Union held its annual Awards Day chapel on May 3 in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel to recognize students, faculty and staff for their accomplishments during their time at the university.
Mark Bolyard, department chair of biology and 2018-2019 faculty of the year, began the chapel service with prayer, and after a performance from Voices of Proclamation, John Netland, provost and vice president for academic affairs, began to announce awards.
Awards included faculty and staff of the year, leadership awards, departmental honors and academic excellence medals.
Jason Crawford, associate professor of English, was recognized as the Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year award recipient for the 2019-2020 year.
“And because [the award] feels so far beyond my deserving, it’s a reminder that all the things I have here are gifts,” Crawford said. “My students, my colleagues, my writing, my friendships, my family – all the kinds of work I do – are gifts. I’ve learned more and more that my calling is not to earn those gifts but simply to receive them, and to join my colleagues and students here in the joyful work of cultivation and celebration.”
Josh Simmons, director for eLearning success and media services, was the Gary L. Carter Staff of the Year award recipient.
Academic excellence recipients were selected by the faculty of their respective departments based on grade point average and overall performance in class.
Katie Chappell, senior English major, received both the academic excellence medal in English and the Dr. James Alex Baggett History Research Paper Award, an honor that goes to the best papers during the academic year in history courses.
“I really would just like to dedicate my award to Emily Dickinson and Christina Rossetti,” Chappell said. “Also, there’s no one as deserving of the creative writing award than Clark Hubbard.”
Hubbard, senior English and political science double major, was awarded the Helen Blythe Creative Writing Award. This award recognizes a graduating English major that has shown phenomenal work in the creative writing field during his or her time at Union.
Other awards included the intramural female and male athletes award, awarded to Holly Chumney and Tyler Garrott; the Greek scholarship cups, awarded to Lambda Chi Alpha and Chi Omega (for the 72nd consecutive year) for the highest academic averages; and the servant leadership program supervisor of the year, awarded to Fran Thomas, the special events and visit coordinator for Undergraduate Admissions.
A full list of awards can be found at https://www.uu.edu/news/release.cfm?ID=2633.
