Results for the 2011 President’s Awards are in: 11 remarkable members of the Memorial University community have been recognized by President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Gary Kachanoski for extraordinary teaching, research, service and community service.

The recipients were formally recognized at an event held Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Fluvarium in St. John’s.

At the event, Dr. Kachanoski presented the recipients of the president’s awards for teaching, research, exemplary service and exceptional community service. Five employees were honoured for exemplary service, two faculty members for distinguished teaching, one for research and one was recognized for exceptional community service.

“Our award recipients are dedicated teachers, researchers and employees nominated by their colleagues and their students,” said Dr. Kachanoski. “They’ve encouraged their students to look at the world in new and exciting ways; they’ve carried out important and groundbreaking research, they’ve inspired their co-workers as a consequence of their dedication to their work; and they’ve shared their gifts generously with the larger community.”

Drs. Jie Xiao, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Jeffrey Parsons, Faculty of Business Administration, were named University Research Professors. University Research Professors have acquired a designation above the rank of professor. The title is the most prestigious award the university gives for research, and goes to faculty who have demonstrated a consistently high level of scholarship and whose research is of a truly international stature. The designation carries with it a $4,000 research grant (each year for five years) and a reduced teaching schedule.

Dr. Kathryn Dupré received the President’s Award for Outstanding Research. The President’s Award for Outstanding Research recognizes researchers who have made outstanding contributions to their scholarly disciplines. Each award includes a $5,000 research grant.

Dr. Sandra MacDonald, School of Nursing, and Prof. Lynn Morrissey, Faculty of Business Administration, were presented President’s Awards for Distinguished Teaching which recognize the teaching excellence in the university community. Each winner of the teaching award receives a $5,000 grant contributed by the Memorial University Alumni Association, Office of the President, and Instructional Development Office/Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Support.

Dr. Noreen Golfman was awarded the President’s Award for Exceptional Community Service. It is presented each year in recognition of employees (faculty or staff) who have demonstrated outstanding community service.

Five Memorial employees received the President’s Awards for Exemplary Service: Jo-Anne Philpott, Community Education and College Relations, Grenfell Campus; Robert Barker, Human Resources; Pam Clancey, Financial and Administrative Services; Mary Beth Hutchens, School of Social Work; and Albert Johnson, Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Support.

The President’s Award for Exemplary Service is presented each year to recognize employees who have demonstrated outstanding service and/or who have made significant contributions to the university community beyond that normally expected for their positions. All non-academic staff of Memorial University and its Separately Incorporated Entities are eligible to be nominated. The President’s Award for Exceptional Community Service and the President’s Award for Exemplary Service each carry a $1,000 award, respectively.

Memorial began its annual presentation of the University Research Professor designations and the Awards for Outstanding Research in 1984, and the Distinguished Teaching Awards in 1988, as ways of singling out particularly distinguished contributions within its academic community. Exemplary Service Awards were introduced in 1995 and the Exceptional Community Service Award was first awarded in 2007.

Biographies of the recipients follow below:

Distinguished Teaching

Dr. Sandra MacDonald

School of Nursing

Dr. Sandra MacDonald started working at Memorial in 1989, teaching medical surgical nursing, and leadership and management. In 1995, Dr. MacDonald designed the first interprofessional education (IPE) module with Dr. Ian Bowmer, then the dean of the Faculty of Medicine. She served as president-elect with the Association of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador (ARNNL) from 2002–04, as well as president of the ARNNL from 2004–06. Currently a professor with the School of Nursing, Dr. MacDonald is associated with the Centre for Collaborative Health Professional Education and teaches courses in medical surgical nursing theory, nursing leadership and management.

Lynn Morrissey

Faculty of Business Administration

Lynn Morrissey received both her bachelor of commerce and her MBA from Memorial University. She says she loved it so much, she never left. Ms. Morrissey is currently an assistant professor, teaching communications, and has been teaching with the Faculty of Business Administration since 1986. In that time she has won numerous teaching and service awards. Ms. Morrissey is also course co-ordinator for the faculty’s research and writing program and oversees an applied research course for senior undergraduate students studying abroad. As faculty adviser to Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Memorial, she guided the team to national and international awards, including the SIFE World Cup championship in 2008 in Singapore. Ms. Morrissey’s research interests include workplace culture, experiential learning and communications effectiveness.

University Research Professor

Dr. Jie Xiao

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Dr. Jie Xiao has been a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Memorial since 2002. He earned a PhD in 1992 from Peking University where he held a faculty position until 2000. As a theoretical mathematician, Dr. Xiao uses geometrical techniques to study the structure of partial differential equations describing flows in space and time. He has published numerous monographs and textbooks, and has authored or co-authored more than 90 research papers in analysis, geometry, partial differential equations and mathematical physics. Dr. Xiao currently serves as associate editor of the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications, the Canadian Journal of Mathematics and theCanadian Mathematical Bulletin. In 2009, he received the Dean of Science Distinguished Scholar Medal in recognition of his outstanding and sustained contributions that demonstrate a balanced approach to scholarly activities in both teaching and research.

