CALE Awards 2020

About

I am pleased to write, on behalf of the Art Department, about Rachelle Rogers, whom we recommend as this year’s recipient of the Frances B. Huston Medallion. Rachelle possesses a rare quality: an innate intellectual elegance. An Honors student with a 4.0 GPA, she is the dream of every professor. She is organized, thoughtful, and brilliant. But do not let her unassuming attitude fool you! She has an impressive capacity to plow through even the most obscure scholarship, and she masters the lost art of formatting bibliographies properly in a way that will move aficionados to tears. Blessed with superb writing skills and an exceptional aptitude for academic research, she has developed a solid capacity to analyze how image-making has, historically, supported the production of knowledge, notably about the body and religious beliefs.

In a fascinating—and eerily felicitous—capstone thesis in art history, Rachelle examined the treacherous passage from Medieval to Early Modern representations of the Apocalypse in the work of Albrecht Dürer. As the last winter quarter grew into the strangest of springs, the doom-laden scenes engraved by the Northern Renaissance artist, who had survived the Black Plague and the passage of a comet, came to life before our incredulous eyes. Created under dire circumstances, her excellent thesis is also outstandingly relevant.

My colleagues in Art and German also praise her for her dedication and diligence. Overcoming her initial perplexity in her first studio art classes, Rachelle courageously embraced the challenge of experimenting with materials, leading to an internship at EWU Art Gallery and a focused exploration of printmaking, bookmaking, and photography. It is her resolution and ability to let instructors push her to experience art hands-on that led, I believe, to her deep-seated understanding of late Medieval manuscripts and early engravings.

On a more personal note, I would like to add that one of my fondest memories with Rachelle is a lovely chat about the history and materiality of bookmaking that we had in the sunshine, as my children played near us, in the dirt, with their trucks. Elie Wiesel described teaching as the art of lighting stars in the eyes of students. I thank Rachelle for having graced me with such splendor many times. I will cherish the trust she placed in me when I asked her to experiment with conceptual ideas and take risks with critical theory. I hope this prestigious prize will empower her to recognize the excellence we see in her. I wish all of us the pleasure of watching her continue to cultivate her nimble mind.

– Catherine Girard, PhD

About

Samantha exemplifies qualities of a teacher: dependability, flexibility, enthusiasm, growth mindset, academic excellence, and kindness. She consistently demonstrates these qualities throughout her classes at EWU, but also in her field placement.  Her positive demeanor helps build a classroom culture that focuses on quality.  Her presence in a class improves the culture of the class.

Samantha maintained her high standards of exemplar work, all while volunteering to improve program and academic outcomes.  There is never a time when Samantha has not said “yes,” whether it is serving on a committee, creating flyers to promote an EWU program or event, helping support the classroom, or taking on leadership roles.  Her involvement and leadership in these tasks often made the difference in the successful outcome.  She embraced being a lead teacher at the EWU reading clinic, assuming responsibilities for opening activities and organizing workflow, as she created an atmosphere that incorporated a mindset towards a lens of improvement.

I am excited to see what Samii will do in the upcoming years.  The foundation that EWU provided for her will serve her well in her future. I love that Sammi will be an Eagle for Life.

– Ann Van Wig, PhD

About

Grace is a first-generation college student who grew up in an environment where higher education was not a priority for women. EWU is lucky that Grace decided to pursue her higher education with us and has shown leadership in her classes, on campus, and in the community.

In addition to maintaining a high GPA and working to support herself, Grace actively sought opportunities to work with the community and further her own leadership and writing skills. Grace’s accomplishments since winter 2019 include:

• Interning with GetLit! where she wrote PR materials for the festival
• Interning with Family Promise of Spokane where she interviewed and documented the stories of people and families experiencing homelessness
• Interning with Desautel Hege, a PR firm in Spokane
• Creating webpages for the Prairie Restoration Project
• Writing a grant for NAOMI, a non-profit transitional home for homeless women and their children
• Participating in Women in the Lead, a program sponsored by EWU’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Grace wants to use her leadership and communication skills to continue advocating for people and make a difference in other people’s lives. The Frances Huston award is meant for students like Grace—those that preserve, push boundaries, and advocate for others.

