Northwestern Oklahoma State University's employees were honored during the 15th annual Employee Service Recognition Ceremony Nov. 13-14. Ceremonies took place in Alva and Enid to honor employees who work at Alva, Enid and Woodward campus locations.

Dr. Jennifer Page, assistant professor of English, was awarded the John Barton Distinguished Teaching and Service Award during the annual ceremony. Nominations for the award are made by faculty, staff and students then the recipient is determined by a selection committee. To be selected, the recipient must be a full-time faculty member at Northwestern and exemplify distinguished teaching and administrative leadership.

Diane Penner, UDS/records coordinator in the Registry Office, was named the Thelma Crouch Staff Employee of the Year. This award was established to recognize exceptional performance and/or service by a member of the Northwestern staff. The recipient of this award shows dedication to Northwestern and its students. The Student Government Association accepts nominations for this award and then determines the recipient.

Years of Service Awards

Employees who were honored for their years of service are listed by name and job title:

• Five-year service recognition: Darla Adams, project administrative assistant for Upward Bound; Dr. Roger Brown, assistant professor of business; Susan Chaffin, custodian; Rebecca Cook, international student adviser; Dr. David Hawkins, associate professor of business and chair of the Division of Business; Keenan Meeker, instructor of mathematics; Kristin Mravinec, administrative assistant in the dean's office at the Woodward campus; Dr. Mary Riegel, associate professor of mathematics; Shawn Smith, HVAC technician; Trent Spade, treatment director with the Bill Johnson Correctional Center; Dr. John Stockmyer, professor of business; and Dr. Krista Tilley, assistant professor of nursing.

• 10-year service recognition: Sue Burks, financial aid assistant director; Jaunita Dotson, Upward Bound director; Brad Franz, director of athletics; Dr. Steven Mackie, professor of education; Calleb Mosburg, dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management; Kirk Rogers, instructor of criminal justice; and Dr. Jason Wickham, professor of chemistry.

• 15-year service recognition: Dr. Christie Riley, assistant professor of education and director of teacher education.

• 20-year service recognition: Tamara Brown, assistant professor of speech and chair of the communication department.

• 25-year service recognition: Dr. Martie Young, professor of education.

• 30-year service recognition: Diane Penner, UDS/Records Coordinator in the Registry Office.

Service Learning Awards

Janet Valencia, service learning coordinator, presented service learning awards on behalf of the SL/CE committee. Those being honored and for what include:

• Greatest Student Involvement Award: Allora Miller, assistant softball coach -- given to an employee who had the greatest student involvement in a project. Miller organized the softball team and other volunteers totaling 49 student members to hold a single day OBI blood drive. They encouraged students and members of the community to participate in the blood drive, set up and cleaned up on the day of the drive, which netted 111 units of blood given in one day.

• Greatest Community Impact Award: Kimberly Weast, professor of theatre arts and chair of the Department of Fine Arts – given to the faculty or staff whose project impacted their community through beautification, culture, sustainability or other area's that put a community's need first. Weast and her staff served more than 9,000 individuals by opening Herod Hall to various cultural activities throughout the 2017-2018 academic year. Some of these activities included the Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series, Heartland Best, Red Carpet Honor Band, CH Dance Productions, university theatre productions and various northwest Oklahoma pubic school events.

• Distinguished Service Award: Dr. Ramona Bartlow, assistant professor of nursing – given to an employee whose commitment to service sets a high standard in Service Learning while promoting the meaning of Service Learning and Civic Engagement. Bartlow and students in the Nursing Leadership class participated in community nursing activities to better the citizens of northwest Oklahoma. They served more than 100 individuals through activities such as the Marland Children's Home in Ponca City, Mercy House, YWCA, Alva Senior Center, Hope Center, and local schools just to name a few. They participated in flu clinics, clothing drives, and educational projects on healthy eating and services for the under privileged.

