances in the Study of Behavior (2015-present). Also noteworthy are Zuk's contributions to equity and diversity. At the University of California, Riverside, she served as the associate vice provost for faculty equity and diversity from 2005-10, and her efforts during her term as president of the ISBE led to the society's reputation as a model for gender balance. She is truly a role model for those seeking to dismantle systemic barriers to participation in the sciences.
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Marta Dykhuizen Shore
Marta Dykhuizen Shore, lecturer, Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, joined the University in 2017. While Shore's appointment assigns 90% of her effort to classroom instruction, the extent of her service activities goes far beyond the remaining 10%. She is passionate about amplifying student voices, advocating for their needs, providing equitable opportunities, and supporting their success. She is an innovative, engaging and highly respected instructor who strives to make her courses accessible to all. In addition to teaching introductory biostatistics courses (itself not an easy task with class size often 100+ students), Shore's contributions to the SPH are vast. Shore serves as a mental health advocate, a role that is completely voluntary and that she proactively sought out. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and to help address the continuing effects of tragedy and loss on student mental health, Shore began liaising with the CARE Program and other resources on campus to provide grief counseling and other resources. In addition, Shore's student mental health advocacy now includes monthly check-in meetings with other Mental Health Advocates within the School of Public Health. Shore has also shown her passion for service through her outstanding contributions related to DEI and antiracism. Since SPH launched its Strategic Plan for Antiracism (SPAR) in July 2021, Shore has prioritized the school's goal of making diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and antiracism central to its operations and mission. She serves as a member of multiple committees, including: the SPH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Antiracism Action Team; the Biostatistics Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; the Biostatistics Community Outreach and Engagement Committee; and the SPH Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training Team. Shore also believes in challenging a commonly held belief in academia that using big words proves one's expertise. Instead, she invites colleagues and students to stand up to racism by using language that is accessible to all. Shore's contributions to SPH also include organizing a Division of Biostatistics book-club focused on the role of statistics and data science in perpetuating inequalities, helping the division to center DEI and antiracism as important aspects of the faculty interview process, and working to create learning modules highlighting the role of statisticians in perpetuating health inequalities. Outside the University, Shore has played a leading role in developing, and now managing, a partnership between SPH and St. Paul Public Schools. This partnership exposes students in grades 9-12 to data science, environmental health science, and public health curricula, with the goal of demystifying biostatistics and offering new pathways to public health careers, especially for students that historically have not been exposed to these opportunities. The program Shore and colleagues developed builds goodwill toward the University, and provides SPH Biostatistics graduate students service and teaching opportunities. One letter writer wrote: "Marta's service to the SPH community is undeniable and her commitment to our students and advancing antiracism is genuine, remarkable, and will undoubtedly make a lasting impact on this institution and the students it serves."
Job Titles:
- Director of the National Center
Martha L. Thurlow is the director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) in the Institute on Community Integration in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). NCEO provides national leadership in designing and building educational assessments and accountability systems that appropriately monitor educational results for all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners. She was a member of the team that founded NCEO in 1990 and she has served as the director since 1999. She is considered to be a national expert on state accountability and assessment policies and practices for students with disabilities, an outstanding researcher and teacher; and a mentor to more than 150, primarily doctoral students in educational psychology, school psychology, special education, and other disciplines. Her publications include 17 books, 48 book chapters, and over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles, technical reports, curricula, and policy briefs. Her contributions to national organizations and policy groups are significant. She serves as a consultant and committee member for the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governors Association Validation Committee for the Common Core State Standards Initiative, the National Center for Learning Disabilities Growth Model Task Force, the U.S. Department of Education's Growth Peer Review Panel, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress Full Population Estimates Work Group, to name a few. She has demonstrated her commitment and dedication to the University and CEHD through her service on numerous work groups and committees that have benefited students and professional research staff. Her service to professional associations includes the Council for Exceptional Children, the Council for Learning Disabilities, the International Reading Association, American Research Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. One person wrote, "Dr. Thurlow has devoted 40 years of exemplary service and professional commitment to the University of Minnesota. Her talent, commitment, and energy, have made her a significant influence, which she has used tirelessly to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families."
Martin Dworkin, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Microbiology, Medical School, is world renowned for his pioneer work on bacteria as social and multicellular organisms. Because of this work, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences where he currently serves as Vice President and Midwest Council Chair. He is described as an outstanding scholar and teacher, and has been involved at every level of educational policy and curriculum. He has assumed several leadership roles at the University of Minnesota, including the role as Director of the Academic Health Center Leadership Task Force. This task force was charged with the responsibility of creating a vision for all the schools and colleges in the AHC that would result in a strategic plan for the research, education, and outreach designed to shape and sustain a healthy citizenry now and in the future. He has served on numerous University committees such as the Liberal Education Task Force, which reshaped undergraduate education requirements. He has given his time and energy to Jewish Studies and to the University Jewish Student Center, the Hillel Foundation, and was active in establishing the Chair of Jewish Studies. He is also a dedicated musician and has his own band, the Prairie Heym Klezmorim, which plays klezmer (Jewish folk) music. One person wrote, "In short, Marty is a treasure. He is an outstanding scholar and researcher, yet he does not close himself up in his lab. He delights in building relationships between faculty and students and building bridges between the campus and the community."
Martin W. Sampson III, winner of the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, is an associate professor of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts who has spent his entire academic career at the University of Minnesota. Prior to starting his 30-year career at the University, he earned a Ph.D. at Indiana University, and then spent five years in the Peace Corps, including teaching in Libya for three years. Over the course of his tenure at the University, he has continuously demonstrated his commitment and dedication to the University. He teaches courses on United States policy toward the Middle East and on the Israeli-Palestinian situation and he is considered to be a leading source for analysis of events in those areas. He played a pivotal role in launching the exchange between the Political Science Department and Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. Under his leadership as the Director of the International Relations program, an environmental studies curriculum was created. The work he has done in conjunction with the new University-wide Bush initiative to integrate writing throughout the curriculum is serving as a model and basis for the adoption of the new University-wide writing requirement. His deep concern about student learning and success led him to serve on the Senate Committee for Educational Policy, serving 4 years as a member and than one as chair. He has served on the Graduate School Social Sciences Policy and Review Council, the Graduate School Executive Committee, the Bush Sabbatical Leave Committee, the International Travel and Study Board Association, as well as numerous search committees and other campus committees. An esteemed leader among the faculty, he was called upon to serve as the faculty legislative liaison. For the past five years, he has devoted hundreds of hours working to support the efforts to convey a faculty perspective on the mission to achieve excellence as a public university, to promoting the University's budget and capital investment requests and to improving communication between the faculty and the state legislature. Those who wrote letters of support describe him as an exemplary citizen, extraordinary, amazing, a committed and an effective advocate who has demonstrated unusual commitment to the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus, Department of Computer Science
Marvin L. Stein, professor emeritus, Department of Computer Science in the Institute of Technology (IT), is affectionately referred to as "the father of Computer Science at the University of Minnesota." Upon his arrival in 1955 as an assistant professor in mathematics, he saw the need for computers and training in them. According to Professor Stein, there were only six computers in the country at that time and there were few classes on the subject. A true trailblazer, he was pivotal in the University securing 400 hours on an ERA 1103 computer. "The machine was about 60 feet long, weighed 17 tons, and was about 28 feet wide at its largest point," Stein said of the colossal computer. It was during his tenure as director of the Numerical Analysis Center that he lobbied for the University to acquire more time on computing equipment and to purchase its own computer, which it did in 1958. He then pushed the University in the forefront of new technology after he received a $500,000 grant from NSF and an appropriation from the legislature of $250,000. In 1967, his lobbying IT for an official program in computer science paid off and it became a reality. The first official academic year for the new Department of Computer Science was in 1970-1971. Professor Stein served as the founding department head the first year, but stepped down to serve as a professor until 1997, when he retired. It is because of visionaries such as Professor Stein that the Department of Computer Science is now a world-class department and has educated thousands of students. He received many honors and awards including the Guggenheim Fellowship for his role in the discovery of the conjugate gradient method and for being the principal inventor of the Stein-Pope division method and the Stein-Rose sorting algorithm. He is also a Fullbright award winner and the recipient of a George Taylor Award, which recognized his contributions to teaching at the University. One person wrote, "Marvin is not only a man of vision but an extremely loyal faculty member of the Department (which is extremely close to his heart) and the University of Minnesota. I cannot think of anyone I met during my tenure at the UMN who deserves this service award more than Marvin Stein."
Marvin (Jon) Ross has been the Station Biologist for the Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories for almost twenty years, and serves as the Associate Director of the Station as well. Most recently, he was appointed as an adjunct professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. In addition, he is an instructor in the Nature of Life (NOL) program, a course for first year biology students at the University of Minnesota, where he is one of the first instructors they meet. During his tenure, he has taken over 200 visiting groups on field trips of the Station, including deans, vice presidents, the president, alumni, state legislators, regents, and faculty and/or students from other universities. He also plays an invaluable public relations role. Because of him, the Northwest area views the University as friendly, informed, and helpful. One person wrote... "Jon Ross has the unique ability to see the world in minute detail as a scientist, and also to see the broad perspective, which is essential in planning and coordinating activities at the Station, and all of the other entities involved with the University of Minnesota. Jon's commitment to education, research, and to serving the many constituents of the University is second to none."
Mary Buschette, director, Alumni and Constituent Relations, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has been called CFAN's greatest ambassador, as is seen through her tireless commitment to the University and its land grant mission. She continually makes outstanding contributions to building and fostering meaningful connections between students and alumni by pioneering programming that goes well beyond what is normally considered alumni relations. Through her involvement with programs such as the Minnesota Youth Institute, the MANNRS Conference (promoting minorities in agriculture, natural resources and related sciences), and the Policy Engagement Program, Mary connects students with alumni and business and government professionals to advance their collegiate experience and expose students to careers in agriculture, natural resources, and public policy-making. Buschette's connections and outreach have built not only a loyal network of alumni supporting the University, but a well-connected student body and well-informed body of legislators in terms of agriculture and natural resources advocacy. In addition, Buschette fosters and mentors students providing professional and personal support for student leaders. Especially noteworthy are her development of the CFANS Mentorship Program in which she has participated for 20 years, and her involvement with the CFANS Graduate Student Board. In her decades long tenure at the University, Buschette co-chaired and co-organized the 9 Billion and Counting Symposium which centered on population growth and the need for sustainable food production; has been instrumental in developing and maintaining the Department of Plant Pathology Living Legacy Project, an online, interactive history of the department; and created "Classes Without Quizzes" to engage adult learners in the groundbreaking research that is taking place in CFANS. One letter writer wrote, "If someone were to ask who they should connect with to get a better understanding of the value of the CFANS experience, without fail, the answer would be Mary Buschette."
Job Titles:
- Associate Administrator, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth
Mary Cannedy-Clarke, associate administrator, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, has served the University with distinction since 1995. She has worked tirelessly to provide opportunities and training for Native American, underrepresented, and disadvantaged students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. She co-established and coordinates successful programs, such as Bridges to Baccalaureate Degrees, Bridges to Doctoral Degrees, Minority Access to Research Careers, and Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity. She has changed the lives of many students. Mary is truly an inspiration.
Job Titles:
- Community Relations Manager, Academic Health Center
Mary Hastings Kenyon, community relations manager, Academic Health Center (AHC) Office of Communications, is responsible for helping create the face of the AHC within and outside of the University. She has served the University of Minnesota with unusual distinction for more than 30 years. She is given much of the credit for the success of the popular community-oriented AHC program - the Mini Medical School. She is a key supporter of the Harvard Street Forum, a joint venture supported by the AHC, the Center for Arts and Medicine, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, and Grace University Lutheran Church. It was created to provide a public forum to discuss issues of relevance which were sometimes controversial. She works tirelessly on behalf of the AHC at the State Fair and creating other opportunities to connect the AHC and the community. An example of her outreach efforts is the new lecture series on the brain and neuroscience created for The Study Group based in Wayzata. She has effectively and creatively planned many events for the AHC. Some of these events feature controversial speakers while others recognize those who support animal research, each requiring her expert judgment. She also served as the driving force behind the AHC identification badge roll out. She has served on numerous AHC and University-wide committees including Just One U Homecoming Committee, University Relocation Committee, Blue Ribbon Commission to study Coffman Union, and the AHC Safety and Security Committee, to name a few. In addition, she has served on many community committees such as Bridge for Runaway Youth, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, and Crime Stoppers of Minnesota. One person wrote, "She gets things done and is able to leverage an amazing amount of institutional knowledge that she's developed over a lifetime of experience at the University. She is able to bring people together, not just across the schools, colleges, and departments of the AHC, but across the campus and beyond; and she does so because of the respect she's earned and the success of her outcomes."
Mary Jo Kane, faculty member in the School of Kinesiology in the College of Education and Human Development and the director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1989. She is an internationally recognized scholar and considered one of the nation's experts on the social and political implications of Title IX. Described as someone who always puts the University first, she has contributed enormously through her leadership and service over the tenures of three University presidents. As a member of the Commission on Women (now Office for University Women), she worked tirelessly to improve the campus climate for women. She played a significant role in the development of new University-wide policies and procedures designed to ensure academic integrity throughout the Athletic Department, which now serves as a nationwide model for academic reform in intercollegiate athletics. She played a pivotal role in the successful initiative to merge the Men's and Women's Athletics departments. And, most recently, she played a key leadership role in the Strategic Positioning Initiative. She has served on numerous governance and other important University committees, including the Advisory Committee on Athletics, vice chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee, and co-chair of the President's inaugural event. This fall she will serve as vice chair of the University Senate. One person wrote, "Anyone who knows Professor Kane is immediately struck by her passion and energy, as well as her enthusiasm and love for the University of Minnesota. Whether she is chairing a search committee, addressing an international delegation, or appearing on National Public Radio as a world-renowned academic scholar, she represents the highest ideal of service to the University community and beyond."
Mary Koskan is the former director of One Stop Student Services for Academic Support Resources (ASR) in the Office of Undergraduate Education (retired May 2011). She has created a legacy for the University by providing exceptional student service. Her vision for and creation of the One Stop Student Services centers on the East Bank, West Bank, and St. Paul campuses, which provides students a place to go for professional advice and counseling on anything related to a students' academic record, financial aid, or billing, is considered to be one of her greatest accomplishments. The One Stop model has improved the integration of services with all areas across the University that provide student services, from collegiate departments to Boynton Health Services, Housing, and Student Affairs, to name a few. The One Stop model is recognized nationally as the "best practice" in integrated student services. One Stop also certifies and handles the processing of educational benefits for veterans. In 2007, Mary decided to expand the definition of One Stop's role in supporting student veterans by implementing the Veterans Services Office as a comprehensive resource for University of Minnesota student veterans. Her commitment to student veterans was further demonstrated when she accepted an invitation to serve on Governor Tim Pawlenty's Yellow Ribbon Task Force and the Higher Education Action Group, a coalition that improved educational services for military members and veterans throughout the state. In 2009, the Governor presented Mary with the Above and Beyond Award on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). She also was the driving force behind the 2009 $100,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to support student veterans. She has been a key player in the creation of Veterans Recognition Day on campus annually in November. Mary has been actively involved in the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) and also within the Big Ten Registrars professional activities, where she is considered to be an enterprising and renowned leader. In 2009, she received the APEX Award at the AACRAO annual meeting, which recognizes individuals for achieving excellence in education administration and outstanding influence in their field. One colleague wrote, "Mary Koskan is clearly one of the University's treasures - a consummate professional who inspires and nurtures staff, and who has dedicated her career to supporting the success of our students."
Job Titles:
- Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Recipient Matt Edling
Matt Edling, managing director of the anthropology laboratories, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is responsible for ensuring that laboratory research involving faculty and graduate and undergraduate students proceeds smoothly and for facilitating the laboratory needs of numerous undergraduate courses. Edling has been an exemplary leader in making it possible for the University to be more accountable to communities who have had cultural materials extracted through research; by providing a supportive and safe research space for both faculty and students; and by mentoring students who will go on to be the leaders in research and collections management with a new, higher ethical bar for professional practice. Since 2018, Edling has been working, in partnership with Dr. Kat Hayes, with local tribal communities, faculty, and University personnel to repatriate thousands of objects and human remains that were collected by University faculty and students during excavations in the Mimbres region of New Mexico between 1928 and 1931. These efforts will bring the Department of Anthropology and the University into compliance with the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Edling has provided an extraordinary degree of care and support for lab users, and in doing so has fostered the excitement, imagination, and dedication of many young researchers. While faculty and advanced graduate students most often design the research conducted in departmental labs, it is Edling who provides access and basic training, supervises as needed, and supports the student interns and assistants. Edling also created and annually co-instructs a course titled Managing Museum Collections, in which students learn collections management practice and ethics. In both this course and in his mentoring, Edling communicates clearly with aspiring museum professionals about the dire lack of diversity, equity, and access in the contemporary field, and foregrounds the kinds of changes needed to address that lack. According to one letter writer, "Edling makes all of our work - from the access to all we need, the cooperative problem-solving, working through the complex ethics of our collections history, to entanglement of research, teaching, and service - better. In his quiet way, no concern or collection is too small for him to give all of his considerable skill and effort to supporting it, and he has generously assisted departments and museums within and outside of the University to do the same."
