The University took time this week to recognize 186 faculty and staff members who have devoted years — and sometimes decades — of service to UT Dallas.
The 26th annual Service Awards saluted 186 faculty and staff members who had reached employment milestones of five, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service between September 2011 and August 2012.
“We can never say thank you enough to the faculty and staff who run this University and who define who this University is,” President David E. Daniel told the honorees in a ceremony at the Clark Center.
The awards were presented by Dr. David E. Daniel, president of The University of Texas at Dallas; and Colleen Dutton, assistant vice president for administration, human resources management.
“I’m constantly reminded that the world is more competitive than ever. The need for smart people is just getting more and more intense. And the role that we here at the university play, not only in the lives of the students who pass through our hallways, but in the overall advancement of our society, has never been more important,” Dr. Daniel said.
“On behalf of our students whom you benefit in so many ways, I say thank you,” he said.
At a reception following the ceremony, Dr. Inga Musselman, chemistry professor and associate provost, said she’s seen student life “really take off” in the 20 years she’s been at UT Dallas. When she arrived, the University was only in its third year of having freshmen on campus.
“It was a little sleepy back then,” she recalled. “There were not many students on campus, but that’s really changed. Now there are hundreds of students out there, and I really like that.
“The vibrancy of UT Dallas and the growth of the University have been just refreshing. It shows it’s thriving, and it’s an exciting place to be,” Musselman said.
Dr. Lynn Melton, a former chemistry faculty member and now a professor of Science/Mathematics Education who works to improve science instruction in middle schools, topped the list of honorees with 40 years of service. He was followed by Dr. Warren Goux, an associate professor of chemistry who has logged 30 years.
Melton recalled in an earlier interview how much things have changed in four decades. When he arrived in January 1972, the campus consisted of just two buildings—Founders Hall and Founders North. Acres of cornfields filled the rest of the property all the way to Campbell Road.
Even so, he described his early years at what was then the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest as “the job of my dreams.” He was particularly inspired by Polykarp Kusch, the 1955 Nobel laureate in physics, who had a way of “driving home core concepts in a visual way.”
Over the last four decades, UT Dallas’ academic excellence has raised the bar for other Texas universities, Melton said.
“When I graduated from high school in 1962, if you were a bright student you either went to Rice University or you left the state,” Melton said. “Now we have about 12 places in the state where you could go, and UT Dallas is one of them. That part of the dream has been realized.”
Darlene Johnson of telecommunications and Karen Dunlap, a 10-year employee who is an administrative assistant in Information Resources.
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Hobson Wildenthal, who marked 20 years, said he has served under all three UT Dallas presidents during that time.
“I’m happy to say I had the confidence that each of them would listen to my recommendations, and together we did some good things for the University. I couldn’t have done it without the confidence of Robert Rutford, Franklyn Jenifer and now David Daniel,” Dr. Wildenthal said.
“I’ve had the benefit of a lot of great colleagues to work with. And of course, a lot of this would not have happened without the support of Margaret McDermott,” he said. “There have been thousands of great students, and dozens and dozens of great faculty. It’s been a great 20 years.”
Kathleen White said the campus has changed dramatically in the decade since she became a lab safety manager for Environmental Health & Safety in April 2002.
“You’d drive around campus and it would be pretty much empty during the day,” she recalled. “We’ve grown so quickly. This place has really started to look like a top-ranked campus. It’s just incredible the change.”
Since then, she has trained research lab personnel—from principal investigators to summer school students—in lab safety principles. She never thought she’d still be here 10 years later, but she has a ready explanation.
“The people,” White said. “They’re awesome, they’re friendly and they’re ready to help. They’re a pleasure to be around. It makes coming to work fun.”
