President Stephen Jordan

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend this year's Welcome Back Ceremony, 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, to celebrate the new academic year and Metro State's 45^th Anniversary.

The ceremony will be held outside on Ninth Street Park and includes breakfast, two musical performances and remarks from Board of Trustees Chair Rob Cohen as well as President Stephen Jordan's state-of-the-college address. In addition, three state legislators will be recognized: Rep. Mark Ferrandino, who, as a member of the Joint Budget Committee, is a true champion of the College, and Rep. Jim Riesberg and Sen. Bob Bacon, the sponsors of HB 1375, which granted Metro State the authority to access favorable financing, which will significantly reduce the costs of the Hospitality Learning Center and the Backfill Renovation Project.

Annual Awards
One of the event's highlights is the honoring of this year's recipients of the Distinguished Service, Teaching Excellence, Golden Key, Emeritus and Length-of-Service awards.

The Distinguished Service honorees are as follows:

Charles �Chris" Tindall, Jr., Ph.D.

Charles "Chris" Tindall, Jr., professor and chair of chemistry and director of the Criminalistics Program, has been chosen to receive the President's Award. Tindall had been with Metro State since 1998 and served as department chair since 2004. He was instrumental in the creation of the Criminalistics Program and served as its director until his recent retirement.

Kishore Kulkarni, Ph.D.

Kishore Kulkarni, professor of economics, will receive the Extraordinary Service Award. In his 21 years at the College, Kulkarni has brought distinction internationally to Metro State through his scholarly writings, and has contributed greatly as department chair and to the College's globalization efforts.

Catherine Lucas, associate vice president of communication and advancement, will receive the Administrator Award. Lucas is credited with expanding the role of the Office of College Communications to provide consultation and a framework for client's communication needs. She has chaired or served on many significant College committees including the 2010 Strategic Plan Committee, the HSI Task Force and the Integrated Marketing Committee.

Janet Maestas, Veterans Services certifying official, has been selected to receive the Classified Staff Award. Maestas has been with the College for nearly 30 years and has served in her current position since 1998. She manages a caseload of more than 800 student-veterans and has received national recognition for her work from the National Association of Veteran Program Administration.

From left to right: Cathy Lucas, Janet Maestas, and Laura McCall.

Laura McCall, professor of history, is this year's recipient of the Faculty Award. In her 20 years at Metro State, McCall has done everything from earning recognition from students for her teaching capabilities and sponsoring the history honor society to serving as the NCAA representative and on the International Education Committee.

The other awardees are:

Teaching Excellence:
Tenured Professor- Ann Williams, professor of French
Tenure-Track Professor - David Kish, assistant professor of music
Affiliate Faculty - Kris Reyes, Communication Arts and Sciences

International Golden Key Honour Society:
Outstanding Faculty Full Time - Sheryl Zajdowicz, assistant professor of biology
Outstanding Faculty Part Time - Glori Gesell, affiliate faculty, art
Outstanding Faculty Part Time - Randy Braun, affiliate faculty, marketing
Outstanding Faculty Researcher - Maurice Hamington, associate professor of women's studies and director of the Institute for Women's Studies and Services

Emeritus:
Tadini Bacigalupi, professor emeritus of sociology
Thomas J. Corona, associate professor emeritus of meteorology
Jayne James, administrator emeritus of The Internship Center
John C. Krenetsky, professor emeritus of biology
Laszlo A. Pook, professor emeritus of computer information systems
Ellen P. Susman, professor emeritus of psychology

Finally, more than 100 Length of Service Awards will be given including the 40-year award to F. Liz Friot, professor of secondary education, and the 35-year award to Peggy Gomez, administrative assistant III in the Office of Admissions.