Congratulations to the Founders Award Winners!

One of the highlights every year of Faculty and Staff Convocation is recognition of the Founders Awards Winners by the Awards and Recognition Committee. This year, Prof. Laura Riddle and Anna Merry announced the awardees in a virtual presentation. The Committee selected the following to be recognized for excellence in each category:

Sherri Arendt, Academic Support Award for Excellence

Barbara Holschbach, University Staff Award for Excellence

Prof. Gaurav Bansal, Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship

Linda Toonen, Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching

Mai Lo Lee, University Award for Excellence in Community Outreach

Associate Prof. James Loebl, University Award for Excellence in Institutional Development

UntitledTown Board of Directors, University Award for Excellence in Collaborative Achievement

• Rebecca Meacham, Co-President (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Amy Mazzariello, Co-President (Lion’s Mouth Bookstore)
• Derrick Holt, Vice-President (Audio/Music Professional)
• Maria Konkel, Treasurer (Nicolet National Bank)
• Mai J. Lo Lee (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Cristina Ortiz (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Jerod Santek (Write On, Door County)

Video Transcript…

Introduction
Good Morning! I’m honored to present the recipients of the Founders Awards and to share this honor with my Committee colleague, Anna Merry. We want to acknowledge the outstanding work of the members of the 2019-2020 Awards and Recognition Committee: Iftekhar Anam, Sarah Detweiler, Cynthia Estrup, James Kabrhel, Ruth Pearson, Katelyn Strzok, and William Yazbec, as well as the support and guidance provided by the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty and Academic Staff; Mary Kate Ontaneda and Steve Meyer.

Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
The recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching began teaching at UW- Green Bay in 1985. Decades later, former students speak passionately about this devoted teacher who left an indelible impression as they pursued careers in myriad fields. Her colleagues speak with great respect about her exceptional dedication to making student success the highest priority and her compassion for students facing great challenges in pursuing a college education. A former student, now a colleague wrote, “When I look at all those students waiting outside her office on any given weekday, I can’t help but imagine that line stretching out into the classrooms and homes across our community. She makes this university more than just an institution of higher learning. She makes it a home. She is the meat and potatoes, the foundation of our students’ success.”

This year’s recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching is Linda Toonen.

Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship
The recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship is an Internationally recognized scholar in the fields of management and organizational behavior, “big data,” environmentalism, gender, and cybersecurity. Holding the esteemed position of the Frederick E. Baer Professorship in Business, he is also a senior editor of the Journal of Information Technology- Case and Application Research he has over one thousand citations of his research and more than forty publications in the US and internationally in high impact journals such as Information & Management. A sought-after speaker on data visualization and ethics, he has enriched the regional business community with his presentations, and has been called

“one of the most influential thinkers worldwide on the issue of information security and privacy.” This year’s recipient of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship is Gaurav Bansal. 

University Award for Excellence in Institutional Development
The recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Institutional Development has distinguished himself as an excellent teacher, a dedicated contributor to the University, and a partner with the community. His University service has included multiple terms on the Faculty Senate and membership on the University Committee. But his greatest institutional contribution has been in support of the growth of the Cofrin School of Business. His oversight of the School of Business from an embedded department within the College of Professional Studies to a stand-alone School in 2016 will continue to benefit countless students, faculty, and staff for generations. Currently serving as the Chair of the University Committee, he has agreed to remain on this important Committee for his final semester before retiring to help transition into the 2021-22 academic year.

This year’s recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Institutional Development is James Loebl.

University Award for Excellence in Community Outreach
The recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Community Outreach has been involved in so many projects connecting our university to the community that her nominator wrote, “When reaching out to folks in regards to support, there were so many ideas for [this person’s] community building that I had not even considered when originally nominating her.” This person is widely connected within our community and regularly brings those connections to the university to the benefit of our students and those outside UWGB. Several notable initiatives include the Black in the Bay panel during Black History Month, the JumpStart program through MESA, and the Back to School Store, which brought 1,211 children and their families to the Kress Center last year to receive school supplies and health screenings. This year’s recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Community Outreach is Mai Lo Lee.

Academic Support Award for Excellence
The recipient of the Academic Support Award for Excellence is known for her dedication, passion and advocacy for the students of our university. One nominator wrote, that “students feel welcomed and safe with her,” and continued “She is the ultimate collaborator and connector,” meaning not only does she make students feel like they belong, but she also works across many, many departments and initiatives to improve student success at UWGB. In 2017, this person led a remodel of their area that led to a 65% increase in the use of their services over the previous year! That is incredible, but just as impressive to me was the recent UWGB graduate who submitted a letter of support saying, “As I look back, I can honestly say that of all the staff I have met, she has had the greatest impact on my growth as a student and on my life as an adult.” This year’s recipient of the Academic Support Award for Excellence is Sherri Arendt.

University Staff Award for Excellence
The recipient of the University Staff Award for Excellence impacts departments all over campus with her high quality work, from university finances, to admissions, to advising. Her attention to detail and commitment to testing and problem-solving before the final deadline have probably saved every single one of us headaches that we didn’t even know we were missing. As this person’s nominator wrote, “There is not an area on this campus that does not have a need to produce or consume data, and it is [this person’s] responsibility to ensure that our systems are developed to meet those needs, to ensure that data is accurate, and that everyone understands how it all interconnects.” Major projects that our award winner has played a key role in include: the integration of UW Colleges Prism data into UWGB’s SIS, and student data inputs into the Incentive Based Budget model. This year’s recipient of the University Staff Award for Excellence is Barb Holschbach.

University Award for Excellence in Collaborative Achievement
The recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Collaborative Achievement is a group that seeks to put the city of Green Bay on the map for something other than “football, beer and cheese.” As one letter of support stated, “Though we do love all of those things, we know we are made up of so much more.” This project, which began in 2016, has been bringing more to the Green Bay area, while promoting the values of UW-Green Bay. That “more” includes panels, discussions and performances. It includes authors from R. L. Stine to Margaret Atwood, as well as a diverse mix of literary voices. This year’s recipient of the University Award for Excellence in Collaborative Achievement is the Board of UntitledTown Book and Author Festival, a festival that has been ongoing for three years, plus the planned but unfortunately cancelled festival that would have taken place this past spring. Congratulations to the board members, past and present.

Closing
Congratulations to all recipients of this year’s Founders Awards!