~ Kate Crane

About

I’ve known Sonya for over two years now. Sonya has made an impression on me with her caring nature and frankness. In the last few years I noted how stressed and tired she always is. Because she is a CA she often has to stay up all night and address student emergencies. Chatting after class, she would tell me for example how many times she had to call the ambulance that week. She is also very engaged in campus issues, such as food insecurity.

Despite her busy life and the constant fatigue, Sonya manages to always remain positive, turn in assignments on time, go to France for study abroad not once but twice, give free tutoring to freshmen, and accumulate degrees: a major in French as well as a major in Communication Studies, with an overall GPA of 3.94. Unsurprisingly she has been accepted at the College Student Affairs Master’s degree at Eastern Illinois University.

In my classes, Sonya was a model student who was not afraid of questioning things. I remember great conversations with her about Maupassant. I also discovered in my Poetry class that she has a lot of creativity, as she composed wonderful poems in French. Here’s an evocation of a moment of anxiety in a student’s life.

L’anxiété contrôle mes sentiments, mes pensées,
Rien n’aide avec ma peur et mon souci,
Je ne veux rien de plus que lancer
Les choses que je sens
Par la fenêtre,
Je m’endors.

Best wishes for success, Sonya, and keep in touch!

– Florian Preisig, PhD

About

Kim is inspiring for so many reasons.  I have always been impressed with her positive attitude and ability to push through and get things done.  This girl’s got GRIT!  This is not to downplay Kim’s academic achievements, of which there have been many.

Kim has a special way, though, of making those around her display the best of themselves.  She helps people show to others the honor, trust, and respect that she extends to everyone.  Kimberly Snow is going to be a fantastic teacher in her new teaching job in Wapato, WA.  And, she will continue to be a fantastic horn performer in all of the surrounding orchestras as well.

We will be proud to see her playing in Yakima, Walla Walla, and Mid-Columbia Symphonies as she inspires another generation of young musicians to find and develop themselves through empathetic and meaningful music-making.

– Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah

About

Kira is an exemplar not only of the liberal arts model of education but also of the goals and mission of CALE. What Kira loves is exactly what she does, and education, for Kira, is about educating the whole person.

She is an artistic omnivore who is also skilled in analytical and theoretical writing. Kira’s film, “Get Some Sleep,” which is a personal rumination on her struggles with insomnia, premiered at the Local Sightings Festival in Seattle in the FEM-POW showcase. Kira directed and animated this film herself, utilizing both the skills she honed as a Film major and those she developed as a Design minor.

Kira is a diligent collaborator and a frequent presence on her classmates’ sets, serving as an editor, production designer, cinematographer, and crew member. She contributes to the life of the Theatre and Film department, serving as a TA for production classes.

If all of this wasn’t enough, Kira has also performed as a bassist in various EWU Jazz Combos, served as President of the EWU VCD Club, and currently offers her expertise as a freelance illustrator and photographer. Kira truly embodies the academic, artistic, and leadership qualities that the Huston Award recognizes and celebrates.

– Drew Ayers

About

Dana Elder retired fall quarter 2019 after thirty-five years of service to EWU. Beginning as Director of Composition in 1984, he served also as chair of the department from 2000 to 2007. He became Director of University Honors in 2007, a post he held for nine years. While he was directing that program, he continued to teach well for English. His varied contributions to EWU culminated in his receiving the Trustees Medal in 2012.

Our students think very highly of Elder. One wrote that he was “a bright spot in my graduate program.” Another wrote, “Great class, great teacher, great human being!” Exclamation marks appear in abundance in his ratings. “The best professor I ever had!” Yet another student wrote about him, “I’ve never gained so many life lessons in a class.”

