The University of Wyoming Presents Celebrating Diversity Awards

University of Wyoming faculty, staff, and students recently received diversity awards to recognize outstanding contributions and achievements at UW.

The Committee on Women and People of Color, formed last year, sponsored the awards which were presented at the Celebrating Diversity dinner.   The event was also sponsored by Academic Affairs.

“The awards are to recognize the stellar achievements and contributions of diverse faculty, staff and students at UW. They were nominated by someone at UW and selected by a CoWPoC subcommittee,” says co-chair Jacqueline Leonard, Science and Mathematics Teaching Center director, and Department of Elementary and Early Childhood professor.

Here are the special awards that were presented:

Community Awards– Rep. James Byrd of House District 44 (also the keynote speaker at the dinner); as well as Fremont County Commissioner Andrea Clifford.

Lifetime Achievement– Judith Ellsworth, professor emeritus of the UW College of Education.

Leadership Award– Jacquelyn Bridgeman, Kepler Professor at the UW College of Law.

Stellar awards were presented to students, faculty, and staff of UW:

Students/Research– Jackalyn Kandle of Naches, Wash.; as well as Roby Velez of Belleview, N.J.

Staff/Service– Dolores Cardona, Multicultural Affairs director and associate dean of students; and Vivian Madrid, senior office assistant of the Student Health Service.

Academic professionals, administrators, and faculty received awards in three categories:

Research– Mark Clementz, associate professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics; Keonghee Tao Han, assist professor at UW-Casper; and Vanessa Fonseca, assistant professor of Latina/o Studies and English.

Service– Cecelia Aragon, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance; Qi Sun, associate professor in the Department of Professional Studies; and Susan Frye, dean of the Outreach School.

Teaching– Ana Houseal, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Development; Christi Boggs, Outreach Credit Programs lecturer; Erin Campbell-Stone, Department of Geology and Geophysics lecturer; Jed Cabrera, physician’s assistant of the Student Health Service; Jaqueline Leonard, Department of Elementary and Early Childhood professor; and Rachel Watson, lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology.