West Liberty University Provost Brian Crawford introduced new faculty and presented employee awards at the annual Opening Convocation and general faculty meeting held at noon today in College Hall. Crawford also updated campus on the status of the university.
“As West Liberty University begins this, our 178th year, we find ourselves faced with some challenges. Challenges of course, are nothing new to West Liberty or any other state institution of higher learning,” Crawford said. “With challenges come opportunities, and with focused effort, it seems quite likely that we will be able to discover and take advantage of some of those opportunities.”
From left, Sarah Sweeney, Dr. Jeremy Larance, Dr. Li-Wei Peng, Dr. Joseph Horzempa and JoJo Ullom accept their awards at Opening Convocation.
Crawford also took time to mention some recent advancements made on campus:
- Approval of the Bachelor of Arts in Theater degree
- Significant upgrades to technology in Elbin Library
- Renovation of Kelly Theatre
- West Family Stadium construction
Additionally, Crawford mentioned the significance of three key events accomplished over the past academic year. The first was the establishment of the Office of University Planning which gives WLU an advantage over many schools of similar size; the second was the creation of Administrative Policy 10 that increases faculty and staff involvement of budget planning; and the third was the completion and approval of the five year Institutional Master Plan.
Special awards also were distributed to the following employees:
- Harry & Constance Hein Classified Staff Award, Director of Intramurals and Human Resource Assistant Robert “Bo” McConnaughy
- Excellence in Professional Activity Award, Assistant Professor Of Biology Dr. Joseph A. Horzempa and Associate Professor of Instructional Technology Dr. Li-Wei Peng.
- Excellence in Teaching Award, Assistant Professor of Secondary Education JoJo S. Ullom.
- Excellence in Service Award, Associate Professor of English Dr. Jeremy S. Larance.
- Excellence in Classified Staff Service Award, Highlands Center Campus Manager Sara A. Sweeney.
Years of Service Awards were distributed to:
10 Year
- Instructor of Computer Information Systems Mark Pissos
15 Year
- Administrative Secretary Dreama Bush
- Academic Laboratory Instructing Assistant David DeWitt
- Accounting Assistant Deborah Heinzeroth
- Network Administrator Rebecca McCullough
- Records Office Administrator Linda McKee
- Records Officer/Veterans GI Bill Administrator Cheryl Mielke
- Database Specialist Robert Wise
- Accounting Assistant Micahlene Zaleski
- Professor of Education Judy Stechly
20 Year
- Business Manager Cynthia McGee
- Women’s Basketball Coach/Associate Athletic Director James “Lynn” Ullom
- Library Tech Assistant Edward Wolf
25 Year
- Administrative Secretary Cynthia Bartholomew
- Financial Reporting Manager Sherri Mason
- Campus Police Officer Joseph “JR” Olejasz
- Health & Safety Specialist Anthony Salatino
30 Year
- Trades Specialist I Keith Kaczor
- Director of Intramurals/HR Assistant Robert “Bo” McConnaughy
35 Year
- Staff Librarian Jennifer Cross
- Landscape Worker Raymond Tredway
WLU employs 142 fulltime faculty members and an additional 169 staff, as of Aug. 1, 2014. For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB.