CAHSS STORIES

CALE 2019 Awards Ceremony

CALE Awards

Frances B. Huston Award Winners

Photo of Francis B. Huston Medallion recipient Nicole Rigsby with President Mary Cullinan, Dean Brian Donahue, Dean Pete Porter, and Faculty Escort Assistant Professor Shelly Shaffer
Francis B. Huston Medallion for Education. Starting from the left, Pete Porter, Nicole Rigsby, President Mary Cullinan, Brian Donahue, and Faculty Escort Shelly Shaffer

Every year, each of CALE’s seven departments chooses a student to receive the Frances B. Huston Medallion. This award recognizes graduating seniors who have achieved academic excellence with a 3.75 or higher GPA and who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities at Eastern and/or in the community.

These are the Huston Award recipients from CALE for 2018-19 and their faculty escorts:

Art

Tayler Parkin with faculty escort Senior Lecturer Chris Tyllia

Education

Nicole Rigsby with faculty escort Assistant Professor Shelly Shaffer

English

Grace Caraway with faculty escort Associate Professor Tracey McHenry

Modern Languages & Literatures

Chad Edwards with faculty escort Professor Terrance MacMullan

Music

Ethan Seid with faculty escort Senior Lecturer Julia Salerno

Physical Education, Health and Recreation

Harli Spurgeon with faculty escort Associate Professor Garth Babcock

Theatre and Film

Madalyn “MJ” Daly with faculty escort Senior Lecturer Jeff Sanders


Dean’s Excellence Award Winners and Faculty Mentors

Dean's Excellence Award recipient Alexandria Nepean stand with Faculty Mentor Senior Lecturer Polly Buckingham, and Co-Deans Brian Donahue and Pete Porter
Dean’s Excellence Award recipient Alexandria Nepean receiving her award. Left to right: Brian Donahue, Alexandria Nepean, Polly Buckingham, and Pete Porter.

Celebrating excellence in student contributions, achievements, faculty inspiration and student mentorship, the Dean’s Student Excellence Award recognizes outstanding graduating seniors who have demonstrated distinguished excellence and achievements within their department, the college, university and the community.

These are the 2017-2018 Dean’s Excellence Award Winners and their mentors:

Art

Leslie Kolke with faculty mentor Senior Lecturer Chris Tyllia

Education

Kristin Abshire with faculty mentor Assistant Professor Gus Nollmeyer

Amber Walker with faculty mentor Assistant Professor Gus Nollmeyer

English

Grace Caraway with faculty mentor Assistant Professor Ian Green

Alexandria Nepean with faculty mentor Senior Lecturer Polly Buckingham

Modern Languages and Literatures

Connor Dempsey with faculty mentor Associate Professor Miguel Novella

McKindsay “Kindsay” Dow with faculty mentor Professor Florian Preisig

Dean's Excellence Award recipient Taylor Alyse Clarke stands with her Faculty Mentor Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah and Co-Dean's Brian Donahue and Pete Porter
Dean’s Excellence Award Recipient Taylor Alyse Clarke receiving her award. Left to Right: Brian Donahue, Taylor Alyse Clarke , Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah, and Pete Porter.

Music

Taylor Clarke with faculty mentor Professor Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah

Physical Education, Health and Recreation

Drake Chaves with faculty mentor Professor Jeni McNeal and Assistant Professor Katie Taylor

Jessica Sharpe with faculty mentor Assistant Professor Katie Taylor

Theatre and Film

Evan Hoff with faculty mentor Assistant Professor Chase Ogden


CALE Excellence Award Winners

Photo of Catherine Girard receiving her Excellence Award from Dean's Brian Donahue and Pete Porter
Catherine Girard receiving her Excellence Award Left to right: Pete Porter, Catherine Girard, Catherine’s son, and Brian Donahue.

These individuals embody the college’s mission and values. The purpose of the six college awards is to recognize and commend outstanding faculty and staff who have put forth extraordinary commitment to represent their department, the college and the university.

