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NEWS RELEASE
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News Bureau • Schofield Hall 201 • Eau Claire, WI 54702
phone: (715) 836-4741
fax: (715) 836-2900 |
UW-Eau Claire Faculty, Staff
Receive Excellence Awards
At Opening Meeting Of The Academic Year |
MAILED: Aug. 21, 2001
EAU CLAIRE — Chancellor Donald
Mash and Foundation Chairman Larry Weber presented awards of excellence to six
members of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire faculty and staff during the
opening meeting of the 2001-02 academic year Aug. 20.
Each of the award recipients received
a university medallion and $1,500 from the UW-Eau Claire Foundation in
recognition of their commitment to excellence.
Dr. J. Todd Stephens,
professor of special education, is the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching
Award. The annual award recognizes outstanding ability to inspire students to
high standards of scholarship and is determined by alumni.
A member of the UW-Eau Claire faculty
since 1997, Stephens holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern
Illinois University-Carbondale and his doctorate from UW-Madison.
Stephens is
known for interacting well with his students and using a teaching style that
inspires students to learn. His teaching interests include cognitive
disabilities, characteristics of learning and educational needs, applied
behavior analysis and behavioral challenges. He also coordinates the Cognitive
Disabilities Licensure Program and advises more than 60 students.
Unsolicited
positive comments from his students are a testimony to his effectiveness as a
teacher, according to department chair Dr. Vicki Snider. “He is committed to
his profession and takes a sincere interest in his students.”
As a member of the UW-Eau Claire Human
Development Center’s interdisciplinary team, Stephens provides services to
community clients in the areas of behavioral and learning problems. He also is
involved in research about the way children with cognitive disabilities learn
and use action concepts.
“Dr.
Stephens is a very valuable member of the HDC staff who has excellent clinical
skills and is respected as a knowledgeable educator,” said Dr. William
Frankenberger, professor of psychology and director of the Human Development
Center. “He has a history of scholarly accomplishments and has expressed a
strong interest in the collaborative projects we are currently completing with
the Lac du Flambeau community.”
Stephens also has contributed widely
to international education. This summer he initiated and directed a summer
course in Scotland, where several UW-Eau Claire students gained firsthand
experience with students with disabilities as well as a better understanding
of another country’s culture.
An active participant in faculty
collaborative research, Stephens currently is working with Dr. William Dunlap
and Dr. Susan McIntyre, professors of curriculum and instruction, on a
grant-supported project with the Japanese Ministry for Education. His portion
of the three-year project involves researching teacher education and special
education in Japan and the United States as well as professional development
for special education teachers. In April 2000 he hosted a delegation from
Japan.
Stephens has served on the University
Senate since the spring of 2000 and has been active on numerous
university-related committees as well as providing leadership on state
professional organizations.
Dr. Jeremy Hein,
associate professor of sociology and anthropology, is the Excellence in
Scholarship Award recipient. This award recognizes research, productive and
creative work, and professional participation and performance.
Hein’s research interests include Southeast Asian refugees, Hmong-Americans,
international migration and civil rights. He teaches courses on race and
ethnicity in the United States, social movements, contemporary black-white
relations and Hmong-Americans in Wisconsin.
He first became interested in Hmong-Americans
while in college. His senior thesis
focused on how Southeast Asian caseworkers provided resettlement services for
their clients. His doctoral dissertation was a comparative study of French and
American resettlement programs, which was published as a book in 1993.
When he
joined UW-Eau Claire in 1989, he began studying Hmong leadership, community
organization and perceptions of prejudice and discrimination, and the
transmission of cultural practices. His book on why Cambodians, Laotians,
Vietnamese and Hmong people left their homelands and the sociological issues
concerning their adjustment to this country was published in 1995.
He has
authored or co-authored 16 refereed professional journal articles, published
21 book reviews and made 16 presentations at professional meetings. He has
received grants from the National Science Foundation, the American
Sociological Association, and the UW Institute on Race and Ethnicity, as well
as a fellowship with UW-Madison and another with the French government to
study immigration and civil rights issues in France.
Hein
currently is a member of the Eau Claire Community Task Force on Racial
Justice, which is charged with developing proposals and recommendations to
improve race relations and reduce racial inequalities in the city.
A colleague
wrote in a letter of support, “Dr. Hein is an ideal collaborator who is
generous with his time and willing to share what he knows. He is a peer to
whom others look for guidance in structuring research. He is imaginative in
developing new research projects and disciplined in carrying them through to
publication. I am certain he will continue a pattern of publication and
provide leadership for other faculty in the area of research.”
Dr. Susan Harrison,
associate professor of computer science with a current reassignment to
University Senate and Academic Advising, is the recipient of the Excellence in
Advising Award. This award recognizes effective advising qualities and
practices.
Harrison joined the computer science
department in 1983. In 1997 she was named chair of the University Senate and
faculty representative to the UW System. Last fall she began a two-year
appointment in Academic Advising where she advises more than 100 undergraduate
students. Even though Harrison no longer holds an official assignment in the
computer science department, she still advises nearly 80 freshmen computer
science majors each year.
