Wittenberg celebrated the achievements of students and faculty alike in person during the University’s annual Honors Convocation in historic Weaver Chapel, April 9.
- Watch Honors Convocation (Facebook Live)
- 2021 Honors Convocation Program (PDF)
- Video Tributes from Academic Departments
During the ceremony, the 2021 Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching was presented to Professor of English Cynthia Richards. The award was established in 1960, and it is the highest recognition Wittenberg bestows on its faculty. It is accompanied by a stipend of $1,000. Candidates must have taught at Wittenberg for more than five years and are nominated by students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Richards was also presented with the Excellence in Community Service Award.
Assistant Professor of Communication & Digital Media Kelly Dillon was recognized for her work during the Honors Convocation with the Omicron Delta Kappa Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.
Wittenberg was also proud to announce that Charlotte E. Hurst, Athens, Ohio; Bailey E. McPhail, Wilmington, Ohio; and John J. Fobean, Stow, Ohio, were U.S. Fulbright applicants in the student program. Sophie V. Ouellette-Wade, Columbus, Ohio, was given Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship.
Additionally, Courtney E. Buck, Delaware, Ohio, was named Alma Mater, an honor bestowed upon a junior woman on the basis of character and integrity, service to the community, concern for others, and high standards of scholarship. Emmanuel L. Thombs, Raleigh, North Carolina, was named Alma Lux, an honor bestowed upon a junior male student who possesses qualities of leadership, scholarship and service.
Abby E. Glass, Signal Mountain, Tennessee, received the Heimtraut Dietrich Award, which was established in 1981 to recognize the student who best emulates the spirit of the late associate dean of students' devotion to Wittenberg through faith and service.
The M. Alice Geiger Award was presented to Zori L. Parker, Pickerington, Ohio. The award, named for Wittenberg's first woman graduate, recognizes a senior woman for outstanding contributions to the campus in the areas of performing or literary arts, athletics, co-curricular leadership, new programming, special academic pursuit, or through special representation at any time during her college career.
The John F. Mitchell Award, honoring the senior man who best represents the liberal arts tradition at Wittenberg, was presented to Nicholas F. Weissman, Kettering, Ohio. The award goes to a top student who is a positive force in academic, cultural, and social aspects of the campus.
The Alpha Delta Pi Scholarship Award, created in 1990 by the Springfield Alumnae Association and Chi Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, recognizes two junior women, one Greek and one non-Greek, who best exemplify the characteristics consistent with the ideals and goals of the sorority. This year's recipients are Ashley A. Brooks, Cincinnati, Ohio, (non-Greek) and Josie Paazig, London, Ohio, (Greek).
The Charles E. Chatfield Global Awareness Award, instituted in 1992, recognizes seniors who contribute to greater global awareness within the Wittenberg University community. This year's recipient is Destiny L. Paulen, North Canton, Ohio.
The Charles J. Ping Student Community Service Award is presented in recognition of outstanding leadership and ability to meet the needs of the community by working in partnership with members of the community. It recognizes the student's effort to create an organization to lead and to involve others. Ohio Campus Compact, a statewide membership organization that serves to promote community service initiatives at colleges and universities, sponsors this award. This year's recipient is Jack A. Hollinshead, Highland Heights, Ohio.
Meseker G. Tefera, Washington, D.C., and Taylor L. Adams, New Albany, Ohio, were the recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for positive examples to members of the African American community and to the university.
Shante T. Leslie, Bowie, Maryland, received the Broadwell Chinn Award, named for one of the first African American students to enroll at Wittenberg in the 1870s. The award honors the student holding the highest grade point average among African American juniors.
Alpha Lambda Delta Senior Awards were presented to Rachel C. Remias, Dublin, Ohio, and Shelby R. Smith, Springfield, Ohio, and a Phi Eta Sigma Senior Award was presented to Amor Niksic, Spring, Texas.
Four seniors were recognized for having a 4.0 grade point average – Sage R. Gerstenzang, Buffalo, NY, Remias, Smith, and Megan S. Short, Springfield, Ohio.
Presidential Scholars, named for former presidents of Wittenberg, are the junior students having the top 14 grade point averages of their class. Those students are Rachel A. Boyette, Lakewood, Ohio; Rachel A. Kaiser, Saint Paris, Ohio; Claire E. DeWeese, Indianapolis, Indiana; Casey J. Conrad, Mount Gilead, Ohio; Peyton N. Ernst, Beavercreek, Ohio; Caroline A. Coleman, Oviedo, Florida; Nicholas N. Jenks, Springfield, Ohio; Kaci L. Morin, Lancaster, Ohio; Clara W. Andersen, Greenwood, Indiana; Dorothy P. Morgan, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Melinda L. Baker, Grove City, Ohio; Paige J. Wright, Dayton, Ohio; Katherine L. Hiestand, Canton, Ohio; and Lauren M. Welker, Luckey, Ohio.
The Dominic E. and Alyce G. DeMarco Award is a scholarship given for academic excellence and distinguished service to those living on the margins of society. It is awarded to the senior with a GPA of at least 3.5 who has demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate a commitment to serving those persons who live on the margins of society, the sick, the material poor, the displaced, the homeless, and the elderly. This year’s recipient is Dorothy P. Morgan, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Introduced in 2009, the Lillian C. Franklin Diversity Award is granted each year to honor a student and a faculty/staff member who have made outstanding contributions in promoting and furthering our goal of rich diversity in the Wittenberg community. Candidates must uphold the tradition of diversity embodied by the award's namesake, demonstrate high standards of personal integrity, commitment to the education of the whole person, global vision, and leadership. The 2021 student recipient is Satta F. Sheriff, Kakata City, Margibi County, Liberia, and the faculty/staff recipient is Corrine J. Witherspoon, director of the McClain Center for Diversity.
Additionally, the Lou Laux Environmental Sustainability Award was presented to Joshua K. Thompson, Brownsburg, Indiana, and Amber Burgett, associate professor of biology.
The Community Service Champion Award recognizes an individual’s commitment to service, the quality of that service, and its positive impact on the City of Springfield and Clark County. It is not merely the hours of service, but the impact on the quality of life in the Springfield community that is most important. This year’s recipient is Taylor M. Lasits-Brooks, Perrysburg, Ohio.
The Copeland Community Service and Social Justice Award, instituted in 2019, recognizes a rising senior who has demonstrated engaged citizenship in the City of Springfield. It is not merely the student’s hours of service, but the ability to think critically about difficulty societal issues and the willingness to work to confront these issues with compassion and commitment that is most important. This year’s recipient is Kristen L. Hopkins, Springfield, Ohio.
