| Awards
for Excellence honors MSU's brightest |
| From
the smallest towns of Montana--Joliet, Clancy, Hammond,
Fallon, Circle--they come. Over a quarter of the 42 Montana
State University students receiving the MSU Alumni Association
and Bozeman Area Chamber of Commerce Awards for Excellence
this year are from Montana towns with populations of less
than 1,000. Joliet even has two students--Kimberly Harwood
and Erin Mohr. |
| "I
think this speaks to the basic core values of the institution
and our students," said Chris Lamb, '74 Engl, '84
M, '88 EDD, assistant dean of the MSU College of Business.
"They aspire to academic excellence, distinguish themselves
as good citizens and work hard. These are values they
bring with them that are nurtured by the faculty at MSU
and result in much deserved recognition." |
| The
21st annual Awards for Excellence Banquet, held in February,
is dedicated to excellence and is designed to recognize
seniors who have outstanding records of achievement in
academic, extracurricular activities and service to MSU
and the local community. Each honored student selects
a mentor for a Faculty Excellence Award. |
| Topping
this year's faculty recognition is MSU business professor
Clark Maxam who was named as a mentor by three students.
Maxam is known for his tough upper-level finance classes
that mix in real-world experience from his 20 years on
Wall Street. "I view student recognition as the most important
recognition I could receive," he said. |
| "No
student could ask for an instructor with such an excellent
combination of professional experience and dedication
to real learning, even at times when the process of learning
isn't easy," wrote business finance major John Stickel
of Fallon in his nomination of Maxam. Fellow business
finance major Matt Hutchinson of Hingham also nominated
Maxam. He noted, "his high expectations give students
a chance to achieve at a previously untested level." |
| The
Excellence Awards Banquet is a "town and gown" event in
which the Alumni Association and the Chamber work together
to showcase the stars of both communities. |
| New
to the Awards for Excellence event this year is the addition
of an At-Large category for student nominations. The At-Large
category allowed for nominating students outside a specific
academic college. Nominations spanned the campus and came
from the areas of New Student Services and Orientation,
Greek, Residence Life, ASMSU, Athletics, Honors, Advance
By Choice and the Dean of Student's Office. A campus committee
chose the recipients by considering academic achievement
as well as all other aspects in which all students were
considered for the Award for Excellence. |
| "Some
fantastic students were nominated," said Kerry Hanson,
'93 Bus, assistant director of the MSU Alumni Association.
"It allowed for the opportunity to recognize two more
truly outstanding seniors on this campus." |
| Aaron
Buckalew of Pocatello, Idaho, a political science major
in the College of Letters and Science is one of the recipients
in the At-Large category, nominated by both New Student
Services and the General Studies Department. He chose
admissions representative Jennifer Dunn, '98 M,
as his mentor. |
| "She
was the first person who really got me involved in school,"
he said. "She's also been great support in my decision
to go to law school." |
| Among
many first time faculty mentor nominees is MSU Student
Health Services physician Robert Flaherty. He was chosen
by Paul Christopher Anderson of Pittsburgh, Penn., a bio-med
major in the College of Letters of Science. |
| "For
10 years I have been informally working with MSU pre-med
students as they get ready to apply to medical school,"
Flaherty said. "I help them get ready for interviews and
even help them figure out if the healthcare profession
is right for them." |
| The
Torlief Aasheim Community Service Award to two students
who have contributed the most time and energy to community
service went to Paul Christopher Anderson and Lianna Myers,
a nursing major on the Great Falls campus. |
| Two
members from the Bozeman business community, Jim and Bernie
Mitchell, were honored for contributions to the university
as well as Bozeman Chamber of Commerce and the community
at-large. |
| The
2003 Award for Excellence recipients represent not only
academic excellence at MSU, but also the gift of giving
more of themselves to the communities in which they live.
Montana State University is proud of this tradition of
excellence as the Awards for Excellence program celebrates
it's 21st year of cooperation between the Bozeman Area
Chamber of Commerce and the MSU Alumni Association. |
|
A list of student Excellence winners and their chosen
faculty mentors can be found on the Web at www.montana.edu/commserv/csnews/nwview.php?article=729
|
