Elizabeth C. Connors,
Assistant Professor, Clinical Communicative
Disorders,winner of the Administrative
Excellence Award. As clinic director
for the Department of Communicative Disorders,
Elizabeth "Billie" Connors is
always willing to lend an ear to a steady
stream of students, colleagues, and clients.
Like an air traffic controller, she makes
sure that students are on course and land
in clinical placements matched to their
interests and abilities. She's both an
educator and an ambassador. She has expanded
and enhanced the curriculum while broadening
the University's hearing and speech services
to clients of all ages. And she does everything
with grace. That's not the name of a co-worker,
but a description of Connors modus operandi
for the past two decades. For showing
us all how it can be done efficiently,
effectively, and with a smile, we happily
present Elizabeth Connors with the 2006
Administrative Excellence Award.
Thomas N. Mather, PhD,
Professor, CELS-PLS, winner of
the Scholarly Excellence Award.
Tom Mather-also known as "Tick Man"
-thinks beyond the tweezers. The entomologist
uses an arsenal of weapons in his campaign
to take the bite out of Lyme disease and
other diseases ticks transmit. He enlists
others in the battle: microbiologists,
behavioral psychologists, other entomologists,
molecular biologists, public health officials,
and engineers. Mather and his team have
probably collected more deer ticks and
tick spit than any other scientists in
the world. Its not a hobby; its a research
focus. The drool contains bioactive proteins
that could lead to a vaccine. When not
working on the cure, he's working on disease
prevention. Like a Johnny Appleseed, Mather
goes from neighborhood to neighborhood
spreading information on how to keep backyards
clear of lurking vector-borne diseases.
For hitting the bulls eye on tick research,
we gladly presentThomas N. Mather the
2006 URI Foundation Scholarly Excellence
Award.
Denise K. Gorenski, Specialist,
Student Affairs, Pharmacy, winner
of the Staff Excellence Award.
For the past 19 years, Denise Gorenski
has been just the right prescription for
pharmacy students who need a nudge, a
course, or a cookie. Students hang out
in her office, telling her their problems
and seeking her advice. This mother of
four sons and surrogate mother of hundreds
of pharmacy students will defend her brood
when necessary. She once told a dean:
"Don't yell at him. He just broke
up with his girlfriend." The dean
remained silent. The office walls of this
aptly-named specialist of student affairs
are filled with wedding photos and baby
pictures sent to her from her alumni "kids."
When visiting campus, pharmacy alumni
generally stop at her office first. For
going well beyond her proscribed duties,
we happily present Denise K. Gorenski
the 2006 Staff Excellence Award.
Galen A. Johnson, PhD,
Professor, Honors Center, winner
of the Teaching Excellence Award.
Apparently Galen Johnson's philosophy
classes are contagious. According to a
number of students, once you attend one
of his classes you get a bug to enroll
in others. Even after class has ended,
numerous modern -day Platos can be seen
following their Socratic teacher to continue
their discussions. Students catch their
professors excitement for learning, which
occurs on both sides of the classroom.
It is fairly common, for example, to hear
Johnson exclaim "wow" when a
student makes a particularly impressive
comment. The homework he assigns, one
student reports, makes her want to read
more, discuss it with her classmates,
and think about it long after the course
has ended. For wowing us all, we are pleased
to present Galen Johnson the 2006 URI
Foundation Teaching Excellence Award.
Previous Award Recipients