Job Titles:
- Community Program Specialist / Research Coordinator
Melissa J. Hansen is a community program specialist/research coordinator in the Cancer Center. She is also the study coordinator of the Childhood Cancer Research Network (CCRN), a unified pediatric cancer registry within North America. She is described by her colleagues as knowledgeable, dedicated, organized, and systematic. She is the "go to" person who is called upon to handle the most delicate of issues. Because of her involvement with patient enrollment at hospitals in Minnesota for an adult leukemia study, Melissa is on the front line representing the University of Minnesota not only to the greater community but nationally and internationally. The goodwill she has fostered on behalf of the University of Minnesota is unparalleled. A colleague wrote, "Melissa Hansen is one of the most impressive co-workers I have had the pleasure to know during my many years at the University of Minnesota. She shows extraordinary commitment and competence. She inspires excellence and enthusiasm in others around her and is in every way deserving of an Outstanding Service Award."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of English
Michael Hancher, professor, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), specializes in Victorian literature and culture, literary criticism and theory, language studies, legal studies, book illustration, and media history. His colleagues in English describe him as a wise, fair, and gracious colleague. His service to his department, college, and the University of Minnesota is exceptional and far-reaching. In the Department of English, he has served as director of graduate studies and as department chair. Michael has served on almost every department committee. He has a similar record of service to the college, where he has held key administrative positions such as interim associate dean for faculty and associate dean for faculty and research. Michael has served as chair or member of several search committees for the college, most recently, as a member of the search committee for the CLA dean. At the University level, his record of service is outstanding as well. He has served on the General Research Advisory Committee, Bush Sabbatical Program Screening Committee, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries, the Senate Library Committee, the All University Committee on the University Press, the University Senate, the Faculty Consultative Committee (vice chair 2012-13), the Senate Consultative Committee, and Committee on Committees. His service to nonacademic areas of the University is equally remarkable. He served on the Alumni Association's National Board of Directors, the Coffman Memorial Union Building Advisory Committee, the Campus Club Architectural Advisory Committee, and the Campus Club Board of Directors. One person wrote, "Professor Hancher's qualities shine through his service: he is a leader but also a collaborator, an innovator but also a maintainer, a respected senior colleague but also an amiable friend, and above all a giver rather than a taker."
Michael J. Mullins is a professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature (FLL) in the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is described as an excellent educator and advisor, and a dedicated colleague. His service to his department, college, and the University are exceptional. In his department, he works with the German Club, participates in Kaffeeklatsch, has served on the FLL scholarship selection committee, and promotes alumni-current student relations. He is considered to be a guiding voice in the governance of his college. He has served on the CLA Assembly Council, the CLA Teaching Committee, the CLA Student Affairs Committee, and the CLA Budget Committee. Michael's service on campus-wide committees includes the Educational Policy Committee (vice chair and chair), Physical Facilities Committee, UMD Budget Committee, and is an active voting member of the UMD Campus Assembly. Michael has also served as the departmental representative to the union (UEA). He is described as a dynamic force and driven to protect the rights of faculty while always maintaining a cooperative relationship with the administration. In addition, he is very active in supporting the University of Minnesota through his work with the legislature. As the UMD Legislative Liaison, Michael has met with well over 100 legislators from both parties during the last six years, discussing the consequences of reduced funding of higher education. His commitment to students is unparalleled. He is an outstanding teacher and mentor. He leads an annual three-week study abroad program to Potsdam Germany and has led several Undergraduate Research Opportunity Projects (UROPs). He is the recipient of the CLA Teaching Award and most recently was nominated for the Outstanding Faculty Award, given by the UMD's Student Awards program that annually recognizes three faculty members for their outstanding teaching and instruction and "their contributions to the UMD community, the educational advancement of students, and the general pursuit of knowledge by all." One person wrote, "In sum, in his twelve years at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Professor Michael Mullins has proven himself an exemplary University leader whose sense of justice and commitment to all members of the University community has strengthened the institution of which we are all proud to be a part."
Michael W. Howells is a facilities supervisor, Northwest District, Facilities Management (FM), who defines outstanding service. He continually goes above and beyond. His dedication and commitment to the area of the West Bank that he is responsible for, Facilities Management and to the University in general, has been exemplary since he was hired in 2008. During that time, FM was going through a transformation to meet its goals, which included focusing on the customer, being cost effective and creating a culture of accountability. He not only stepped up but he took on added responsibilities after one supervisor left, which meant that he supervised two crews, totaling 50 people. For months, he covered up to 2 million square feet and walked up to 12 miles in a shift. In addition, he rewrote every custodian's job description based on the new standards and worked with and trained new staff after the rebid. He is also known for his strong leadership and mentoring of student employees. He does everything he can to empower them and to allow them to learn and grow in their skills and experience. He recognizes excellence in others. For example, he nominated one of his student employees for the President's Student Leadership and Service Award. Denise Thomas, his supervisor wrote, "Mike gives 200%. During the last year he faced multiple challenges, dealt with twice the number of staff and faced continual staff shortages - he has never given up. But I do know that without Mike, his dedication, commitment and hard work, the custodial transformation on the West Bank would not have succeeded. He is fun to work with, a wonderful team player and a tremendous asset to FM and to the University."
MJ Leone, executive office and administrative specialist in the Graduate School at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), served the University for 34 years. Prior to her retirement in March 2009, she is credited with creating an international student and scholar services operation on the UMD campus, devising systems for tracking and troubleshooting student billing accounts and the graduate assistant insurance plan. In addition, she developed a separate graduate commencement ceremony, a series of online resources to assist in processing applications and admissions to UMD-based Graduate School programs, and she took the leadership role in the development of an on-site workshop for directors of graduate studies on the UMD campus. Because of her dedication and commitment, she went above and beyond her job description and volunteered to become the resident expert on many of the issues affecting international students. In doing so, she made a positive impact on literally thousands of international students and the program over the years. Her contributions to the creation of a separate graduate commencement ceremony are significant. Parents come from all over the world to attend this highly anticipated event and leave with the lasting image of their family's wonderful, memorable experience. One person wrote, "In so many cases, Ms. Leone's contributions were completely above and beyond the call of duty - not a part of her job description but rather a part of her commitment to making the graduate experience as smoothly functioning as possible. To thousands of UMD students, MJ Leone is the face of graduate education. She is the consummate professional. Her contributions are impossible to quantify, but the recognition of these accomplishments with a President's Award for Outstanding Service would be a fitting acknowledgement of her service."
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Center for Learning Innovation
Molly Dingel, associate professor, Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester, is a founding faculty member of the newest public campus of the University of Minnesota system. Her service to the University is outstanding. In addition to her work as a faculty member, she has served on 24 search committees in eight years, chairing many of them. Dingel was elected an alternate faculty senator, representing the Rochester campus, and is a member of the Serendipity Team of the Office of the Vice President for Research. The purpose of this system-wide team is to promote "a culture of serendipity where researchers can work across departments, colleges and disciplines - and with colleagues and communities outside the University - to think creatively and cultivate new ideas." In addition, Dingel currently serves on the Student Based Faculty Promotion Committee, UMR Growth Planning Steering Committee, Faculty Space Working Group, and ROC (Recovery on Campus) Advisory Board, and she chairs the Public Health Faculty Search Committee. She has previously served on several other committees, including the Scholastic Committee, Research Committee, and the Curriculum Committee, to name just a few. In addition to her service to her department, campus, and the University, Dingel has served her external disciplinary colleagues as a reviewer for 14 different journals, and she has served three-year terms on teaching and learning related committees for the American Sociological Association and the Midwest Sociological Society. She has also organized workshops and panels for these professional organizations. One person wrote, "Without the effort and example of Dr. Dingel, Minnesota's newest campus would never have gotten off the ground, much less started to level off into a soaring flight. If that doesn't constitute outstanding service, I'm not sure what would.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus, Organizational Leadership
Neal C. Nickerson Jr., professor emeritus, Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development, College of Education and Human Development, officially retired in 1996 after 32 years as part of the faculty. He is described as an inspiration, a mentor, and a superb teacher to multiple generations of school leaders in Minnesota. Although technically retired, he has not stopped teaching, serving on committees, supporting students, mentoring faculty, or serving the community. During his time as a faculty member, Nickerson served as advisor or co-advisor for more than 242 students and as a committee member for more than 720 students. Currently, six doctoral students are working with him on their degree completion processes. He will do whatever he can to keep them moving forward to complete their degrees or licensure programs. It is well known that he will travel to students or meet them at a location that is convenient for them. He will also drive anywhere in Minnesota and beyond to recruit potential scholars for the University or to support alumni. Nickerson is considered to be a legend among school administrators, having combined practice and academic learning in a meaningful way. He is credited with being "a strong bridge" between state professional associations and the University of Minnesota. He has served on numerous local, state, and national professional committees, boards, and associations. One person wrote, "It is difficult to conceive of a University faculty member who has been more energetic, influential, or dedicated when it comes to service to one's community than Professor Emeritus Neal Nickerson. His are the shoulders on which many of us - campus and community colleagues, alike - have stood. He has held up hundreds of us over his many years at this great University."
Job Titles:
- Global Leader
- Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Ned Mohan, member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), is a world-renowned research scientist and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Science and Engineering. Mohan's groundbreaking work in the fields of power electronics and renewable energy, his unflagging drive to address issues from climate change to cultural understanding, and his respectful and inclusive manner of teaching, have reshaped the University and the world in myriad ways. In his 43-year career at the University of Minnesota, Mohan has earned a reputation as a pioneering researcher who is adept at raising external funding; a tireless and innovative instructor who treats each of his students as his legacy; and a devoted University and community member who leads by example.
Mohan continues to press for innovation in the field of power electronics, holding 20 patents. At the core of his success is the understanding of the interconnectedness of energy generation, power, and control, to create reliable, efficient, and widely accessible sources of energy. Among the many firsts attributed to Mohan are a current-shaping circuit for supplying power from photovoltaic systems (1978); active filters to supply ripple-free electricity (1979); and an ultra-compact DC-DC converter for aircraft, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Minnesota (2003). Mohan has raised over $20 million in external funding, and his more than 300 journal articles have been cited about 26,000 times.
He has received innumerable awards for his outstanding research, chief among them, election to the NAE in 2014 for his contributions to the integration of electronics into power systems and innovations in power engineering education. Mohan received recognition for his impact on the power electronics field as early as 1996, with election as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In 2010, he received the Utility Wind Integration Group Achievement Award. He was also awarded IEEE's Ramakumar Renewable Energy Excellence Award in 2012, and its Nari Hingorani FACTS award in 2014.
Mohan is a global leader in the development of educational materials about energy systems and is at the forefront of preparing the next generation of scientists grappling with the challenging questions of power and power electronics. He has initiated a paradigm shift towards interdisciplinary curricula to prepare coming generations of engineers for the monumental challenge of building a sustainable energy system. As author of several widely-used textbooks and founder of the Consortium of Universities for Sustainable Power (CUSP), with 235 United States universities as members, Mohan has significantly modernized energy education. With federal grants, he has developed hardware laboratories that are made available without any financial self-interest to accompany two of his textbooks that are now used in over 100 universities nationally and worldwide. He has prepared 20 graduate level courses that are available worldwide for free. He has mentored 46 doctoral candidates and over 100 graduate scholars, many of whom are leaders in the energy industry or hold chairs at prestigious universities. Mohan's teaching awards include the Oscar A. Schott Professorship of Power Electronics and Systems (1998), the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award (2007) from the University of Minnesota, and the IEEE Undergraduate Teaching Award (2010), and the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education (2014) from the University of Minnesota.
Described as a true servant leader, a visionary, and a globally shining star in power electronics, Mohan is motivated by his belief that access to electricity is a human right. He is committed to the promotion of cultural and interreligious understanding, diversity, inclusivity and religious tolerance. Mohan's service to his community is commendable. He created the University of Minnesota Center for Electrical Energy (UMCEE) in 1981, and it is among the longest lasting centers at the University. Mohan has served on numerous University committees including the Academic Committee of the India Center Initiative (co-chair), the Scientific Advisory Committee: University Climate Action Plan, the University Sustainability Committee, and the Distinguished McKnight University Professor Selection Committee. He designed and developed hardware labs with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) resulting in no financial gain for himself, but significant job creation for the State of Minnesota. He is a board member of the Collegeville Institute's Multi-Religious Fellows Program, where he has been described as "a brilliant man who is also a humble, tireless force for tolerance, understanding and peace." He has created numerous online courses that he makes available at no cost, and he delivers lectures and develops class materials for high school teachers to promote understanding and dialogue within their classrooms.
Nicole Letawsky Shultz, assistant dean for student affairs and international programs, College of Biological Sciences (CBS), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a true champion in the work of college student development. She has provided leadership, vision, strategic direction, and advocacy in student services for 14 years. Under her leadership, CBS Student Services has evolved into a comprehensive center, dedicated to student success. Letawsky Shultz is a leader in equity and diversity work, creating an intercultural competence initiative in CBS Student Services. She created the Dean's Scholars Program, which provides extensive support to at-risk students. Because of her passion for working directly with students, Letawsky Shultz teaches courses in that program, and has taken three groups of students on learning abroad trips to Ireland. She is also known for her dedication to mentoring staff - creating leadership opportunities within her office, and then mentoring staff on their journey. Since 2010, CBS Student Services has won five national awards, one state award, and two U of M awards. In 2015, the University's Disability Resource Center presented her with an Access Achievement Award for her work on behalf of students with disabilities. Letawsky Shultz has an outstanding record of service to her college and the University. She actively participates on the Directors of Undergraduate Studies Committee and engages with the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (SCEP). She also co-chaired the Provost's Task Force on Undergraduate Advising. She has served on several campus-wide committees focused on advising excellence, integrating study abroad with undergraduate programs, integrating cultural competence and experiential learning, as well as various training and collaborative groups. In addition, Letawsky Shultz has made significant contributions to the field and the campus through her work on student affairs professional associations. One person wrote, "Nikki is an irreplaceable asset to the College of Biological Sciences, the University of Minnesota, and the greater campus community. She embodies the professional presence, leadership skills, and supervision techniques that define a true champion in the work of college student development."
Job Titles:
- Principal Mechanical Engineer, Energy Management, Facilities Management
Nirmal Jain, principal mechanical engineer, Energy Management, Facilities Management, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is instrumental in the safe and efficient operation of University buildings and facilities systemwide. His outstanding leadership, perpetually positive attitude, and team player mentality are hallmarks of his true spirit of service. He enthusiastically represents the University on numerous state and national boards, teaches in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies (CCAPS), and organizes regular tours of the University's mechanical infrastructure for students, alumni, and visiting project managers. As a dedicated steward of University assets, he strives to implement the most simple, efficient, and reliable solutions whenever possible. Because of this attention to fiscal responsibility and sound judgment, Jain has been instrumental in nearly every large scale or high profile project on campus, including the TCF Bank Stadium, the Northrop Memorial Auditorium renovation, the restoration of the 108-year-old Glensheen Mansion boilers, the new Bell Museum, multiple Minnesota Landscape Arboretum projects, and the renovations of Pioneer and Pillsbury Halls. He has also been called upon to share his broad depth of experience with the Hormel Institute in Austin, the Department of Energy's Fermilab National Accelerator in International Falls, and the National Weather Service Training Facility in Kansas City, among many others. Jain has dedicated his time and talents not only to the University, but to the state of Minnesota as well. In 2014, he was appointed by then-Governor Mark Dayton to the Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design, and as chair and past chair, led numerous outreach activities. Jain was also selected to serve in leadership positions on the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveying. In recognition of his humble, soft-spoken approach, one letter writer said, "He is noticeably inclusive of all members of the University community, and does not seek personal accolades, but is always the first to highlight the achievements of others making sure they are recognized."
Job Titles:
- Registrar and Director of Student Affairs
Noelle A. Noonan, registrar and director of Student Affairs, Law School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is described as an invaluable colleague, a creative strategic thinker, and a champion for students. Her dedication to diversity and inclusion within and beyond the Law School is a hallmark of her engagement with students, staff, and the larger University community. In 2012, seeing a rise in the number of students with disability and mental health concerns enter the Law School, Noonan collaborated with the Disability Resource Center to create exam accommodations for Law School students with disabilities. When the Mental Health Advocate Initiative was launched in 2016, Noonan became an advocate and continues to serve as a source of information for Law School students and staff seeking mental health resources at the University. As co-director of the Structured Study Group (SSG) academic support program, Noonan brought her pedagogical expertise to the Law School, and thoughtfully matched student instructors to faculty members for leadership training. Noonan has served many years in University Senate Governance, as academic professional senator in the University Senate, as alternate, senator, and chair-elect of the P&A Senate and as chair-elect of the P&A Consultative Committee (PACC), and she will serve as chair of the P&A Senate and the PACC for the 2019-20 academic year. She was also appointed by the dean of the Law School to serve on the college's Employee Engagement Committee and Faculty Staff Consultative Committee. While Noonan herself is an extremely competent leader, she is only satisfied when her leadership allows others to find their own, authentic path toward their goals. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the University of Minnesota's Council of Graduate Students Leadership Award, the Graduate Research Partnership Program Award, and the United States Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship. One person wrote, "Dr. Noonan is the superglue that allows the Law School to serve…those with disabilities, those with challenging events, and those that have shifting paths and definitions of success."