Harrison is known for providing
students with sound academic and scheduling advice, career counseling and
personal attention. She insists on frequent contact with her advisees through
group advising sessions, individual meetings and e-mail correspondence.
Harrison has very strong interpersonal
skills, wrote Dr. Andrew Phillips, chair of computer science, in a letter of
nomination. “Susan listens carefully to what her advisees say, and she tries
to provide academic and career advice that matches their goals.”
Harrison was involved in the Title III Advising and Mentoring Program and
recently participated in the National Academic Advising Association’s Summer
Advising Institute in Lexington, Ky.
She holds a bachelor’s degree from
Taylor University in Upland, Ind., a master’s degree from Ball State
University in Munsie, Ind., and her doctorate from the University of
Minnesota.
Harrison’s method of advising is an
excellent example to her colleagues, according to a chair from another
department. “Susan is extremely available to her students, treats them with
incredible respect, and carefully listens to their concerns. In fact, I’ve
seen Susan rearrange her office just to make it more inviting to the students
during peak advising times.”
Karen Kremer,
associate professor of communication and journalism, is the recipient of the
Excellence in Service Award in recognition of her activities outside the
classroom, which promote excellence in education and improve the
university’s public image.
Kremer, who joined UW-Eau Claire in
1984, is known for her dedication and commitment to children, library
services, reading and small businesses in the Chippewa Valley.
Kremer served as co-chair of the
UW-Eau Claire Women in Higher Education Holiday Project from 1997 to 2000.
Through her leadership, she helped to provide gifts for children of more than
150 UW-Eau Claire student parents — many of whom praise the project as an
“incredible gesture of support and caring.”
She also has been an ambassador in her
work with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and recently completed a
term as president of the executive board of the Friends of the Public Library.
As a result of her creative efforts on the Friends’ Give-A-Kid-A-Book
project, more than 3,000 books were distributed to low-income children in the
area.
Small businesses in the Chippewa
Valley also have benefited from Kremer’s contributions to the UW-Eau Claire
Small Business Development Center. A colleague writes, “Karen has generously
shared her expertise and talents in advertising and marketing communication
and often goes beyond expectations by helping small business owners implement
their advertising plans and then following up to monitor the results with
them.”
She also volunteers countless hours to
the Eau Claire Indianhead Kiwanis Club to assist in planning and executing
their charitable projects.
Kremer earned her bachelor’s degree from UW-Superior and master’s
degrees from Syracuse University and UW-Eau Claire.
Gene Leisz,
senior artist in the Media Development Center, is the recipient of the
Academic Staff Excellence in Performance Award in recognition of leadership
and dedication as a member of the university’s 200-member non-teaching
academic staff.
Leisz joined UW-Eau Claire in 1988 and
is responsible for planning and developing visual communication materials,
coordinating the production of visual instruction and support materials by the
graphics staff and producing instructional materials. He earned his bachelor
of fine arts degree and teaching certification from UW-Eau Claire.
Leisz led the university in the
transition from “board” graphics to computer-based and digital imaging,
creating electronic presentations and artwork/visualizations to enhance the
teaching-learning process. His work can be found in several textbooks, poster
sessions, scholarly journals and presentation support materials.
Last semester Leisz played an integral
part in creating the university’s UW Day display. He also developed a
presentation for a Board of Regents meeting in May 2000, which led several
Regents to say it was the clearest explanation of enrollment management they had
received.
In addition, Leisz spends considerable
time helping students prepare their posters for Student Research Day.
“In a world increasingly influenced
by visual images, UW-Eau Claire is very fortunate to have the talents of Gene
Leisz,” a colleague said in a letter of support. “He has the ability to
visually capture the complexity of UW-Eau Claire without diluting the message of
academic quality.”
This fall Leisz will begin a term on
University Senate and he also is a member of the Academic Staff Professional
Development Committee, Viennese Ball Committee and CITI Advisory Committee. His
community activities range from presenting on the use of technology in
instruction to putting his talents to work for community theatre groups and the
Ecumenical Religious Center.
Mary Hayden,
library assistant in the McIntyre Library, received the Classified Staff
Excellence in Performance Award recognizing outstanding performance by a member
of the university’s 425-member classified staff.
Hayden, who joined UW-Eau Claire 10
years ago, is known for her dedication and positive attitude. According to
library staff, Hayden’s qualities include her willingness to learn,
flexibility, adaptability and general unflappability in working with McIntyre
Library users and staff.
“Her dedication to providing a high
level of service to library users is obvious and evident in her interactions
with library users,” said Robert Rose, director of libraries. “She displays
a consistent attitude of curiosity, a desire to learn and a willingness to
assists students in meeting their educational goals,” Rose said.
In addition to
her duties as a library services assistant and lead worker in the government
publications department, Hayden is the editor of the library newsletter “Off
The Shelf,” and currently serves on the library long-range planning committee
and the UW-Eau Claire Commission on the Status of Women. In addition, Hayden
chaired the American Association of University Women-Eau Claire Nicaragua
Learning Center Project, is the co-president of AAUW-Eau Claire and serves as a
Eucharistic minister at the Newman Parish.
-30-
LWG
[Administrative Offices]
[News Bureau]
Janice B. Wisner
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: Aug. 21, 2001
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