Classified and Exempt Excellence Award

Gail Forsgreen from the Writers’ Center

Faculty Teaching Excellence Award

Catherine Girard from the Art Department

Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activities Excellence Award

Drew Ayers from the Theatre & Film Department

Faculty Service Excellence Award

Katie Taylor from the Physical Education, Health and Recreation Department

Team Excellence Award

The Office of Field Experience in the Education Department: Tim Sedor, Carissa Gran and Jared Cramer

Campus Partner Excellence Award

Adam Klinger from the Information Technology Department


Professor Emeritus

Dean Brian Donahue shakes hands with Henry-York Steiner
Brian Donahue congratulating Hank (Henry-York) Steiner on his retirement

The title Professor Emeritus is awarded to those professors who, upon retirement, are recognized for their excellence in teaching, intellectual contributions and service to the university, college and department throughout their career. This year, Professor Henry-York Steiner was awarded emeritus status.

Professor Henry-York Steiner, English Department

Professor Henry-York Steiner is retiring after sixty-one years of college and university teaching, fifty of which have been here at Eastern Washington University. An alumnus of Grinnell College (BA), Yale University (MA) and the University of Oregon (PhD), he joined Eastern’s administration and faculty in 1968. As dean of Undergraduate Studies (1968-79), he helped create and nurture the programs now known as American Indian Studies, Africana Studies, Chicano Education, University Honors and Environmental Studies. As a deeply respected and popular professor, he has taught 20 different graduate and undergraduate courses, ranging from composition to English and American literature to folklore, mythology, rhetoric, philosophy and religion, environmental studies and recreation.

Hank Steiner is known to students, administrators, faculty and many people in supporting roles over the decades for his intellect, compassion and integrity. He has been a model and mentor to generations of students and faculty. One of his colleagues recently said, “When I grow up, I want to be Hank Steiner.”

Unfortunately, there is only one original. Fortunately, we have had the joy of learning with and from him. In addition, Henry-York Steiner has served 48 years on the 49 Degrees North Ski Patrol and the National Ski Patrol System as a patroller, administrator, instructor and instructor trainer. His wife, Lori, is a recipient of an EWU Alumni Award. It is safe to say that Henry-York Steiner’s contributions to our community and to so many individuals are greater than mere words can express.


Retiring Faculty & Staff

These retiring CALE team members provided distinguished service and exemplified the mission and values of their department, the college and the university.

Photo of Christina Booth at CALE Awards 2019
Christina Booth holding her certificate honoring her retirement

Lecturer Christina Booth, Education Department

Chris earned her Master of Education degree from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her areas of specialization are Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

Before coming to EWU, Chris was the director of the United Church of Christ after-school care program and currently directs University Preschool in Cheney. Her hobbies and interests include spending time with her family, going to church and the theatre, reading and traveling.

Senior Lecturer Teiko Stradling, Modern Languages and Literatures Department

Retiring after 26 years of service at Eastern, Teiko Stradling earned two bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from EWU, ranging in subjects from psychology and business administration to teaching English as a second language.

Teiko served as an adjunct instructor of Japanese at EWU for eight years and a lecturer of Japanese for another eight years before her promotion to senior lecturer of Japanese in 2010. In her time at EWU, she has coordinated with various folks to bring different scholars to campus, like calligraphy specialists, Japanese educational system specialists, DNA scholars and Japanese poetry specialists.

Photo of Debbie Moradi excepting her certificate honoring her retirement from Dean Brian Donahue
Brian Donahue handing Debbie Moradi her certificate honoring her retirement.

Debbie Moradi, Art Department

A key administrative classified member of the Art Department, Debbie Moradi is retiring after 30 years of service at Eastern.  She plans, organizes and coordinates the daily operations of the different art programs. Debbie has held 14 different jobs during her time at Eastern. She believes that this flexibility has proved to be challenging in a good way and has afforded her the opportunity to work among some remarkable people. Her favorite positions have been in the Art and Physics Departments. She says that the EWU students are the reason she loved working here, and it was always a privilege to help them no matter what department she found herself in. In her spare time, she loves to tat, knit and sew.


CALE 2019 Awards Ceremony Photo Album

Taylor Parkin Frances B. Huston Medallion Award 03