Besides his service work and his strength as a teacher, he continued to be active as a scholar throughout his career here. He co-published one book and was the sole author of another. He wrote and published more than 50 essays and poems, and he spoke at an equal number of national and regional conferences.

About

Anthony Flinn has been a valued member of the Department of English for 29 years and uses his reading and scholarship to reexamine and innovate his pedagogy to enhance students’ understanding of writing, literary texts, and time periods.  He is certainly known for his service, particularly as a fierce defender and promoter of faculty, students, and the discipline.

Tony has consistently demonstrated his commitment to refine his pedagogy and maintain rigor through teaching technical and intellectual aspects of writing.  For instance, in his courses, he offers a weekly close-reading exercise, called “quotation inquiry,” in which a significant quotation from a literary text is analyzed by students in terms of word usage and ideas.  This assignment stimulates students to begin the writing process through thinking about the meaning of words in specific contexts and how these words and contexts connect to social, political, cultural ideas.

Tony was the program director for Literary Studies from 1994-1996 in which he promoted the move to survey courses and then in 2008 was instrumental in extending the survey courses and developing senior seminars in genre, special topics, and major authors. As the program director for the M.A. in literature and writing from 2017-2020, he shifted curricular focus from preparation to teach at community college to professional development. He also served in the Faculty Organization in as Vice-President and President (2003-2004) and served regularly for 10 years as a member of the Faculty Senate.

Tony has demonstrated his commitment to research and creative works.  He has presented his recent research upon Julian Barnes at a conference and also uses this research in his classroom by offering, for instance, Julian Barnes’ History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters (1989) in ENGL 271 Critical Methodologies as a common text.  The common text allows all students to participate in probing, testing, and practicing applying post-structuralist, deconstructionist, Marxist, feminist, etc. ideas consistently to familiar facts. Finally, Tony contributes regularly to Spokane Public Radio and serves as creator, host, and producer of Men in Charge from 2013 to present.

About

Jamie Tobias Neely, professor of journalism, taught part-time in the Eastern Washington University Journalism Program for 10 years before joining the faculty in 2008. She has served as director of the EWU Journalism Program since 2015 and has focused on student advising and updating the journalism curriculum for the digital age.

Neely graduated from the University of Wyoming (B.A. Journalism), Eastern Washington University (M.F.A. Creative Writing-Non-Fiction), and Gonzaga University (M.A. Counseling Psychology.) She joined the newsroom of The Spokesman-Review in 1987, eventually serving as feature writer, features editor, associate editor and member of the editorial board.

During her tenure at Eastern, she has served on the EWU Women’s Commission and the Women Helping Women Fund board. She has been a multiple recipient of the Yarwood Faculty Mentor award. She also wrote frequent op-ed columns for The Spokesman-Review.

She has received more than 30 awards throughout her journalism career. Her editorial and commentary writing awards include the Society of Professional Journalists Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award and the Best of the West Award. Her feature writing and editing awards include the Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism Award, the C.B. Blethen Memorial Award, and the Missouri Lifestyle Award.

Neely has served as adviser to EWU’s student newspaper, The Easterner, and chair of the EWU Board of Student Publications. Her students name her Principles of Journalism class as their favorite. She has relished the opportunity to introduce them to the powerful role journalism plays in our society as it seeks truth on behalf of citizens in support of a strong democracy.

About

Grant Smith served in a variety of capacities as a professor in the English Department from his hire in 1968 to his retirement in 2019. Grant’s record of teaching, service, and scholarship is extensive and distinguished. He received his BA from Reed College in 1964, his MA from the University of Nevada in 1966, and his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware in 1975.

Grant taught many courses on the classical literature of the ancient world, middle ages, and modern period. He, perhaps, is best known by students for his engaging courses on Shakespeare. Grant designed and pioneered over a dozen new courses in English and in the Humanities Program over his career.

During Grant’s stint as chair of the English Department (1978-84), he planned and coordinated the development of the Religious Studies program, the MFA in Creative Writing, the MA in Technical Writing, and the MA in Rhetoric and Composition as well as making significant contributions to the Honors Program. Grant served as Coordinator of Humanities from 1979 to his retirement.

