Awards 2021-22

The Outstanding Teacher Award honors an excellent teacher who exhibits superior and sustained performance in teaching that impacts student learning. On-campus and Extension faculty, with five or more years of experience in the College, with undergraduate, graduate, and/or off-campus teaching, are eligible for this award.

Jeff Wilkes, Construction Management

In addition to Jeff’s regular 16-credit teaching load, he volunteered to teach two boot camps last year, collaborating with industry representatives to introduce students to cutting-edge technologies. Additionally, each year since 2016, he has coached two extraordinarily successful competition teams. Jeff’s teaching methods ensure students grasp topics at a systems level, understanding how each component of construction machinery operates in concert to maximize overall system performance and see the big picture. Jeff’s ability to develop a collaborative and supportive environment for students extends beyond the classroom, creating a thoughtful balance between a safe space and constructive criticism to spark learning. In 2015 and 2020, Jeff’s students voted him teacher of the year. As well, the Associated Schools of Construction recognized him with their Outstanding Teaching Award in Region 6 in 2020.

The Outstanding Adviser Award recognizes a faculty member or administrative professional staff member with five or more years’ experience in the College, who excels in undergraduate or graduate student advising and mentoring, demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and excellent support based on the quality of student advising evaluations.

CHHS Academic Success Coordinators and Professional Advisers

Department of Construction Management: Courtney Hillig and Michael Kallsen

Department of Design and Merchandising: Kendra Allen, Brittany Engert, and Erin Meier

School of Education: Ben Bongers, Dawn Mallette, and Juliana Searle

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition: Erin Strutz

Department of Health and Exercise Science: Ryan Donovan, Tami Boday, Mark Barry, Diana Kircher, and Karri Smith

Department of Human Development and Family Sciences: Katie Ditter, Lucy Paltoo-Brady, and Lindsey Toper

School of Social Work: Evan Lowe

To characterize undergraduate academic advising and the student support needed at the onset and throughout the pandemic as extremely challenging would be an understatement. Words like momentous and heroic get us a little closer to the incredibly significant influence these 18 advisers had on the lives of students as they navigated what was often a very ambiguous and scary terrain over the past two years.

Each of these advisers went above and beyond to guide students and their academic choices – and have exceeded all expectations in the way they have prioritized students’ mental, physical, and social-emotional wellbeing.

Additionally, these advisers’ hard work, long hours, expertise, dependability, and deep compassion helped students stay on track to graduate.

Our CHHS advising staff shines at this university – and today, we applaud and thank this group, and each of you individually, for your incredible problem-solving, outreach, and ability to create caring and inclusive environments and connections for students.

The Outstanding Engagement Award is given to a faculty member, administrative professional member, or CHHS faculty/admin pro-based program team, with five or more years of experience in the College, who exemplifies the land-grant mission of developing and promoting partnerships, particularly in service to high-needs communities, and collaborations between campus and external partners for the benefit of the community, state, nation, and/or world.

Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center Team, Food Science and Human Nutrition

Shelby Cox, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Kristy Kloppe, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Kaylyn Garcia, Food Science and Human Nutrition
Charlotte Carlson, Food Science and Human Nutrition

The KRNC is a full-service clinic that specializes in individualized nutrition counseling, group counseling focused on wellness, weight management, and disease prevention and treatment. In the past 18 months alone, the dietitians and student interns have engaged over 1,000 participants from more than 20 established community partnerships. Clearly, the services are meeting a crucial need in the Northern Colorado area, and the KRNC is increasingly recognized as an authoritative voice for nutrition counseling and education. During the past year-and-a-half during the COVID pandemic, the number of clients served has increased beyond pre-COVID times. Congrats to the team on helping clients reach greater levels of health.

The Superior Faculty Service Award is given to a faculty member, with five or more years of experience in the College, who has made significant service contributions to the College, University, professional, or other off-campus organizations.

Soo Kang, Food Science and Human Nutrition

Soo’s dedication to service spans program, department, college, and university levels, and includes external partners. At the college level, she has served on the curriculum committee for the past 10 years, as the chair for the past three years, working to shepherd the development and approval of new courses. Soo also served on the college’s Diversity and Equity Advisory Committee for 13 years, including three years as chair. Her department service includes committee work for the Scholarship, Social, Honors Program, Awards and Recognition, and Strategic Planning and Executive Advisory Committees. Soo is co-coordinator of the Hospitality Management Program. She was the college representative to the CSU Equity and Inclusion Network, faculty representative on the Semester at Sea Advisory Committee, an editorial board member for two scholarly journals and a regular reviewer for 13 other journals.

