RELEASED: May 21, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College employees were in the spotlight at the College's annual faculty and staff appreciation dinner and awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 19, in the Chowan Dining Commons on campus. Click here to see more photos.
 
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 Alex McAllister, associate professor of mathematics; Allison Connolly, assistant professor of French; Brian Cooney, Stodghill Professor of Philosophy; and Tom McCollough, Rodes Professor of Religion.
 
The Horky Service Award went to Ruby Baker, David Carter, Roger Followell, and Mary Llamas. 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.

The Facilities Management department and the Department of Public Safety were both awarded the Presidential Award of Excellence in honor of their extraordinary efforts during the ice storm that hit campus in February. The award was created in 1999 to recognize exceptional leadership and accomplishment.
 
Recipients of the Recognition Award, which honors non-physical plant staff, were Diane Johnson, Patrick Noltemeyer, Jamie Prewitt, and the entire staff of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), which includes Candace Bonnett, Lisa Curlis, Keeta Martin Holmes and Jami Powell.
 
Six professors were named Centre Scholars: Amos Tubb, assistant professor of history; Sarah Goodrum, assistant professor of sociology; Brian Cusato, assistant professor of psychology; Nathan Link, assistant professor of music; Stephanie Dew, associate professor of biology and biochemistry & molecular biology; and Ian Wilson, assistant professor of German and humanities. Being named a Centre Scholar is an honor that recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarly work and contributions to the college community. They are rotated among Centre's full-time faculty on a biennial basis.
 
Retiring members of Centre's faculty and staff were also honored at the dinner: Jerry Meyer, senior project manager; Linda Warren, executive secretary, Academic Dean's Office; and Jan St. Pierre, academic records coordinator, Registrar's Office.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. 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. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.