UMKC Community Recognizes its Own

Photos by Janet Rogers, Division of Strategic Marketing and Communications

The UMKC community presented 21 awards to its members recently at the annual faculty-staff award program, but one of those awards is a bit of a misnomer.

Rosa Nunez, Academic Advisor in the College of Arts & Sciences, received the Chancellor’s True Unsung Hero Award. The whole point of the “Celebrating Excellence” award program, however, is to make sure that no heroes go unsung – that the special contributions of UMKC faculty and staff are recognized and appreciated.

“One of the biggest questions in life is, is anyone paying attention?” Chancellor Leo E. Morton said in his opening remarks. “With this program, we are saying, we recognize what you are doing, we care, and we appreciate what you are doing … we see what you do, and we know what you do.”

Mary Lou Fritts, Chief Information Officer, filled in as program host for Provost Gail Hackett, who was traveling. “We began ‘Celebrating Excellence’ four years ago as an annual tradition for recognizing the exceptional achievements of our UMKC faculty and staff,” she said. The goal is “to honor and to fully appreciate the extraordinary work and talent that our university community offers our students and the greater community.”

“Our awardees today – and all the nominees – set the mark for achievement at our university,” she added. “They reflect not only the exceptional research, teaching and service that take place each day, but they also point the way toward the individual and institutional goals we’ve set for ourselves.”

The awards presented included:

Human Resources Campus Collaboration Staff Award, recognizing sustained contributions and a commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity at UMKC, signaling the university’s commitment to diversity as a core value, as well as an enterprise which benefits the entire campus: Traci Parker-Gray, Manager of Diversity and Outreach, School of Pharmacy.

Student Affairs Student Mentor Staff Award, recognizing a UMKC Staff Member who has made significant contributions to higher education through exceptional student mentoring: Liz Barton, Student Services Coordinator, Dean’s Office, College of Arts & Sciences.

Chancellor’s Education First Staff Award, recognizing a UMKC staff member who has made significant contributions to higher education through exceptional service, as consistently demonstrated throughout their work performance: Tammy Woods, Certified Dental Assistant, School of Dentistry.

Chancellor’s True Unsung Hero Award, recognizing behind-the-scenes staff members who go above and beyond the call of duty to improve the UMKC experience for students, co-workers, faculty and/or constituents: Rosa Nunez, Academic Advisor, College of Arts & Sciences.

Staff Council Dedication Award, recognizing a UMKC Staff Council member who consistently participates in Staff Council activities above and beyond the call of duty and exceptionally and consistently demonstrates dedication to making UMKC the workplace of choice for all staff: Amy Brost, Department of History, College of Arts & Sciences.

UMKC Alumni Association – Elmer F. Pierson Outstanding Teaching Awards, recognizing outstanding faculty members in each of the Schools of Law, Dentistry, Medicine and Management. The awards reflect UMKC’s philosophy that its reputation, and the success of its students, depends on the quality of its faculty; and that meaningful recognition of faculty excellence encourages superior teaching and research at UMKC.

• School of Law: Jeffrey Berman, Associate Dean and Professor
• School of Dentistry: Ronald Riley, Assistant Clinical Professor
• School of Medicine: James M. Wooten, Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacology
• Bloch School of Management: Leigh Salzsieder, Assistant Professor, Department of Accountancy

Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, recognizing teaching excellence among UMKC non-tenured faculty: Wanda Temm, Clinical Professor, School of Law.

Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring, recognizing a UMKC graduate faculty advisor with a long-established career at the University who has made significant contributions to higher education through exceptional mentoring: Johanna Nilsson, Associate Professor, Division of Counseling and Educational Psychology, School of Education.

Chancellor’s Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching, recognizing UMKC assistant professors who have achieved excellence in teaching early in their professional careers: Dr. Kun Cheng, Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy.

Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, recognizing teaching excellence among UMKC clinical and teaching faculty: Simon H. Friedman, Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy.

Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, given to an outstanding faculty member from each participating higher education institution in the state. It honors the recipient’s effective teaching and advising, service to the community, commitment to high standards of excellence and success in nurturing student achievement: Stephen John Dilks, Professor, Department of English, College of Arts & Sciences.

N.T. Veatch Award for Distinguished Research and Creativity, recognizing distinguished research and other scholarly or creative activity achieved by UMKC faculty: Dr. Peter Koulen, Professor and Felix and Carmen Sabates Missouri Endowed Chair in Vision Research, School of Medicine.

Trustees Faculty Fellowship Award, recognizing outstanding faculty who have distinguished themselves through scholarship and creativity, and whose research is known nationally and internationally: Dr. Delwyn Catley, Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences.

Trustees Faculty Scholar Award, recognizing faculty members who show exceptional promise for outstanding future research and/or creative accomplishments: Dr. Kun Cheng, Assistant Professor, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy.

Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Community Engagement, recognizing faculty, staff, units and campus organizations that have made engagement with the community a central aspect of their approach to student learning and scholarship: Katie Kline, Lecturer, English Language and Literature, College of Arts & Sciences.

Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Diversity, recognizing sustained contributions and an active commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity at UMKC, signaling the university’s commitment to diversity as a core value as well as an enterprise which benefits the entire campus:

• Fu Zhuo, Librarian III, Research and Instruction, University Libraries
• School of Nursing and Health Studies

Chancellor’s Award for Career Contributions to the University, recognizing a person who has made significant contributions to higher education at UMKC over the course of his or her career and has significantly enhanced the mission of the University: Ronald  MacQuarrie, Professor Emeritus, School of Biological Sciences.