Dr. Jeffrey Parsons

Faculty of Business Administration

Dr. Jeffrey Parsons joined Memorial’s Faculty of Business Administration in 1993 as an assistant professor. Ten years later he was appointed associate dean (research). He also serves as director of the PhD in management program. Dr. Parsons earned his first degree at Memorial in 1985 and, in 1992, a PhD in information systems from the University of British Columbia. His research interests include database management, object-oriented systems and design, and theoretical foundations of information systems. Dr. Parsons’ research has been published in numerous journals and as a leading researcher in his field, he has held several editorial appointments at academic journals. He holds research grants from both NSERC and SSHRC and has served on grant committees for both funding councils. Dr. Parsons has also served as program chair of several high-profile conferences.

Outstanding Research 

Dr. Kathryn Dupré

Faculty of Business Administration

Dr. Kathryne Dupré began her employment at Memorial in July of 2003. She is currently an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resource management in the Faculty of Business Administration. She holds a PhD in management (organizational behaviour) from Queen’s University. Dr. Dupré has won a number of teaching and research awards and grants. Her research program focuses on health and well-being at work, from both human resource management and organizational behaviour perspectives. This research includes particular focus on workplace aggression (on both direct and indirect victims), harassment, safety, leadership, work-family balance, occupational stress and young employees’ experiences in the workplace. Dr. Dupré’s work is regularly published in several psychology and human resource management journals.

 Exemplary Service

Jo-Anne Philpott

Community Education and College Relations, Grenfell Campus

Jo-Anne Philpott, manager of community education and college relations at Grenfell Campus, has served the Memorial University community with distinction since she was hired in 1983. She has been instrumental in helping to build Grenfell Campus into the institution it is today. An advocate, adviser, mentor and organizer extraordinaire, Ms. Philpott exceeds expectations in all that she does. The growth and reach of her division -- from a staff of two to a department with employees dedicated to non-credit programming, recreational programming, facilities bookings, communications, marketing, special events and conference services -- is thanks to her vision and energy. Ms. Philpott is an indispensible resource in connecting the university with the public and Memorial’s partners.

Robert Barker

Human Resources

Robert Barker came to work at Memorial in 2002 as manager of organization development, responsible for employment equity, learning and development, and organization development consulting services. Mr. Barker earned a master’s certificate in executive coaching from Royal Roads University in 2008. He created a People Development Strategy that resulted in the university investing in coaching, mentoring, management and leadership development, and succession planning programs. In 2007, Mr. Barker led the development of the Supervisory Skills Development Program which earned an honourable mention at the Canadian Association of University Business Officers (CAUBO) Quality and Productivity Awards. Most recently, he has fostered a partnership between the university’s Department of Human Resources, the International Centre and International Student Advising. This partnership has led to investments in intercultural education for university employees.

Pam Clancey

Financial and Administrative Services

Pam Clancey has worked in the Financial and Administrative Services department at Memorial since 1978. She has held various positions there in the past 33 years, but since 1989 she’s been staff accountant in disbursements and travel. Ms. Clancey is responsible for administering the university’s relocation policy, and over the past 20 years has helped over 680 new faculty and staff relocate to the province to work at any of Memorial’s three campuses in the province. Her job often requires tasks outside the usual workday to help move people and their families to Newfoundland and Labrador from places all around the world. Ms. Clancey also prepares and presents seminars on travel, relocation and hosting policies. She completed the Supervisory Skills Development Program in 2008 and has been on several review committees.

Mary Beth Hutchens

School of Social Work

Mary Beth Hutchens is the student services co-ordinator at Memorial’s School of Social Work. For her capacity to blend exceptional clinical skills with administrative skills and knowledge, Ms. Hutchens is cited by her colleagues as one of the most important and influential people at the School of Social Work. Ms. Hutchens’ job includes advising students in crisis, be it personal or academic, while maintaining clear and collaborative communications with faculty and university administrators. Having held this position since 1997, Ms. Hutchens has influenced the lives and career paths of countless students and goes well beyond what is expected to serve students and support school activities.

Albert Johnson

Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Support

Albert Johnson began working at Memorial in 1999, and brought with him almost 20 years of experience as an educator. He started his career as a high school teacher but changed gears in 1993 and opened a small publishing company that specialized in developing resources for the provincial school system. Mr. Johnson later became an award-winning instructor/designer working with Memorial’s Distance Education, Learning and Teaching Support (DELTS). As a senior member of DELTS’ instructional design team, Mr. Johnson leads a development team that collaborates with content developers to design and/or consult on the creation of innovative, creditable distance-learning resources. This combination of skill and knowledge is what led the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) to request that Mr. Johnson work as co-leader of the Teaching and Learning Framework initiative. His new role since January 2011, as associate director of the Instructional Development Office within DELTS, is what he calls “the job of a lifetime.”

Exceptional Community Service

Dr. Noreen Golfman

School of Graduate Studies

Dr. Noreen Golfman, a professor, amongst many other roles, who supervises master’s and doctoral students, has been named one of Memorial’s most popular profs every year in Macleans’ Guide to Canadian Universities since its inception in 1996. Dr. Golfman is also dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Memorial, leading a team of 20 employees that provides leadership to more than 100 academic units responsible for about 3,000 graduate students. She is perhaps best known in the community for her extensive involvement with the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, MUN Cinema and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Espousing films as entertainment as well as a vehicle for the communication of ideas, Dr. Golfman has brought international films to our local community and local films to the international community.