Union University celebrated student, faculty and staff accomplishments May 3 at the annual Awards Day chapel service.
More than 70 awards were presented during the service held in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel.
The Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year award was presented to Justin Barnard, associate professor of philosophy and associate dean of the Institute for Intellectual Discipleship.
The Gary L. Carter Staff of the Year award was given to Tina Netland, administrative assistant to the senior vice president for student services and dean of students.
The Howard Newell Innovative Teaching Award was given to Gavin Richardson, professor of English.
Savannah Hari, junior sports medicine major, and Caleb Creel, junior theology major, were the recipients of the Barnabas Leadership Awards, which awards exceptional servant leadership.
The Bettye and Kermit Whiteaker Freshman Biology Award went to freshman biology majors Gray Magee and Hannah Richardson. The Bettye and Kermit Whiteaker Chemistry Award went to freshman chemistry major Lyndi Strange.
The Bill Truex Award in Computer Science was given to senior computer science major Luke Ferguson.
The Broadman and Holman Award recipient was senior biblical studies languages major Ryan Linkous. The Dr. Bill Bouchillon Psychology Excellence Award was presented to senior psychology major Josh Morgan.
Sophomore physics major Jonathan Eldridge was awarded the Kyle L. Hathcox Memorial Physics Award. Senior business administration major Sarah Hill received the Curtiss E. Scott Business Excellence Award.
Senior engineering majors Jon Vunk and Jonathan Gwaltney were given the Service Through Engineering Award.
The Fred DeLay Memorial Award was presented to Senior sports management major Brett Barry, who also received the award for Intramural Male Athlete of the Year.
Senior nursing major Laura Evers won the Intramural Female Athlete of the Year award.
Senior biology major and female athlete Stefanie King and junior business administration major and male athlete Benjie Fesmire were the winners of the John C. Moore Award for excellence in athletics and academics.
The Kina S. Mallard Communication Arts Student of the Year Award was presented to senior public relations major Samantha Adams.
Senior nursing major Elsie Krinsky received the Georgia Wilson Memorial Award for Clinical Nursing. Senior English major Michael O’Malley was given the Helen Blythe Creative Writing Award.
Senior history and economics double major Mary Ellen Poe was awarded the Dr. James Alex Baggett History Research Paper Award.
Freshman mathematics major Benjamin Walker received the Wolfram Award in Computational Science, which includes the prize of a lifetime copy of Mathmatica.
The Nora Smith Barker Student Teachers of the Year Awards went to senior elementary education major Alexandria Browning and senior history major Chad Buckley.
The Inter-Fraternatity Scholarship Trophy for the fraternity with the highest chapter average was presented to Lambda Chi Alpha. The Inter-Sorority Scholarship Trophy was awarded to Chi Omega for the 66th consecutive year.
Additionally, the newly- initiated members of Alpha Chi, whose members make up the top ranking ten percent of the junior and senior classes, were announced. Members of discipline-specific honor fraternities were also recognized.
Academic Excellence Medals were also presented to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average in each major, provided the student’s GPA in the major is not less than 3.50.
A student minoring in a discipline in which there is no qualifying major or in which no major is offered is also eligible for a medal.
The following students received medals for academic excellence: Art – Kate Weekes; Biology – Ryan Mantooth; Cell and Molecular Biology – Liane Gozmao; Conservation Biology – Taylor Maylott; Chemistry – Katherine Shelnutt; Broadcast Journalism – Jacob Melder; Digital Media Studies – Kathleen Cooper; Journalism – Amelia Krauss;
Media Communications – Benjamin Haws; Public Relations – Kathryn Moore; Computer Science – Jordan Haskins; Engineering – Rachel Carbonell; English – Whitney Williams; History – Mary Ellen Poe; Intercultural Studies – Stephanie Smith; Sociology – Molly Priddy; Family Studies – Amanda Rutland; Applied Linguistics – Josiah Hubin; French – Lydia Kitchin; Spanish – Cara Myatt; Teaching English as a Second Language – Rebecca Thomas; Mathematics – Jessica Lee;
Music – Helen Rowley; Music Performance – Greg Hines; Music Education – Erika Sitton; Physics – Michael Lam; Political Science – Kylie McDonald; Psychology – Jeffrey Paul; Accounting – Jana Whiteside; Business Administration – Sarah Hill; Economics – Mary Ellen Poe; Organizational Leadership – Gary Bailey; Learning Founda- tions – Rebecca Thomas;
Elementary Education – Alexandria Browning; Special Education – Julia Marshall; Athletic Training – Keaton Kirk; Physical Education and Health – Thomas McAdams; Sports Management – Brett Botta; Sports Medicine – Sara McHenry; Social Work – Natalie Schklar; Nursing – Lisa Newmann; Biblical Studies – Mark Waite; Biblical Studies-Languages – William Miller; Christian Studies – Eric McLemore; Philosophy – Kelsey Meadows; Theology – Danny Linton.
