CSU-Pueblo honors outstanding faculty and staff at luncheon

PUEBLO - Outstanding faculty and staff leaders at Colorado State University-Pueblo were honored at a recognition luncheon held on Wednesday, April 22. External Programs Manager Patty Milner was recognized as the 2015 Outstanding Professional Employee, while IT Professional David Bartolo was named the Outstanding Classified Employee. David Dillon, assistant professor of chemistry, earned the top faculty honor for Faculty Excellence in Teaching. The Admissions Team and the CSU-Pueblo Football Coaches earned Outstanding Team Awards.

Also honored at the luncheon were recent retirees of the University and individuals who achieved a service milestone for employment during the past academic year from five to 30 years. A moment of silence also was observed for staff members who died within the last academic year. Bev Moore was honored by the University Retirees Association of Pueblo for her efforts on behalf of the organization.

Outstanding Professional Staff

Patty Milner, External Programs Manager in Extended Studies earned the 2015 Outstanding Professional Staff Award for her participation in University activities, involvement in local events and committees, and her positive outlook on all aspects of life. Nominators say Milner does not shy away from a challenge. The University's concurrent enrollment program, which works with the local high schools, has doubled in size since Extended Studies took over coordination a year ago. Patty will be stepping up to help oversee the Colo. Springs Tower Location as well as the Fort Carson Office and true to form, she has already began to research possible options for testing pilot programs as well as analyzing the existing programs to find out how to best meet the needs of our students in Colorado Springs. While working for CSU-Pueblo, she earned her doctorate and has become a leading authority on the field of policies and regulations in distance higher education policy. She was elected to the board of Pueblo City Schools and on campus sits on the Administrative Professional Executive Council, Equity Study Committee and University Budget Board.

Outstanding Classified Staff

The Outstanding Classified Employees were selected from among 9 nominees by a panel of community leaders: Midori Clark, director of community relations and development Pueblo City-County Library District; Doris Kester, executive director, Southern Colorado Community Foundation; Roger Stubenrouch, former director of Continuing Education at CSU-Pueblo.

The Outstanding Classified Employee for 2015 is David Bartolo, IT Professional in Information Technology Services, for his skills as a troubleshooter and problem solver. Nominators said Bartolo manages to keep the campus AIS and Kuali systems running on a daily basis all while keeping his sense of humor. In the last year, he was involved in the major transition to the Kuali Financial System and made drastic changes to the Early Alert System following a recommendation from our retention consultant. Described as a kind and gentle soul, Bartolo has been providing the ultimate in customer service to colleagues across campus for nearly two decades. One example of his creative problem solving was the creation of a series of fake student accounts for use in training videos that were developed for faculty advisors, so the records of "real" students wouldn't have to be compromised.

Students' Choice Awards

Representatives from Associated Students' Government, announced the recipients of the Students' Choice Awards. ASG accepted nominations by students for a faculty and staff member they felt contributed the most to their experiences at CSU-Pueblo. Student Engagement and Leadership Director Gena Alfonso earned the top staff honors, while Krista Bridgmon, associate professor of psychology, was the students' choice as the top faculty member.

Faculty Awards

Nominators of David Dillon, professor of chemistry or the Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching, say that students always come first for Dr. Dillon. While Organic Chemistry may strike fear in the minds of many students, he has made significant contributions to their success in this traditionally difficult subject. His effectiveness as an instructor is not solely reflected in his high student evaluations, but also in student performance on the American Chemical Society exams for Organic Chemistry, on which his classes have routinely scored above the national average. In 2014, he co-authored a book chapter outlining the pedagogy that has resulted in this success.

The recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award for Service brings positive attention to CSU-Pueblo through his many community activities, particularly as director of the Thomas V. Healy Center for Business and Economic Research and Services. Mike Wakefield, professor of management in the Hasan School of Business, has become an economic engine that is making a difference in Pueblo and the region. Recent projects through the Healy Center have included a real estate survey of the downtown area, economic analysis of the impact of arts and music on the region's economy as well as a survey instrument to evaluate repair and replacement of sidewalks. The Pueblo Entrepreneurship Competition partnership with Junior Achievement has produced investment offers to several budding businesses. He also serves campus in many ways as the faculty advisor to the Enactus Club, and member of the Experiential Education Steering Committee, Performance Review Committee, CAP Board, and Graduate Studies Committee.

The 2015 awards for Faculty Excellence in Scholarship/Creative Activity went to two individuals, Brad Gilbreath and Claire Ramos. In just two years at the University, Ramos has been a role model for the CSM faculty for producing quality scholarly work while engaging our students. She has been published in 9 peer-reviewed publications and her research on the effects of pollution on birdsong has been featured in popular publications like the New York Times, Environmental Health News, and the Wildlife Professional. Her commitment to undergraduate research is impressive, reflected by the fact that four of the 9 publications have had undergraduate co-authors. She also has presented at six invited meetings at regional, national, and international meetings all while teaching a full course load.

