Alan Grant, dean
Dear Colleagues,
The weather was beautiful for the 19th annual faculty and staff awards ceremony and picnic on July 24. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy camaraderie, share a great lunch, and celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of some of our faculty and staff.
This year’s Andy Swiger Award was presented to Glenda Gillaspy, professor of biochemistry. The Andy Swiger award recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated both a talent for and a commitment to the fundamental elements of the land-grant mission of serving students and citizens both directly and through the generation of new knowledge. We were pleased that Andy Swiger was in attendance to help present the award. Glenda has demonstrated both a talent for and a commitment to the fundamental elements of the land-grant mission.
Pablo Sobrado, associate professor of biochemistry, received the college’s Award for Excellence in Basic Research for his outstanding contributions to elucidation of novel enzyme mechanisms and drug discovery.
George Davis and Wen You, faculty members in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, were the recipients of the 2014 Award for Excellence in Applied Research. Davis and You received this award for their excellent research contribution to the importance of incorporating time in the evaluation of the adequacy of SNAP benefits.
Gonzalo Ferreira, Ed Smith, and Eric Wong, were awarded funds from the CALS Diversity Incentive Fund, which is administered by our Diversity Council. Gonzalo, an assistant professor of dairy science, will use his award to create a series of videos aimed at bridging the communication gap between employers and Hispanic employees at dairy farms.
Smith and Wong, faculty members in animal and poultry science, are going to organize a series of networking events for faculty and students who are in the PREP and IMSD scholars program.
Each year, a CALS Employee of the Year is selected from among the twelve recipients of the previous Employees of the Month. Marsha Wright, VCE Frederick County Office, was this year’s recipient.
I hope you join me in congratulating all of our award recipients for their remarkable achievements and in thanking everyone who worked to coordinate this outstanding event.
Incoming students arrive on campus in less than a month! Please welcome them as your paths cross and stay tuned for multiple events in the coming weeks for opportunities meet and greet the new students. We look forward to a new academic year!
Sincerely,
Alan Grant
Dean