As you would expect, teaching overloads, extra responsibilities and exemplary student and performance evaluations are common factors among the 161 recipients of the Presidential Performance Stipends announced by Interim President Raymond N. Kieft. Look closer, though, and you will see just how creative and dedicated to students and coworkers the winners are.

For instance, among all his other responsibilities, Assistant Professor Ron Miles—who, by the way, is a nationally recognized jazz trumpeter-writes original music for the Jazz Combos that he coaches. Professor Elizabeth Holtze organized the national conference of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honorary society, and Professor Rebecca Ferrell chips in her own funds to perform research in microbiology, offering her students an opportunity they might not otherwise have. Associate Professor Bret Balasz takes students in his Washington Aviation Policy course to D.C. to meet with congressional and industry leaders. After spending the semester researching and analyzing the implications of current policy, the students participate in a panel presentation for the local aviation community. And Abel Moreno, chair of the Computer Information Systems Department, spearheaded a major effort to update his department's course syllabi in preparation for an AACSB site visit. The project included the revision of 10 courses and the development of two new courses.

Administrators and classified staff also had many individual successes. When Independent Degree Program Director Maureen Lancaster's office was "inadvertently reduced to one person," she not only took on more than one job, she found new ways to reach out to academic programs. Assistant Registrar Skip Ackler has risen to the challenges created by ongoing technological changes, such as the publication of the Class Schedule on Metro's Web site. Classified staff member T.J. DeCino, who manages the World Indoor Airport, coordinates and hosts community events at the WIA for notable groups such as the Tuskegee Airmen. Other staff including Jim Blanchette in the Sociology, Anthropology and Behavioral Science Department and LoriAnn Ankele-Garcia of the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences are the glue that keeps their areas working by anticipating faculty and student needs and never failing to take on new responsibilities.

Obviously, there are many more examples of the ways that the Presidential Performance recipients make the college an enriching educational environment. Their nominations are a wellspring of story ideas for @Metro. We tip our hats to them all.

For the complete list of Presidential Performance recipients go to
http://www.mscd.edu/~collcom/@metro/tw@metro_vol2/stipends_twv2082504.htm