Campus may be quieter when students are gone for the summer, but the week after commencement is still a race to the finish line for many staff and faculty.
On May 15, final grades were submitted and Newman staff and faculty came together to celebrate the end of a successful academic year. They also eagerly waited to discover the 2024 Newman Excellence Award winners.
One faculty member and one staff member were selected from a list of nominations for going above and beyond their campus call of duty.
“This year we received 22 different nominations — double that of last year — from 43 different people for the Staff Excellence Award,” said Sister Therese Wetta, director of mission effectiveness. “For the Teaching Excellence Award, we received nominations from 68 different people for 33 eligible faculty members.”
The 2024 Teaching Excellence Award went to Sherry Ewing, instructor and clinical coordinator of the radiologic technology program, and the 2024 Staff Excellence Award was given to Icer Vaughan, chief information officer and operations manager.
The Teaching Excellence Award goes to Sherry Ewing
President Kathleen S. Jagger, Ph.D., MPH, shared many words of praise from Ewings’ student nominators.
One nominator wrote, “Professor Ewing is probably the best person to teach our positioning class because she has such a vast understanding and education in this field. She does an amazing job at making information easy for us to grasp and understand thoroughly and isn’t afraid to go over things multiple times until everyone can understand.”
She was also described as “dedicated,” “a great representative of Newman,” “active in her church,” “classy” and “always respectful.”
Ewing was surprised and brought to tears when she received the Teaching Excellence Award. The glass token of appreciation motivates her to continue the work she is a part of each day.
“It confirms that what I’m doing is working, that it’s getting through to the students and they appreciate it,” she said.
Ewing started her role in the radiologic technology program in 2015 as a part-time faculty member and eventually transitioned to a full-time position.
“I was already working with students in the clinical setting as a technologist, so I was around students all the time,” she explained. “I went through this program myself. So I’ve been a student, I’ve been a tech. … so teaching in the program just kind of brings it full circle.”
The most rewarding aspect of teaching for Ewing is “when the lights are on.”
“That moment when all of this information you’ve been trying to get through to them finally all comes to fruition,” Ewing said. “They’re going into their fields and most of them have jobs lined up. Seeing where they start to where they are when they graduate … that’s what makes it rewarding.”
Jagger also recognized the honorable mentions of faculty members who were nominated multiple times for the Teaching Excellence recognition:
- Rachel Cheek, assistant professor
- Angie McCoy, assistant dean and MBA program director
- Matthew Umbarger, associate professor of theology
The Staff Excellence Award goes to Icer Vaughan
Vaughan is a Newman alumnus who started as a student worker, graduated, then began work as a part-time staff member in September 1997. Since then, Vaughan has taken on numerous roles in his full-time positions to support the university’s needs.
Jagger shared the words of Vaughan’s nominators: “I don’t know of anyone else that puts their heart and soul into their job as much as he has over the many years he has worked at Newman.”
Another stated, “He always has students as his top priority. He makes his rounds to all of the classrooms daily, checking on equipment and making sure faculty have what they need for their classrooms.”
Vaughan’s nominators described him as “committed,” “adaptable,” “willing to listen” and “inclusive of all employees.”
He was humbled and simply “shocked” to receive the Staff Excellence Award.
“Being able to get stuff done to help the university move forward” is the most rewarding element of Vaughan’s work, he said. He received his first Staff Excellence Award in 2012, but was doubly grateful to be recognized again 12 years later.
“There’s a lot more work that went into this one,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just nice to be recognized and that people see and feel the aspects of the work I do.”
Jagger also recognized the honorable mentions of staff members who were nominated multiple times for the Staff Excellence recognition:
- Shella Augspurger, director of tennis
- Jill Fort, associate vice president of academic affairs
- Myra Pfannenstiel, director of financial aid
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