P. Jay Kiedrowski, former Gopher basketball player, has an impressive record of outstanding service to the Humphrey School of Public Affairs (Humphrey School), the University of Minnesota, and the state of Minnesota. Prior to joining the Humphrey School, he served as commissioner and deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Finance and executive vice president of Wells Fargo. After retiring from the public sector, he committed himself to the University, and has become one of the Humphrey School's most successful teachers. Currently, Jay serves as senior fellow in the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center at the Humphrey School, where he also leads a Senior Leadership Institute for state government officials. He specializes in public finance, organizational performance and change, and leadership. He has served in an advisory role to University leadership on challenges related to advancing the academic mission and the financial and fiscal health of the University and of the state. He served as assistant dean in the Humphrey School where he successfully led an effort to strengthen advising and career services. In addition, he was the driving force behind the creation of the Center for Integrative Leadership. Described as an extraordinary citizen and contributor, Jay has served on numerous University committees, including the Humphrey School's Advisory Council, the Carlson School of Management Funds Enterprise Board and the Arts and Cultural Leadership Masters Program Advisory Council, and more than a dozen nonprofit boards and committees. Jay has also served on the University of Minnesota Alumni Association and the Athletic Alumni Board. One person wrote, "Jay Kiedrowski is a man for all seasons. He continues to teach and inspire future leaders. He does whatever he can to improve our school. It is hard to imagine anyone who has contributed more to the University in the past ten years than Jay Kiedrowski."
Job Titles:
- Hospital Administrator and Director of Operations, Veterinary Medical Center, College
Patricia Berzins, hospital administrator and director of operations, Veterinary Medical Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, earned her bachelor's degree in animal science from the University in 1979 and began her career at the VMC in 1980 as an animal attendant. Berzins was gradually promoted through the various job levels for veterinary technicians in recognition of her efficiency, problem solving skills, and ability to lead. Berzins is responsible for quality improvement and quality assurance within the VMC, a large, complex 24/7 veterinary clinical operation that involves over 34,000 admissions per year and operates with an annual budget of $40 million. When challenging problems arise, she works with persistence and tenacity to find and implement the best solution. Examples include spearheading the VMC transition to an electronic medical record system in 2001 (and two new medical record systems since), as well as bringing in a new program called TeamSTEPPS, which is widely used in human hospitals and other industries. The VMC was the first veterinary hospital in the world to implement this program in large part due to Berzins' ideas and willingness to try new things. Berzins has served as a phenomenal mentor to many over the years, including veterinary technicians, technician supervisors, IT specialists, and veterinarians. The trust that the college and faculty have placed in her is well earned through continuous personal and professional development, creative problem solving, trailblazing innovation, extremely hard work, and true grit. Even after 43 years at the University, she continues to go above and beyond in everything she does. According to one letter writer, Berzins is a servant leader who "works tirelessly to improve the lives of the students, the employees, and the pets that are in our care." The stability, guidance, and leadership she has provided while serving CVM has changed the lives of those around her in immeasurable ways."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Departments of Laboratory Medicine
Patricia Ferrieri, Professor, Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and Pediatrics, has spent her entire professional career at the University of Minnesota. She has served as a dedicated clinician, providing care to children; as a researcher and mentor to trainees at the medical student, resident, and fellow level; and as an invaluable resource to the Minnesota medical community in her role as clinical microbiology department director. She has demonstrated her dedication and commitment to the University on several occasions, most specifically when she assumed the interim directorship of the Division of Infectious Diseases upon the untimely death of the division chief. It has been said that she "virtually single-handedly kept the division together," while also maintaining her duties as clinical microbiology director. She has also contributed to the understanding of diseases affecting people worldwide. Because of her work, we now understand how impetigo is transmitted, how newborn infants get yeast infections, and how bacteria might gain immunity from classes of antibiotics. Described as an outstanding, selfless, rigorous and compassionate scholar, scientist, and physician, Dr. Ferrieri has touched and informed the lives of hundreds of students, scientists, and physicians.
Patricia Neiman is a student development specialist in the Office of Equity and Diversity. Prior to accepting her position in the Office of Equity and Diversity, she held positions in the College of Education and Human Development and in the General College. For more than thirty years, she has demonstrated an extraordinary dedication to the University community through her work with marginalized students in the classroom; to becoming a highly sought after advisor, particularly to students of color, immigrants, and international students; to creating a model career services center utilized in two colleges; and finally to serving as a creative student development specialist. A common theme echoed by those who wrote letters of support is that what is most exceptional about her service is her ability to connect with people and help them to achieve their goals. She is described as compassionate, fervent, articulate, and deeply authentic about the multicultural issues that students confront in higher education. One of her outreach efforts brings middle school students from the Get Ready Program, an early intervention and college awareness program, to campus. This outreach makes an extraordinary impact on children who may not have had college exposure or are first generation college students from across the state and beyond. One person wrote, "Patti models the type of unconditional service that such students need and the advocacy they require. Our students that have worked with Patti uniformly praise her dedication, her persistence, her commitment, her steadfastness, and her infinite empathy for students. They are amazed by her energy. They are impressed by her leadership. They are awed by her evenhandedness toward all. But mostly, they just want to "be like Patti." In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she received the Alfred L. Vaughan Award for Outstanding Service to the General College and the prestigious university-wide Tate Excellence in Undergraduate Advising Award.
Job Titles:
- Director of the University of Minnesota Child Care Center
Patty Finstad is the Director of the University of Minnesota Child Care Center. She has been a strong advocate for children, families, and high quality child care at the University for more than twenty years. She is considered a national and statewide leader in early childhood development. She has served on numerous University task forces and committees that contribute to developing early childhood education or improving the work environment for University faculty and staff. She developed the Kami M. Tally Reading and Resource Center and is an active participant in the Work/Life Consortium. She serves as a board member on the National Coalition for Campus Children's Centers, the Minnesota Child Care Workers Coalition, and was appointed by the Governor to the State Legislative Task Force on Child Care Education. "Patty Finstad sees her mission clearly as one of serving the University and its children and families," one person wrote.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Knowledge Management Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth
Paul Treuer is the director of the Knowledge Management Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He is primarily responsible for a department with a goal to "innovate - to build and implement state of the art tools for students, faculty and staff to manage their own personal, professional and educational records." He supervises staff who develop software, manage development and production servers, web applications, desktop support, database management, transformational leadership training, computer and classroom lab management, and assessment activities. Through his vision and leadership, many innovative programs have been implemented at UMD and at the University of Minnesota (U of M). His concern for students and the improvement of their learning is the driving force behind his work. He is the "brainchild" behind the University of Minnesota ePortfolio enterprise system, a tool to help students document their learning. He is fondly referred to as the "Godfather of the ePortfolio concept" in national and international circles. He was also the guiding force responsible for Grad Planner, a tool used by students to assist them in their degree planning. In addition, he is credited with the conception and implementation of a centralized, credit-based peer-tutoring program for UMD. It was started in 1998 and has since become a national model for tutoring programs. The program received a Minnesota award as "one of the best ideas," from the College Reading and Learning Association. He co-chaired a cross functional team charged to redesign the Solon Campus Center, which would make the building more attractive and welcoming to prospective students. Because of his extraordinary contributions to this project, Mr. Treuer was awarded a UMD Outstanding Achievement Award. Julie Westlund, director of Career Services, wrote, "I am continually amazed by Paul's ideas and his ability to accomplish so much. I know of no other person at the University who is so dedicated, selfless and inspirational. His service has indeed been exceptional."
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Paula L. O'Loughlin is a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the Division of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM). She is described as an exemplary leader among faculty, an award-winning teacher and advisor, and a mentor to hundreds of student researchers, interns, and applicants for scholarships and graduate schools. Her commitment to the development and mentoring of students is unparalleled. As UMM's national fellowships and awards program coordinator since 2000, Paula recognized the needs of the students and the need for a one-stop center. In 2007, her vision came to fruition. She developed a proposal for a one-stop center and soon after the Academic Center for Enrichment (ACE) was born. She was appointed the founding director of ACE in 2008. ACE has become a model other institutions want to emulate. At UMM, she was actively involved in developing a campus-wide, interdisciplinary First Year Seminar program, in the revision of UMM's General Education program, and on a task-force charged with developing the criteria for a resource allocation review of the 40+ units within UMM's Academic Affairs program. Paula led a task-force that examined UMM's retention problem and she has worked to create a fund to support not only undergraduate political science majors, but all students, for travel to research conferences. Because of her leadership abilities, she was selected as a fellow in the CIC Academic Leadership Program in 2008-09. Paula's commitment to shared governance is extraordinary. At UMM, she helped develop a governance orientation for new faculty and a similar program for faculty and staff who were first-time committee chairs. In addition, she instituted meetings each semester for all committee chairs to come together to discuss issues. Paula served as a University senator, and as the vice chair and chair of the Senate Judicial Committee. She was also instrumental in revising the Procedures for Reviewing Candidates for Tenure and/or Promotion: Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty. One person wrote, "Like many exceptional faculty at the University of Minnesota, Paula is an outstanding teacher and scholar. Only a few faculty members make the exceptional service commitments to this university as she does. Paula epitomizes the ideal of outstanding service. She does it selflessly for the good of others; she focuses on issues that have broad impact for students, faculty and staff."
Peter Hudleston is a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, Newton Horace Winchell School of Earth Sciences, College of Science and Engineering (CSE). For forty-four years he has and continues to have an enormous impact on education at the University of Minnesota, as well as the lives of many students, former students, and colleagues at the University and beyond. He is described as an amazing individual with unquestionable integrity, generous, and gracious. In addition to his work as a professor, Peter served in key administrative positions, including twelve years as associate dean for undergraduate programs and eleven years as head. He is credited with dramatically expanding the Study Abroad program for CSE students. Because of his vision, tenacity, and extraordinary commitment, the percentage of CSE students that graduated with a study abroad experience rocketed from 1% in the 1990s to about 15% today. Peter's service to the department, college, and University, has been outstanding. He has served on search committees for the positions of vice provost for student affairs, dean of students, and for the associate dean for university curriculum. He also served on the Council of Liberal Education as member and as chair. More recently, Peter has been a member and chair of the Goldwater Fellowship Committee, and the committee that planned the student services component of the Teaching Classroom and Student Services Building. Currently, he is serving on the Tate Renovation Building/Planning Committee, the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the Student Awards Committee, and as chair of the Field Camp Committee. One person wrote, "Peter Hudleston is beloved by students and colleagues for his unflagging dedication and gentle humor, and the quiet and respectful way that he helps students and colleagues alike. Remarkably, this commitment has been sustained for decades, enriching the lives of students and inspiring colleagues. Owing in large part to Peter's work with students and student-focused programs over the years, our department has a national reputation for excellence in undergraduate education."
Job Titles:
- Foreman
- Principal Research
Peter Ness, principal research shop foreman, College of Science and Engineering Research Shop, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has been recognized by many as being dedicated to solving innumerable small and large engineering and machining problems at the University. His outstanding craftsmanship and extraordinary depth of understanding of sophisticated, computer aided design, coupled with his ability to turn nearly every exchange with students into learning experiences, is evidence of his commitment to the University's mission. Ness is a top-notch machinist who simultaneously solves research problems and teaches students how to design practical scientific apparatus. In addition to the requirements of his position, he has taken on becoming the in-shop IT technician, improving and maintaining all the shop's computer hardware and software, thereby keeping the shop productive and saving hours of time. Ness also serves as an instructor for ad hoc classes and demonstrations in the machine shop for students and staff from the College of Design and the Anderson Innovation Labs. He continually looks for ways to improve the shop's processes as evidenced by one project for students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in which he was able to reduce the machining time from 20 to 7 minutes per item. He has designed or advised on apparatus needed by students for studying thermal conductance, for measuring the speed of fourth sound in low temperature liquid helium, and for working with a coupled thermoacoustic oscillator. Because of his commendable work ethic and attention to detail, he not only meets the demands of research projects, but routinely assures that they are completed ahead of schedule. One writer said, "He is absolutely critical to the continued success of the machine shop and, by extension, research efforts in the University's colleges."
Peter Zetterberg is a senior analyst in the Office of Undergraduate Education in the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Over the course of 28 years, he worked in a variety of capacities at the University, playing an important role in decisions that have affected undergraduate education. He led the semester-conversion process and served as the director of the Office of Institutional Research and Reporting. He served as the lead University analyst on important projects such as tuition modeling, financial aid allocation and policy, human resource assessment, curricular review, and innumerable budget modeling initiatives. He is credited with the University's adoption of the Founder's Free Tuition Program. Known for his knowledge, skill, and responsiveness as well as his great sense of humor, he has done an outstanding job in showcasing the University of Minnesota at the legislature. He is routinely called upon to inform public policy decisions in higher education for the University and the state. Peter is described as one of the top sales people for the University and has, without a doubt, contributed significantly to improving the quality of education for students, enhancing the effectiveness of the curriculum and service to students, and to ensuring access to the University for students from families of modest financial means. One person wrote, "Peter Zetterberg loves the University of Minnesota. He cares about our ability to transform the lives of our students and create a better future for the world. He spends his life finding ways to support and improve its mission. There really is no one more deserving of this honor."
Philip M. Raup, professor emeritus, retired from the Department of Applied Economics in 1984 after serving the University of Minnesota for 54 years. He is world renowned for his contributions in the areas of land economics, agricultural policy, and economic development. His expertise on land economics and land reform was particularly valuable to countries that had been a part of the Soviet Block in the years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1981, he was recognized for his scholarship when he was named a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association. He is also known for the much-valued survey, "The Real Estate Market in Minnesota," which he organized from 1954-93. His outstanding record of service to the University include chairing and serving as a member on several Senate and college committees. He has also been active in his community. His involvement in the design of Minnesota's revenue sharing program through which the state funnels money to local communities was a key component of the "Minnesota Miracle" of the 1970's, which continues to benefit the people of the state today. As a speaker and activist, he has touched the lives of thousands of his fellow citizens. A colleague wrote, "I can think of no one who would be more deserving of this award for service to the University and the community it serves. For over 50 years, Professor Raup has made extraordinary contributions to our University and to the Twin Cities, State of Minnesota, and the larger world."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Social Work
Priscilla Day, professor, Department of Social Work, College of Education and Human Service Professions, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), is described as a generous and patient educator, an excellent advisor, and a dedicated mentor, who is deeply committed to the University community. She has provided outstanding service to the University as a faculty member, department head, director of a center, and as a student. Day was among the first students in UMD's current Master of Social Work program and returned as a faculty member in 1993. Much of her work is concentrated on social justice and focuses on many of our most vulnerable persons in our society, including children and American Indian communities. Day is recognized as a national leader in American Indian child welfare. She is credited with leading her department in its efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate American Indian students, many of whom are now leaders within tribal human service agencies across the region. She has served seven years as department head, once from 2000 to 2003, and a second time from 2012 to the present. For the last ten years, Day has served as director of the Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies where she has served students, the University, and the community in exceptional ways. Under her leadership, the University has received more than $8.5 million in external grants and Title IV-E Child Welfare contracts. More than 125 students have been supported with $2.3 million in student stipends. The department graduated 128 child welfare scholars since the first IV-E contract, 23% of which are American Indian. She has served on many department, UMD campus, and University committees, including the Program Prioritization Committee, President Bruininks' Children's Summit Planning Committee, and the Advisory Panel for the Gable-Skogmo Endowed Chair in the School of Social Work, to name a few. One person wrote, "Her service has transformed the lives of students; strengthened the department, college, and University; and through her outreach efforts on the local, regional, national and international levels, brought significant recognition to the University of Minnesota."
Rafael E. Tarrago has served as the librarian for Iberian, Ibero-American and Chicano/Latino Studies, History and Political Sciences, University Libraries, since 1995. He has provided outstanding service in many ways. His creation of a workshop on library research resources and services for first year graduate students in the department was so successful that it became part of the yearly orientation program for first-year graduate students. Rafael is sought after for his expertise on Iberian and Latin American studies and is asked to meet with prospective faculty. The monthly brown bag lunch series he leads provides a forum for faculty and students doing research on Latin American topics, contributing to interdisciplinary collaborations. Rafael has prepared a number of major exhibits of University of Minnesota Libraries Rare Books Collection, drawing national attention. He works tirelessly to promote diversity. He has indeed gone beyond expectations in providing exceptional service to faculty and students across the University and the broader community.
