Student Personnel Association announces 2011 award recipients

UW–Madison’s Student Personnel Association recently honored the energy and dedication of nine student affairs professionals with its 2011 Outstanding Achievement Awards. The honors were distributed at a luncheon held on April 27 at the new Union South.

The Chancellor’s Office, the Norman Bassett Foundation, the Ineva Reilly Baldwin and Ira L. Baldwin Endowment for Student Services, the Offices of the Dean of Students and the SPA membership make the awards possible.

Founded in 1956, the SPA exists to create cross-campus connections among people who work with students to support, enhance and reinforce the learning mission of UW–Madison. The group thanks Mary Russell for serving as its 2010-11 president.

Awards were made in six areas this year for nine winners. The recipient of the Chancellor’s Award receives a $1,000 stipend, with other winners receiving $500. This year’s winners are as follows.

John Bechtol
assistant dean, Division of Student Life,
Campus Impact Award

Whether it is as an admission issue, a student in trouble, a parent who needs guidance on UW–Madison policy or a reporter who is looking for a story on veterans, Bechtol is a “go-to” guy, according to colleagues. With his approachable demeanor and his can do attitude, he is always ready to lend a helping hand to whatever the situation. He is unique is that he does not have a student affairs background, but has been able to use his military background to impact student life. He has added something special and has made an impact in student affairs that will last into the future.

Under his tutelage, the Vets for Vets organization almost overnight changed focus from a group focused almost exclusively on G.I. Bill benefits to one that more fits a traditional student organization model. The group became more visible, offering educational programs, not only for student veterans, but for the campus community.

Aaron Brower
associate vice chancellor of academic affairs,
Chancellor’s Award

Brower is an esteemed campus leader who has made enormous contributions student life at UW–Madison. Since 1986 he has taught, created, enriched and transformed programs that continue to make a significant difference in the experience our students have on campus.

“His passion and commitment to the university as an institute of learning is evident in everything he does,” says Dean of Students Lori Berquam. “This amazing professional has been extremely influential and a key player in changing the entire system of teaching and learning on campus to be more inclusive of the whole student experience, placing a strong value on out-of-class learning.”

“As one of the founders of our first modern-day residential learning community, he would be the first to say that he did not do it alone and he didn’t, but no one has been more involved, more interested, spent more time, has been more willing to help, and has provided more leadership,” says Paul Evans, director of University Housing. “He has truly made UW–Madison a better place for first year students.”

Sue Duhr
budget and policy analyst, Division of Student Life,
Frontline Award

Students who have the good fortune to interact with Duhr come away feeling that UW–Madison isn’t a big and uncaring place. Her interactions with students have an incredibly positive impact on their perceptions of the university. They are treated as individuals, not numbers. She has demonstrated her ability to work with diverse populations, to multi-task and to maintain confidentiality on important fiscal matters. She is widely known as a fantastic colleague.

Even though she is extremely busy, she is always caring, unfailingly friendly and helpful, making this division a better place for everyone else that works or seeks services there. Her compassion and kindness come through in every interaction with students, families, faculty and staff. When a crisis occurs in the office — and she deals with students in crisis on a daily basis — she never loses her head. She handles every problem with a calmness, assertiveness and efficiency that one colleague said she can only dream of.

Adrianna Guram
student services coordinator, Center for the First-Year Experience,
Campus Impact Award

As coordinator for academic initiatives within the Center for the First-Year Experience, Guram has positively impacted the transition of thousands of students to UW–Madison. A nominator writes that she creates and coordinates “a community of support for first semester students in an unfamiliar world where it’s all too easy to pass a semester without connecting to ideas, instructors or peers.” Within the past three years, she turned several sections of the Wisconsin Experience Seminar into one of the most recognized high-impact first-year experience courses on campus. She has also developed transfer sections and linked the seminar with some on the most commonly enrolled courses as mini-FIGs.

Part of Guram’s success is her ability to develop strong student leaders on campus who in-turn foster community to fellow undergraduates. She does this with the aforementioned Wisconsin Experience Seminars and a new course, partnering with Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, focusing on continuing undergraduates interested in working with first year students in a mentor role.