Grant’s scholarship is exceptional. He served as a member of editorial boards of several distinguished journals and held numerous offices in academic societies, including President of the American Name Society (1999-2001). His publications in peer-reviewed journals are too numerous to tally as are his invitations for interviews in major news releases, radio and television venues, and to address academic societies nationally and internationally.

Grant’s contributions to the community are equally worthy of recognition. He served as president, board member, consultant, grant-writer and volunteer to many local agencies, organizations, and charities. He is, perhaps, best known for his coordination of EWU’s Bloomsday Corporate Cup runners, the team taking first place 27 out of the last 37 years, 23 of these consecutively.

About

Team Members:

Marge Andrews, Mike Arnot, José García Sánchez, Tomoko Kimura, Marin Laufenberg, Chiu Hsin Lin, Miguel Novella, Gina Petrie, Florian Preisig, Sara Preisig, José Rojas, Erina Romanowich, Stephanie Roulet Hormann, Natalia Ruiz-Rubio, Parker Shaw, Amorette Sherwood, Jody Stewart Strobelt, and Vickie Roig

It is with great satisfaction that I nominate the English as a Second Language, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish programs in the Department of Modern Languages for the CALE Team Excellence Award.

This team of professionals has been able to work collaboratively and congenially toward the attainment of different goals at EWU, mainly related to the representation of International Studies at our university. In an environment of respect and deference to the different cultures that this global and inclusive team represents, they have been working towards achieving various academic and cultural objectives.

Throughout the past two years, all the members of the Department have been working productively to incorporate each of the second-year courses in Modern Languages into the Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACRs) in Humanities and Arts. In order to unify criteria and set the PLOs in their respective majors and minors, every one of the team members worked diligently within tight deadlines to submit to CPAC all the second-year courses. One of the features of this team is that many of the instructors are Lecturers and they had to dedicate their time to integrate their classes into the GERs, which went well beyond their regular teaching load.

In addition to providing strong course offerings during the academic year, the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures has consistently housed Summer Study Abroad Programs which are distinguished by the experience, quality and expertise of the faculty who lead them, fostering the success of those students who travel abroad, often for the first time, and study a language other than English. Passau in Germany, Salamanca in Spain, Nice in France, and Oaxaca in Mexico programs which have had representation in this Department in recent years.

The preparation of these programs requires a tremendous amount of work and dedication during the entire year, from planning and preparation beginning the previous fall to the actual trip in the summer, which implies the complete dedication and attention of the faculty member to the students on the program. The vulnerability of these kind of programs to terrorism, domestic security, and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, has demonstrated the level of responsibility borne by the faculty directors whenever there is an adverse situation, as well as the commitment of the programs to the safety and well-being of our students.

Faculty have risen to the challenges with which they have been faced and have worked tirelessly to meet the needs of those students affected.

Not only has this team of people been willing to work among themselves professionally toward academic goals, but they have all been involved at different levels with increasing the promotion of extra-curricular international activities at EWU such as Día de los Muertos, Chinese New Year and the Bauhaus project.

In addition to these activities, which enrich the global breadth of offerings at EWU, each of the programs has been able to reach out to different departments to work interdisciplinarily on a variety of projects. Our faculty collaborate regularly with other colleagues in different programs such as History, Chicano Studies, Social Work, Engineering, Art, etc.

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures developed a pioneer project 20 years ago at EWU, initiating the Advanced Language Program in the high schools, which has served as a model for different Departments across the University to expand offerings in the high schools. All the coordinators have been able to manage busy agendas with regular meetings, peer observations and constant communication with the high school teachers in order to establish and maintain a community of global citizens in the Spokane area and beyond.

I would like to thank all this team for their unwavering support and encouragement towards each other and the students, providing opportunities to study abroad, supporting collaboration with the high school teachers, engaging with other Departments, and providing appreciation for other cultures.