The Scholarly Excellence Award recognizes a tenured faculty member for outstanding contributions in original and theoretical research, creative works, or other forms of scholarly endeavor.

Lauren Shomaker, Human Development and Family Studies

Lauren’s research program investigates the role of depression in the cause of type 2 diabetes in youth and centers on testing behavioral interventions for adolescent health with a special focus on minoritized populations. She has published 84 peer-reviewed articles, the majority of which are in top-tier journals. She has garnered more than $6 million in grants and her work is funded by four institutes at the National Institutes of Health, highlighting the transdisciplinary appeal of her research. In addition, she has been recognized with numerous awards. Most notably, she was named a prestigious Monfort Professor at CSU. Additionally, she is an extremely effective mentor to early-career faculty and graduate students as they launch their own research careers.

The Faculty Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award recognizes a faculty member, with five or more years of experience in the College, for outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion with an emphasis on ameliorating inequities by developing or applying social justice initiatives.

Antonette Aragón, Education

Antonette is a leader in curriculum development that centers social justice and promotes diversity and cultural competency. She has designed several high-impact courses in the School of Education built on a foundation of DEIJ, including an introductory course for undergraduate aspiring teachers, and a graduate course on educational practices across the lifespan. She brings these perspectives to service at the school, college, and university levels, including her role as co-chair of the College’s DEIJ committee. Antonette created Caminos, an innovative program at Fort Collins High School designed to support Latinx and Indigenous secondary students on a pathway to college engaging CSU student mentors with similar backgrounds. She is the author of numerous scholarly publications and presentations that center DEIJ in education.

The Superior Staff Service Award is given to a staff member, with five or more years of experience in the College, who demonstrates outstanding achievement in performing their responsibilities, including efforts to create a climate of support for all in the unit.

Derek Stegelman, Dean’s Office

As the Assistant Director of IT for Application Development, Derek has developed numerous innovative solutions. Here are a few: student teaching and admissions tracking for the Center for Educator Preparation; Occupational Therapy’s Graduate Admissions system; Youth Sports Camp’s platform; Construction Management’s job placement program; the College’s awards portal and personnel directory; a tracking application for the Assistive Technology Resource Center; and more. The utility and success of these applications are largely due to Derek’s incredible technical and communication skills to work through complex business processes and ideas, and his dedication to innovation. Derek is a mentor to our student developers, fostering their personal and professional growth. His work has a positive, far-reaching impact on our faculty, staff, and students.

The Tenure-Track Faculty Teaching Excellence Award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member (not yet tenured) for outstanding contributions in teaching during their period of appointment at Colorado State University. The intent of the award is to recognize a newer member of the faculty who demonstrates excellence in teaching.

Charlene Van Buiten, Food Science and Human Nutrition

Charlene came to CSU in 2019 with an education and research background in food chemistry focused on dietary phytonutrients and their impact on gut health. Thus, her expertise combines both food science and human nutrition. She has completely revamped two of the most demanding courses in Fermentation Science and Technology, and her updates demonstrate her innovative teaching style. She uses flipped classroom-style learning, podcasts, and group problem-solving exercises to help students understand the complexities of fermentation, food processing, and food preparation that alter the chemistry of food and, in turn, affect nutritional processes that influence health. Charlene has quickly become a teaching star in her department, not only with students but also among her colleagues, for her innovative and effective instructional practices.

The Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Early Career Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member (NTT) for outstanding contributions in teaching since the appointment to Colorado State University. The intent of the award is to recognize a newer member of the faculty who demonstrates excellence in teaching.

