Centre faculty, staff, retirees honored at awards ceremony

RELEASED: May 17, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College employees were in the spotlight at the College's annual faculty and staff appreciation dinner and awards ceremony on Monday, May 14, in the Cowan Dining Commons on campus.

The Kirk Award for excellence in teaching, endowed by a 1995 gift from Mike and Joanne Kirk Duncan '71, has been awarded annually since 1996. This year's recipients are Bill Crummett, associate professor of physics; Jeff Fieberg, assistant professor of chemistry; Ken Keffer, H.W. Stodghill Jr. and Adele H. Stodghill Professor of Modern Languages; and Liz Perkins, associate professor of history.

The Horky Service Award went to Latricia Smith, Damon Denney and Mae Grubbs. Created from a bequest from Lorette and John Horky '32, the Horky Award recognizes outstanding achievement by facilities services employees and has been given annually since 1990.

Dave Frey, interim director of ITS, was given the Presidential Award of Excellence, which was created in 1999 to recognize exceptional leadership and accomplishment.

Recipients of the Recognition Award, which honors non-physical plant staff, were Mary Beth Garriott, Connie Klimke, Jim Drakeford, Kathy Jones and Laura Keown.

Three retiring members of Centre's faculty and staff were also honored at the dinner: Dr. Brent White, Diane Pasick and Kenneth Reardon.

Dr. Brent White, professor of psychology, has taught at Centre since 1971. Much of White's scholarly work at Centre has involved research projects at the Louisville Zoo on captive wooly monkeys, which has provided students excellent opportunities to participate in collaborative research projects, internships and scientific conferences.

Diane Pasick has served for 29 years as circulation supervisor at the Grace Doherty Library on campus. During her time at Centre, she has trained and supervised more than 700 students, overseen the implementation and development of a fully online circulation system, and helped organize and implement two major renovations and expansions of the Doherty Library, first in 1988 and again in 2005.

Kenneth Reardon worked as a custodian at Centre since 1992, until his retirement in December 2006. In 1995, he became the campus mail carrier, where he stayed until 1998 before returning to custodial work. In 1995, Reardon received a Horky Award from the College and is considered a leader among his colleagues.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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