Clark Honors College faculty and staff have a lengthy track record of hard work, strong leadership, and finding ways to assist students and the rest of the UO community. But the recent winners of campus awards mark the 2022-23 academic year as a special period for great accomplishments. UO administrators recognized seven CHC faculty and staff members as the tops in their fields and the latest winners of a spate of awards.
Acting Dean Carol Stabile says the awards are a tribute to the hard work of CHC faculty and staff. “We are all very proud to have this kind of recognition for the Honors College,” Stabile says. “The innovation, creativity and hard work of these award winners all go toward helping our No. 1 priority: CHC students. This is wonderful acknowledgement of their many contributions.”
The winners include:
Professor Kate Mondloch for the 2023 Tom and Carol Williams Fellowship. Mondloch, a CHC faculty-in-residence who teaches contemporary art and theory, wins a $5,000 stipend as a Williams fellow. She also earns $5,000 for the CHC to further the instruction of undergraduates at the college.
Williams Fellowship winners are recognized as exceptional teachers who have developed innovative ways to guide students in their learning. Recipients demonstrate a commitment to undergraduate education by challenging their students academically, creating an engaged learning environment, striving to improve the learning process, and fostering interdepartmental collaboration.
Professor Michael Moffitt for the 2023 Distinguished Faculty Thomas F. Herman Award for Specialized Pedagogy. Moffitt, a CHC faculty-in-residence who teaches at the CHC and the UO School of Law, received the award for his ground-breaking and ongoing course “Searching for the Cayuse Five.” The CHC course allows Moffitt and his students to work closely with Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to determine the burial location of five Cayuse men who were hanged in 1850 in Oregon for the killing of Dr. Marcus Whitman.
The award recognizes senior career instructional or tenure track faculty who demonstrate outstanding achievement and expertise in a particular area of teaching. Moffitt will be awarded a $5,000 stipend for his work with the tribe and his students.
De Onís receives $1,000 from CURE for her mentor work with Seira Kitagawa, a CHC student who is pre-majoring in Global Studies. Kitagawa’s research subject is “Communicating Struggles and Support for Foreign Workers in Japan.”
Anita Chari, CHC associate professor of political science, and Mondloch for winning the Oregon Humanities Center’s Coleman-Guitteau Teaching Fellowship. Chari and Mondloch earned the award for their proposal to develop and teach “Body Politic and the Art of Perception” to Honors College students in Winter 2024. As part of the award, they will receive $4,500 in summer salary, along with up to $4,000 in funding for course enrichment.
The Coleman-Guitteau fellowship promotes the development of new or substantially revised interdisciplinary undergraduate humanities courses that focus on significant intellectual and cultural questions and their history. It was established in 1992 through an endowment made to the center by former Board of Visitors member David B. Stern and Nancy Guitteau in honor of their mothers.
Daphne Gallagher for the 2023 UO Senate Leadership and Service Award. Gallagher serves as the CHC associate dean of undergraduate studies and as a CHC senior instructor. The award recognizes Gallagher’s exemplary service to the CHC over a period of years and her outstanding leadership.
The award was established by the UO Faculty Senate in 2011. It is given to UO employees who are committed to shared governance and participatory decision making, and who foster inclusiveness, respect, and professional excellence.
Angela Rovak for the Excellence in Undergraduate Advising’s Faculty Advisor Award. The award is given each year on behalf of the All-Campus Advising Association and the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success. Rovak, the CHC’s director of first-year experience, wins a $2,000 stipend and a plaque honoring her work with students. She was selected because of her diligent work with students in helping them plan their academic coursework, along with providing unique social opportunities to help foster a connection to the community.
Rovak was acknowledged as an excellent advisor who fosters personal and professional student growth by upholding the integrity of the UO, cultivates academic excellence among students, provides outstanding student support, has a strong understanding of the cultural factors that impact student success and development, and engages in effective professional development.
Ryan Theiss for a classified Outstanding Employee Award. The award recognizes individuals who embody the mission of the UO, produce quality work, and consistently display characteristics that are valued and appreciated by coworkers. These employees are reliable and continually help the university reach its goals and aspirations.
Theiss works as the CHC office specialist and is the very definition of how to demonstrate excellence on the job. He works closely with faculty and staff, and is known as a trouble shooter who always brings the best solutions to the table when any problems arise. He is creative, flexible, and his work ethic is unrivaled.