Rajiv Vaidyanathan is a professor in the Department of Marketing of the Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) and the executive director at the MBA program at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He also serves as executive director of the Association for Consumer Research (ACR), the premier scholarly organization for the field of consumer research, attracting scholars based in the departments of Marketing, Decision Sciences, Communications, and related social sciences. In his role as executive director, he demonstrated visionary leadership in his successful effort to establish an online conference management system for ACR. Under his leadership, ACR's cash balance increased by 400 percent. He will serve as co-chair of the 2009 Asia Pacific ACR conference that will be held in Hyderabad, India and will be responsible for the academic content of the conference. He is considered "the face" of ACR, and because of his leadership, he has raised international awareness of the University, especially the LSBE on the Duluth campus. He has a stellar record of service at the University, both on the Duluth campus as well as system-wide. He has served on various University promotion and tenure committees, editorial review board of journals, conducted regular article reviews, and has been a sought after speaker for athletic department recruits. In addition, he has served on many search committees and as a faculty mentor. As the director of the LSBE MBA program, he has helped to increase the profile of the program in Duluth and Rochester. Under his effective leadership, the program has excelled. His willingness to give of his time to the department, school, campus, and the broader community demonstrates his dedication and commitment. He is the recipient of many honors and awards including the Journal of Marketing Education "Outstanding Paper of 2007" Award, the LSBE Faculty Service Excellence Award, the 2005 Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award, and the U.S. Small Business Administration District Award for Student Consulting Project, to name a few. One person wrote, "Rajiv is an exceptional individual. While his intelligence and his values are extraordinary, as is the sheer volume of his accomplishments, what most impresses me is his unfailing energy to make everything around him better and his ability to inspire others to join with him in doing the same. In Rajiv, you have a true treasure."
Job Titles:
- Coordinator, Labor Education Service
Randall "Randy" C. Croce, coordinator, Labor Education Service (LES), Center for Human Resources and Labor Studies (CHRLS), Carlson School of Management (CSOM), is committed to the mission of the University of Minnesota. He has demonstrated his commitment and dedication through his outstanding work with the Council of Academic and Professional Administrators (previously called ASAC, now referred to as CAPA) and University governance; in individual units of the University through extra video work and projects; through outreach in the community, particularly the community of organized workers and allies throughout the state; in Labor Education Service; and through his exemplary work in CHRLS and CSOM. Mr. Croce's job is primarily focused on creating video related to the outreach mission of LES. He has volunteered his knowledge and expertise to help other departments and programs. For example, he made five videos for the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking in the School of Social Work, which have been used to illustrate the process of forgiveness and reconciliation, and used worldwide. He has also made videos for Chicano Studies, produced a documentary on the Immigration History Research Center, produced an important documentary titled, "If Stone Could Speak/Se la pietra sapesse parlare," a story of the scalpellini (stonecutters) who left northern Italy from 1880 onward to settle in the granite and marble districts of Vermont. This documentary won the 2008 Richard Hathaway Award from the Vermont Historical Society for the year's foremost contribution to the history of the state, and Best Feature-Length Documentary at the Black Swamp International Film Festival, Toledo, Ohio. He has received over twenty awards for his video work. His contributions to University governance is described as profound and having a long lasting impact. He is credited with drafting the ASAC Constitution and Bylaws, which formed the basis of the documents that continue to govern CAPA. He also initiated the rewriting of the Regents Policy on P&A Appointments and represented CAPA in the first and several subsequent meetings of P&A employees from all Big Ten universities. In addition, he worked tirelessly to ensure representation of P&A employees on appropriate University Senate committees and on the effort to integrate P&A representation on the University Senate. As a University Senator, he was active and engaged. He also has served on other University and CSOM committees including the University Classification and Compensation Committee, Dispute Resolution Work Group, Big Ten Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), and the Senate Committee on Committees. He served on the CSOM Staff Retreat Planning Committee and chaired the Industrial Relations Center Committee on Space Needs. He wrote the first draft and oversaw revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws for his department. His nominator, Pam Stenhjem wrote, "Randy's work should be considered part of our state's historical treasure. His contributions provide critical historical documentation that is part of our state's heritage. He serves as an ambassador for the University and this in turn reflects in untold ways upon the University's reputation and relationship with the community at large. His contributions in service to the University, through governance and his work, are nothing short of exceptional."
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Political Science
Raymond Duvall, professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), and special assistant to the provost for Grand Challenges Research Initiative, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has served the University for more than 40 years. He is a premier scholar and teacher and an accomplished administrator. He was recognized for his teaching in 1988 with the Horace T. Morse Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. He has worn many hats, including teacher and mentor; department chair and interim dean of CLA; one of the founders and leader of the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC); and chair of the Task Force on Academic Freedom, to name a few. Most recently, in his role as special assistant to the provost, Duvall is credited with helping to shape the processes that defined the priorities, the design of funding schemes, and the implementation of the mission of the Grand Challenges initiative. In addition, in this capacity, he also chaired a review committee charged with exploring the possibilities for promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of cognitive science, and has overseen the University's contract with Minute Earth, involving the production and dissemination of about two dozen science videos for school children that have amassed millions of views and have raised the national and international profile of the University. One person wrote, "Bud has rendered extraordinary service in every administrative position he has held during his 43-year career at Minnesota. He has championed scholarly excellence and intellectual pluralism. He has devoted countless hours to realizing these commitments through the hard, painstaking work of building institutional and policy capacities. He has done all of this and more with uncommon decency and grace. Bud has always cared deeply about the health and wellbeing of the units, the college, and the University. Just as importantly, if not more so, he has always cared deeply about the health and wellbeing of the people that work here-students, staff, faculty, colleagues, alumni. He is most deserving of this high honor."
Job Titles:
- Engineering Manager of Classroom Technical Services
Raymond Troyer is an engineering manager of Classroom Technical Services in the Office of Classroom Management, Academic Support Resources. Joining the University in 1999, Troyer's responsibilities include developing, designing, updating, maintaining, and supporting classroom presentation technology systems, meeting rooms, auditoriums, video conference rooms and courtrooms on the Twin Cities campus. The impact of his work can be seen throughout the University. His design work in the active learning classrooms has brought national recognition for being some of the most intuitive and best-designed classrooms for increased learning outcomes and student satisfaction. He is described as a consummate professional, a true expert, and an invaluable resource for his colleagues, University service partners, and departmental and collegiate clients. Troyer's dedication and commitment is exceptional. He gives his time and knowledge readily, mentoring staff and coaching many people working in other areas of the University. It is not uncommon for Troyer to work evenings and weekends to make sure the classrooms are ready and working for a successful start of the semester. He also uses his personal time to keep up with and ahead of the advances in technology. One person wrote, "Day after day, year after year, tens of thousands of students have been taught using the presentation technology which operates using a control system designed and programmed by Ray Troyer. The reliability of his work assures the technology is continually operating and that teaching time is maximized. His sound guidance and expertise is without compare and his unwavering commitment and dedication to the success of the University is truly exceptional."
Job Titles:
- Associate Program Director, UMN Bee Squad
Rebecca Masterman, associate program director, UMN Bee Squad, Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and extension educator, MN Extension, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, received a bachelor of arts in history (1993) and a PhD in entomology (2000) from the University of Minnesota. She joined the University in 2012 to become the coordinator of the Bee Squad, which she expanded to include programs to mentor beekeepers, as well as teach them the importance of native bees and landscaping for bees. Masterman developed a service for companies and homeowners where Bee Squad personnel (now 22 full and part-time employees) serve as the beekeeper on their property. This program, titled "Hive to Bottle," is very popular with many homeowners and several local fortune 500 companies, golf courses, art museums, and hotels, which have seen positive changes to their properties as a result of the beehives. Other Bee Squad programs under Masterman's leadership include Bee Arts, Bee Veterans, Bee Cruise to the Caribbean, and Bee Ambassadors. One of her favorite accomplishments is the creation of the "Mite Check" program, which helps beekeepers monitor their colonies for a deadly parasitic mite. She is a passionate speaker on behalf of bees, educating the public on current issues that threaten the bee population. Masterman has also been an effective fundraiser for the newly built Bee and Pollinator Research Lab and bee research in general. One person wrote, "The University of Minnesota is fortunate to have such a brilliant, caring, hard working individual as a graduate and a member of the staff who is now (through the University) making a difference in this world for bees, pollinators, and the environment."
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Teaching Professor
Richard A. Weinberg is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Child Psychology and Co-Director, Irving B. Harris Training Center for Infant & Toddler Development, in the College of Education and Human Development. For more than thirty years he has exemplified what it means to be a faculty member at the University of Minnesota through his outstanding academic record and by truly practicing the meaning of a land-grant university. He has served in several administrative positions; on approximately 60 university committees and about 30 committees at the institute, college and department level. He has also represented his profession and the University on many committees at peer institutions. He is described as a senior scholar who is a mentor to students and develops faculty and peers across departments and colleges. His enthusiasm, passion, and commitment to his profession, scholarship, and community engagement are without equal. He has served as the chair of the University of Minnesota's "Children's Summit" Steering Committee and the Co-chair of the President's Initiative on Children, Youth and Families. In addition, he has served as the Athletics Faculty Representative, a position appointed by the President in consultation with faculty leaders in governance. In this role he has excelled as a national leader for intercollegiate athletics reform at the NCAA level. He represents the University of Minnesota at the Big 10 Conference as well as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He has been appointed to serve as Chair of the Big 10 Academic Eligibility Committee and serves on the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet. One person wrote, "It is difficult to capture the essence and impact of Rich Weinberg's contribution of service to the University of Minnesota. His fingerprints are on so many parts of the university and its intersection with the community, state, nation and world. Rich is a remarkable scholar but perhaps even more important, he is a remarkable person."
Riv-Ellen Prell, professor emerita, Department of American Studies, College of Liberal Arts (CLA), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is a distinguished scholar, valued mentor, and visionary leader whose renowned exhibit, A Campus Divided: Progressives, Anticommunists, Racism and Antisemitism at the University of Minnesota 1930-1945, has had a profound and lasting impact on the University. The exhibit brought more visitors to Andersen Library than any previous exhibit at the University of Minnesota, and the expanded web version of the exhibit has drawn 11,000 viewers, 39,000 page views, and viewers from nearly every state in the nation and every continent except Antarctica. Prell's service to the University is exemplary. She was a member of the University Senate from 1980-1983 and 2009-2014, and initiated a year-long process with the University Senate's Social Concerns Committee to introduce morally responsible investment choices into the University's retirement plan investment options. She held the position of chair for the Council of Chairs CLA, the Women's Studies Department, the Graduate School Policy and Review Council, the Interdepartmental Major, and the Department of American Studies. While serving in the latter role, Prell organized the department's annual David Noble lecture, among other events, to make the work of the department's scholars accessible to the public. Prell served on numerous committees, including the CLA Dean's Search Committee, the Academic Advisory Committee for the Immigration History Center, the Steering Committee for the Center for Jewish Studies, the Governing and Admissions Committees of the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies, the Graduate and Undergraduate Committees of the Anthropology Department, the Graduate School Executive Committee, the CLA Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the University of Minnesota Use of Human Subjects Committee for the Social Sciences. Prell's awards include the National Jewish Book Award for her book Prayer and Community: The Havurah in American Judaism; the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry's Marshall Sklare Memorial Award for distinguished scholarship; and the Scholar of the College Award, the College of Liberal Arts' highest faculty recognition award. She is the inaugural recipient of the Jim and Diane Shneer Fellow in Post-Holocaust American Judaism, University of Colorado, and a distinguished lecturer with the Association for Jewish Studies. One person wrote, "I experienced first-hand her admirable and intense commitment to faculty, graduate students and undergraduates; she was a much valued mentor and advocate for so many students and junior scholars throughout her illustrious career."
Job Titles:
- Everett Fraser Professor of Law, Distinguished Global Professor
Robert A. Stein is the Everett Fraser Professor of Law, Distinguished Global Professor, Law School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He has served as a faculty member for more than 40 years; as associate dean and dean of the Law School; as vice president for University Administration and Planning; as well as member or chair of an incredible number and range of University committees, task forces, and advisory groups. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated his deep commitment to diversity, supported and oversaw athletics, and stepped in to fill critical positions on a temporary basis when the University asked him, including acting as overseer of Men's and Women's Athletics and as acting general counsel of the University. Stein has also demonstrated his commitment to the Law School by creating and endowing the annual Stein Conversations, which brings leaders of the bench and bar and the governments of the United States and other nations together to share their insights on topics of national or international interest to the University. His service outside of the University is equally impressive, including his service on the American Bar Association, American Bar Foundation, American Law Institute, International Bar Association, and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He is the author of numerous books and articles in legal journals. Stein also has many honors and distinctions, including the Global Engagement Award from the University of Minnesota (2016), and the first Lena O. Smith Humanitarian Award (for opening employment opportunities for minority lawyers) from the Minnesota Black Women Lawyers Network in 2002, to name just a few. One person wrote the following: "In the 1990s, the historic Silver Bible, a manuscript from the Middle Ages, was stolen from the Uppsala University Library. The thieves were eventually caught, but the bible had been sold into the secondary market, and had been purchased by an unsuspecting collector in New York. There were legal difficulties related to its return to Sweden. Bob Stein was able to use his knowledge of tax law to facilitate its return." Stein has been an outstanding ambassador for the University and has contributed to and served the University in countless ways.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus and Interim Director, Advanced Materials Center
Robert Carlson, professor emeritus and interim director, Advanced Materials Center, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), has made extraordinary contributions to the University during a career characterized by intense work and discovery, compassionate mentoring, and truly visionary research. Carlson has focused his incredible intellect on teaching and preparing the next generation of chemists to create positive momentum in his field. His excellence in teaching was first awarded in 1963 at Princeton University, where he received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, and has continued to be recognized with two UMD Outstanding Faculty awards, the Blehart Teaching Award, and the Anderson Scholar-Teacher Award. Carlson is unquestionably dedicated to the research and educational goals of the University, as evidenced by his tireless efforts in promoting UMD to the regional industrial community, governmental agencies, and alumni. His innumerable accomplishments include 17 patents and 80 publications in scientific journals, covering an astounding array of categories, including organic synthesis, environmental organic chemistry, toxicology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and environmental analytical chemistry. Carlson's long history of service to the University is exemplary. He stepped in as interim vice chancellor for academic administration at UMD in 1986 and served in that position until 1990. He was a leading force and advocate for the development of the Natural Resources Research Institute, the Large Lakes Observatory, the expansion of the UMN College of Pharmacy to the Duluth campus, and the creation of the Advanced Materials Center, which he has continued to champion even in retirement.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics
Robert O. Fisch, Professor Emeritus, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, and Holocaust survivor, came to the United States in 1956 after being a Hungarian freedom fighter in the uprising against the communist regimen. He served the University for forty years as a teacher of medical students and pediatricians, not only in the science of medicine, but in the art of health care as well. His landmark work in the field of dysmetabolism, concentrating on phenylketonuria (PKU), resulted in a standardized test for PKU on all newborns within the first day of life. Children with this disease are microcephalic and have an inordinate number of physical anomalies. He also established a technique whereby a woman affected with the disease (who was normal by virtue of the fact that she was on an phenylalanine-free diet) could have a normal baby by means of fertilizing her egg with her husband's sperm and having another woman carry the baby. He is also recognized nationally and internationally in the arts. His exhibit, Light from the Yellow Star, was on the theme "out of evil comes good." This exhibit has been shown at the Weisman, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Holocaust Museum in Washington as well as in Hungary, Austria, and Israel. He has taken his work to over 100 schools throughout Minnesota, talking with students about the Holocaust, the commonplace of evil, and the human capacity for kindness. One person wrote, "Robert Fisch is a scientist, educator, artist, and humanitarian. While facing extraordinary personal challenges he has evolved a tableaux that enriches and uplifts everyone with whom he comes in contact."
Robert Seybold, senior psychologist, University Counseling & Consulting Services (UCCS), Office for Student Affairs, has had an exemplary 35-year career at the University of Minnesota. He has been the director of St. Paul UCCS for 27 years. During his tenure, he has served on more than 50 committees (17 of which he chairs), clinically supervised more than 100 graduate students, given more than 250 guests lectures, and ran a support group that assisted 84 doctoral students. Bob has also been involved in more than 140 University Community Response Team (UCRT) interventions following student deaths. It is not just the amount of service Bob has given, but it is the impact of his work that is tremendously important. He clearly has demonstrated "unusual commitment to the University community."