• Applaud Award: Jennifer Pribble, assistant professor of social work and director of field experience, and members of the Social Works Association of Tomorrow (SWAT) club – given to a club/organization that shows the greatest overall effort, participation and hard work. Pribble and SWAT were recognized for two of their many events during the 2017-2018 academic year. First was the Dignity Drive where boxes were set out for individuals to donate personal care items for those less fortunate. More than 500 items were collected and donated to the YWCA in Enid for their women's domestic crisis shelter. Second, they participated in the Wooden Child Project where they placed on the Garfield County Courthouse lawn wooden cutouts of children who represented the number of children who were reported abused in Garfield County in 2017. Volunteers from Vance Air Force Base, Junior Welfare League and other individuals assisted with the project.

• Most Expressive Award: Paige Fischer, director of recruitment, along with members of the Northwestern Scholar Ambassadors (NSA) – given to a club/organization that had a unique project/event. Fischer and the NSA hold an elder prom at the Homestead in Alva each year. NSA members decorated, provided refreshments and entertainment for the residents who were encouraged to dance and participate in the activities. They served 20 elderly individuals during the 2017-2018 year.

Special Recognition

The SL/CE committee also gave special recognition to the Northwestern/Alva Homecoming committee for its contributions to the university.

"Each year thousands of hours are put in by members of this committee who receive little praise or reward for the work they put into Homecoming each year," Valencia said. "Their planning starts right after Homecoming ends and goes all year long until the next Homecoming. The committee consists of Northwestern faculty, staff, administration, students, alumni and local community members. They fundraise by selling buttons each year, they encourage the university community to contribute to the success of the event, and encourage those outside the university to participate also. Hundreds of junior high and high school band students participate from all over the tri-state area in the parade and massed band, which is a great showcase for our university. The SL/CE committee would like to show its appreciation for their hard work and dedication. Their service is truly a labor of love for Northwestern."

Dr. David Pecha, vice president for administration and chair of the homecoming committee, was presented this certificate of appreciation on behalf of the committee.

Diversity Initiative Recognition

Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology and chair of the Department of Social Sciences, presented Diversity Initiative recognitions to Valarie Case, university relations specialist; Dr. Kathy Earnest, assistant professor of English; Shawna Gilbert, access services librarian/assistant professor of library science; Kaylyn Hansen, director of students and housing; Dr. David Hawkins, associate professor of business/chair of Division of Business; Dr. Nikole Hicks, associate professor of nursing; Dr. Roxie James, lecturer for the English, Foreign Language and Humanities Department; Sadiaa Jones, assistant director of Athletics for Compliance and Student Services; Ken Kelsey, instructor of history and fine arts; Dr. Kathryn Lane, associate professor of English/chair of English, Foreign Language and Humanities Department; Kyle Larson, assistant professor of art; Karsten Longhurst, instructor of music/director of choral studies; Mackenzie Malone, Fryer Hall supervisor; Tiffany Misak, administrative assistant/Enid business office; Kristin Mravinec, administrative assistant/Woodward dean's office; Dr. Jennifer Oswald, assistant professor of education; Mackie, Page, Pribble and Valencia.

Tandy Keenan, director of Sponsored Programs, presented highlights of happenings from her office for the past year including the fact that nearly $1.7 million in grants were funded this past year, up from just more than $1.4 the previous year.

Several employees also were recognized during the ceremony for their service to the Faculty Senate, Staff Council and Professional Staff Council.

Images from the ceremony may be found online at https://nwosuphotos201819.shutterfly.com/16480.

TOP: Northwestern's 20-year service award recipients are (from left) Tamara Brown, Dr. Timothy Maharry, Dr. Jennifer Mahieu and Dr. Steven Maier. MIDDLE: Northwestern's 10-year service award recipients are (from left) Brad Franz, Sue Burks, Calleb Mosburg, Kirk Rogers and Dr. Jason Wickham. Not pictured: Jaunita Dotson. BOTTOM: Northwestern's five-year service award recipients are (from left, back row) Dr. John Stockmyer, Trent Spade, Dr. Roger Brown, Keenan Meeker, (front row) Dr. David Hawkins, Dr. Mary Riegel, Kristin Mravinec and Rebecca Cook. Not pictured: Darla Adams, Susan Chaffin and Shawn Smith.