Nicole Dufalla, Construction Management

Since joining CSU as an Instructor in Spring 2020, Nicole has shaped both curriculum and student learning. As a licensed Professional Engineer, she has used her expertise and industry knowledge to significantly revise two courses and develop a new core class for the department. Her student evaluations applaud her active teaching style and responsive feedback. She is inspiring students to pursue the high-demand field of heavy construction, as evidenced by the start of a new student competition team and helping to grow enrollments in related courses. Nicole advises the Associated Schools of Construction competition team on pre-construction, and led the team to first place in the nation out of more than 20 teams. She is also an outstanding role model for a more inclusive environment, serving on the Department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and as the faculty adviser to a mentoring group for women in construction.

The Tenure-Track Faculty Scholarly Excellence Award recognizes a tenure-track faculty member (not yet tenured) for outstanding contributions in activities such as original and theoretical research, creative works, model development, research synthesis, policy research, and other forms of scholarly endeavor during their period of appointment at Colorado State University.

Aga Burzynska, Human Development and Family Studies

Aga’s research aims to deepen our understanding of the associations between lifestyle factors, especially those related to physical activity, and age-related decline in cognitive function and brain health. She tests the degree to which white matter deterioration is a key mechanism of cognitive decline and a potential target for interventions. Her work is groundbreaking and shows that white matter may be the missing piece of the puzzle in understanding healthy brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Her publication record is impressive. Since coming to CSU, she has published 22 articles many of which are in premier journals. She has also been successful in securing grants from NIH and from the Alzheimer’s Association which signifies the importance, innovation, and rigor of her work.

The Outstanding Senior Award recognizes a CHHS graduating senior for outstanding performance including academic achievement, leadership, research, service, and/or creative endeavors. Student must be an undergraduate student graduating in the academic year the award is bestowed (must have intent to graduate in the current academic year – Fall, Spring or Summer term).

Sara Bovaird, Design and Merchandising

Sara is an Honors Program student who exemplifies academic excellence and student leadership. She stands out as a star student in design creativity and, this spring, she will graduate magna cum laude. Her study abroad semester in Florence was cut short by Covid-19, but she seized the opportunity to focus both her Honors Thesis and her degree capstone project on the implications of the pandemic for the design of interior environments, applying research-based health and well-being strategies to the design of a community center. Sara is a leader in the department, serving as an officer for two student organizations, assisting with the design of the new Textiles Lab, expanding the department’s mentorship program, and completing a summer internship documenting historic buildings in Sterling, Colorado, for the department’s Architectural Virtual Library.

The Outstanding Graduate Student Award recognizes a CHHS graduate student for outstanding performance in research, outreach/engagement, and/or creative endeavors.

Tyler Whittier, Health and Exercise Science

Tyler has distinguished himself as a researcher with extraordinarily creative work under the guidance of Dr. Brett Fling. His innovative research is identifying how the nervous system controls whole-body movement in uncertain feedback environments. He has studied how to better understand sensorimotor uncertainty using an innovative statistical approach. To this end, he has generated an entire virtual reality environment from scratch, where individuals receive real-time feedback, assessed with 3D motion capture. Tyler has received several prestigious training and dissertation awards, and he has published five peer-reviewed articles. He has presented his original work at national and international conferences. In addition, his strong commitment to mentoring resulted in two undergraduates earning Highest Honors at the annual Celebrate Undergraduate Research and Creativity Showcase.

The Graduate Student Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award recognizes a Graduate Student for contributions towards enhancement of diverse and inclusive excellence in the graduate experience.

Kimberly Rousseau-Simmons, Occupational Therapy

Kimberly is directly working toward a more diverse and inclusive workforce in OT. Her efforts serve the CSU-OT community and the OT profession at large. Last year, Kim helped to found and lead the CSU chapter of Diverse-OT, a student club that actively aims to advance the cultural climate at CSU. Kim is now president of Diverse-OT, leading efforts to recruit students of underrepresented groups, seeking guest speakers with expertise in the intersection of health and minoritized populations, integrating equity into the student experience, and increasing OT students’ knowledge of culturally responsive concepts and how to navigate crucial conversations. Kim also seeks inclusion of underrepresented faculty and has served as the student representative on two faculty search committees

This award recognizes recent graduates of the College for accomplishments made in the areas of career, service, or volunteer efforts that have brought honor to the individual and the College/University.