Roby C. Thompson, Jr., is a world-recognized orthopedic surgeon, teacher, and researcher. He has served as a department head, an Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Associate Vice President for Clinical Affairs in the Health Sciences, and as Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of University of Minnesota Physicians. He demonstrated his commitment to leadership and excellence during the transition of the University Hospital to Fairview. He worked to ensure its continuance as the primary hospital for health profession student education, the performance of clinical research, and the practice of medicine by the faculty of the Medical School. He also lead the transition from eighteen individual department-based practice plans in the Medical School to what is now a single integrated group practice that is recognized locally, regionally, and nationally for its competitiveness in the marketplace, excellence of its care delivery, and service to people. He has been a role model for, and has actively mentored students, residents, and faculty. Colleagues state that his commitment to excellence is legendary and that he has served the University with commitment, dignity, and boundless energy.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Natural Resources Research Institute
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
Rolf T. Weberg, executive director, Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), joined the University in 2015 with a mission to transform and strengthen the NRRI. The NRRI was established by the Minnesota legislature in 1983 as an applied science and engineering research organization to inform state citizens and decision- makers while leveraging the power of the University of Minnesota. Weberg immediately began the transformation of NRRI from a quiet UMD research offshoot to a systemwide University asset and professional research organization. He re-envisioned the mission of the institute as well: "to deliver integrated research solutions that value our resources, environment, and economy for a sustainable and resilient future", which beautifully resonates with the University's land-grant mission. Under his leadership, practical solutions that support the region and the state are constantly at the forefront of discussion. Weberg has worked tirelessly to strengthen relationships with legislators and increase state funding for the NRRI, including doubling the NRRI State Special allowance and garnering support for its research initiatives in biannual state budgets. He has shepherded numerous initiatives to improve teamwork, center safety in work and lab spaces, support research staff, advance diversity, equity, and inclusion engagement, and update and improve long-neglected facilities. Weberg secured funding to make major improvements to the NRRI's Duluth and Coleraine facilities, resulting in roof and elevator replacement, LED light replacement, and lab upgrades, as well as adding a position of dedicated safety program manager to lead the NRRI's new, world-class safety program. He has actively mentored early career scientists, postdocs, graduate students, and interns, leading one postdoc to write, "I have never been associated with an organization whose top-level administrators were so willing to give their time to others in the organization, no matter their position." Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Weberg and ten NRRI employees participated in Unlearning Racism in the Geosciences, a nationally facilitated program exploring bias, racism, and inclusive practices. Participation in the program led him to create the NRRI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as an effort to ensure NRRI continues to improve and become a better place for everyone. Weberg's nominator wrote, "Above and beyond is Rolf Weberg's middle name."
Roxanne Struthers is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing. She is an Ojibwe Indian scholar, nurse, and educator. She has made significant contributions in the areas of Native American student recruitment and retention, faculty and student knowledge about cultural diversity and health disparities, and funded research to develop and test public health nursing interventions for Native Americans. Her research in diabetes (an epidemic among tribes), use of tobacco, and menopause and heart disease among Native women, are examples of her dedicated work to improving the health of Native Americans and Alaska natives. She has been an active recruiter and advocate for Native American nurses locally, nationally, and internationally through one of her leadership roles as President-elect of the Native Alaska and Native American Indian Nurses Association. She has been instrumental in providing opportunities for Native Americans to become nurses through the Native Nursing Careers Opportunity Program grant and the American Indian M.S. to Ph.D. Nursing Science Bridge grant. She is a member of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and the Health Resources and Services Administration, a committee charged with providing advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to the U.S. Congress on nursing policy. "Dr. Struthers exemplifies the University of Minnesota faculty who serve their communities as a health professional, educator and researcher," one person wrote.
Job Titles:
- Professor, Department of Epidemiology
Russell V. Luepker, professor, Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, a leading authority on clinical research training, is described as an incredibly valued mentor, colleague and friend. He played a pivotal role in the development of a masters program in clinical research, the first of its kind in the nation. The first class was held in 1998. Graduates of the program have gone on to become leading clinical researchers who are working to unlock the mysteries behind cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more. Currently, he is involved in developing a similar program for research staff seeking a graduate degree in clinical research. He served as co-chair of the Academic Health Center's (AHC) Clinical Research Task Force (2002) that was charged to develop a vision and goals for clinical research. One of the outcomes resulted in the development of a Clinical Scholars Program that provided support to junior faculty members who have gone on to have successful research careers. The National Institutes for Health (NIH) provided him a K12 award, which led to the creation of the Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS). The program has received $13 million in funding, which allows junior faculty the time and funding to conduct research at the start of their careers. He is dedicated and committed to the AHC and to the University. Within the AHC, he serves on the Advisory Board for the Building of Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWA), the Health Career Center Advisory Board and a NIH-funded Program Project Advisory Committee with the School of Nursing. Professor Luepker has been an active and effective member in University governance. He serves as the chair of the University Senate Committee on Finance and Planning and as a member of the Faculty Consultative Committee, the Strategic Procurement Advisory Committee, and the Advancing Excellence Steering Committee. In addition, he serves as a member of the Minnesota Department of Health Cardiovascular Steering Committee, the HealthPartners Research Foundation Advisory Committee and the Allina New Ulm Health Prevention Advisory Committee. Dr. Bernard Harlow, Mayo Professor and Division Head wrote, "Dr. Leupker is, and has been, very active in promoting the interests of the University and the cardiovascular health populations within our state and across the country. His University service has gone beyond that of the regular duties of faculty members, to an extent that 'beyond' does not do his level of service justice."
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Professional Relations
S. Bruce Benson is Associate Director of Professional Relations in the College of Pharmacy and has been at the University of Minnesota since 1975. In addition to his responsibilities as the principal alumni contact, he teaches courses dealing with counseling, death and loss, orientation to pharmacy, and mentoring. He has also lectured on chemical dependency, chronic pain, and the treatment of depression. His contributions to the profession of pharmacy are renowned throughout the state. He has made a significant and long-lasting impact on the public through his work on numerous committees such as the Minnesota Pharmacy Association, the Health Professions Services Program, and the role he played in the development of a pharmacist role model with the Sister Kenny Institute for Chronic Pain Rehabilitation. One person wrote, "It would be impossible to count the number of lives that Bruce Benson has touched. It is amazing the impact that one individual has on the life of another and how this impacts so many others! Bruce could be called the 'University of Minnesota Ambassador,' due to his love for his students, his profession, and the University of Minnesota. Everything Bruce does is directed at benefiting the students."
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Colle
Saida Abdi, assistant professor, School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, was recruited to the University from Children's Hospital of Boston in 2019 based on her work related to mental health services for immigrant children and their families. During her time at the University, Abdi has proven to be a remarkably gifted scholar (12 journal articles, $2.8 million in grants), educator, and mentor of graduate students and researchers. Abdi is the principal investigator on the Collaborative for Resilient Kids and Families in Minnesota, a partnership between the School of Social Work, Somali American Parents Association, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, Minneapolis Public Schools, and Boston Children's Hospital Trauma and Resilience Center. The goal of this project is to provide trauma-responsive, culturally, and linguistically relevant mental health support to East African and Latinx children, youth, and their families in Minneapolis. Abdi's commitment to serving others, stemming from her personal experience as a refugee from East Africa, is reflected in her devotion to advising, mentoring, and student development. Abdi is a strong and effective advocate of student voices and student professional development as demonstrated by her role as co-founder and facilitator of the BIPOC Affinity Group for Students (2020-21), as well as her current leadership role (2022-present) as one of the tri-chairs of the Equity, Justice and Inclusion (EJI) Committee. EJI is comprised of about 60 members, including faculty, staff, and students, dedicated to promoting social justice through educational events, service, and special projects. Her work is a reflection of her commitment as a teacher, clinician, clinical trainer, researcher, and spokesperson for marginalized communities, particularly refugee and immigrant youth. In the words of one of her letter writers, Abdi's colleagues, both at the University and across the country, appreciate not only her expertise, but her ability to step in, get things done, and guide those who are uncertain - in areas that can be quite sensitive. Her unwavering dedication to the needs and best interests of children and families is truly inspiring."
Sally Gregory Kohlstedt, came to the University of Minnesota in 1989 as Professor, Program in History of Science and Technology, and as Associate Dean in the Institute of Technology. She is a scholar, teacher, and mentor. She is described as a vital wellspring of energy and mentoring for graduate students in the History of Science program. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of university women. Among one of her many achievements was the increased visibility of women in the Institute of Technology. She provided support to women faculty and students in a way that had not been done before. She created the Program for Women in IT, and was the main inspiration for an international conference on Women, Gender, and Science. In the late 1990's, she took on the Directorship of the Center for the Advanced Feminist Studies, at a particularly critical time. She also provided remarkable leadership while on the Commission on Women. As president of the University's Campus Club, she provided leadership and tremendous effort to bring the Campus Club into the twenty-first century as a center for the intellectual and social life of the university. One person wrote, "Her efforts and leadership have been nothing short of heroic."
Sande Hill is an administrative director in the Department of Educational Psychology. Her service to the University began in 1980. She has served the Department of Educational Psychology for the past twenty years. She is described as someone who goes well beyond what is expected in her position, especially as it relates to major initiatives such as the planning and designing of the Educational Sciences Building. She also played a pivotal leadership role during the transition of the old College of Education and Human Development into the new College that includes nine departments, and nearly 200 faculty. Sande received the Educational Psychology Outstanding Civil Service Achievement Award in 1992 and in 1997. One person wrote, "I can not imagine anyone more committed to service to the University of Minnesota. Ms. Hill gives of herself unstintingly in the service of others in our department, our college, and the University to really move the University of Minnesota forward."
Sandi Larson, program and workshop coordinator, Center for Economic Development (CED), University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), is a 1991 graduate of UMD. She returned to the University in 2001 and has served ever since. In 2005, she began developing and marketing over 250 programs offered by the CED designed to assist entrepreneurs in starting and/or expanding businesses in Northeast Minnesota. In 2011, Larson was instrumental in securing a $150,000 award for CED from the Minnesota Mining Cluster Grant. In 2012, Larson led the charge to launch the "Teen Enterprise" program, after nearly three years of planning. She secured external funding and developed a partnership with Junior Achievement for the curriculum. Larson supervises UMD's Student-to-Business Initiative Program and is credited with making it "the best student community engagement experience on campus." Larson has served on the Executive Committee of Minnesota Indian Business Alliance, and she also is recognized as a leader for the Minnesota Small Business Development Center. Larson has proved she is "Driven to Discover" by continuously pursuing her own professional development to better serve the University and she is currently participating in the U of M Women's Leadership Institute. Larson is an outstanding member of the broader community. For example, in June 2012 when severe floods affected Duluth and the surrounding area, she volunteered to staff the Disaster Recovery Center at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. She compassionately listened to the stories of business owners and helped them to find the services they needed to recover from the destruction. On another occasion, Larson, a trained first responder, administered care to a UMD employee who had a heart attack at a University event. The National Volunteer Ski Patrol, of which she is a member, recognized these actions and awarded her the highest meritorious service award, the Purple Merit Star. One person wrote, "I have known Sandi for many years and I know she will continue to do great things for the University of Minnesota, the Center for Economic Development, the SBDC Program and for communities in the northeast region. She is energetic, a hard worker and goes above and beyond on a regular basis."
Job Titles:
- Professor and Head of the Department of Ecology
Scott Lanyon is a professor and head of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (EEB) in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS). He has demonstrated exceptional service in his role as director of the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, where he worked tirelessly for thirteen years to modernize its research collections, its public exhibits and programs, and to lay the groundwork for a new museum on the St. Paul campus. Under his leadership, the Bell initiated the popular Café Scientifique program that brings public talks about science to audiences at a local café and pub. After stepping down from the Bell, Scott accepted the position as head of the EEB, where he is credited with revitalizing the department and continuing it on a trajectory of excellence and high impact research, as well as helping CBS move towards a strategic cluster hire strategy. This strategy promotes cross-disciplinary partnerships. Scott is also credited with strengthening graduate education at the University of Minnesota. He coordinated an external review of the EEB graduate program, which not only resulted in improvements in the program but also raised awareness across campus of the high quality and international reputation of the program. In fall 2013, he was asked to lead a major effort to improve graduate education University-wide and produced "A Special Report on Graduate Education" that offers guidance for future initiatives. Scott's service to University Senate governance is exceptional. He has served on the University Senate, the Faculty Consultative Committee as member and as vice chair, the Senate Nominating Committee, and Committee on Committees. In addition, Scott served on the CBS/CFANS Collegiate Merger Task Force. One person wrote, "Scott's deep engagement in finding and creatively addressing the needs of students, units, and the University is a hallmark of his remarkable contributions to the University of Minnesota. Since his arrival at the University of Minnesota nearly 20 years ago, Scott has provided leadership in his service, demonstrating commitment to improving the University environment with vision and efforts that extend far beyond the regular duties of a faculty member, all while treating individuals with kindness and compassion."
Job Titles:
- Director, Office for Student Conduct
Sharon Dzik, director, Office for Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, Office for Student Affairs, is responsible for the leadership in the areas of student academic integrity and misconduct and for enforcing the Student Code of Conduct at the University of Minnesota. She has served in this role for over ten years and during this time Sharon is credited with promoting and helping to create an institutional culture of commitment to academic integrity. Under her exceptional leadership, the office she directs: stands up for the larger values of the University; stands up for students who have been hurt; and works with students who have violated the Student Conduct Code to help them understand why their behaviors damage their opportunities for success. She also is credited with revising campus policies and procedures to ensure the University is in compliance with the Campus Save Act/VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) and that the institution is supporting all parties involved with these cases. Sharon chairs the Behavior Consultation Team, volunteers at every home football game, serves on numerous University committees, and is developing new outreach initiatives to train faculty on classroom management and behavioral issues. One person wrote, " In her job of defending, enforcing, and promoting the Student Code of Conduct, Sharon Dzik provides in many ways a moral compass to the educational mission of the University of Minnesota. She is a superb colleague who works at the interface between ethics and academics. She cares for this University and seeks to make it a better place for students, faculty, and staff."
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Sharon Emde has been the administrative director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), College of Science and Engineering, since its inception in 1998. She has served the University with distinction for over 40 years. Emde has contributed significantly to the overall successful operation of the MRSEC. She has proven time and again to be reliable, efficient, and a visionary in terms of creating processes that make the function and excellence of the MRSEC possible. The coordination of the budget, which exceeds $4 million annually, includes a complex array of reporting activities to the National Science Foundation (NSF). She meticulously collects and organizes data and every logistical detail in preparation for the annual NSF site visits. This involves summarizing data of student and postdoctoral involvement, publications, all other current and pending financial support, detailed lists of academic and industrial colleagues, and much more. Every six years the MRSEC must undergo competitive renewal. The preparation for renewal is a yearlong process. Emde has been an integral part of this preparation, and she has played a key role in the MRSEC's renewed funding from the NSF. Described as a remarkable employee and a treasured colleague, Emde consistently displays grace under pressure, as evidenced in early 2012 when the MRSEC simultaneously submitted the 2011 Annual Report, hosted the External Advisory Board, and arranged the NSF site visit. She exemplifies outstanding service. One person wrote, "With her relentless commitment to quality, her attention to every detail, and her friendly yet determined support of all faculty involved, Sharon has pushed all MRSEC faculty to a higher level of performance."
Job Titles:
- Department Administrator, N.H. Winchell School of Earth Sciences
Sharon Kressler, department administrator, N.H. Winchell School of Earth Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has gone well beyond her regular duties. She is credited with rebuilding her department into a well-run and productive department and was central to its move from Pillsbury Hall to Tate Hall last fall. She facilitated the move out of 130 years of historical archives, equipment, and artifacts and worked with University archivists and librarians to ensure that valuable historical documents and other items were preserved; because of Kressler's commitment and leadership, important institutional history was saved. Kressler also understood the importance of the history and the affection for Pillsbury Hall by alumni, faculty, students, and staff. To recognize this, Kressler organized a two-day "Farewell to Pillsbury" event and invited alumni and friends of the department to tour the new building, Tate Hall, as well as Pillsbury, including the attic! The event was strategically planned to coincide with the annual student awards ceremony and luncheon. She transitioned the department all while doing her regular duties of running a department. In addition, Kressler, who is known for staying on top of University issues, spearheaded the coordination of training on preventing sexual harassment for all faculty and staff in her department, which was well received. One person wrote, "It's a remarkable person who can remain calm and effective when undergoing significant change. Sharon was, and is, a true leader. The University is a better place because of employees like Sharon."
Job Titles:
- Director of the McNair Scholars Program
Sharyn Schelske is the director of the McNair Scholars Program in General College. For more than thirty years she has been dedicated to helping young people who are generally low-income, first-generation students, and students of color, realize their educational goals. She has been the creator and leader of several programs that mentor and serve TRIO-eligible young people (TRIO is a federally funded program designed to help low-income Americans enter college and graduate school). Because of her exemplary work, the University of Minnesota TRIO program is considered a national model. She served on the Minnesota TRIO board for twenty-five years and for twenty years as co-chair of the Legislation and Education Committee. As the first co-chair of the ten-state MAEOPP Regional Leadership Retreat, she pioneered the development of the current Emerging Leaders Institute. Because of her extraordinary leadership, the University of Minnesota was one of the first ten institutional members of the Council for Opportunity in Education. She served on the Government Relations Committee of the Council for eight years, and as part of a team, designed and evaluated the National McNair Evaluation. The interim dean of General College wrote, "Sharyn's work touches communities, young people from high school through college, research labs, and faculty research groups. She is the real thing, serving the University, the neighboring communities, and our collective well-being. I know that my career would not have been as productive as it has been without her intervention at a critical moment. In saying that, I think I speak as would thousands of others."