Andrew Irving,
senior lecturer, Department of French and Italian,
2011 Norman Bassett Award

What makes Irving unique is his rare combination of devotion to students and his deep, wide-ranging commitment to making their learning outcomes as good as they can possibly be. He regularly proposes and initiates changes to improve the undergraduate French program, providing input that has been essential to the curricular reform efforts.

As French House director, Irving constantly looks for ways to improve educational opportunities for the residents while balancing the many administrative duties attached to the position. He has made many changes to the house to enhance its function as a learning and living community. He hosts a variety of receptions, lectures, workshops, galas, conversation groups, movie nights and events in which the residents are encouraged to participate.

Very few individuals are as invested in the advising process and students’ learning outcomes as Irving has been over the years. He is always willing to offer a helping hand and constantly trying to find ways of developing himself so that he can be a stronger member of UW–Madison advising and instructional academic staff community.

Robin Matthies
student services coordinator, Division of Student Life,
Leadership in Social Justice Award

Matthies has made a profound impact on diversity and climate on campus. She has been a strong advocate of diversity, inclusion and a socially just campus climate for all. Assuming the interim director role at the LGBT Campus Center, she has worked with students and staff to rebuild interest and services through empowerment of students interested in building on and refocusing the LGBT CC’s commitment to LGBT student service.

As a passionate advocate for students and staff, she has reinvigorated the LGBT CC with a sense of purpose and passion. Her campaign Stop the Silence raised awareness about LGBT bullying, harassment, homophobia, transphobia and pushed for the development of policy and procedures that would help respond to and prevent homophobia and transphobia through dialogues, panels, programs, videos, social networking, vigils and more.

It has become a national model for action on college campuses. This campaign also set the stage for the April Break the Silence, Wisconsin event, which drew participation from students all across the state.

Annette McDaniel
assistant dean, Center for the First-Year Experience,
2011 Norman Bassett Award

McDaniel’s 13-year career in post-secondary education began in 1998 when she was hired as the local family impact seminar coordinator at the UW-Extension. She moved onto academic advising in human ecology and the Wisconsin School of Business, where she was the first adviser to focus exclusively on transfer students, building a model program that was later adopted by Letters & Science.

She then turned her attention to SOAR advising, offering improvements to both first-year and transfer students before becoming the director of the Connections Program, which is the dual-admissions program between UW Madison and 22 partner campuses.

The experiences with Connections and her active participation in the system-wide Transfer Advising Work Group (TAWG) led to a successful MIU award to enhance and support the transition of all transfer students to our campus through the creation of a transfer “hub” in the Center for First-Year Experience. Most recently she has been “loaned” on a part-time basis to the provost’s office to provide leadership to the MIU Advising Task Force in developing an implementation plan for $1.5 million in MIU funding to improve undergraduate advising.

Kathy Monson,
university services program associate, Department of Animal Science,
SPA Frontline Award

Monson has worked for the Department of Animal Science since 1998. She has served as the first point of contact when a student walks into the department and administers to these students in a caring and professional manner. Her commitment to the students and the department as a whole is invaluable by insuring that the students receive the needed service from their designated academic adviser or are kept informed of opportunities and changes that affect the well-being of the student.

She is highly appreciated for her wealth of knowledge and information about department policies and procedures, and other administrative details and how these affect students. She is known as the unsung hero who keeps the department organized and connected. She maintains the commitment and devotion to the student needs, both academically and socially ensuring a welcoming and accepting environment for students, faculty and academic staff.

Tonya Trabant
administrative program specialist, L&S student academic affairs,
2011 Award for Excellence in Student Affairs

An over-the-top, absolutely stellar and outstanding student-affair professional as well as a truly fabulous, gem-like person are some of the words used to describe Trabant.

She has given eight years of service to UW–Madison and her work touches scores of individuals in disparate units, including Advising Services, Career Services, Counseling Services, the Office of Equity and Diversity, Student Academic Affairs, UW Housing, Pathways to Excellence, the Writing Center and the Undergraduate Research Scholars. She has been inspirational and indispensable to the staff, students and faculty who work together at the Chadbourne Residential College. In fact, nominators describe her as the heart and soul of the place, as well as the glue that holds everything together.

Some of her accomplishments include the development of CRC’s mission statement, the creation and development of ILS 138, entitled Exploring the Foundations of Liberal Education, and the development and implementation of a spring break service-learning trip to the Dominican Republic.