Gilbreath's scholarly activity -- on supervisor behavior, employee well-being, person-environment fit and other areas in management -- has had a significant impact in his field as measured by the number of citations during his professional career. In the last three years alone, his work has been cited 166 times in different journals. Three nomination letters came from international educators describing how he has been unafraid to shed light on neglected but important organizational behavior questions. He has been published in prestigious journals with low acceptance rates such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Work and Stress, and the Harvard Business Review. His publication record, intellectual leadership on research projects, record of successful grant applications constitute tangible indicators of his scholarship accomplishments, contributions to the professional community, and his standing in the profession.

The award for Faculty Excellence in Advising/Mentoring was presented to Sam Lovato, associate professor in Mass Communications and the Center for New Media, who demonstrates an ongoing commitment to student success in the classroom as well as in their professional careers. As faculty advisor to the campus radio station since 2003, Rev 89, according to one nominator, no one in the 50-year history of the department can claim to have done more to advance the "excellence, brand, and importance of the radio station" than Lovato. Rev 89 beat out 471 other college stations to win the 2014 Signature Station Award from the Broadcast Education Association, the group's highest honor. Lovato also is the lead advisor for CHASS and has helped shape CSU-Pueblo's advising policy, pioneering new and expanded use of technology and tactics which have advanced the culture and quality of advising at the University level.

The following faculty members were honored as the top faculty member(s) in their respective colleges for the 2013-14 academic year:

College of Education, Engineering, and Professionals Studies

Tyrell Smith, Assistant Professor, Automotive Industry Management

College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Leticia Steffen, Associate Professor, Mass Communications and Center for New Media

Hasan School of Business

Dr. Steven Norman, Associate Professor, Management

College of Science and Mathematics

Dr. Matthew Cranswick, Assistant Professor, Chemistry

University Library

Kevin Seeber, Assistant Professor, Library Services

Outstanding Team Award

The Outstanding Team Award was presented to the Admissions team and CSU-Pueblo Football Coaches. The Admissions staff has undergone major restructuring and new leadership in the past year, while working hard to both attract and process files for a much higher number of applicants, thanks to team work and the new Royall partnership. As of March 20, the team had received more than 9,220 Fall 2015 freshman applications - almost 4,000 more than received at this time last year, and already 2,300+ more than the total received for the entire Fall 2014 cycle. In order to achieve these results, the processors voluntarily worked early mornings, nights, and weekends to ensure our applicants are served in a timely manner. The recruiters have increased the size of their recruiting territories, still dedicated to outstanding customer service. To meet the team's goals for customer service and responsiveness, a number of new processes were developed, and more are underway. Team members included: Connie Armenta - Admissions Processor, Ariann Billings - Admissions Assistant, Carmela Bueno - Admissions Processor, Scott Brick - Admissions Processor, Joey Donaghy - Admissions Counselor, Sherrea Elliott - Admissions Counselor, Chrissy Holliday - Director, Tiffany Kingrey - Assistant Director, Shayla Margison - Administrative Assistant, Jon Valdez - Office Manager/Assistant to the VP for Enrollment Management, Lois Vasquez - EMAS Administrator, Lisa Vigil - Admissions Counselor.

The CSU-Pueblo Football Coaches brought major publicity to the University by working together for a common goal, unifying a group of 130+student athletes to strive for one goal, and achieving that goal on December 20, 2014 by bringing the University its first National Football Championship. In additional to national visibility, this feat has contributed to the increased application numbers and has brought the entire community of Pueblo together. They easily put in 80-90 hour work weeks from August through December, then take to the road for recruiting to start all over again. Nominators called them role models "who don't not just create championship teams, but also outstanding citizens who are tremendous ambassadors for this University, on and off the field." Team members included: John Wristen - Head Coach, Hunter Hughes - Defensive Coordinator, Donnell Leomiti - Secondary Coach, Craig Ward - Defensive Line Coach, Jake Novotny - Defensive Assistant Coach, Bernard Jackson - Wide Receivers Coach, and Carl Fetters - Outside Linebackers Coach.

Service Awards

Ten individuals received special notice for the longevity of their service to the University: Royce Cappis, James Louisell, William Poelman, Kristina Proctor, Hailu Regassa, Kathleen Shisler, Cynthia Taylor for 25 years; and Melvin Druelinger, Kimberly Hunter, and Carl Melin for 30 years.

Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.