Skeeter Burroughs is an assignment group coordinator in the Office of Information Technology. Described as a dedicated employee, he is well known in the University of Minnesota community and highly regarded for his skills and the outstanding service he provides. In addition to his regular full-time job providing desktop support, he is very involved in the Marching Band and has been since he was a student in 1991. Currently, he serves as an instructor for the Marching Band, and is the director for both the Maroon Pep Band (Men's Hockey) and the Gold Pep Band (Men's Basketball). Skeeter uses his vacation time in late summer to prepare the band for the fall football season, and during the winter sports season he is on campus late into the evening on weekends and weeknights for the men's basketball and hockey teams. Not only is he committed to the Marching Band program, he is devoted to the well being of the students in the program, caring about all aspects of their campus life. One person wrote, "Skeeter Burroughs is someone who truly embodies the passion, work ethic, spirit, and pride of a great University employee. He is someone who puts the students, staff, and faculty's needs before his own and serves with a quiet passion and dedication."
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Director
Stanley G. Bonnema, senior administrative director in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Science and Engineering, joined the Department of Chemistry in 1970 and retired in 2009. He is credited with contributing to the strength of a department that now has 37 faculty, 220 graduate students, and 34 staff with an annual operating budget of more than $20 million. In addition to his regular responsibilities, he served as the key departmental representative on the renovation of Koltoff Hall, the largest construction project undertaken as a result of the University's bonding bill of 2004. This project overlapped with the implementation of the University's new enterprise financial system (EFS), which he also led for the department. Stanley's dedication and loyalty to the department, to the University, to the people who worked for him and to those he reported to is described as unwavering. His dedication was demonstrated not only through his exemplary performance on the job but also through his concern for others. He is well known for organizing seasonal gatherings, the new graduate student welcome, and staff recognition events. People fondly remember the songs Stanley would write and perform at staff retirement parties. In addition to his service to the University, he gave generously of his time to tutor at-risk youth in Minneapolis. One person wrote, "The significance and depth of Stan's contributions to the University cannot be overstated. The University should be hugely proud to have such a dedicated and valuable employee. He is a remarkable person."
Stephanie Dilworth is a University of Minnesota graduate and currently works as a principal auditor in the Department of Audits. She is considered a leader by her colleagues in the Department of Internal Audits and also the greater University community. In her first year on the Civil Service Committee she became active on the Professional Development subcommittee. She organized the first Staff Day four years ago and continues to contribute her efforts to keep the tradition of recognizing contributions of Civil Service and Bargaining Unit employees at the University. Her leadership and commitment to service led to her appointment as Chair of the Civil Service Committee for the year of 1999-00. She has served on the faculty and staff committee of Campaign Minnesota and has participated in the pilot testing for the Certified Approver Program. She also piloted the President's Emerging Leaders Program. She is active in the greater community, serving as Assistant Regional Director of Iota Phi Lambda, a business sorority that does community service and raises scholarship funds.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Stephen Benson is the executive director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in the College of Continuing Education. OLLI is a volunteer organization that provides educational opportunities for adult learners. In 1995, Steve's vision for providing a place for lifelong learners came to fruition when he created the ElderLearning Institute (ELI). The organization thrived and ten years later it was renamed OLLI in honor of Bernard Osher, who presented an endowment to further the goals of ELI. The renamed OLLI recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. Steve has served as the executive director for the duration and he has worked tirelessly with the OLLI curriculum committee to plan excellent programming, recruit distinguished faculty, retired faculty, and others with expertise in specific areas to teach courses for the organization. In 1995 enrollment was 132; in 2008 it reached the 1,000 mark; and, this year it reached 1,236 paying members with 45 on yearly scholarships. Because of the program's strength, the National OLLI Foundation has twice donated $1 million dollars to OLLI. Steve has also been instrumental in promoting learning opportunities for older adults throughout the state through AllMN, a consortium of colleges and universities. One person wrote, "The career path of Steve Benson at the University of Minnesota represents an extraordinary achievement of service in the best tradition of unique contributions of lasting value to the University's mission."
Stephen G. Granger is the former special assistant to the dean in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM). Prior to his position as special assistant to the dean (1987-1994), he served as the vice chancellor for Student Affairs (1963-1987) and director of counseling (1960-1962) at UMM. His academic expertise is in psychological testing and vocational counseling. When UMM opened in 1960, he was hired as the first director of counseling. During his administrative tenure, he was active in institutional research and had the responsibility for writing and administering two Title III grants amounting to $900,000, which supported a variety of campus initiatives. He was instrumental in preparing UMM's North Central Accreditation reports as well as authoring other important institutional reports and data books. He also taught the course Psychology of Individual Differences for many years. As the special assistant to the dean, Dr. Granger played a key role in the development of the College's program of Institutional Research and Management Information Systems. Described as a "champion of students," he served as the executive secretary for the Scholastic Committee and worked on non-instructional aspects of the academic program that dealt directly with the student body. He provided critical support for the development of UMM's Minority Student Program that achieved the largest percentage of students of color in the University of Minnesota system. In addition, he assisted in the areas of space allocation, class scheduling, and long-range physical planning. His research and writing about the physical plant paved the way for the core of the UMM campus to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2003). He is credited with mentoring a generation of UMM staff from all levels of the administration, including chancellors. Elizabeth Blake, professor emeritus and former vice chancellor, Academic Affairs and dean, wrote, "Steve Granger cares deeply and passionately about the University of Minnesota, Morris and its students. He has a poet's vision of what UMM can be for a student, a vision of the transforming power of liberal education offered in an inspired, supportive academic community, and he has served that vision unwaveringly."
Steve Cisneros earned both his master's degree (2004) and his PhD (2016) from the University of Minnesota. He is the director of the President's Emerging Scholars Program (PES), Office of Undergraduate Education, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a merit-based scholarship and student success program for select undergraduate students. The program currently serves 2,165 students. Cisneros is credited with being the primary designer of the program and creating a culture of care, while working on behalf of undergraduate students at the University for 15 years. Numerous testimonies from students demonstrate that Cisneros has made significant impacts on their lives. He has been a tireless advocate for PES students securing scholarships to support their academic endeavors such as study abroad, internships, and research; he created partnerships with Nice Ride to provide free bike access for Pell-eligible students and One Stop Student Services to offer FAFSA workshops and financial literacy initiatives. Cisneros has also created programs, trainings, and spaces that bring forth student accounts and conversations to raise awareness about inequities and diverse student experiences. Cisneros has served on numerous University committees such as the First Generation Institute Planning Committee, Focusing on the First Year Conference Planning Committee, and the Welcome Week Advisory Committee, to name a few. He is truly an inspiration to others. One person wrote, "Through his attitude, commitment, integrity, collaboration, and true belief in the work he does, Steve has influenced a shift in the feel of the culture for students from underrepresented backgrounds. His intelligent and compassionate approach to student programming has created opportunities and spaces for students that helped to transcend the barriers they may have experienced in the past."
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief, Department of Police
Steven H. Johnson, deputy chief, Department of Police, retired on May 30, 2008, after more than 30 years of service to the University and its communities. In 1999, after the Chief and the Captain left the University within one week of each other, Deputy Chief Johnson stepped up and served as a "one man administrative team" until the new chief was hired later that year. Over the course of his tenure, he has demonstrated outstanding leadership in his role of serving the safety needs of the campus by representing the University on a national level on the committee for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Association working on Emergency Operations Plans. During the anti-war protests on campus, he showed his leadership by keeping the campus safe yet allowing demonstrators to exercise their First Amendment rights. He played a key role in the collaborative effort between the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office during the hockey riots in 2001 and the disturbances associated with the 2007 NCAA Hockey Tournament. When the I-35W Bridge collapsed, he was key in the communication between law enforcement agencies and proved to be integral to the rescue and recovery operations. The University of Minnesota Police Department was the first to respond on the east side of the collapse site. He has served as a trusted and able advisor to the Academic Health Center (AHC), specifically on those issues related to security and research. He has effectively and skillfully managed threats to faculty members and institutional officials. He has served as a liaison between the University and the Secret Service, the FBI, local law enforcement, or a combination of different agencies. One person wrote, "He is a trusted advisor, a proven strategic planner, a calm presence in tense situations, a patient negotiator, and an untiring ambassador for the University of Minnesota." The University has truly been fortunate to call Deputy Chief Johnson one of its own.
Steven R. Poppe began working at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in 1976. Over the past ten years, he has transformed the Garden at the WCROC into a regional showcase. While most of the plants in the Garden are part of research, many are now designed into appealing gardens that attract more than 1,200 visitors to the annual Horticulture Night. Through his dedication and hard work, a Heritage Garden was created. This Garden contains a house fa?ade surrounded by plants that would have been with a prairie home 100 years ago. The Garden also serves as a place where people who have been instrumental in WCROC history are recognized. He is now working with the city and local groups to complete a trail system that will connect the Garden with the city and a popular local park/campground. He has established and organized an 18-person Advisory Committee to guide and build his vision for the Garden. This group developed a Master Plan around the uniqueness of the West Central Minnesota Agriculture and the Prairie. One aspect of this plan is to build a Children's Garden. Because of his commitment and opportunities he has given students, several who have worked in the Gardens have changed their major to Horticulture. He is described as an outstanding horticulturist and a true ambassador for the University of Minnesota. One person wrote, "Steve Poppe is an exceptional credit to the University of Minnesota."
Job Titles:
- Clinical Systems Supervisor, School of Dentistry
Sue Elm, clinical systems supervisor, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, graduated from the Dental Assisting Program in 1975 and joined the School of Dentistry as an employee in 1978. Over her 40-year career, Elm has positively influenced thousands of students, patients, faculty, and staff through her dedication and commitment to dental education. Her support, mentoring, and guidance to students is described as remarkable. She has played a key role in partnering with other dental assisting programs around the Twin Cities area to bring dental assisting students to the School of Dentistry. She works tirelessly to support and lead students in preparing them for various board exams; volunteers her time to Give Kids a Smile Day; and spends many weekends assisting with Continuing Education programs. Elm is described as respectful, unassuming, committed, hard working, competent, a great supervisor, professional, and valued. One person wrote, "I cannot imagine anyone more qualified for the President's Award for Outstanding Service than Ms. Sue Elm. Her commitment and service to the University can only be admired and serves as a standard for all of us."
Job Titles:
- Dental Assistant in Pediatric Dentistry
Sue Jacobs is a dental assistant in Pediatric Dentistry in the School of Dentistry. She has provided outstanding service to the University of Minnesota for more than 35 years. Over the course of her career, she has worked with approximately 13 full-time faculty, 24 part-time faculty, 125 pediatric dental residents and roughly 2,400 dental students. In addition to her dental clinic responsibilities, she schedules children in the operating room to undergo dental treatment using general anesthesia. This requires her to work with interpreters, hospital scheduling staff, medical personnel, and scheduling pediatric dental residents. For Sue, providing exceptional patient care is her primary concern. Because of her dedication and commitment, patients and families know that they are well cared for and pediatric residents are mentored and guided. Sue's colleagues wrote about her phenomenal work ethic and service, her compassion, and how she serves as an inspiration to all who have worked with her. She is a role model for all to emulate. In addition, she is a volunteer for "Give Kids a Smile" and works on Saturdays at CHUCC Clinic, an off-site University partner for the Pediatric Residency Program. One person wrote, "You will not find anyone who is more committed to the University and our School of Dentistry than Sue Jacobs. She is the consummate example of a dedicated, hard-working professional and pleasant ambassador for our University."
Sue Van Voorhis is the associate vice provost and University registrar, Academic Support Resources, Office of Undergraduate Education, University of Minnesota Systemwide. She is described as a visionary leader who continuously drives innovation and efficiency, and has unparalleled commitment to student success. Van Voorhis has empowered the University to support students in exceptional and collaborative ways, including playing an instrumental role in establishing not only the University's, but the nation's, first "One Stop" program, which is now the gold-standard for streamlined and integrated student services throughout the United States. Another hallmark of Van Voorhis's leadership is her work to achieve the University's greatly improved four-year graduation rate, which was 50.2% in 2006 and is currently 71.1%. She understood that accomplishing the four-year graduation rate goals would require not only a shift in how curriculum is delivered to students, but also a focusing of attention on advising students holistically, as individuals. She has worked tirelessly to dismantle and eliminate institutional barriers for students to reach their four-year graduation goals. Van Voorhis was early to recognize the importance of centering diversity, equity, and inclusion in her unit's work and has consistently championed the University's work to include gender identity and personal pronouns in PeopleSoft, the system-wide student information system. Beyond the University, Van Voorhis is well known and sought out for her understanding of students in the higher education system. She is a trusted advisor and collaborator of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (MOHE) and a supporter and recent Board member of Hope 4 Youth, a local nonprofit organization serving youth experiencing homelessness in the Twin Cities. In recognition of her leadership, Van Voorhis' colleagues across the nation awarded her The Distinguished Service Award of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. One writer said "Sue has empowered the University community with resources, information, and knowledge that allows everyone to do their jobs better, and to innovate for the betterment of students, and the University."
Job Titles:
- Program Associate, Department of Legal Writing
Susan Balow Miller, program associate, Department of Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy, Law School, has provided exceptional service to the program and a broader commitment to excellence at the University of Minnesota. She is credited with orchestrating moot court competitions involving seven different course sections, seventeen classrooms over four days, and over seventy-five outside judges including three justices from the Minnesota Supreme Court. She also created a template for the 2001 national conference of the Association of Legal Writing Directors and represented the Law School at the national conference of the Legal Writing Institute in 2010. She is the creator of the Annual Dean's Law School Picnic and the Dean's Breakfast Forum for first year law students. Susan has served as a committee member on the Senate Research Committee (2000-2006) and as an active member of the Legal Writing Institute and the ALWD (the non-profit professional association of directors of legal reasoning and writing programs). Susan has served as a long-term volunteer for the Ronald McDonald House, the vice president of the local International Optimist Club, and vice president of a local chapter of the American Business Women's Association. One person wrote, "Susan Miller's commitment to students and learning are immeasurable. I believe Susan Miller embodies the exceptional service to the University community that is worthy of recognition in the President's Award for Outstanding Service."
Susan Kubitschek is the director of student programs in the College of Science and Engineering. For more than 30 years she has provided exceptional service to the University. One of the many important contributions Susan has made to her college and the University has been through the deep and lasting impact she has had on students. If it is supporting undergraduate student organizations, providing international experiences for undergraduates, supporting individual students, or approaching local industry for support for new student initiatives, she does it with dedication, enthusiasm, determination, and certainty. She is credited with the establishment of the 3M Scholar's Program, which became the model and pilot for a First Year Experience Course implemented in Fall 2011 for all new freshmen in the college. Susan is responsible for all major events held by the college for freshman recruiting, and she has begun a series of events to attract, retain and engage transfer students. She is a tireless advocate for student organizations in the college. Because of her leadership and effort, the college's student board went from a handful of dedicated students to 45. Susan played a vital role in the University's involvement and success in Project Lead The Way (PLTW), a national pre-engineering program for middle schools and high schools. One of her responsibilities was to arrange for Summer Training Institutes (STI) for high school and middle school teachers from around the state and region. Again, because of Susan's leadership and ensuring that it was a good experience for those who participated, STI's have been offered on the Twin Cities campus since 2006. It is described as "a wonderful way of creating contacts in schools around the state and generating goodwill for the University." One former student wrote, "There are some people that have such a profound impact on your life that it feels impossible to adequately thank them. Susan's work and mentorship have indeed done this for me."
Susan Marie Pohlod, executive office and administrative specialist, Department of Applied Economics, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has provided exceptional service to the University for over 41 years. She has provided outstanding administrative and technical support to faculty and has served as a mentor to fellow staff. Because of her dedication and commitment to the University, Pohlod has enthusiastically taken on additional projects, including researching a green initiative for old printers on campus, providing staff support for new faculty, serving on the department awards committee, and coordinating the Community Fund Drive effort, to name a few. In addition, throughout the years, Pohlod has purchased books from the departmental book sale to package and send to overseas military service personnel. She truly is an inspiration to others. One person related the following story: Years ago, Associate Director Jane Stockman attended an outdoor leadership opportunity at which a facilitator asked participants who they would want to be with them if stranded on a deserted island. "You guessed it," the nominator wrote, "she'd want Sue with her." Stockman mentioned this to Pohlod once after they had successfully finished a project together. Pohlod's reply: "And I can fish, too."
