May

Right on ‘cue

For his final faculty and staff appreciation picnic, Dr. J and his cabinet dished out home cooking – and recognition – to fellow Roadrunners.

By Cory Phare

May 8, 2017

When it comes to barbecue, some say the sauce is the boss. And when it comes to providing students a transformative educational experience, no one works harder than MSU Denver faculty and staff.

That was the sentiment on Ninth Street Historic Park last Tuesday at the annual MSU Denver Faculty and Staff Appreciation Barbecue. Members of the President’s Cabinet served up tasty and tangy dishes to treat a large contingent of Roadrunner faculty and staff, now a University-wide tradition established by MSU Denver President Stephen Jordan.

Jordan addressed the crowd, thanking everyone for their unyielding dedication to student success. He then acknowledged the three Distinguished Service Award winners: Bob Amend (professor and chair of the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication), Cynthia Baron (associate director of the First Year Success program) and LoriAnn Garcia (degree audit coordinator from the Office of the Registrar).

Jordan then acknowledged the recipients of the most recent Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Awards: Matt Makley (History), Barb EchoHawk (Earth and Atmospheric Sciences), Rebecca Canges (School of Education) and Christine Kuglin (category II awardee from Accounting).

Paul Cesare from the Office of Admissions then presented a special award of appreciation to Ruthie Jordan. He described the first time he met her, her kindness, and spoke about her legacy as an MSU Denver icon in her own right.

To conclude, Jordan implored attendees to delay thinking about deadlines (for just a little while) and to spend the time eating, laughing and reflecting on all of their achievements.

“And that’s a presidential order,” he said. “Because the day we celebrate our faculty and staff is always an especially great day to be a Roadrunner.”

Stay tuned for our summer series profiling each of the Distinguished Service Award winners and Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award recipients!