Early Bird

Congrats to our Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week winners

These exceptional faculty, staff and student employees are shining examples of dedication, innovation and excellence.

By Lindsey Coulter

November 12, 2020

Nominations continue to roll in for Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week awards, highlighting the excellent and important work happening at all levels of the University. This week, we celebrate three members of our University community who inspire students and their colleagues.

“Judging by their wonderful nominations, these three winners embody our MSU Denver values,” said Will Simpkins, Ed.D., vice president for Student Affairs, who selected this week’s winners. “Roadrunners are amazing individually, but our power lies in our desire to help each other succeed, reach shared goals and celebrate collective successes.”

Faculty winner – Anna Ropp, Ph.D., associate professor, Psychological Sciences

Nominated by Dawn McDonaugh, student, who wrote:

“Dr. Ropp has provided one of the best online learning experiences I have ever received, and I have been going to school for the last 4½ years. Dr. Ropp is innovative and extremely student-friendly. She is quick to help when someone needs her, and I really appreciate her efforts on our behalf.”

Dr. Ropp, thank you for the obvious care and effort you put into helping students have positive online learning experiences. During what could be a challenging time, it’s wonderful to see students celebrating educators who have developed creative solutions.

Staff/administrator winner – Ione Priest, accessibility-technology manager, Access Center

Nominated by Melissa Cermak, associate director, Access Center, who wrote:

“Ione is dedicated to diversity, inclusion and access. She serves on various committees on and off campus, advocating for greater accessibility when it comes to course materials/content, technology and the learning environment as a whole.

“She is constantly researching solutions when it comes to accessibility barriers that our students may be experiencing in their courses. She takes time to meet with students to listen to their concerns and offers individualized technology options that take into account their varying degrees of comfort and experience with technology. She comes up with innovative solutions and always seems to be keeping an eye on developing trends in education and technology that may impact our students. Many of our students would consider Ione a lifesaver when they experience access barriers. She is a champion for equity and inclusion, and she is articulate and thoughtful when it comes to advocacy and allyship.

“Ione is the Access Center’s go-to person when it comes to all things related to technology. She works to make sure that our website is up to date and accessible, adding resources to improve the learning experience for students, faculty and staff. Despite having many responsibilities, she is always willing to help when it comes to access, remediating an inaccessible PDF for a professor, supporting the CTLD team or auditing an online tool for accessibility. Ione has also been a great team member in the Access Center, posting daily memes and jokes to help us feel connected while we work remotely.”

Ione, thank you for your commitment to educational equity. MSU Denver students are lucky to have you in their corner and thank you for your efforts to make our entire institution a friendlier and more accessible place for all learners.

Student-employee winner – Tanner Wilde, instructional-design support specialist, Center for Teaching, Learning and Design

Nominated by all CTLD Instructional Design Group members, who wrote:

“Tanner has been an amazing addition to the CTLD Instructional Design team. During his time with us, he has proved to be a forward-thinking problem-solver whose adaptability and aptitude for learning new technologies has become an invaluable asset to our team.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted some ways in which our department works, and Tanner has stepped up to the plate to help our department and – on a larger scale – our faculty through this trying transition. He has taken on a front-desk-type role within our virtual support line, where he answers hundreds of faculty questions every week.

“In addition to this role, he is always ready and willing to help out our full-time instructional-design staff with any task we throw his way, whether that is helping us add items to Canvas courses, create banner images for modules, edit HTML or something entirely random. Overall, despite his status as a student employee, Tanner is someone we consider to be an integral member of the Instructional Design team.”

Tanner, take great pride in this glowing nomination. It’s clear your energy and ideas are valued, and your willingness to help your colleagues and fellow students is very appreciated. Thank you for your important contributions to our campus community. (Since we weren’t able to track down a photo of you, we shared one of Rowdy applauding your efforts!)

To nominate outstanding employees for the Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week award, please complete the form on the Roadrunner Shoutout of the Week webpage. Tell us how your nominee is making an impact through great teaching, service to students or innovation. Winners will be selected each week and profiled in the Early Bird on Thursdays. Winners will also get a shoutout on social media.