Job Titles:
- Program Director of the Student Parent HELP Center
Susan Warfield is the program director of the Student Parent HELP Center, Office for Student Affairs, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. For more than 15 years, she has provided extraordinary support to undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota. As program director, she assists undergraduate student parents in eliminating the multiple financial, social, academic, and family service-based barriers that students with children struggle with daily. She is described as extremely caring and committed to ensuring that some of our most vulnerable students will have the resources and support they need to graduate and be successful in the work place and as parents. Warfield is actively engaged at the national level with professional organizations serving student parents and coaching colleagues from a wide range of institutions who are attempting to launch student parent programs. She and her staff have founded or co-founded two of the three higher education professional organizations working with student parents: the Higher Education Alliance for Students with Children and the NASPA Adult Learners and Students with Children Knowledge Committee. Warfield also has founded or co-founded two University committees: the Vice Provost's Committee on Non-traditional Student Affairs, which lasted for five years and recognized veterans, student parents, and older than average and first generation college attendees; and, the Lactation Advocacy Committee, an ad hoc committee seeking to improve lactation resources on campus for all students, faculty, and staff. Under her leadership, the Student Parent HELP Center was awarded the first annual NASPA Outstanding Undergraduate Student Parent Program award in March 2016. One person wrote, "Susan is one of the most dedicated professionals I've had the pleasure of working with at the University of Minnesota. Simply put, Susan is an inspiration. She is one of those people who tirelessly gives of herself and advocates for the wellbeing and success of our underrepresented student population. Susan exudes excitement and enjoyment when working with students. She has poured her heart and soul into her work, which shows through the profound impact she has made in the lives of hundreds of students, faculty, and staff on campus as well as the significant work she has done nationally to increase awareness and resources for student parents in higher education."
Job Titles:
- Director of the Hispanic / Latino / Chicana Learning Resource Center at the University of Minnesota
Susana Pelayo-Woodward is the Director of the Hispanic/Latino/Chicana Learning Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. She also serves as the Director of the Women's Resource and Action Center. She is deeply committed to serving students, the University community, and the Duluth community. She has designed and implemented innovative system-wide programs for students beginning at the high school level. She has brought to the UMD campus internationally-known scholars, human rights activists, artists, and journalists. She instituted the annual Fiesta as a celebration of Latin Cultures in the Americas and established the Dia de Los Muertos cultural exhibit at the Tweed Museum. She serves on numerous community advisory boards, in particular with organizations that focus on social justice. She was instrumental in forming the Adelante parent/community advisory board, played a major role in the feasibility study to implement the new cultural center, and is active with the Duluth Schools Latino/Hispanic Cultural Center. She is also active on the UMD Commission on Women.
Suzanne Thorpe, associate director for faculty, research, and instructional services, Law Library, has provided exceptional service to the Law School, the University, and the legal community for more than 28 years. She is credited with customizing the Law Library's reference, document delivery, college management, and circulation services. Proactive in her approach, Suzanne is always looking at how to develop new services to support the evolving needs of students and faculty. She has served on numerous Law School committees as well as the University Senate and its Library Committee. In addition to serving as a classroom instructor, she has served as a wise counselor, mentor, academic planner, international representative, and role model for generations of law students. Suzanne exemplifies the meaning of exceptional service.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of French
Tammy Berberi is an associate professor of French, Division of Humanities, and interim director of Equity, Diversity and Intercultural (EDI) Programs, and interim chief diversity officer, University of Minnesota Morris (UMM). Her accomplishments and outstanding service is commendable. Berberi is recognized campus-wide, state-wide, and nationally as a leader in disability advocacy, language studies, and diversity and inclusion for the disabled and for ethnic minorities. An internationally known expert in French disabilities studies, Berberi has given numerous keynote addresses at domestic and international conferences in the area. She is credited with organizing several conferences for the Modern Languages Association and for her leadership of the Office of Community Engagement program called TERCERO, a community translation and interpretation program, which provides translation and interpretation services to Spanish speaking families in the Morris area. She has served on countless committees at the campus level and at the system level. At the campus level, she served on the Campus Disability Resource Advisory Group, the Campus Assembly Steering Committee, and on several ad hoc committees on accessibility and mental health. At the system level, she has served on the University Senate on Disabilities Issues Committee, the University of Minnesota Interdisciplinary Graduate Group in Disability Studies, and on the review committee of Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED), to name a few. She also served as the co-chair of the second annual Minnesota Symposium on Disability Studies. At the national level, Berberi has served as an elected member of the Modern Language Association's "Transdisciplinary Connections" forum in Disability Studies as well as an elected board member, president, vice-president, and a member of the editorial search committee and national committee search for the executive officer of the Society for Disability Studies. Because of her significant outreach and civic engagement efforts, she was recognized in 2016 by the Minnesota Compact with the President's Civic Engagement Steward Award, and by the UMM Office of Equity and Diversity with the Cesar E. Chavez Faculty Award and with the Faculty/Staff Community Engagement Award. One person wrote, "In addition to a model of how to bridge academic specialization with service, Tammy is a profoundly human individual whose compassion for others moves her to go far beyond the call of duty in her service activities."
Job Titles:
- Morse - Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Communication
Terence G. Collins, Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Communication, has been the Director of Academic Affairs and Curriculum in General College since 1995. A University graduate with a Ph.D. in English, he began teaching in General College in 1976. Under his leadership as Director of Academic Affairs, faculty productivity tripled as measured by scholarly work and revenues significantly expanded in sponsored research activity. He was the leading force behind the establishment of the General College's Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy, a seed program funded by the University that grew into an internationally regarded center providing research on post-secondary access and literacy issues. Another outstanding contribution has been his success in promoting multiculturalism at every level. He has worked on several University-wide initiatives to ensure a quality education for students including the development of the nationally recognized Disability Services Office. He is the co-creator of Curriculum Transformation and Disability (CTAD), a project to train faculty members in the use of Universal Design principles to create an accessible and welcoming academic environment for students with disabilities. He has also been supportive of programs designed to assist immigrant and refugee populations achieve the academic skills necessary to compete in post-secondary institutions. Throughout his career he has served on numerous college and University committees to make specific and lasting improvements to the climate and culture of the University of Minnesota. He has also been a strong community citizen, volunteering his time and talent at many agencies.
Terri Sutton is a communications associate in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She is described as the "public face" of the Department of English. For more than a decade, her contributions have greatly enhanced the undergraduate student experience through her work managing the department's internship program, supervising communication-related directed studies, organizing the annual undergraduate conference, and engaging with students. Sutton is credited with helping to raise the public profile of the English department, and she also played an important role in the campaign to secure legislative funding for the renovation of Pillsbury Hall, which will be the new home of the English department. Sutton is particularly well known for her management and coordination of the Esther Freier Endowed Lecture Series, which brings in writers who have won major awards such as the Nobel, Pulitzer or Booker prizes to give lectures. These events, which are free and open to the public, draw large audiences from the University and the Twin Cities community. In addition, she created and oversees an internship program for undergraduates with Twin Cities organizations that provide career advancement, as well as managing the annual English Undergraduate Student Conference. She also conducts communication-related studies with undergraduate students. One person wrote, "Terri Sutton helps put the University of Minnesota at the forefront of international literacy and critical discourses. She's the University of Minnesota version of the New York Review of Books."
Terrie Shannon, described as an advocate for learning, is an associate professor in the Department of Education at the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD). During her tenure at UMD, she has served as associate dean for the College of Education and Human Service Professions, department head of Child and Family Development and the coordinator for the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Because of her efforts and advocacy, it was possible for the UMD Education Department to become a national leader in the area of American Indian Education. Under her leadership the Ruth Meyer's Endowed Chair of American Indian Education was established (1993), the first such endowed chair position in the nation. She is recognized as a champion of Native issues in the Ojibwe educational community. Because of her extensive professional experience as a teacher, administrator, and educational leader, she has made a significant impact in the area of teacher preparation initiatives that have impacted colleges and universities across Minnesota. "She understands the changing state and national scene in teacher education and embraces changes that have led to better service and learning of students and teacher preparation," one person wrote. She is also active in several professional organizations and associations at both the state and national levels.
Job Titles:
- Associate Head for Education and Community Programs
- Professor
Theodore R. Thompson is a Professor of Pediatrics and associate head for Education and Community Programs in the Department of Pediatrics. He currently serves as co-medical director for the Children's Center at Fairview-University Medical Center and is the medical director of Outreach for University of Minnesota Physicians. He joined the Medical School faculty in 1969 and since then has been committed to excellence in clinical care, outreach, and education. He has devoted his life to improving access to quality healthcare locally and state-wide. He is dedicated to advising and mentoring students as well as colleagues at the University of Minnesota and at other institutions. He spearheaded the establishment of several outreach programs throughout the state and played a key role in the development of health care delivery in rural Minnesota. He was also instrumental in developing the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the University of Minnesota. During the Fairview merger, he was the consummate bridge builder and under his leadership the quality of clinical education was improved significantly. He has served on countless University, college, and department committees, in addition to many professional organizations. A colleague wrote, "As a board member and officer of University of Minnesota Physicians, and as medical director and now, chief of staff elect of the Medical Center, Ted has been recognized and valued as a leader that serves tirelessly in his commitment to collaboration and quality. Patients come first to Ted - always have and always will. He has recognized that effective teams (in the newborn intensive care unit and in the boardroom) are the keys to achieving the best for patients. He has spent his most impressive career making teams happen and then moving them to excellence."
Job Titles:
- Associate Director for Continuing Education
Thomas B. McRoberts currently is the associate director for Continuing Education and the director of the Center for International Programs at the University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM). He is a 1968 graduate from UMM and has dedicated his entire career to the University of Minnesota and what he believes is the University's most fundamental and public goal - preparing students to succeed. He is described as the "figurative founding father of international programs and study abroad at UMM." And, under his leadership, Morris has become one of the leaders in Minnesota higher education with students of color comprising 14% of the total student population. Additionally, he is committed to access and outreach to all, especially in greater Minnesota. For example, he has developed and administered UMM classes in area towns for female nontraditional students, summer Elderhostel classes; workshops, summer enrichment and pre-college programs for high school students, classes and training for Head Start teachers and summer theatre productions, to name a few. He has also been active throughout his career in committee service in the College of Continuing Education, at UMM and at the All-University level. He is identified as a trusted ally, a supportive mentor, and a wise and creative resource person and problem solver. One person wrote "Tom McRoberts epitomizes the dedication, loyalty and resourcefulness of the kind of staff that exemplifies a world-class University."
Job Titles:
- Administrative Director, Master of Healthcare Administration ( MHA ) and Executive
Thomas Gilliam is the administrative director, Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) and Executive Programs in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He is credited with the success of the Emerging Physician Leaders Program (EPLP), which was developed in 2008 to teach the basics of servant leadership and adaptive change to junior faculty physicians. Since the program was launched, more than 100 physicians have completed the curriculum. Gilliam also worked with faculty to design and offer a primarily online curriculum for the MHA program, which has brought physicians, nurses, healthcare administrators, and others to the University from around the state and other countries to obtain their MHA degree. Because of his expertise in the areas of healthcare systems and curriculum development, Gilliam has been invited by other nations such as Saudi Arabia to consult, assess, and advise them on their healthcare systems. Currently, he is collaborating with Dr. Phillip Kibort from Children's Hospital and Clinics to create a healthcare dyad leadership college directed at serving the needs of the marketplace by building the capacity of healthcare leaders. He is described as a strong mentor, consummate listener, seasoned leader, wise, and generous. One person wrote, "In the decade I have known and worked with Tom Gilliam, he has single-handedly influenced the career development of an entire generation of physicians at the University of Minnesota. Ultimately, the care he shows towards those he mentors is a reflection of his love for the University of Minnesota. I can think of no one with whom I have worked who is more deserving of the President's Award for Outstanding Service than Tom Gilliam."
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Associate Professor of Plant Biology
Thomas K. Soulen, Emeritus Associate Professor of Plant Biology, served the University of Minnesota for thirty-eight years. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated his commitment to excellence in his service as teacher, advisor, and mentor to students and a role model to his fellow faculty. He has received the Horace T. Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education and the CBS Dagley/Kirkwood Undergraduate Education Award. He also received the John Tate Award for excellence in undergraduate advising. His leadership in outreach to K12 teachers and their students has been exemplary. For more than fourteen years he played a pivotal role in providing opportunities and promoting science in the classroom. His project "Investigative Plant Biology for Elementary Teachers," became a model in higher education for science projects funded through the federal grant program. He has served on many University, college, and department committees, including the University Senate, the Bush Excellence in Teaching Program, the Senate Committee on Student Affairs, and the All-University Honors Committee, to name a few. His colleague wrote, "Dr. Tom Soulen has had an exemplary career as a scientific educator, dedicated to excellence in teaching at the University and at Minnesota public schools. His service has been characterized not only by a drive to excellence, but also with a sense of modesty and a generous spirit. His activities have had a long-term impact on the quality of teaching and advising at the University of Minnesota and on many individuals."
Thomas M. Scott is professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and founding director for the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) in System Academic Administration. For more than forty-seven years, he has demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the University of Minnesota. During this time, Tom served in numerous leadership and service roles. He is credited with building CURA into a vital University urban research and outreach unit. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the University Metropolitan Consortium as well as the Hennepin-University Partnership. He was also actively involved in the development of the University's "Urban Agenda." In 1978, he worked on the Report of the Study Group on University Outreach and has been involved in the efforts in public engagement ever since. He organized the Outreach Compact Proposal, served on the Civic Engagement Task Force, and on the Council on Public Engagement Steering Committee. He has served the University tirelessly in his effort to enhance the quality and excellence of the institution. Tom contributed significantly to President Nils Hasselmo's "University 2000" strategic planning and visioning process. He has also led innumerable collegiate level and university level search, evaluation and operating committees and University governance committees. He chaired an ad hoc committee charged to restructure the Senate committee structure, he chaired the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) and the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC), and he chaired the Senate Judicial Committee. He and his colleagues worked to create the University Faculty Association (UFA), an independent lobbying group with the objective of supporting state and federal policies and programs that would strengthen the University. He has also demonstrated his commitment to his community by serving on the League of Minnesota Cities board of directors, the Minnesota Council of Economic Advisers Task Force, and on a Governor's Crime Commission, to name a few. The following was written on his behalf, "His outstanding service to the University community, and to the citizens across the metropolitan area and the state, are exceptional. He is truly an ambassador for this institution and a role model for how outstanding service can make a positive difference in the lives of people. He serves by example and continues to set the highest standard for outstanding service not only for himself but as a role model for others."
Thomas W. Shaughnessy held the University Librarian position from 1989 to his retirement in 2001. During his tenure he provided direction, leadership, and innovation for the University Libraries during a revolutionary period in scholarly communication, technology development, and information access. During this period of rapid technological change, he dedicated resources to the creation and support of a Staff Development and Training Team. He also established a support staff awards program to encourage and reward excellence among Civil Service and Bargaining Unit staff. The Libraries took the lead in bringing in a diverse workforce into libraries and information science and, under his leadership in 1998, the Libraries instituted the nationally recognized Training Institute for Early Career Librarians from Traditionally Underrepresented Groups. Because of his leadership and vision, CIC Virtual Electronic Library was established - a service that now provides open access to some 60 million books for more than 500,000 students and 35,000 faculty across the CIC-member universities. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Elmer L. Andersen Library and the renovation of Walter Library.
Job Titles:
- President Joan Gabel and Professor Mark Distefano, Chair, President 's Award for Outstanding Service Committee
- Service Coordinator, Health Sciences Classroom Services
V. Paul Virtucio, service coordinator, Health Sciences Classroom Services, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, is part of a small team that oversees classrooms and classroom technology for the Health Sciences. Since 2015, when Virtucio joined the University community, he has continuously endeavored to create the best possible classroom experience for students, faculty, and campus event attendees. His commitment to his craft, dedication to being a servant leader, and devotion to providing extraordinary service are consistently recognized and applauded by the faculty and staff he works with. Not only does he support technology needs in classrooms, but he shares his knowledge and expertise in a way that those he is supporting can increase their level of comfort and proficiency with technology. Virtucio has set up classroom tours with individual instructors to make sure they are comfortable teaching in the University's new active learning and hyflex classrooms. He meets individuals at their level of technology expertise with patience, respect, and kindness. Virtucio's ability to innovate and streamline technology processes has resulted in the University being nimbler and more efficient, especially during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than being satisfied with the status quo, Virtucio is constantly looking for ways to improve technical workflows, navigate complex technology environments, and train others so that they can not only learn, but create and lead, optimal classroom experiences. Beyond being the go-to technology expert in the Health Sciences, Virtucio consults with leaders across the University, and is sought out for collaboration by colleagues in Classroom Technical Services, the Office of Classroom Management, and IT leaders on all University of Minnesota campuses, to name just a few who have benefited from his ingenuity and commitment to excellence. He was a key technical contributor during the planning of the new Health Sciences Education Center and during the transition from WebEx to Zoom as the University's conferencing platform in 2019. In addition, he was indispensable in coordinating the transition of departmentally-owned technology equipment to the systemwide Kaltura platform. One letter writer described Virtucio this way: "I only wish I could communicate more accurately how universal his reach is within the University community and specifically Health Sciences. He is a powerful force in advocating for seamless and positive classroom learning experiences University-wide."
