Exceptional faculty and staff honored
Released: April 23, 2008
Exceptional faculty and staff will be honored at the annual Faculty and Staff Academic Recognition Dinner in the Old Main Ballroom of the University Center, Thursday, May 15. The event begins at 4:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Rebecca Reichert of the Chancellor’s Office at 262-472-1921 or reicherr@uww.edu.
This year’s award winners include:
W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award: Robert Gruber, accounting
Robert Gruber has been teaching in the accounting department for 24 years, and has held the position of department chair for the last eight years. He proudly serves as a master teacher, master advisor and co-advisor to Beta Alpha Psi, a national accounting organization. He has worked with the First Year Program and as a Peer Coach for the LEARN center. Though Gruber’s enthusiasm for helping students extends beyond the classroom, his philosophy of maintaining UW-Whitewater’s status at one of the top accounting programs in the country is important to prepare graduates to live and work in an increasingly global economy. Students of Gruber describe his classes as challenging and demanding but accurate in their portrayal of what to expect in the real world.
The W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award, UW-Whitewater’s highest teaching honor, was established in memory of W.P. Roseman, who directed the campus elementary schools from 1919-1942. The winner carries the ceremonial mace during the commencement ceremonies.
Award for Outstanding Research: Praveen Parboteeah, management
For the third year in a row, associate professor Praveen Parboteeah was awarded the College of Business and Economics Researcher of the Year award. Over the past five years he has published an average of four to five articles per year in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at more than 30 refereed conferences. His articles have appeared in many of the management’s field premier journals. In addition to publishing in many of the leading journals in the field, Parboteeah’s research also has a significant influence in the discipline. His thematic research on business ethics has been cited in many articles appearing in leading journals. Parboteeah has received many awards for his research, including a Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management, and the Ascendant Scholar Award in 2005 from the Western Academy of Management, one of the few individuals to receive the award while serving at a nondoctoral institution.
The UW-Whitewater Award for Outstanding Research recognizes faculty members for making significant advances to knowledge, technique or creative expression in his or her professional field. It honors a faculty member who excels at research and is an exemplary teacher-scholar.
Faculty Service Award: Edward Erdmann, languages and literatures
Since joining the UW-Whitewater faculty in 1985, Ed Erdmann has had a prodigious and effective record at all levels of service: departmental, college, university, system and community. Through Erdmann’s long and effective record of service, one piece of it overshadows everything else: his eight years of chairing the Faculty Senate (1998-2006). His was a Herculean task, which has involved general oversight of all faculty committees, re-starting the revision of the personnel rules, and being the faculty liaison with the UW-Whitewater administration, the UW System, and the general public. During his eight-year tenure as chair of the Senate, Ed Erdmann was, in short, the public face and voice of the faculty, through bad times and good. Erdmann’s positive impact on the university as well as the community will continue to affect students and faculty long after his retirement.
The UW-Whitewater Faculty Service Award recognizes outstanding contributions in service to the university and the wider community.
Academic Staff Excellence Award for Instructional Staff: William Lowell, communication
Bill Lowell has been teaching part time at UW-Whitewater since 1985, and became a full-time member of the communication department 10 years ago. Lowell is not only a professor at UW-Whitewater but also serves as the president of a marketing and management consulting firm, Business Development Directives (BDD). Through this position he is able to bring in “real-world” experiences to the classroom, something students respond to enthusiastically. Moreover, students complete group projects with BDD clients, knowing that their research, solutions and materials will have an immediate impact on a real business. In addition to his classroom work, he contributes to the department through his role in establishing and organizing the College Advisory Board, maintaining contact with communication department alumni, fundraising and establishing a scholarship for communication students.
The UW-Whitewater Academic Staff Excellence Award for Instructional Staff, established in 1985, recognizes outstanding performance by a member of the instructional academic staff.
Academic Staff Excellence Award for Non-Instructional Staff: Jan Bilgen, leadership development
Associate Director of Leadership Development Jan Bilgen’s current duties include helping to organize and run non-academic events on campus, (i.e., Homecoming, Midnight Madness, Take Back the Night rallies, “Make a Difference” Day, Career Days and Greek Rush days) to serving as the liaison for all student organizations. Bilgen always has students’ interests at heart, and does whatever she can to help students be successful, to make sure events run smoothly and to see that a need is met.
The UW-Whitewater Excellence Award for Non-Instructional Staff, established in 1985, recognizes outstanding performance by a member of the non-instructional academic staff.
University Faculty/Staff Academic Advising Award: Giuliana Miolo, communication sciences and disorders
Giuliana Miolo has been teaching and advising students majoring in communication sciences and disorders since 1995. In 2006, she was appointed master advisor in the College of Education and over the past two years has helped develop and implement articulation agreements between UW-Whitewater and the Wisconsin Technical College System. In addition to her roles as teacher and advisor, Miolo is a clinical educator and coordinator of the university’s Center for Communicative Disorders.
The UW-Whitewater Academic Advising Award was initiated in fall 2003 to recognize an outstanding faculty or staff member for the academic advising of students in the four colleges.
Everett Long Award: Chris Henige, art
Chris Henige is an art historian, teaching in the art department since 2001. He became involved with general education immediately upon arrival through his teaching of the GENED 110 course, World of the Arts, of which he has taught two sections every semester. In meeting the challenge of teaching 90 students per section, he has implemented methods ranging from textbook review to image acquisition and database development, and has applied his Web skills and interests in establishing a foundation for future course enhancements. He has been involved with several committees, workshops and initiatives on campus dedicated to relating the broader aspects of general education. He was the recipient of the 2005 College of Arts and Communication Excellence in Teaching award.
The Everett Long Award recognizes a faculty member who has been exceptionally vital to advancing the values the General Education Program, making it a priority for themselves and their colleagues, defending its centrality within the university, and seeking to enhance its vitality.
- Keara Lahiff,lahiffkk25@uww.edu
