Honors Day
Dr. Martha McDonald isn’t one to seek the spotlight but when she was announced as
the 2012 Exemplary Teacher Award winner on Honors Day, she took center stage.
The associate professor of nursing received the annual honor given by the United Methodist
Church Board of Higher Education. It recognizes excellence in teaching, concern for
students and colleagues, a commitment to values-centered education, service to students
beyond the classroom and to one’s students, institution, community or local church.
McDonald coordinates McKendree’s nursing programs in Southern Illinois. “She is revered
as an expert among her colleagues,” said Dr. Christine Bahr, provost and dean. “Students
appreciate her dedication, concern, sense of humor in the classroom, and ability to
make complex information more easily understood.”
Outstanding students from all divisions and three faculty awardees each had their
moment to shine during the Honors Convocation on Apr. 20 at the Hett. All were selected
by full-time faculty members based on four components of the University’s mission:
responsible citizenship, engagement, academic excellence and lifelong learning.
Dr. Brian Frederking ’90, professor of political science and chair of the Division of Social Sciences, delivered
the keynote address, “Games, Conversations and Metaphors.”
Students from the Louisville and Radcliff, Ky., campuses were honored during the Honor
Society Induction Ceremony at the Paroquet Springs Conference Center in Shepherdsville,
Ky., on Apr. 15. Forty-three outstanding students were inducted into Phi Kappa Phi,
Sigma Beta Delta or the Nursing Honor Society.
Dr. Christine Bahr congratulates Martha McDonald on her 2012 Exemplary Teacher Award.
Kelsey Rittenhouse ’12, Emily Cimarolli ’12, and Ryan Vincent ’12 were named Active Collegians Engaged in Service (ACES) Awards by the University’s Lyn Huxford Center for Community Service. The service-minded seniors each volunteered more than 400 hours to their communities, churches, schools and organizations.
Nigel Darvell accepts one of the two Associate Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching presented on Honors Day. The full-time counselor teaches stress management and substance abuse counseling to undergraduates. Not pictured is Dr. Hazel Loucks, a former Illinois Deputy Governor of Education and Workforce, who has taught many graduate level education courses.
Phi Kappa Phi inductees at the Kentucky Honor Society Induction Ceremony.
