Awards
Penn State Intercom......September 21, 2000

College of Health and Human
Development faculty, staff honored

The Alumni Society of the College of Health and Human Development will honor six faculty and staff members for their achievements at its "Faculty and Staff Awards" ceremony.

The event takes place at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, in The Nittany Lion Inn Ballroom on the University Park campus, and is open to the public. Eva Pell, vice president for research and dean of The Graduate School, will be the guest speaker.

Linda M. Duerr, director of the Child Development Laboratory, will receive the Carol Clark Ford Staff Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a staff member who "makes it easier for others to accomplish their objectives effectively and efficiently." The award was endowed by Donald H. Ford, dean emeritus of the former College of Human Development, in honor of his wife, Carol Clark Ford.

Frank M. Ahern, senior research scientist in the Department of Biobehavioral Health and Center for Developmental Health Genetics, will receive the Evelyn R. Saubel Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty members for service to students. Among its criteria are a commitment to human service, accessibility as an adviser and a caring professional style. The award was established in honor of Evelyn Saubel, a longtime assistant to the dean in the former Colleges of Home Economics and Human Development.

Arlene Ellen Hall, associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and special assistant to the CEO for academic affairs at Penn State New Kensington, will be the recipient of The Commonwealth Faculty Achievement Award. The award recognizes a faculty member at one of the extended locations who makes unique contributions to the college and the campus community. This award recognizes excellence in teaching, advising and service.

William E. Buckley, professor of kinesiology and health education, will receive The Dorothy Jones Barnes Teaching Award, which honors a faculty member for excellence in teaching and contributions to the art of teaching. It is supported by an endowment from Dorothy Jones Barnes, a 1944 graduate of home economics, and her husband, William T. Barnes.

The Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award will be awarded to Linda M. Burton, director of the Center for Human Development and Family Research in Diverse Contexts and professor of human development and family studies and sociology. The award recognizes research contributions occurring or culminating within the past several years. The award is endowed by Evan Pattishall, dean emeritus of the former College of Human Development, and his wife, Helen Pattishall, a 1985 individual and family studies graduate.

Leann L. Birch, professor and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, will receive the Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Career Award, which honors a faculty member who has made outstanding research contributions to the field across a major portion of his or her career. The award was endowed by Leo P. Russell, a 1941 industrial engineering graduate, in honor of his late wife, Pauline Schmitt Russell, a 1948 home economics graduate.

In addition, the college's Alumni Society has announced that Elise A. Uhring will be the first recipient of its newly created Faculty/Staff Appreciation Award.

The new award honors individuals who actively promote relationships among students, faculty and alumni. Uhring is the Audiology Clinic coordinator in the Department of Communication Disorders. She is responsible for the administration, supervision and instruction of audiology and speech pathology graduate students in the Speech and Hearing Clinic. She also is an instructor in the department.

She will receive the award during the society's Alumni Awards Reception, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Faculty Staff Club of The Nittany Lion Inn.

College of Communications
presents staff excellence awards

Four members of the College of Communications staff were recently honored with the Deans' Staff Excellence Awards. The 1999-2000 recipients of the awards were: Ron Dunegan, maintenance worker utility for Area 2 of the Office of the Physical Plant; Kevin Leddy, academic adviser in the college's Office of Academic Services; Stephen Reighard, multimedia and computer support specialist for the James Audio Laboratory; and Darlene Sidwell, assistant to the college's director of human resources.

Dunegan, who has been with the University since 1995, has worked in Carnegie Building for just over a year. Doug Anderson, dean of the College of Communications, gave a special recognition to Dunegan, not only for his kindness to members of the college's faculty and staff, but in particular for saving the Carnegie Building from disaster last spring. In March, a fire broke out in the building's kitchen in the middle of the night. Dunegan caught the fire in time to alert the authorities and save the building from being burned.

Leddy was honored for his superior judgment and innovative problem-solving skills in the area of academic advising. An adviser at Penn State since 1986, Leddy coordinates the college's FTCAP program for new students and their families. He is responsible for the Farnsworth Connection, the junior advising initiatives and the sophomore application-to-major process.

Reighard was honored for being "the ultimate team player." As coordinator of the James Audio Lab for nearly three years, he not only oversees the facilities, but also mentors students .

Reighard was recently honored with the 2000 PAB Faculty Fellowship. The four-week fellowship allowed him to mentor students working for WKPS, Penn State's student radio station, while building on his more than 10 years of experience in radio.

Sidwell, who has worked at Penn State for 14 years, was honored for her collegiality, customer service and organizational skills. She is responsible for coordinating faculty and staff searches, human resources transactions, budgetary affairs and benefits orientation. She also assists with promotion and tenure, sabbaticals and other faculty processes.

Director cited for
creativity and innovation

Donald E. Sheffield, director of the Office of Outreach and Diversity Programs, was recognized by Continuing Education with its Creativity and Innovation Award.

Sheffield was recognized for his creativity and innovation in designing and developing successful outreach partnership initiatives, which have generated more than $2 million of funding for Continuing Education since 1990. He serves as assistant to the vice president for Outreach and Cooperative Extension and research associate in the Office of Diversity Outreach Programs. Sheffield also is affiliate professor of education.

During the past year the Penn State Drug Elimination Program, developed and directed by Sheffield to meet the needs of low-income housing residents, served more than 500 children and families. As an innovative, community-based partnership with the Housing Authority of Beaver County and business and industry, this program received an award for Services to Special Populations.

In addition, he was recognized for his leadership and advocacy for innovative teacher education and training which now provides a timely opportunity for Continuing Education to deliver advanced credit courses to elementary and secondary teachers on a statewide level. This initiative is a collaboration among Continuing Education, the College of Education and the Heinz Endowment.

Beaver students
recognize two advisers

Two members of the Penn State Beaver faculty were recently recognized with awards by the Student Government Association for outstanding advising.

John-Paul Mulilis, assistant professor of psychology, was honored with the Outstanding Academic Adviser Award. Mulilis has taught psychology at Penn State Beaver since 1994.

Caroline King Hall, associate professor of English and women's studies, was presented the Outstanding Club Adviser Award by the Student Government Association. Hall serves as the adviser of Penn State Beaver's Literary Magazine. She has taught English literature, composition and women's studies at Penn State Beaver since 1994.

Associate professor
earns excellence award

Pennsylvania College of Technology has honored Kirk M. Cantor, associate professor of plastics and polymer technology, with an Excellence in Teaching Award.

Cantor was selected in part for his Web-based teaching style and multimedia visualization of concepts that are otherwise difficult for students to learn.

Cantor came to the college in 1990 as an instructor, and was promoted to associate professor in 1998.

The award is presented to a full-time faculty member who has been nominated by students and colleagues for excellence in instructional performance.

DuBois names
Penn Stater of the Quarter

Michele Moyer, public information officer at Penn State DuBois, has been named the Penn Stater of the Quarter at the campus.

The honor is awarded to a campus student, faculty or staff member who demonstrates exemplary service to the University. Honorees are nominated and selected by their peers.

Moyer received the honor in recognition of her work to publicize campus news and events and her ongoing efforts to raise public awareness about Penn State DuBois.

Her job responsibilities include conducting a public information program for the campus, researching and writing press releases and managing relationships with diverse media outlets and other external contacts. She also manages development of campus publications, including the quarterly newsletter College Place.