Greensboro College Honors Faculty and Staff for Service in First Recognition Day Ceremony

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greensboro College today presented service awards to members of the faculty and staff and honored employees for their years of service to the college in its first Recognition Day ceremony.

The ceremony consolidates a number of employee awards that were awarded separately in previous years.

Heather Chacón, an assistant professor of English, received the Virginia Clarke Gray Award for junior faculty. Debra Davidson, a professor of education, received the Exemplary Teaching Award of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Chacón, who joined the faculty in 2015, was cited for her interdisciplinary approach to literature and her focus on placing her teaching within historical and cultural contexts.

“She engages students both in and outside of the classroom, sets high standards, encourages them to think critically, and teaches them to write competently,” said Rich Mayes, dean of the faculty, in citing her for the award.

Student citations described Chacón as “organized, knowledgeable, approachable, inclusive, kind, passionate, smart, challenging, understanding, helpful, (and) willing to listen and provide feedback.”

Chacón holds a B.A. in English and Anthropology and an M.A. in English from Ball State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kentucky.

The Gray Award was established in 1994 by Virginia Clarke Gray-Backus ’42 to honor someone who demonstrated qualities that she valued in her professors when she was a student here: excellence in teaching; civility and concern for students and colleagues; commitment to value-centered education; and service to students, the institution, the community, or church.

Only faculty who have taught full-time at a college or university for five years or less are eligible for the Gray Award. The winner is selected from among the nominees from each of the five schools by the Academic Deans Council.

Davidson, who joined the faculty in 1986 and is retiring this year, was cited as “a master teacher who is highly effective in the classroom and well-respected and valued by her students and faculty peers” and for her skill and patience in developing elementary education teachers who are reflective practitioners.

Davidson spends a great deal of time mentoring outside the classroom as well as supervising independent studies for students who need those courses to fulfill graduation or licensure requirements. She teachers not only at the undergraduate level but also in the college’s M.Ed. program and its Piedmont Alternative Licensure program for those entering teaching from other professions.

She also has served the college as a member and chair of a variety of committees and task forces. She also has been active in the community in state and local literacy organizations and has led professional workshops.

Davidson holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Appalachian State University, an M.S. in Special Education and Reading from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Ph.D. in Adult Education, from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

The Exemplary Teaching Award of the GBHEM is presented annually to a full-time faculty member who demonstrates excellence in teaching, civility and concern for students and colleagues; commitment to value-centered education; and service to students, the institution, the community or church. The recipient is chosen from among nominees from each of the five schools by the most recent three award recipients who are still on campus.

Two staff members received the Ann P. Lojko Distinguished Staff Award: Anna Marie Rogers, executive assistant to the chief academic officer, in the category of employees who have been with the college less than five years, and Calvin Gilmore, director of campus safety and security, in the category of employees who have been with the college more than five years.

Rogers joined the staff in 2015. Gilmore joined the staff in 1982. This was his second Lojko Award.

Lojko Award winners are nominated and voted on by their peers.

The annual awards have been endowed by Jean Lojko, professor of physical education. They are named for her mother, the late Ann P. Lojko, who retired from the college staff in 1989, in honor of her 24 years of service and a family legacy of employment at Greensboro College — Jean Lojko, her sister and her two brothers all worked at summer jobs at the college while they were in high school and college.

The awards were established in 2010 to recognize staff members “who demonstrate an excellence in their work, routinely go above and beyond that which might be considered normal, work to find ways to improve the institution, and demonstrate dedicated service to students, the institution, the larger community or the church.”

Ashley Hyers, assistant professor of theatre and dance, received the Student Advocate Award. This award is given annually to a faculty or staff member outside of the Student Development staff who has displayed earnest and intentional development of Greensboro College students through his or her mentoring, dedication, and support of the mission of Student Development and Greensboro College.

Nominations are solicited from SGA and Student Development staff and voted on by the Student Development staff.

Hyers, who had been an adjunct faculty member since 1997, joined the full-time faculty in 2016. She holds a B.S. from Wofford College and an M.Ed. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Those honored for years of service, including both college employees and employees of the college’s dining and maintenance partners, were:

Five years:

Jenna Avent, director of First Year Experience
Ray Babnik, head athletic trainer
Larry Burton, assistant vice president for information technology
Anna Carter, instructor of kinesiology
Merilee Chesney, instructor of education
Say Pah Eh, SSC Serv
Michael Foderaro, head men’s lacrosse coach
Sonia Hoffman, director of human resources
Emily Holmes, director of counseling services
Alfred Kraemer, instructor of English, Communication & Media Studies
Travis Mickey, registrar and director of assessment
Jena Miller, athletics senior woman administrator and director of compliance
James O’Gara, instructor of music
Will Ritter, director of the library and of the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

10 years:

Lisa Amani, instructor of kinesiology
Terry Burgin, instructor of English, Communication & Media Studies
Andrew Graham, instructor of kinesiology
Tony Robinson, security officer

15 years:

Susie Connelly, professor of education
Dan Malotky, Lucy H. Robertson Professor of Religion and Philosophy, chair of the Department of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, and dean of the School of Humanities
Karl Kassner, instructor of music
Stephen Ware, instructor of music

20 years:

Jon Brotherton, professor of music
Angel Coble, SSC Serv
Lisa Gunther, adjunct professor of psychology
Kathleen Keating, professor and chair, Department of English, Communication & Media Studies
Keith Marsden, instructor of religion
Adam Pennell, professor of mathematics
Lester Westbrook, security officer

25 years:

Cliff Craven, SSC Serv
Ray Kimber, SSC Serv
Gregg Vandegrift, SSC Serv

30 years:

Becky Blomgren, professor and chair, Department of Education and dean, School of Social Sciences and Education
Jane McKinney, professor and chair, Department of Music

The college also honored faculty and staff members who will retire this spring. They are:

Victoria Clegg, administrative assistant, George Center for Honors Studies
Mike Crombie, assistant professor of business
Debra Davidson, professor of education
Keith Marsden, instructor of religion
Robin Robertson, assistant registrar
Dan Seaman, instructor of theatre

Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and, spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.

Founded in 1838 and located in downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia, and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and six master’s degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 17-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.greensboro.edu.

Think critically. Act justly. Live faithfully.

###

Media Contact:
Lex Alexander, Director of Communications
lex.alexander@greensboro.edu

Greensboro College
815 W. Market St.
Greensboro, NC 27401
336-272-7102, ext. 5398
Cell: 336-707-6617
www.greensboro.edu

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreensboroCollege
Twitter: @GCPride
Instagram: www.instagram.com/greensborocollege