Distinguished Service Award winners (top to bottom): Mohammed Akacem,Mary Ann Baca, Jeff Johnson, Zia Meranto and Dorothy Snozek.

The Metro State community is encouraged to support their colleagues who will be receiving awards at the President’s Welcome Back Breakfast, Wednesday, Sept. 6. Awards will be given for Distinguished Service, Excellence in Teaching, Golden Key, Emeritus and Service (length of employment).

The event will be held from 7-9 a.m. in the King Center. Breakfast will be served at 7 and the program will begin at 8 a.m. with remarks by Provost Rodolfo Rocha and President Stephen Jordan, followed by the presentation of awards.

Distinguished Service
Distinguished Service awards will be presented to faculty members Mohammed Akacem, Zia Meranto and Dorothy Snozek, administrator Jeffrey W. Johnson and staff member Mary Ann Baca.

Akacem, professor of economics, has received a rating of excellent or A in every annual evaluation and post-tenure review since joining the College in 1991. He was selected to be a Malone Fellow by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations in 1995. Last year, he was invited to be an associate member of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago.

Meranto, professor of political science, created the Native American Studies program at Metro State. She has also created courses in Latin American Politics, Native American Politics and Political Socialization, among others, since joining the Political Science Department in 1993. Meranto has twice received Fulbright scholarships, to Colombia (1997) and Egypt (2005). In 1996 she received the Outstanding Women Faculty Award.

Snozek, professor of reading, received the Outstanding Faculty Advising Award for 2000-01 and has served as chair and co-chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee, as vice president of the Faculty Senate, on the Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion Committee, the Board of Academic Standards Exceptions, Senate Executive Committee and General Studies Ad Hoc Committee, among others.

Baca, administrative assistant, has been at Metro State for 25 years. Baca has worked in several different departments, serving thousands of students. She has been with the Finance Department since 1990 and is credited with helping in the transition when the longtime chair retired unexpectedly. During his 33 years of service to Metro State,

Johnson has progressed from coordinator of academic credentials to interim registrar, with stints as assistant director of student records, director of student records, and assistant dean of admissions and records and associate registrar. In these positions, Johnson has been instrumental in developing policies for the evaluation of degree requirements, transfer policies and other administrative functions necessary to the smooth running of the College.

Excellence in Teaching
The Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching awards will go to Anil Rao, Kamran Sahami and Jean Ethredge.

Rao, professor of biology, employs a visual, “media-heavy” approach to ensure that his students have an understanding of the principles—not just the facts—that lie at the heart of modern biology.

Sahami, in addition to being an assistant professor of physics, is an adjunct research associate at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation/Research on Learning and Education research project investigating the optimal modes of astronomy learning in immersive environments.

Ethredge, visiting instructor of mathematics, stimulates different senses while she teaches, to accommodate visual, tactile and auditory learning styles.

Golden Key
The Golden Key International Honour Society award winners are Dianne Harrison Miller and Cynthia Vannucci (for Outstanding Full-Time Faculty), Arlene (Gerakina) Sgoutas (for Outstanding Part-Time Faculty) and Shawn Worthy (for Outstanding Researcher/Scholar).

Miller, assistant professor of human performance and sport, is, according to one of her students, “the kind of professor who comes along only once in a while… (and whom) most students can only dream about having.” As the coordinator of the Sports Industry Operations Program, Miller teaches several courses, serves as an advisor to majors, and places and supervises students in internships and field experiences.

Vannucci, associate professor of meeting and convention administration, has garnered several awards during her nine years of teaching hotel and restaurant management, including Educator of the Year in 2001 from the Professional Convention Management Association and Outstanding Woman of the Year from the Institute of Women’s Studies at Metro State in 2002.

Sgoutas, visiting assistant professor of women’s studies is, according to one student, “not only accessible as a professor, but also someone who is willing to advocate for students when they need support.” Her service to Metro State includes “organizing educational events, serving on committees, acting as an advisor to student organizations and mentoring students considering graduate school.”

Worthy, associate professor of human services, has, over the course of nine years at Metro State, served as chair of the Human Services Department and taught many different subjects. His research has led to numerous refereed and non-refereed journal publications and proceedings and he has received a number of research grants. He hosted the Colorado Close Up radio program for several years and has been interviewed for scores of newspaper and television stories.

Emeritus
The professors receiving emeritus status are: Mary Ann Loeffler, assistant professor of leisure studies; William Hamilton, professor English; and Roger Wade, professor of sociology.

Service Awards
In addition more than 250 people will be acknowledged for their years of service to Metro State. The awards are given for employment in five-year increments. For the first time, there is a category for 40 years of service; two English professors, Sandra Doe and Ed Low, will receive the 40-year award.