About

Not only is Jazmine Jackson one of the most talented and creative minds that I’ve had the great fortune of working alongside, she is also incredibly caring, supportive, and dedicated to any task set before her.

Jazmine has supported every aspect of CALE throughout her time as a work-study student and secretary in the Dean’s Office, and as the secretary of the Art Department. During her time in the Dean’s Office, she has been the point-person during the major remodel of the CALE webpages, assisted with Get Lit!, served as the college’s creative and design guru, and has spent countless hours making sure all events and projects have run smoothly.

She always takes time out of her incredibly busy schedule to support students, and assist faculty and staff wherever and whenever she is needed – which is the majority of the time! Jazmine is a miracle-worker and a mind-reader. She gives 110% toward all she does and takes the initiative to jump on any project, even before she’s been asked to do so.

Using creativity, she builds on projects and ideas, and makes them better. Using care and an appreciation for diversity, she has participated in numerous training’s and workshops, all which have been completed with the intention of being a better advocate for all people of CALE.

Jazmine not only supports CALE, but works hard to support other colleges and departments on EWU’s campus. She is engaged in the EWU community and is a true advocate for the arts. She is confident and capable of greatness. I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to work with her.

About

Chris is one of the most popular and versatile instructors we have ever had in the Art Department at EWU.  His skill set is not limited to one specialized studio or media.  He teaches foundations design (2D and 3D), ceramics, digital art, art appreciation, and a wide variety of specialty topics. The department has come to rely on him as our “shortstop” on the team, capable of filling whatever instructional role we need.

Chris is very knowledgeable and passionate about current trends in the arts, and he brings that passion to the classroom. His positive energy was apparent during Spring Quarter, when art courses went online.  Not only was he able to translate his own courses (including ceramics!) to an online format, but he fully volunteered during department and college work sessions to help other instructors make the transition as well. Excellence in teaching is, for Chris, not an individual endeavor, but a team activity.

This focus on student learning is apparent from Chris’s own comments on his teaching philosophy:

“I’ve learned over the years to remove myself and my ego from the classroom (as much as possible), and support each student’s creative trajectory and help them develop their creative processes and workflows.  By letting each student direct their own creative path, it helps them develop ownership of their ideas and confidence in their work and process.”

Helping art students recognize their own visual creativity, and learn how to nurture that talent, each in their own way, is one of the most challenging forms of instruction there is. And Chris totally gets it.

EWU is fortunate to have such a versatile, capable, kind, and student-centered instructor teaching our students.  I can think of no one who better exemplifies true excellence in teaching than Chris Tyllia.

About

Sam Ligon has always been prolific and innovative in his creative work. I remember laughing so hard I fell out of my chair reading a fictional book blurb he wrote that quickly devolved from a conventional exposition of collegial praise into a sad story of betrayal and divorce (it was funnier than it sounds).

Over the last few years, Sam’s work has simply exploded in quantity and pioneering (kind of a pun, considering the setting of Miller Cane)

Creativity: he has published twenty-one (21) stories and essays and two books (one novel, one collection of stories), co-edited an anthology, and – his weirdest project of all (his own words) – a serial novel, Miller Cane, that was published as it was being written, bringing to mind the serial novels of the nineteenth century.

This astonishingly prolific output includes a wide range of different styles, forms, and voices, including in its range history, fake history, fairy tales, and literary readings. He astonishes us all with the range, quality, and inventiveness of his work.

About

Jody Graves has made many significant accomplishments this past year, which comes as no surprise. In many ways the Music Department and EWU benefit from exceptional service from Graves every year, because she brings a tremendous amount of dedication to her work. Her energy and commitment to EWU, students, and the Music program are incredible. She is also active in her services across the state and NW region in providing workshops for high school students and piano teachers.

A signature result of her commitments to music and teaching was her award in 2019-20 as a Steinway & Sons Hall of Fame inductee (https://www.ewu.edu/cale/stories/dr-graves-inducted-into-steinway-sons-hall-of-fame/.

