College of Education and Health Professions to Honor Faculty, Staff Members

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The College of Education and Health Professions will honor faculty and staff members chosen to receive awards for advising, teaching, research and service at a meeting Friday, April 30, on the University of Arkansas campus.

"The people in this college are incredible," said Tom Smith, dean of the college. "We would not be able to offer well-prepared professionals in education, health and human services without the talented and dedicated faculty and staff members we have. I'm sorry we can't recognize them all for their effort and energy, but these awards help us to remember it is the people who come to work every day and put the students-first philosophy into practice that makes the College of Education and Health Professions great."

Photographs of the award winners are available for viewing and download along with additional information about the winners at the Colleague news site.

The faculty winners for the 2009-10 academic year:

• Kathleen Barta, innovative teaching. Barta, an associate professor of nursing, was awarded funding in 2007 by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Education for a proposal to infuse diversity into curriculum. She created an interdisciplinary course titled "Minority Health Disparities" to examine the trends in minority health disparities along with barriers to effective care and to examine models of culturally competent care. Her students perform service and conduct research as part of the course. They present results at an annual research conference co-sponsored by the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing and an annual conference on health disparities co-sponsored by the college. Read more.

• George Denny and Gary Ritter, significant research. Denny, a professor of educational statistics and research methods, collaborated with Ritter, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, on the lead article in the spring 2009 edition of Review of Educational Research, a publication of the American Educational Research Association. This journal is the most frequently cited journal in education and is included by U.S. News & World Report in its research rankings for colleges of education. The meta-analysis found that volunteer tutoring had a positive effect on student achievement, particularly in literacy. Both professors have published extensively in their fields. Read more about Denny and Ritter.

• Carleton Holt, outstanding advising. An associate professor of educational leadership, Holt advised 154 graduate students in 2009, spending 10 to 12 hours advising students in a typical week. New state licensure requirements for educational administrators demand that an adviser carefully review each student's prior courses and field experience placements. Holt also chaired 19 dissertation committees and supervised 12 culminating portfolios for licensure. Read more.

• LaVonne Kirkpatrick, superior service. An assistant professor of elementary education, Kirkpatrick helped develop the college's five-year Master of Arts in Teaching program and later the four-year, off-campus licensure program and served as coordinator of the childhood education program for many years. She has served her department as a portfolio evaluator, admissions interviewer and scholarship committee member. She advises 30 undergraduate students and 10 graduate students each year. She serves as president of the Arkansas chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society for Women Educators. Read more.

• Ketevan "Kate" Mamiseishvili, rising STAR (service, teaching, advising and research) award given to the outstanding all-around new faculty member. Mamiseishvili, an assistant professor of higher education, published four refereed articles in highly respected journals about her research examining the work roles and productivity of foreign-born faculty in the United States. She presented findings of her research at all three major national conferences in her field and received national recognition in both the Chronicle of Higher Education and as the Association for Institutional Research Forum Chair's pick. Students rate her classes highly, and she strives to be an advocate for international students. She serves as managing editor of the Journal About Women in Higher Education published by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and as a grant proposal reviewer for the National Science Foundation. Read more.

• Marianne Neighbors, faculty career award. Neighbors, a professor of nursing, joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas in 1972. Her close contacts throughout the nursing community in northwest Arkansas enhance the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing's ability to place students in diverse, high-quality clinical settings. Other faculty members emulate her effective teaching style, and she mentors them as well as her students and other professionals. She serves as co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and has spearheaded conferences to advance the education of school nurses. She has published four texts adopted in many nursing programs. Read more.

• Gretchen Oliver, rising STAR (service, teaching, advising and research) award given to the outstanding all-around new faculty member. Oliver, an assistant professor of kinesiology, produced 30 research presentations at state, regional, national and international conferences with the majority focusing on biomechanics of baseball and softball pitching and injury prevention mechanisms. She published three peer-reviewed journal articles and had nine additional manuscripts accepted for publication. She also received several grants for her research. She supervised 26 graduate athletic training education students at their clinical sites, and she received consistently high evaluations from students. She served in leadership roles in several professional organizations and also served on several college and university committees. Read more.

