Union University hosted their annual Awards Day ceremony to celebrate academic excellence in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel on Friday, April 30.
The program began with a prayer by Steve Halla, associate professor of art and 2019-2020 faculty member of the year, and was followed by a welcome from John Netland, provost and vice president for academic affairs. After special music from Kaylen Williams, senior music education major, Netland began to present awards.
“One of our core values is to be excellence driven, so it is right and fitting that we celebrate the achievements of our faculty, student and staff,” said Netland.
Awards included faculty and staff of the year, leadership and service awards, research excellence awards and academic excellence awards for each major.
Jeremy Blaschke, associate professor of biology, was recognized as both the Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year award recipient and the Howard Newell Innovative Teaching award recipient for the 2021-2022 year.
This awards day featured a new award titled Faculty Researcher of the Year. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member that consistently contributes to their scholarly discipline with at least five years of service at Union University. The selection process included faculty nominations and a review of scholarly activity by a college-level and a university-level committee. With one patent, two patent applications under review and several research grants, Blake Watkins, chair and professor of pharmaceutical sciences, received this award.
“This award represents the highest honor bestowed by the university in regards to research and scholarly activity,” said Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver. “What began at Union has continued throughout his career, and these discoveries in the lab have the possibility of helping many people, all to the glory of God.”
Mackenzie Pilgrim and Jonathan Lafferty received the Barnabas Leadership Award, which recognizes students who promote the ideals of servant leadership.
Other awards included the Gary L. Carter Staff of the Year Award, awarded to Brad Seaton; Helen Blythe Creative Writing Award, awarded to Amber Kelley; the Fred DeLay Memorial Award, awarded to Meghan Delaney; and the Greek Scholarship Cups, awarded to Lambda Chi Alpha and Chi Omega for the highest academic grade point averages.
A full list of awards can be found at: https://www.uu.edu/news/release.cfm?ID=2761
