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Breakfast honors Metro's finest
Professors, staff and administrators receive awards for dedication
By Joe Nguyen
nguyejos@mscd.edu

Photo by Heather A. Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu Metro President Stephen Jordan gives his remarks to the crowd at the President’s Welcome Back Breakfast Sept. 6 in the King Center Recital Hall.

From administrators to students, members from all segments of Metro’s community gathered in the King Center for the President’s Welcome Back Breakfast on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The reception consisted of breakfast and addresses from President Stephen Jordan and Provost Rodolfo Rocha, followed by an awards ceremony.

Faculty members Mohammed Akacem, Zia Meranto, Dorothy Snozek, staff member Mary Ann Baca and administrator Jeffery W. Johnson were recipients of the Distinguished Service awards. The award winners were nominated by their peers.

“(The award) gives that extra energy to keep going,” Akacem said. “It validates what you are doing.”

Other award winners included Anil Rao, Kamran Sahami and Jean Ethredge, who received the Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching awards. Dianne Harrison Miller, Cynthia Vannucci, Arlene Sgoutas and Shawn Worthy received the Golden Key International Honour Society awards.

More than 200 full-time employees received service awards. Among the recipients were English professors Sandra Doe and Ed Low who have been teaching at Metro for 40 years.

“Longevity and dedication is very important to the college,” Jordan said.

In addition to their recognition, the award winners received a taxable monetary award.

“It is the commitment and passion of both new and returning faculty, which will help shape the new vision of the college,” Rocha said.

Jordan said in his address that last year the Board of Trustees gave him the job of leading Metro to become the preeminent public urban baccalaureate college in the nation.

“To help achieve this vision,” he said, “I laid out a three-phase plan of stabilization, growth and investment, and assessment. Now, in the second year of stabilization, I am pleased with the success we have already attained in stabilizing the college academically and financially.”

He said that $3.3 million was spent on improving classroom equipment and faculty computers and that a racially diverse group of 62 full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty, were added at the start of this semester.

“This spring we developed a major faculty-salary initiative that demonstrates the value of faculty promotion more so than any other institution in the state, including CU-Boulder,” Jordan said.

He said he is working for Metro to achieve status as a Hispanic Serving Institution. This federal designation brings resources, but requires an institution to have at least 25 percent of its full-time students be Hispanic, a requirement that six other Colorado colleges have met. Currently Metro has half that.

“Does this mean we don’t serve other students? Of course not,” he said. “But it does mean that we intend to be the four-year institution of choice for the fastest-growing population in the seven-county metro area.”

He said that despite the school’s number of academic and cultural assets, Metro’s public image is lacking.

“(Metro) is perceived as a second-chance, last-hope institution,” he said.

“It’s clear that if we don’t take charge and build on Metro State’s known assets, we’ll have to adhere to a one-size-fits-all approach developed at the federal level.”

Among the changes were an editorial and graphics guide to create campus-wide consistency, a modified logo to be revealed later this semester, and a new slogan: “Metro State: Where Success Begins With You.”

“In order for our students to achieve success, it does begin with you,” he said. “Whether you are faculty, staff, student, administrator or alumni, we all contribute.”

“It’s time for a culture shift … we must assume pride and demonstrate leadership and change,” he said.