The University of Central Arkansas honored exceptional faculty and staff during the annual Faculty and Staff Recognition Celebration on April 15.
Faculty excellence awards were presented in the following areas:
Stephanie Rose, Department of Health Sciences, received the Public Service Award. The Public Service Award recognizes individuals whose service contributions to the UCA community, professional community and other communities outside the university have been outstanding. It is expected that individuals will have contributed both within and outside the university. Through service work such as volunteering for charitable organizations, serving on advisory boards, donating professional expertise, serving on committees and conducting outreach programs, these individuals have improved conditions within the community and enhanced the quality of life for all citizens.
UCA President Houston Davis and Stephanie Rose
Kerry Jordan, School of Nursing, and Jason Trumble, Department of Teaching and Learning, were finalists for this award.
Debbie Dailey, Department of Teaching and Learning, received the Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award. The Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award recognizes individuals whose contributions to their disciplines have been exemplary. Through original work in research, scholarship or creative activities — such as performances and artistic productions — they have expanded human knowledge, interpreted the human experience or enhanced the quality of our lives.
The finalist for the Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award was Matthew Moore, Department of Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology.
Michael Rosenow, Department of History, received the Teaching Excellence Award. Faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching are eligible for the Teaching Excellence Award. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching.
UCA President Houston Davis and Michael Rosenow
The finalists for the Teaching Excellence Award were Jessica Herring Watson, Department of Teaching and Learning, and Anna Park, Department of Psychology and Counseling.
Other awards to outstanding faculty and staff were presented to the following individuals:
Maria Negrete Padron, Office of Student Advocacy and Community, received the Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion and Equity Award. This award recognizes individuals whose commitment to diversity and inclusive excellence on and/or off campus has made a significant impact on various ethnic groups and diverse populations in a positive way. These individuals have improved conditions at UCA and within the community.
UCA President Houston Davis and Maria Negrete Padron
Finalists for the award were Juan Maefield, Department of History, and Greg Pelts, Veteran and Military Resource Center.
Stephanie Rose, Department of Health Sciences, received the Excellence in Grants Impact, Significance, and Stewardship award. The award promotes a culture of grant writing among faculty and staff and encourages grant recipients to track the impact of their grant work on individuals, the university, the community and their disciplines or fields of study.
UCA President Houston Davis and Stephanie Rose
Patrick Desrochers, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was honored with the Shumaker-Wright Undergraduate Mentorship Award. The University Honors Council created the award in 2022 in recognition of the importance of supporting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity. Supporting student participation in mentored research is an important component of the university’s mission. Furthermore, the undergraduate award is named in honor of Conrad Shumaker and Terry Wright, who had each mentored more than 20 undergraduate student capstone/thesis projects at the time of their retirements. The implementation of this mentorship award conveys the campus’s high regard for outstanding contributions made to the academic and research community.
UCA President Houston Davis and Patrick Desrochers
Ginny Adams, Department of Biology, Pamela Ashcraft, School Nursing, and Thomas Snyder, Department of Economics, Finance, and Insurance and Risk Management, were finalists.
Other presentations included the recipient of the Employee of the Year for 2024-25. The Employee of the Year is Treci Buchanan, College of Science and Engineering.
UCA President Houston Davis and Treci Buchanan
Amanda Horton, executive director of Public Appearances, and Vicky Summers, university registrar, were finalists for the Employee of the Year award.
The Employee of the Year is presented to a full-time staff member who has shown extraordinary performance to the university community over the past year. This person is a well-rounded employee who goes above and beyond and truly cares about students, colleagues and UCA. Any full-time staff member with two or more years of continuous service to the university prior to January 1 of the award year is eligible for this award.
Here are images from the ceremony:
