Wednesday, April 25, 2001

The 47th annual Service Awards Ceremony was recently held at the University of Central Arkansas.

The awards presented and the winners were:

PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

Cathy Acre of the occupational therapy department won the Public Service Award, which recognizes individuals whose service contributions to the UCA community, professional community, and other communities outside the university have been outstanding.

It is expected that individuals will have contributed both within and outside the university. Through service work such as volunteering for charitable organizations, serving on advisory boards, donating professional expertise, serving on committees, and conducting outreach programs, these individuals have improved conditions within the community and enhanced the quality of life for all citizens.

She began volunteer work while still a student at UCA and has continued to accept greater responsibility as a faculty member. Ms. Acre involves herself in a wide variety of service activities, having served as a soccer coach and a team captain for the American Heart Walk in addition to being a 1999 graduate of the Faulkner County Leadership Institute. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Faulkner County Day School for the past five years and recently began a new three-year term. Ms. Acre has also served on the Board of Directors for Independent Living Services Inc. in both Conway and Greenbrier.

Her collaborative approach to service is illustrated by her work in the ACTS program, which is funded by a UCA Public Service Grant she obtained. In this program, faculty and students of the occupational therapy and theater departments work together to provide opportunities in the fine arts for developmentally disabled individuals.

TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD

Bill Lammers of the psychology and counseling department won the Teaching Excellence Award, which is given to faculty who have consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in teaching. Recipients of this award strive to enhance student learning as they continually seek ways to improve their teaching.

Lammers has been instrumental in introducing new instructional technologies into the department, has been involved in scholarship of teaching and served the university through leadership in the Instructional Development Center. The numerous times Lammers has been nominated for the Teaching Excellence Award attests to what one of his colleagues calls his "legendary" teaching performance.

The letter of nomination written by a faculty colleague suggests Lammers "is the type of person we admired when we were students -- a totally dedicated, exceptional person who places immense value in his students and in his chosen subject matter. ... Dr. Lammers has the widest-open door of any professor I have ever worked with."

RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP, and CREATIVE ACTIVITY AWARD

Dr. Bill Taylor of the chemistry department won the Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Award, which recognizes individuals at UCA whose contributions to their disciplines have been exemplary.

Through original work in research, scholarship or creative activities (such as performances and artistic productions), they have expanded human knowledge, interpreted the human experience, or enhanced the quality of our lives.

Taylor, associate professor of chemistry, earned his doctorate in physical chemistry from Louisiana State University.

His research encompasses a number of areas dealing with the behavior of gas phase ions, such as ion chemistry, mass spectrometry, and examination of processes occurring within electrical discharges. His studies are relevant to both chemistry and physics.