No Louie award is complete without Lobo Louie himself – in this case, both in person and miniaturized in “gold.” The annual Student Affairs “Louie” Awards were held recently in a packed SUB ballroom. UNM President David Schmidly, Vice President for Student Affairs Cheo Torres and Student Affairs Fellows hosted the annual recognition reception in honor of employees who exemplify the very best in providing great service to UNM students.
Photo: President David Schmidly, Student Affairs Employee of the Year Yvette Hall, Student Government Accounting Office, and Vice President of Student Affairs Eliseo "Cheo" Torres at the recent Louie Awards ceremony.
Schmidly welcomed guests and offered a mock champagne toast, “It’s an honor to recognize each of our colleagues and students nominated for their outstanding service to the University, the division and the community. Cheers!”
The event’s emcee was Richard Ross from Career Services. More than 40 nominations were received for awards given in four categories: UNM Student Service Faculty Award, UNM Student Service Staff Award, Student Affairs Student Employee of the Year Award, and Student Affairs Employee of the Year. All winners received a Nambe plaque and a “golden” Louie.
Professors Steve Alley and Gary Weissmann received the faculty award. Alley was recognized for “being a great supporter of the students in the Psychology department in which he currently teaches four large psychology classes, a Freshman Interest Group class, and an ITV course, yet still finds time to do some advising due to somber circumstances in the department.”
Weissmann was recognized as a “leader by giving each student the opportunity to learn from a professional, and for his work with four visually impaired students in his class in which he took the initiative to learn new techniques and created extra resource materials to make sure each student felt comfortable in his class.”
Fernando Maresma, Latin American Iberian Institute, received the Student Service Staff Award for “being the first person people think of when they hear the words, ‘student service,’ and for actively recruiting students from every corner of the planet by telling them how great UNM is.”
The Student Affairs Student Employee of the Year award went to Joseph Dworak from Housing and Residence Life. Dworak “made a great impact in his role as Resident Assistant on the lives of students and staff alike, by virtue of his very high moral standards and remarkable passion and integrity.”
The Student Affairs Employee of the Year award went to Yvette Hall from the Student Government Accounting Office. Hall’s nominators said she “seems to take a personal passion and interest in managing 350 different student organization accounts with an approachable and patient attitude.”
Along with public recognition, the plaque and the Louie, Hall was given a cash award and a paid day off.
“Congratulations to all the winners and nominees who do their best year in and year out to provide the highest level of service to the UNM students and the community by serving as first-rate teachers, mentors, advisors and student service providers,” Torres said.
For more information, contact Dorene DiNaro, 277-5299.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at April 16, 2009 04:56 PM