• John Pijanowski, STAR (service, teaching, advising and research) award given to the outstanding all-around faculty member. Pijanowski, an assistant professor of educational leadership, developed five new courses, designed 10 courses for online delivery and served on 28 doctoral advisory committees and 25 dissertation committees. He wrote a book, Professional Responsibility and Ethics for Educators, due out this summer. His primary research interest is in ethics and school finance, and in the past year he published seven peer-reviewed articles and presented three papers at national conferences. He also served as founding co-editor of Research and Policy Briefs for School Leaders, distributing four issues throughout the state. Read more.

The college will also recognize winners of classified staff awards presented by the Professional/Personal Enhancement Committee:

• Denise Bignar, service to students, fall semester. A full-time employee of the college since July 2006, Bignar works as an administrative specialist in the Office of Academic Affairs. She is responsible for clearing majors, minors and designative honors for student graduation. She processes petitions and independent study applications for students. She is responsible for the verification of courses each term for athletic and veteran certification, as well as for degree completion progress. She maintains databases of student information for the college's Honors Program and maintains the annual undergraduate college catalog copy. In addition, she serves on the College PEP Committee for staff development opportunities. She completed a bachelor's degree in human resource development last fall and is working on a Master of Education in higher education.

• Virginia Hill, service to faculty and staff, spring semester. Hill serves as office manager of the Speech and Hearing Clinic. Hill has worked in office management for more than 35 years and has been at the university since August 2001. She opens and closes the clinic, monitors and orders testing materials and clinic supplies while maintaining files on all faculty and clinic expenditures and performs other general office duties. She creates and maintains files for both students and clients of the clinic. In addition to clinic duties, she is the administrative support for faculty in this position, teaching both graduate and undergraduate students in how to use the main office such as working with client files, checking out clinical materials, documentation of patient contacts and billing and communication.

• Griffin McKnight, service to students, spring semester. An accountant in the intramural and recreational sports department since May 2009, McKnight has worked 15 years at the University of Arkansas. She is responsible for the accounting and travel needs of 34 sport clubs and also does the accounting for the Outdoor Connection Center. She is a graduate of the university with a bachelor's degree in political science.

• Nina Mitchell Taylor, service to staff, fall semester. Taylor works as an administrative specialist at the Center for the Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources for Education, Networking, Training and Service in Hot Springs, an outreach center based in the college. It serves the five-state region of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Mitchell began working at the center in April 2006. She assists the director and the office manager. She brought organizational and support skills to the position from 25 years in the railroad industry and five years with a nonprofit organization.

• Gailda Page, overall performance to faculty, staff and students, spring semester. Page was an administrative secretary in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing until she died March 6. She worked in the nursing school since October 2007 and had previously worked in the nursing school from October 1998 through July 2005. She was described as the go-to person for faculty members and a person who made students feel comfortable during their first days in the nursing program.

• Betsy Parsons, overall performance to faculty, staff and students, fall semester. Parsons works as an administrative specialist in the department of health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance. She began working for the department in February 2008. Her duties include acting as receptionist, assisting students and providing clerical support for the department's faculty members. She also maintains departmental undergraduate and graduate student records. Before coming to work at the university, she worked in customer service in the insurance industry.

Service awards will be presented to both faculty and staff members:

• Gary Ritter, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in Education Policy, 10 years

• Susan Lamp, project/program specialist for the office of Early Care and Education Projects, 10 years

• Phil Gerke, coordinator of the Undergraduate HRD Student Center, 10 years

• Jeff Bonacci, program director of the athletic training education program and clinical assistant professor, 10 years

• Felicia Lincoln, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, 10 years

• Carol O'Connor, assistant to department head of curriculum and instruction, 10 years

• Joyce Patrick, administrative support supervisor in the department of health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance, 10 years

• Carrie Whitmer, accountant for the college, 20 years

• Sherrie Starkey, coordinator of personnel services for the college, 20 years

• Sharon Hunt, head of the department of health science, kinesiology, recreation and dance, 20 years

• Mary Ann Toner, associate professor of communication disorders, 20 years

• Carol Agana, clinical instructor of nursing, 30 years

• Jack De Vore, associate professor of workforce development, 40 years.