Anne Crecelius, Health and Exercise Science

Anne earned her master’s degree in health and exercise science in 2009, and her Ph.D. in human bioenergetics in 2013. She returned to her undergraduate alma mater, the University of Dayton, as a faculty member, where she mentors undergraduate and graduate students in physiology and continues the research she pursued while at CSU. She led faculty through the beginning of the pandemic as interim department head, and while managing a personal health crisis. Her leadership in service includes the American Physiological Society where she has recommended national guidelines for advising for physiology and pre-health degree programs that will help guide hundreds of faculty with thousands of pre-health students around the world.

This award honors outstanding alumni from the College who, through their distinguished careers and service to the university, state, nation, or world, have brought honor to Colorado State University and to themselves.

Gordon Marks, Construction Management

Gordon earned a degree in industrial-construction management in 1966. He put his education to good use over decades of leadership at Swinerton Builders. He rose through the ranks to become president and chief operating officer in 1995 until his retirement in 2008.

Gordon helped create the Swinerton Foundation and was involved with Associated General Contractors of America, The Beavers, and Construction Employers’ Association of Northern California. Through these partnerships, Gordon championed investment in CSU and construction management education. Gordon and his wife, Joan, have supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco and the Alzheimer’s Association. Together, they created the Gordon and Joan Marks Scholarship to support CSU construction management students, and have supported CM Cares as well.

This award was created to recognize those individuals who have supported the college in extraordinary ways.

Marilyn Schock, President, UCHealth Greeley Hospital

Marilyn Schock earned a Bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and a Master’s degree of business administration from CSU and has applied her education to advance health care in northern Colorado for more than 35 years. Marilyn has held leadership roles at Banner Health and UCHealth at Poudre Valley Hospital, Medical Center of the Rockies, and now UCHealth Greeley Hospital, where she currently serves as President. Marilyn is a valued member of the CSU Occupational Therapy External Advisory Committee where she provides insights into the future direction of healthcare and advice for ensuring that CSU occupational therapy education continues to be cutting edge. We are so grateful for your partnership and guidance, Marilyn.

This award was created to recognize those individuals who have supported the college in extraordinary ways.

Friend of the College – CSU Foundation Team, Board, and Staff – accepted by CSU Foundation President and CEO, Cheri O’Neill

The CSU Foundation is dedicated to managing funds in perpetuity to ensure that CSU continues setting the standard for public research universities. They play a pivotal role in connecting our philanthropic partners with the people, programs, and funds they wish to support. The CSU Foundation receives, manages, and invests donor contributions – some of which can be complex. We rely on their technical expertise, prudent investment, and allegiance to donor intent. For their steadfast partnership and exceptional professionalism to facilitate gifts of all sizes, including the largest estate gift ever to the College of Health and Human Sciences, we express our deep gratitude to the entire CSU Foundation Team, Board, and Staff.

This award was created to recognize those individuals who have supported the college in extraordinary ways.

Friend of the College – Rick Tucker, Executive Vice President, Hensel Phelps

Over its 75-year history, many of the graduates of CSU’s Construction Management program have gone on to become industry leaders and to give back. Rick Tucker is no exception. He graduated with a B.S. in Construction Management in 1990, and since then has risen to the role of Executive Vice President of Hensel Phelps, one of the nation’s largest general contractors and construction managers headquartered in Greeley. In addition, Rick serves on the Board of Directors for both the Denver Civic Ventures and Colorado Youth Outdoors and has served as Chairman of AGC Colorado. At CSU, Rick is in his second term as Chair of the Professional Advisory and Development Board for Construction Management. He demonstrates what it means to be a Friend of the College.

This award is given by the Dean to a faculty member, staff member, or student who has demonstrated extraordinary passion, dedication, leadership, and inspiration in support of our College’s mission.

Lauren “Ren” Bergeron, Design and Merchandising and Construction Management

Ren is earning an Interior Architecture and Design degree with a minor in Construction Management and has been involved in student leadership across many contexts at CSU, including serving as the Dean’s Leadership Council president in fall 2021. Understanding the challenges that women face in the construction industry, and more importantly, the impact women have on making change, Ren designed and created an extraordinary and beautiful piece of artwork that now graces the Guggenheim Building. Her piece is titled “Watch What She Can Do.” It celebrates the strength, courage, and perseverance of women in a field where they are vastly underrepresented. We are so proud of Ren’s inspiration and leadership in advocating for and celebrating the power of women in construction.