Victor Bloomfield is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics in the Medical School and the College of Biological Sciences. For more than 35 years he has had a distinguished career as a scientist, educator, administrator, and national leader. He served as head of the Department of Biochemistry (1979-1991), founding director of the Biotechnology Research Center (1982), vice provost for research and associate dean of the Graduate School (1998-2002) and then as interim dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for research (2002-2005). From 2005-2007, he served as associate vice president for public engagement. He has served on countless committees, task forces, steering committees and advisory groups, including the General Research Advisory Committee of the Graduate School (1976-1988), and the Advisory Board of the University Without Walls (1978-1980). He also served as chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee (1988), the Senate Committee on Educational Policy (1991-93), and the Council of Liberal Education (1992-1995). He was appointed to the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) in 1995 and was chosen vice chair in 1996-1997 and as chair in 1997-1998. This was an important time for shared governance at the University centering on the dispute with the Regents over tenure policy. He was chair when Mark Yudof arrived as the University's new president and he is credited with playing a critical role in reestablishing good relations between the faculty, central administration, and Regents. All of his administrative and volunteer services took place while he maintained an active and vibrant research program. He published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, authored or co-authored four books and gave approximately 200 invited talks at conferences, universities and companies in the U.S. and overseas. He is a fellow of the AAAS and has trained 17 Ph.D. students, seven MA students and 34 postdocs. He also is credited with leading the effort for the development of the Scholars Walk, a partnership between the University and the Alumni Association. One person wrote, "Professor Bloomfield has brought the attributes that characterize the best administrators. He is intelligent, visionary, and inclusive. He stands out because he thinks about other people and listens to them."
Job Titles:
- Coordinator of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Victoria T. Munro has served as the coordinator of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) in the Office of Undergraduate Research since 1986. She is credited with making significant contributions to the quality and impact of undergraduate education through a variety of ways, including involving students in research, expanding financial resources, increasing the number of student proposals through innovative and effective marketing strategies, collaborating with other departments, and initiating and organizing participation in national conferences. Dedicated to ensuring an outstanding undergraduate experience for students, Munro has been a tireless advocate for undergraduate research internally and externally. She believes the result will provide students with a powerful set of tools as they move ahead in their academic work and other life endeavors. Because of Munro's work more than 800 students University-wide are able to experience the UROP opportunity annually. She also has had a tremendous influence on numerous faculty mentors and administrators and their involvement with undergraduate research. She is known to push students and members of the University community to think actively and critically and to solve problems creatively. She is credited with providing invaluable advice on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and other essential University procedures. For example, she helped to clarify criteria to ensure substantive student research projects and has guided students through the necessary procedures to realize their projects overseas. This effort has opened up new overseas undergraduate opportunities for University of Minnesota students. Munro's dedication and commitment has helped position the University of Minnesota as one of the top undergraduate research universities in the nation. One person wrote, "Vicky Munro has provided exceptional service to the University community for more than 26 years. Her dedication, skill, and ingenuity have made a real difference to our undergraduate students. Vicky Munro's service is something of which all of us in the University community can be proud."
Warren J. Warwick is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics in the Medical School at the University of Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School more than 50 years ago and since then has made it his life's work to treat cystic fibrosis. He developed the first chest compression vest for bronchial drainage, which has extended the lives of individuals with cystic fibrosis. He is relentless in his pursuit to provide the best care for his patients and in the discovery of leading edge technologies. He has served as an inspiration to a countless number of physicians and researchers locally, nationally, and internationally. He serves on several professional societies such as the Northwestern Pediatric Society, the Ambulatory Pediatric Society, the New York Academy of Science, the American Society for Investigative Pathology, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to name a few. He has served on many University committees including the Diabetes Education Advisory Committee, the Senate Library Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee. The list of his professional service is extensive. He has served as a committee member, board member, co-chair, chair, volunteer, consultant, or president of more than two-dozen organizations. He has established cystic fibrosis clinics in Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. He is also credited with six patents. One person wrote, "Dr. Warrick truly embodies what the University stands for: creativity, passion, integrity, hard work, and compassion for others. A researcher-physician who is truly "driven to discover," he has made outstanding contributions to the Medical School, the University of Minnesota, and the world beyond, particularly through his decades-long commitment to serving patients suffering from cystic fibrosis."
Job Titles:
- Horace T. Morse - Alumni Distinguished Professor
Wilbert "Bert" H. Ahern, Horace T. Morse-Alumni Distinguished Professor of History, University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM), has made extraordinary contributions to the University of Minnesota through its programs, policies and governance. His exceptional work and leadership, which spans more than four decades, includes support for American Indian and under-represented groups in higher education, curricular and pedagogical innovation, shared governance and institutional administration and public engagement. He is credited with developing the first two courses on African American history at UMM and continued to develop and teach courses on African American and American Indian history throughout his career. Professor Ahern has mentored countless students and faculty, and has provided a voice and a connection for under-represented groups. He played a pivotal role in shaping liberal arts curriculum at UMM. Professor Ahern was a leader in the initial development of First Year seminars at UMM and he served on planning committees for the UMM Summer Scholars Program and for the development of the Honors Program. In addition, he led a major reorganization of the UMM General Education Program, which was considered to be among the most significant changes ever made in the College's curriculum. He played a key role in the establishment of UMM's Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and in the transition of an ad hoc network of Bush faculty development grant administrators into the nationally known professional development organization, Collaboration for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Professor Ahern's service to the University of Minnesota is strong and extensive. He has served on numerous committees at all levels of the University, from UMM's Executive Committee (the steering committee for the Assembly) to campus task forces, search committees, to all-University committees such as the Senate Committee on Educational Policy, the All-University Honors Committee, and on presidential search committees. Professor Engin Sungur wrote, "Professor Ahern's service to UMM is second-to-none. It does not involve only some aspects of the campus life but all. He is the memory of our institution, the key player of UMM's history, the protector of the faculty, the voice of faculty, and the leader and initiator of important and difficult academic issues. Every member of the UMM community is indebted to him for the future that he prepared for them. Bert Ahern deserves this award more than anybody that I know of." Professor Ahern retired May 2010.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus, School of Mathematics
Willard Miller Jr., professor emeritus, School of Mathematics, College of Science and Engineering, is described as someone who personifies the best of University service. Professor Miller is recognized worldwide as the leading expert and major driving force in the area of symmetry, special functions, and separations of variables. He spent more than half of his career serving in administrative positions, including head of the School of Mathematics, associate director of the Institute for Mathematics, associate dean for finance and planning in the Institute of Technology (IT), and as acting dean of IT (now the College of Science and Engineering). He played a critical role in the creation of the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications and the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Math Program. He also developed a program for math instruction of minority students. Professor Miller has served on the University Senate, the University Grievance Panel, and the Council for Liberal Education. Even though he retired in 2010, he continues to be active in research, and supervises undergraduate research projects. For more than 45 years, Professor Miller has served the University with distinction. *Professor Peter Olver accepted the award on Professor Miller's behalf.
Job Titles:
- Director of MINITEX Library Information Network
William DeJohn, director of MINITEX Library Information Network, has served the University and the citizens of Minnesota for more than 20 years by ensuring access to information resources. Because of his vision and leadership, MINITEX has grown significantly since it was created in 1969 and the University has consistently ranked as the #1 lending library within the 114-member Association of Research Libraries. He is considered to be a tireless advocate for libraries at the legislature or within professional organizations and committees. He was successful in obtaining Minnesota Legislative funding for scanning of documents to desktops of students and faculty members and for the creation of the Electronic Library for Minnesota. One person wrote, "Bill DeJohn's contributions to the University of Minnesota have been innovative and have the enduring, substantial quality that many in public service seek and rarely accomplish. He has been a team player with his library colleagues with the effect of improving and advancing the image and impact of the University. The legacy of quality service he has built at MINITEX and its affiliated institutions will provide lasting benefit to all Minnesotans."
Job Titles:
- Professor and Director of Design
William Durfee is a professor and director of Design Education in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) in the College of Science and Engineering. He left MIT to join the University of Minnesota in 1993. Since then, he has distinguished himself as a researcher and educator. He is credited with single-handedly modernizing the entire design curriculum, revamping the senior level capstone design course, and is probably most well known for introducing the sophomore level class ME2011 Introduction to Mechanical Engineering or the "robot class." More than 200 sophomore students enroll in this class each year. He has been recognized for these accomplishments with several teaching awards including the 2000 George Taylor/IT Alumni Society Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2000 Minnesota State Council on Disability Educator of the Year Award, and the 2001 Horace T. Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. His innovations have had a significant impact in connecting ME with local industry, which regularly attracts the positive attention of the local news media. The annual senior design "robot show" fills the ground-level floor of the McNamara Alumni Center with students, parents, local media and alumni, to experience the excitement of engineering as a tool to improve human lives. This design class is considered one of the most effective means to connect the ME Department with the industry in the state. A strong believer in faculty governance, he has actively served on numerous committees including the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) and the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC) (2006-2009), and as vice-chair of FCC and SCC (2008-2009), the Senate Committee on Committees (currently), the Committee on Graduate Education (2009). In addition, Will served on the Graduate Education Academic Issues Working Group, and served as chair of the Campus Writing Board. He also is involved in a number of community engagement activities. He served as director for Outreach and Human Resources of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power and is involved with Project Lead the Way curriculum review. He also taught the "Creativity in Engineering" workshop as part of the Mentor Connection. In addition, he has been active in the FIRST Robotics competition, which has become a major magnet for high school students to enroll in science and engineering programs. One of his colleagues wrote, "There are very few individuals at the University of Minnesota as talented as Professor Durfee. Will is an exceptionally talented scholar, teacher, advisor, and mentor, recognized by students and peers alike, for his many achievements."
Job Titles:
- NOvA Far Detector Laboratory Supervisor
William H. Miller is the NOvA Far Detector laboratory supervisor in the School of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Science and Engineering, located at the University's Soudan Underground Laboratory in Ash River, Minnesota. He has served the College of Science and Engineering and the University with distinction for almost 30 years. It all started when he was initially hired as a construction worker to support the Soudan 2 experiment in its underground laboratory in 1985. Bill's fascination with the experiment began shortly after he was hired and the first of 240 5-ton modules of the experiment arrived. He served as the liaison between the Soudan Underground Lab and the Soudan Underground Mine State Park for 20 years, serving as the lead supervisor for the construction and operation of the Sudan 2 Proton Decay experiment. During his tenure, he led the outreach program for the Laboratory, which included a public summer visitor program and an open day for local residents. On open day, typically more than 500 visitors travel underground to learn about science at the Sudan Laboratory, and throughout the year, approximately 2,500 K-12 students visit. Bill worked with Minnesota State Parks to organize park interpreter-led public tours during the summer and fall of each year, which on average, 5,000 annually made the mile underground trip. He is a sought after speaker and has given 100's of public presentations at community service clubs, public and private schools, and local government agencies promoting the Soudan Underground Lab and NOvA Project. On March 17, 2011, a fire developed in the mine shaft of the Soudan Laboratory. Bill was out of town but returned immediately to direct the University's efforts in coordination with Minnesota State Parks to put out the fire and restore normal operations. He was one of the first people to enter the mine after the fire and went on to lead an extraordinary cleanup, which restored operation of the MINOS Detector in two months and the entire laboratory shortly after. Because of his leadership, the Department of Energy continued its support and the Minnesota State Parks found funds for the renovation. In 2009, the University began construction of the NOvA Far Detector Laboratory at Ash River, where Bill has focused his attention on the installation of the 15,000-ton, $150 million NOvA Far Detector. Not only is he responsible for the supervision of a large staff, but also with interacting with scientists, engineers, and technicians from local contractors, the Department of Energy and over 30 universities and institutes in several countries. One person wrote, "You have no better ambassador for 'Driven to Discover' within the State of Minnesota than Bill."
William Jacott, associate professor emeritus in the Department of Family Practice and Community Health, Medical School, is described as someone who exemplifies exceptional commitment to service to the University of Minnesota, the practice of medicine, and to the education of medical students and residents. Throughout his career, he has renovated the systems of medical education and medical practice to improve healthcare. His devotion to the University spans more than three decades, beginning with his founding leadership of the Family Medicine residency in Duluth. After spending 20 years in private practice in the Duluth area, where he helped to build the UMD Medical School and the Duluth Family Practice Residency, he returned to the Twin Cities as the assistant vice president of health sciences at the University of Minnesota. In his role as assistant vice president, he is credited with the creation of community and hospital affiliation agreements and he is known for his outstanding leadership as head of the Department of Family Practice and Community Health. Under his leadership, the department emerged as a national program with faculty recruitment, formation of increased community residency programs and family practice clinics, and the continued development of the Human Sexuality Program into one of national stature. He is also known for his leadership of UCare, which led to its growth as an excellent health care organization, especially for the elderly in Minnesota. He has also made outstanding contributions to the Minnesota Medical Association and the American Medical Association. One person wrote, "Dr. Jacott is an excellent example of exceptional service and dedication to the University. He has given far more than his time and energy; he has transformed individuals and organizations through his expertise, creativity, and coalition building. He exemplifies outstanding service."
William Robiner is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, Medical School, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Since 1985, he has maintained a dynamic clinical practice, provided academic leadership, and participated in broad scholarly endeavors. He serves as the director of Health Psychology and the Psychology Internship Program in the Medical School. Robiner is described as an outstanding teacher, mentor, clinician, and researcher. He is someone who embodies all of the qualities to which clinical faculty members should strive: integrity, self-sacrifice, dedication to training and trainees, a focus on clinically related research, and tireless commitment to the University and to their field of study. Robiner is the first board certified clinical health psychologist in the State of Minnesota. Because of his initiative to meet the needs of patients, he played a key role in developing a support group for transgender individuals in 1979, which became the first step toward developing the comprehensive transgender health program that exists today. In the late 1980s, he organized the first mental health conference in Minnesota about psychological aspects of HIV/AIDS in conjunction with the Minnesota Psychological Association during the crucial early stages of the epidemic. In addition, he is a founding member of Minnesota APA-Accredited Psychology Internship Centers. He serves or has served on numerous committees, including chair of the Psychology Standards Committee, member of the Internal Review Committee for Mortuary Science Program, and member of the Physician Well-Being Initiative Task Force, to name just a few. He also serves as a member or chair of several professional committees locally and nationally. One person wrote, "Dr. Robiner exemplifies the highest standards in the field and in ethical practice through clinical service delivery, research and scientific inquiry, teaching and mentorship, leadership, and volunteerism. He is passionate about educating the next generation of psychologists, and shares his wealth of knowledge with others at all levels. He is articulate, creative, and a born leader. He is a visionary who works tirelessly on behalf of others."
Windy González Roberts, Spanish teaching specialist, Division of Humanities, University of Minnesota Morris (UMM), has demonstrated outstanding service for more than 11 years. She is described as an enthusiastic teacher, a lively colleague, and a generous faculty member who is deeply engaged with the broader Morris community. Her outreach activities are extraordinary. She has been instrumental in establishing a dynamic English as a Second Language program for Spanish-speaking adults and a Jane Addams program focused on intercultural dialogue and friendship. The outreach programs she runs enrich the UMM Spanish program tremendously by providing students opportunities for language immersion and intercultural exchange. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the Spanish language student organization Vamos Juntos. Roberts serves on the boards of existing local non-profits and started a non-profit that works to bridge the Latino and broader community. In addition, she is active in campus and University governance. Currently, Roberts serves as a member of the Faculty Development Committee, the Humanities Division Advisory Committee, and the Commission on Women. She also is the founder and organizer of the Multicultural Women's Reading Club. One person wrote, "Many have said that meeting Windy and working with her has changed their lives. I know they are right and am very grateful for all the extraordinary service Windy has provided and continues to provide. Her selfless service makes UMM a better university, one whose mission is not only to teach students how to be responsible global citizens, but also to share the rich and enriching resources our campus can provide to the surrounding communities of Greater Minnesota."
Job Titles:
- Senior Building and Grounds Worker
Yared Tadesse is a senior building and grounds worker in Facilities Management (FM) for the East Bank District, who is pursuing a double major in chemistry and medical technology at the University of Minnesota. His primary responsibilities require him to be adept in the use of equipment and chemicals as well as processes and procedures necessary for maintaining the Twin Cities campus buildings. He is responsible for training and managing employees who are responsible for all custodial activities that occur on the weekend including, opening and securing buildings, ensuring stairs and entrances are free of snow and ice all winter, maintaining public space cleanliness for weekend visitors, as well as organizing the clean up and prep of public spaces and classrooms for Monday mornings. Yared has also contributed tremendously in responding to emergencies on campus such as the flood in Walter Library and the 2007 bomb scare on the East Bank. He is described as an able ambassador who has a calm, confident, poised, and effective communication style. Yared is considered to be a trusted knowledgeable hard worker who has a positive influence on his peers. One person wrote, "This individual has been a large reason why the student experience during the weekend is just as great as during the week. If there is a problem within a building, Yared is one of the first to assist and help where needed. Yared has proven his skills as a leader many times and does his best work when handling a crisis. He is a great peer leader, trouble-shooter, and reliable. He continually works to make the University a pleasant experience for those he encounters and is a great example of being a steward."