Recognizing Excellence

Thirteen faculty and staff members were recognized for their exceptional contributions to the university and the community during Wednesday’s 2005-06 Faculty/Staff Kickoff.

Awards were presented for innovative teaching, outstanding work by staff members, and outstanding community service efforts. In addition, the first-ever Gordon Clark Ramsey Awards for Creative Excellence were presented to two adjunct faculty members.

See photos of some of the award winners at the kickoff.

Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Pedagogy
This award, formerly known as the “Outstanding Teacher Award,” recognizes recent and specific achievements in pedagogy. This year’s winners are:

• James Highland, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences
  Highland has developed an innovative teaching tool, which he calls the “driver’s seat assignment,” that gives students responsibility for initiating and contributing to thoughtful class discussions of assigned readings.



• Robert Logan, Associate Professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences
  In Logan’s Shakespeare Scene Festival course, a “company” of students presents a 20- to 30-minute version of a play they have been studying, enabling them to experience the Shakespeare drama as a true theatrical venture.



• Jeremiah Patterson, Assistant Professor of Drawing, Hartford Art School
  Patterson’s study-in-Sicily course, “Travel and Art: The Painted Sketch,” gives students a rich, inventive, once-in-a-lifetime learning experience. After being immersed in Italian language and culture and spending 10 days in Sicily, students develop their artistic notations into a full body of finished work that is exhibited in the Silpe Gallery.



• Teresa Stores, Assistant Professor of English, College of Arts and Sciences
  Stores builds bridges that link her classroom lessons to real-world experiences. For example, students in her “Literature for the Adolescent Reader” course act as tutors and facilitators with youngsters in the university’s Educational Main Street partner schools.

Gordon Clark Ramsey Awards For Creative Excellence
This new award for adjunct and part-time faculty was created upon Ramsey’s retirement last fall, after 18 years as Secretary to the Faculty Senate. Ramsey has always been a strong advocate of efforts to enhance the status of, and provide opportunities for, adjunct faculty, and he has been an adjunct instructor himself since 1985. The first two winners of the award are:

• Janell Carroll, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
  Carroll received the Ramsey Award for sustained creativity. She teaches a variety of courses, including Human Sexual Behavior, Psychology of Gender, and Psychology of Parenting, and she is the author of Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity.



• Richard Kolk, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture
  Kolk received the Ramsey Award for combining research into classroom teaching. A senior staff engineer in controls and simulation at United Technologies’ Carrier Corporation, Kolk has taught at the university for 21 years, and he regularly transfers the innovative techniques that he develops at UTC to the classroom. He is co-author, with Dean of Research Devdas Shetty, of the textbook, Mechatronics System Design.

Outstanding Staff Member Awards
The Outstanding Staff Member Awards recognize individuals who demonstrate exceptional dedication to the University of Hartford and who play a critical role in the success of this institution and its students. This year’s winners are:

• Louise Melanson, Finance Coordinator, Educational Main Street, College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions
  Melanson is a highly dedicated and valued member of the Educational Main Street team. She meticulously oversees the approximately 20 grants made to EMS, and also helps organize special events and office projects. Her contributions are not limited to EMS, as she is always eager to provide assistance wherever it is needed.



• Patricia O’Donovan, Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Provost/Dean of Graduate Studies, Office of the Provost
  O’Donovan is always helpful and quick to provide information and assistance. She handles delicate issues sensitively and addresses complex problems effectively. In addition, she expertly coordinates the many events that the assistant provost’s office hosts throughout the year.



• Edmundo Silva, Locksmith, Office of Facilities Services
  The lock shop is often contacted for assistance after hours and on weekends — and Silva is known for the speed with which he responds to those calls, and for his ready offers of assistance. Throughout his nearly 25 years at the university, Silva has earned a reputation for attention to detail and professional expertise that goes well beyond expectations.



• Bonny Stoecklin, Office Coordinator, Office of Career Services
  Stoecklin manages an office that juggles a client load of 7,200 visits each year from students and alumni. She sees to it that events are planned, projects overseen, conflicts resolved, student employees trained, and budgets stretched. She also serves as membership director for the Staff Association, and she volunteers for many campus activities.



• Jason Ulm, Senior Graphic Designer, Office of Communications
  Ulm’s keen artistic sensibilities and collaborative spirit have produced strong, award-winning publications for the university. He is known for being a team player and for his strong work ethic, which often keeps him in the office late at night. Outside the university, Ulm serves on the board of the Connecticut Art Directors Club.

Community Service Awards
The Community Service Awards honor faculty and staff who have demonstrated a strong commitment to Hartford, Bloomfield, and West Hartford. Recipients are actively working to improve and enhance communities in need, and by their example, have encouraged others to do the same. This year’s winners are:

• Irwin Nussbaum, Associate Vice President for Student Life, and Founder of the MUSIC for a CHANGE Benefit Concert Series
  Since 2000, the university has given almost $40,000 to nonprofit organizations in Greater Hartford, thanks to Irwin Nussbaum and the MUSIC for a CHANGE Benefit Concert Series. Due to Nussbaum’s efforts, thousands of area music fans have been treated to concerts by top names in folk, jazz, pop, and roots music. Proceeds from ticket sales have gone to dozens of nonprofit organizations in the region.



• Sebby Sorrentino, Director, and the Department of Media Technology Services
  Sorrentino and his department play a critical role in the classroom by delivering, installing, and maintaining equipment that is vital to 21st-century teaching and learning. But they also provide technological support for a variety of events outside the classroom. These include regular “town meetings” with university neighbors, as well as special events with corporate partners and elected officials.