Service Award Honorees
Forty Years
| Lynn Melton Chemistry |
Thirty Years
| Warren Goux Chemistry |
Twenty Years
| Sharon Bowles Student Counseling |
Homer Salazar Student Union |
| Stephen Levene Molecular & Cell Biology |
Toni Stephens Office of the President |
| Inga Musselman Chemistry |
Hobson Wildenthal Executive Vice President and Provost |
Ten Years
| Hans-Joachim Adler Naveen Jindal School of Management |
Valerie Lariscy Behavioral & Brain Sciences |
| Arthur Agulnek Naveen Jindal School of Management |
Seunghyun Lee Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Gregory Branch Texas School Project |
Wenqi Li Arts & Humanities |
| Timothy Bray Economic, Political & Policy Sciences |
Thomas Linehan Arts & Humanities |
| Freddie Brown Callier Center |
Cynthia Long Space Sciences |
| Cherryl Bryant Behavioral & Brain Sciences |
Matthew Makowka Library |
| Janet Collins Interdisciplinary Studies |
Susan McElroy Economic, Political & Policy Sciences |
| Gregory Dess Naveen Jindal School of Management |
Rita Medford Economic, Political & Policy Sciences |
| Sarah Dorsey Financial Aid |
Syam Menon Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Karen Dunlap Telecommunication Services |
Radha Mookerjee Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Sharon Edwards Lithospheric Studies |
Marcos Negrete Facilities Managment |
| Robert Elia Financial Services |
Lauraine O’Neil Office of Communications |
| Steven Ervin Enrollment Services |
Karen Pliskal Academic Affairs & Provost |
| Alem Ghebrkirstose Enrollment Management |
P Rajasekaran Electrical Engineering |
| Jill Glass Naveen Jindal School of Management |
Cleon Ramey Facilities Administration |
| David Gleason Human Resources Management |
Anna Resendiz Computer Science |
| William Griffin Geosciences |
Jimmie Rose Facilities Administration |
| Sanda Harabagiu Computer Science |
Jane Salk Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Mary Harrison Library |
Lori Skillestad Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Susan Heiler Executive Education |
Paul Smith Environmental Health & Safety |
| Scott Herndon Academic Affairs and Provost |
Virginia Smith Budget and Finance |
| Patrice Holt Printing Division |
Kathryn Stecke Naveen Jindal School of Management |
| Ruth Howell Enrollment Services |
Jason Stedry Information Resources |
| Ingrid Huisman Interdisciplinary Studies |
Kathleen White Environmental Health & Safety |
| Nasser Kehtarnavaz Electrical Engineering |
Weichen Wong Computer Science |
| Leszek Kisielewski Academic Affairs and Provost |
Harold Wood Arts & Humanities |
| Tess Kuo Interdisciplinary Studies |
Elizabeth Young Arts & Humanities |
| Cynthia Ladejo Financial Services |
Sandra Zemcik Electrical Engineering |
Five Years
|
Alfred Abundo Delia Aguirre Amanda Aiuvalasit Jerry Alexander Cary Alsobrook Avery Ausborne Bhaskar Banerjee Randy Battaglio Hynek Boril Jennifer Boyd Michele Brown Valerie Brunell Thomas Campbell Travis Carruthers Ruben Cavazos Huseyin Cavusoglu Marcos Chavez Kortysheima Coleman Rachel Croson Brandon Crutchfield Lou Delcamp Gloria Eby Samuel Ehrenreich Arturo Elizondo Elizabeth Evans Jody Everson Blair Flicker Kimberly Flicker J Foxworthy Ann Geers Kimberly Goodfriend Tarita Graham Kellie Hanford Katherine Harabis Laurie Harness John Harvey Christopher Hinkle Nicholas Hinojosa Jason Hirsch Russell Hulse Betty Hurt Joanna Hutchison Mihaela Iovu Nathan Ivey Lori Jacobsen Roozbeh Jafari Margaret James Calvin Jamison Hui Jiang Duk Jin Kim Michael Kormanik Tomislav Kovandzic Shari Kwon Kara Leonard Vickie Lincoln Chona Lucas Javier Maldonado Stanimir Markov Troy McFarland David More Robert Morris |
Talisha Murphy James Neal Ricki Nelson Suzanne Newsom Joanne Owens Melissa Park Mary Partain Rebecca Peterson Elizabeth Pickett Rena Piper Monica Powell Manuel Quevedo-Lopez Miguel Angel Razo-Razo Michael Rebello Michael Ridgeway Preston Robinson Raquel Ovalle Robles Amanda Rockow Francisco Rodriguez Susan Rogers Narcely Ruiz Margaret Russell Myron B Salamon Sonya Salamon Mark Salmon Deborah Samac Salvador Santos Ermelinda Saucedo Deborah Sauer Molly Seeligson Lydia Selvidge Alamgir Sharif Hongying Shi Jay Silber David Simcoe Billy Simpson Amanda Smith Stuart Smith Tonya Smith Hamid Soheili Vijayanthi Srikanth Karen Stepherson Melissa Stokely Stephenie Tarzwell Charissa Terranova Van Tran Wing K “Eric” Tsang Cathy Van Noy Farah Veerjee Josef Velten Lynne Vieraitis Cynthia Walder Christopher Walker Ru-Hung Wang Wei-Jen Wang Yu Wang Cassandra Warren Gregory White Stephanie Williams Andrea Younger Xiao-Mei Zhao |