Colorado State University Pueblo Recognizes Work of Faculty and Staff

Colorado State University Pueblo hosted the annual faculty/staff recognition luncheon virtually on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to commemorate the work of employees during the 2019-2020 academic year. This year’s lunch was provided as a drive-thru. Faculty and staff picked up their meals then returned to their home or office and joined a lunchtime Zoom presentation to enjoy the awards presentation that normally occurs in the Occhiato Student Center ballroom.

Awards included Outstanding Professional Employee, Outstanding Classified Employee, Outstanding Team, University Service, New Retirees, university awards for Faculty Excellence and Outstanding Faculty.Associated Students’ Government (ASG) presented the Students’ Choice Awards.

Outstanding Professional Employees

Vice President of Enrollment Management, Communication and Student Affairs, Chrissy Holliday presented the outstanding professional employee award. Michael Lowe, business manager of Residence Life and Housing won the award for the 2019-2020 academic year for his outstanding work. Nominees included the following individuals.

• Royce Cappis, assistant director of facilities, Facilities Management
• Craig Cason, associate vice president, Facilities Management
• Marisa Gonzales, field coordinator, Social Work
• Jenna Mangino, station manager, Rev89
• Dr. Jeff Piquette, associate dean, Teacher Education Program
• Haley Sue Robinson, director of communications and public information office, Marketing Communication and Community Relations
• Jackie Wallgren, deputy director of athletics/senior woman administrator, Department of Athletics
• Robin Young, Fort Carson site coordinator, TRiO Education Opportunity Center.

Outstanding Classified Employees

Vice President of Finance and Administration, Alejandro Rojas Sosa presented the outstanding classified employee award. Lori Lucero, administrative assistant II, Social Work won the Outstanding Classified Employee for the 2019-2020 academic year. The following individuals were included as nominees.

• Wanda Bustos, custodian I, Custodial
• Denis Cordova, administrative assistant III, Physical Plant
• Lynette Leachman, administrative assistant III, School of Nursing
• Lori Lucero, administrative assistant II, Social Work
• Mike Riggio, ground and nursery II, Maintenance Grounds
• David Sanchez, custodian I, Custodial
• Cathy Walkup, Administrative Assistant II, Human Resources

Outstanding Team Award

The TRiO team won the Outstanding Team award for the 2019-2020 academic year. TRiO includes the five federally funded programs to provide college access and success opportunities to adults and high school students, which are intended specifically for first-generation students, active military and students with disabilities.

Nominations for this award also included Grounds Department with Physical Plant and Team Cannabis Biology and Chemistry.

Associated Students’ Government Students’ Choice Awards

Hanna Douglass, president of ASG and Jair Flores, vice president of ASG presented the awards nominated by CSU Pueblo students.

Heidi Reynolds-Stenson, assistant professor of sociology/anthropology and Ebisa Wollega, assistant professor of engineering were both honored by CSU Pueblo’s Associate Students’ Government.

Faculty Awards for Excellence

CSU Pueblo recognizes faculty excellence in the areas of teaching, scholarly creative activity, service, advising/mentoring, non-tenure track faculty, and adjunct faculty. Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Mohamed Abdelrahman presented the faculty awards. Department chairpersons are eligible but academic administrators such as deans, provost and directors are not.The following are the award winners for the faculty awards for excellence.

• Alegria Ribadeneira, professor in English/World Languages, received the Excellence in Teaching/Student Learning Award.
• Juan Morales, professor and department chair, English/World Languages, received the Excellence in Scholarship/Creative Activity Award.
• Carol Foust, associate dean of health sciences, received the Excellence in Advising/Mentoring Award.
• Steve McClaran, professor in Exercise Science, Physical Education and Recreation received the Excellence in Service Award.
• Colleen Conroy, lecturer in Exercise Science, Physical Education and Recreation received the Excellence in Non-Tenure Track Teaching Award.
• Lynne Procell, adjunct faculty member in the School of Nursing received the Excellence in Adjunct Teaching Award.

Outstanding Faculty Awards

These awards honor one faculty member in each college for their contributions to CSU Pueblo and the way they successfully balance the teaching, research and service components. The following faculty members received this award in each of the colleges.

• Neb Jaksic, professor of engineering in the College of Engineering, Education and Professional Studies.
• Judy Gaughan, associate professor of history and philosophy in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
• Aun Hassan, associate professor of economics in the Hasan School of Business
• Jonathan Velasco, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Science and Mathematics
• Betsy Schippers, assistant professor of library services, in the University Library.

In addition to the staff and faculty recognition awards, CSU Pueblo recognizes the employees with multiple years of service to the university with the University Service Awards.

Five Years of Service

Robin Arwood, Dana Ausbun, Daniel Bowen, Monica Gallegos, Daniel Hernandez, Carol Langer, Dax Larson, Carol Larson, Sarah Lawson, Matthew Lobato, Jennifer Martin White, Chad Pickering, Noelle San Souci, Kathryn Starkey, Theresa Stevens, Jacquelin Stroud, Melissa Swope all celebrated five years of service to the university.

Ten Years of Service

Gena Alfonso, Leonardo Bedoya Valencia, Kynna Boughton, Jeanine Cordova, Yaneth Correa Martinez, William Folkestad, Oscar French, Steven Gonzales, Aun Hassan, Jeromy Hayden, Benjamin Johnson, Josh Koschke, Richard Kreminski, Karen Marley, Melissa Marquez, Joseph Martinez, Leroy Plancencio, Pamela Richmond, William Sargeant, Cindy Sufian and Kimberly Wharton each celebrated 10 years of service to the university.

Fifteen Years of Service

James Carsella, Mattew Decesaro, Diane Eickelman, Annette Gabaldon, Jeanne Gibson, Sylvester Kalevela, Frank Milavec, Shelly Moreschini, Eric Rincon, Leticia Steffen, Tony Trujillo and Brian Vandenheuvel all celebrated 15 years of service to the University.

Twenty Years of Service

EJ Armijo, Rhonda Gonzales, James Hawthorne, Irene Macias, Timothy Peters, Jonathan Rees and Cathi Robbe celebrated 20 years of service to the University.

Twenty-five Years of Service

Collette Carter, Jude DePalma, Ruth DePalma, Kevin Duncan, Lisa Martin, Christina Smith and Veronica Trujillo each celebrated 25 years of service to the University.

Thirty Years of Service

Royce Cappis, James Louisell and Kristine Proctor celebrated 30 years of service to the University.

Thirty-Five Years of Service

Mel Druelinger celebrated 35 years of service to the University.

Retirees of the 2019-2020 academic year included Beverly Allen, Maya Avina, Adrianne Bremer, Stephanie Carter, Leah Cerankowski, Dennis Dalton, Al Eberhardt, Jane Fraser, Barbara Hadley, Allen Hedrick, Mary Ann Henrich, Greg Hoeck, Elizabeth Huff, Steve McClaran, Sandy Obrin, Maureen O’Keefe, Duane Pickering, Hailu Regassa, Mario Rodriguez, Rudy Salazar, Stan Sanchez, Janice Smallwood, Karl Spiecker, Louis Vasquez, Frank Zizza.