2001 Annual Applause Celebration

On Tuesday, December 4th the Second Annual Applause Holiday Celebration was well attended by the faculty and staff of the College of Arts & Sciences. The twenty biweekly Applause awardees from the past year were special guests and the six annual Applause awardees were announced. Assistant Dean David Howe presided over the celebration and the text of his comments are here....

Welcome to the second annual celebration of the managers, professionals, office, clerical, and technical staff here in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Our special guests are the 20 individuals who received our Applause this past year… Audine Oehm, Mary Klucas, Kathleen Borg, Marilyn Augustyn, Gretchen Walker, Glenda Moore, Dave Magwire, Jane Kaufmann, Nancy Knapp, Patricia Klein, John Teets, Melissa Dow, Kari Ronning, Melissa Dunne, Brenda West, Linda Hotovy, Lori Ratzlaff, Catherine Haley, LeAnn Messing, and Marti Schell.

Welcome and thank you. Here is one more round of Applause for your achievements.

The likenesses of all these individuals are spread around the room on the tables. I hope you have read them. Awardees, when you leave tonight, please take your frame as our gift.

I would be remiss if I did not applaud the efforts of certain individuals in the Dean's Office that actually lead our Applause. Linda Luedtke manages the logistics of our Applause - the donuts, the timing, and the scheduling to be sure that everyone is where they have to be to make it a surprise. Lori Anderson and Karen Caruso actually created the LOOK of Applause with their photos, print and web graphics. They make up the prize patrol. And in the background of any event like this is alway Kim Weide. Kim creates FEEL of our Applause event. Thank you Linda, Lori, Karen, and Kim.

Our special guests today received our Applause during the past year, but tonight we are here to announce 6 who will receive our Applause for the entire calendar year of 2000. Five of our 20 special guests will be among them, joined by one who did not receive our Applause during the past year.

I have some prizes to give our annual awardees…

• They will each receive a BIG check. The amount won't be big, but the paper it's printed on will be big. To be honest, they won't even get the money tonight because it has to be added to their paycheck.
• The annual awardees will each receive a bookstore certificate for $100. This is also taxable income, I'm sorry to say. But along with the bookstore certificates are a few things that won't be taxed -
• A portfolio, special tablets and an A&S pen
• A 30 minute massage at campus recreation (one of the most popular awards
• And a gift certificate for a meal donated by Crane River.

By the way, Crane River has been one of our most loyal supporters. I hope you will all patronize them from time to time, because they are really fans of yours. In fact, help me out and every time you go into Crane River, please mention to Linda Vescio [wife of Tony Joern in BioSci] that you're from Arts & Sciences and you appreciate their support for our Applause.

In my opinion, the most important prize is that each annual awardee will be submitted by the College for the Regents KUDOS award. I will be working with the awardees and their unit chair or director over the next few days to get those nominations completed. An individual receiving a KUDOS award receives a monetary stipend, recognition at a Board of Regents meeting and an article in the SCARLET.

By the way, one of our annual Applause awardees from last year, Brian Farleigh, received the Regents KUDOS Award just this past September. Congratulations Brian.

The annual Applause awardees that I am about to announce were selected from 47 nominations for 19 individuals from all over the college. No distinction was made for those who received our Applause during the year. Every nomination received during the entire year was considered all over again.

How is our Applause awardee selected? Frankly, our Applause begins with you - a simple nomination. The nominations are gathered and reviewed by a panel that then sends forward their recommendation to the Dean. There is a panel for the awards during the year, and another panel for the awards presented tonight. I have not, and will not, publicly disclose the names of the individuals on the panels, but they do a lot of work for no applause of their own. There are several individuals in your midst that have served on these panels, and even though I won't announce who they are, please join me in one round of applause for them.

Last year at this event, we mentioned these banners encouraging that when an A&S staff member does something extraordinarily well, you should START the APPLAUSE!! This year, we reemphasize that…

• Nominations make this program work!
• Have YOU nominated someone for Applause?
• If you had, maybe they would be one of the following annual awardees…

If I call your name, please come up and receive your check from Dean Hoffmann. Please remain up here as I complete the announcements. We will give you the rest of your stuff and take pictures after the announcements are completed. So here goes…

Our first awardee could not be with us this evening because she had the gall to vacation in Florida. She has a contagious smile that can be relied upon to brighten your day as much as her skill can be relied upon to brighten your publication. Working in subtle ways to enhance curbside appeal, using photos, graphics and fonts, she can jazz up just about any subject matter. Graphic designer, and world class tap dancer, please join our Applause for Melissa Dunne .

Our next awardee is a "master juggler", handling the finances for several different programs undertaken by the Center for Science Math and Computer Education as well as the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. She is dedicated, competent, and always pleasant. Please begin our Applause for Brenda West .

Our next awardee works with skill and grace while handling an amazing number of different tasks in the Women's Studies program. An accomplished artist and a caring professional… please join our Applause for Glenda Moore .

Our next awardee (number four) probably knows more about Willa Cather than anyone in the world - except Susan Rosowski. Assistant Editor of the Willa Cather Scholarly Edition, her contribution has been crucial to its success. Please begin our Applause for DOCTOR Kari Ronning .

Our next awardee (number five) is timely, friendly and most importantly, competent as he addresses problems that can stop us all dead in our tracks. Not once has he made me feel like I asked a dumb question. The expert of last resort, that we know as Computer John, please join our Applause for John Teets .

Our sixth awardee is a true ambassador for the University. She seems to work everywhere - Physics, Center for Science Math & Computer Ed, and recently for NAGPRA where she handled the dedication of Native American Memorial with efficiency and sensitivity. I am extremely pleased to lead our Applause for Marilyn McDowell .

Remember to take your job seriously because something you do is serious business to someone.

There is still plenty to eat and drink, so please eat it all up.

Thank you all for coming.