This award honors only a few piano teachers each year across the country. She also recently interviewed twice with the Spokesman Review: 1) A front page feature article about the inspirations she found in overcoming challenges in youth and finding a path to becoming an incredible musician and college professor. 2) A Northwest Passages interview about being a musician during the pandemic.

Her energy and service is unparalleled. This spring she helped us prepare two concerts in Spokane that eventually had to be rescheduled for spring 2021. She was also scheduled to be a featured artist with the Spokane Jazz Orchestra and that was cancelled in mid March. These concerts are central to our community engagement strategies for Spokane. These concerts raise funds, generate publicity, and enable our EWU Foundation and President Cullinan to cultivate donors.

Last spring Graves coordinated a massive Music Teachers National Association conference at the Spokane Convention Center. The conference was a five-day event from March 16-20 with lecture presentations, concerts, and receptions for music teachers from all 50 states and a cohort of 30 representatives from China.

Graves approach to coordinating events is inclusive and strategic. She was on the MTNA conference planning committee and a special host giving EWU a presence at the conference that no other school had. Guest presenters included EWU staff members: Annika Scharosch (The Me too Movement and Teaching), Roberta Brooke (Panel discussion for the business side of teaching). Graves arranged the Washington State teachers’ dinner with about 150 participants. The community awareness generated for EWU was amazing. Graves fosters an inclusive and collaborative environment. As an example, our local native American community had a role in the opening ceremonies.

Graves also works on a multitude of committees:

• Strategic Planning Committee Member
• Senate (Faculty Organization)
• Music Departmental Personnel Committee
• Music Curriculum Committee
• Music Scholarship Committee
• Graduate Program Advisor
• Coordinator for noon hour concerts each Wednesday and Guest Artists Visits on Fridays

Additional Services:

• Graves also works with Brian Davenport to facilitate community engagement and outreach efforts, such as Feed Cheney performances.
• Graves works most weekends recruiting across the state and region. She participates with clinics, adjudications, and concerts.
• Graves works with the Spokane Symphony to have EWU students participate in the public schools after school rehearsals for the Music Innovates Arts in Education program.
• Graves performed the Ravel Piano Concerto with the EWU Orchestra last year, and more recently with a regional orchestra in Wenatchee.

The magnitude of these efforts and the impact they have are hard to measure. An excellence award would be one way to recognize and thank Graves for these exceptional service efforts.

About

Team Members:

Heather Veeder, Debbie Fockler, Sokridanny Bunt, Norma, Marcie Estrelado, Alex Mikkelborg, Nancy Nygreen, Amanda Stilwell, Allison Swenson, Penny Vadnais, CJ Tyler-Watson, Jackie Farmer, Ann Montecucco-Kendal, and Julie Fournier

Even before COVID-19 hit, Rec and Reg was already handling more than its share with all kinds of new processes. First and foremost among these, was the transitioning from the paper graduation forms to an online process.

Then in March the sky fell on everyone and people had to reinvent an office in their homes, use whatever equipment and connection they had, and try to do their jobs the best they could. At that point Rec and Reg probably became the busiest unit of the university, as the Spring schedule had to be totally revamped in a heartbeat to adapt to remote teaching.

Normal processes had to be put aside and, for two or three weeks, things got pretty chaotic. Chairs and Associate Deans bombarded Rec and Reg with daily email requests. The number of emails in Amanda’s inbox reached epic proportions. Chairs and schedulers developed ploys to get a hold of Rec and Reg. Having Amanda’s or Debbie’s private phone number became a commodity as precious as gold. People feigned personal calls to get through to Amanda or Debbie….

Yet, Rec and Reg weathered the storm and found a way to make sense of the frantic requests coming from every direction. What is more, everyone in that unit, including graduation evaluators, schedulers, people in charge of grades, catalog editors, and so on remained gracious and upbeat, despite the frenzy.

Friends at Rec and Reg: your contribution this year and during COVID-19 has been amazing. We deeply appreciate your professionalism, calm, and kindness. We are proud to discern this award to you.