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Union honors students, faculty during annual Awards Day service

Jenaye White (right), president of Union's Student Government Association, presents the Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year Award to Hal Poe. (Photo by Morris Abernathy)
Jenaye White (right), president of Union's Student Government Association, presents the Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year Award to Hal Poe. (Photo by Morris Abernathy)

JACKSON, Tenn.May 9, 2014 — ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳ presented more than 70 awards to students, faculty and staff May 9 at the annual Awards Day chapel service.

The Carla D. Sanderson Faculty of the Year Award went to Hal Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture. Steven Aldridge, Union’s sports information director, was awarded with the Gary L. Carter Staff of the Year Award.

Others award recipients:

The Barnabas Leadership Award promotes the ideals of servant leadership in the Union community. Recipients are awarded $500 each and asked to designate $100 to the charitable agency of their choice. This year’s recipients were Erin Allen and Andrew Stricklin.

The Bettye and Kermit Whiteaker Freshman Biology Award, which is presented to a freshman biology major or minor with outstanding scholastic achievement, was presented to Joseph Bakeer.

The Bettye and Kermit Whiteaker Chemistry Award, which is presented to a freshman chemistry major or minor with outstanding scholastic achievement, was presented to Jenna Summerlin.

The Bill Truex Award in Computer Science was presented to Nathaniel Webb.

The Broadman and Holman Award, given annually to a graduating senior who is deemed to have the greatest potential for significant contribution to the field of ministry, was presented to Zach Thompson.

The Dr. Bill Bouchillon Psychology Excellence Award, given to an outstanding graduating senior with a grade point average of 3.5 or greater in psychology and selected by the psychology faculty, was presented to Kelsey McFarland.

The Kyle L. Hathcox Memorial Physics Award, given to a junior or senior either majoring or minoring in physics, was presented to Jonathan Eldridge.

The Curtiss E. Scott Business Excellence Award, which is presented to the outstanding senior business major as chosen by the faculty of the McAfee School of Business Administration and the members of the Business Club based on both academic and leadership achievement, was presented to Deborah Anne Brewster.

The Service Through Engineering Award was presented to Grace Morriss.

The Kina S. Mallard Communication Arts Student of the Year Award was presented to Ben Wright.

The Georgia Wilson Memorial Award for Clinical Nursing, which is presented to the member of the graduating class who is deemed by the nursing faculty to have been the most outstanding in clinical nursing, was presented to Elizabeth Murphy.

The Helen Blythe Creative Writing Award, which is presented by an endowment of ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳’s Women’s Club to the graduating English major who has demonstrated outstanding originality in writing during his or her ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳ career, was presented to Austin Gray.

The Dr. James Alex Baggett History Research Paper Award, which recognizes the best original research papers presented in regularly scheduled history courses for the current academic year, was presented to Allie Durham.

The Nora Smith Barker Student Teachers of the Year Award is presented to the student teacher who has demonstrated the highest degree of skills and attributes considered characteristic of outstanding teachers and shows the greatest potential for professional achievement. The Elementary Student Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Kelly Geasley. The Secondary Education Student Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Rachel Emanuel. The Special Education Student Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Kinsey Beninato.

The Wolfram Award in Computational Science is sponsored by Wolfram Research Inc. and chosen by the department of mathematics and computer science. It is presented each year to a freshman calculus student who has demonstrated outstanding achievement, enthusiasm, ingenuity and creativity in mathematics. This year’s award was presented to Joshua Stucky.

The Fred DeLay Memorial Award, for a senior who is an outstanding athlete, a person of high academic standing, unquestionable loyalty and good character, was presented to Dionna Linn.

The John C. Moore Award for excellence in academics and athletics was presented to Allison Martin and Derek Roof.

The Intramural Male Athlete of the Year was Jared Haney. The Intramural Female Athlete of the Year was Kaylee Shackleford.

The Greek Scholarship Cups, which are awarded annually to the two social fraternities with the highest average, were presented to the men of Lambda Chi Alpha and the women of Chi Omega (for the 67th consecutive year).

The Howard Newell Innovative Teaching Award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated creativity and innovation in classroom teaching. Selections are made by a faculty committee. The award winner was Jennifer Gruenke, professor of biology, with honorable mention to Geoffrey Poore, assistant professor of physics.

Academic Excellence Medals were presented by Union to the graduating senior with the highest grade point average in each discipline, provided the student’s GPA in the major is not less than 3.50. A student minoring in a discipline in which there is no qualifying major or in which no major is offered is also eligible for a medal. The following students received medals for academic excellence:

Major in Art – Elisabeth Grace Marsch
Major in Studio Art – Hilary Bailey Borden
Major in Biology Robyn R. Reynolds
Major in Cell and Molecular Biology – Joseph James Dresser
Major in Biochemistry – Kathryn Elizabeth Eudy
Major in Digital Media Studies – Abigail Esther Winters
Major in Advertising – Jacob Stephen Moore
Major in Broadcast Journalism – Matthew Keith Thielke
Major in Media Communications – Caroline Evelyn Miller
Major in Public Relations – Mckenzie Chandler Masters
Major in Computer Science – Benjamin Douglas Horne
Major in Engineering – Robert Todd Jones
Major in English – Rebecca A. Edgren
Major in History – Gracie Alexandria Wise
Major in Intercultural Studies – Zachary Andrew Calvert
Major in Family Studies – Betty Kay Stinson
Major in Sociology – Molly Rebecca King
Major in Applied Linguistics – Jonathan Philip Rogers
Major in French – Allie Grace Durham
Major in Spanish – Jonathan Philip Rogers
Major in Teaching English as a Second Language – Rachel Nicole Emanuel
Major in Mathematics – David E. Clark
Major in Church Music – Adam G. Stanford
Major in Music – Abby Ann Williams
Major in Music Performance – John Brandon Swing
Major in Music Theory – William Simon Burke
Major in Physics – Elizabeth Noel Olson
Major in Political Science – Seth Douglas Brake
Major in Psychology – Kelsy F. Dement
Major in Accounting – Deborah Anne Brewster
Major in Business Administration – Thomas Lisle Whitman II
Major in Economics – Andrew T. Cox
Major in Organizational Leadership – Phillip Henry Van Ravensway
Major in Elementary Education – Laura Kay Richardson
Major in Learning Foundations – Anna Claire Frederick
Major in Special Education – Emily Rachel Grove
Major in Athletic Training – Dionna Linn
Major in Exercise Science and Wellness – Alex Jamison Rider
Major in Sport Management – Krister N. Dahl Andreassen
Major in Social Work – Alison Marie Holcomb
Major in Nursing – Rebecca A. Sperry
Major in Biblical Studies – Shelbe Renee Marshall
Major in Biblical Studies-Languages – David Andrew Knack
Major in Christian Studies – Christine Elizabeth Ryan
Major in Philosophy – Frank Immanuel Weise III
Major in Theology – Caleb Phillips Creel.


Media contact: Tim Ellsworth, news@uu.edu, 731-661-5215