ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University faculty Ann Fidler, Kasia Marciniak and Joseph Shields earned Distinguished Service Awards from Ohio University's Office of Nationally Competitive Awards (ONCA) for their extraordinary commitment to helping students. The Department of English also received high praise, earning the Outstanding Department Award for its large number of mentors.
"I very much appreciate the extraordinary efforts of not only the Department of English but specific faculty who have received these awards," said Joseph Berman, dean of the Honors Tutorial College. "Their commitment to ONCA's growth for the past three years has been amazing. We look forward to their continued support with its programs."
Each of the three outstanding faculty members received a $500 award at the ONCA Appreciation Lunch on May 15. The Department of English received $500 to expand its library. Of the 23 students who applied for awards this year, five come from the department. Professors from that Department of English offered letters of recommendation, counseling and advising, along with encouragement and support. Some worked with as many as three students at a time.
"The contributions that these three faculty members have made to ONCA cannot be measured," said Ann Brown, director of ONCA, "but I think it is fair to say that we would not have enjoyed a fraction of our success without them, and many others."
Fidler, Marciniak and Shields were members of the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships screening and selection committees, which chose the Ohio University students who apply for the awards. They also participated in mock interviews, which helped candidates prepare for the award interviews. Fidler, assistant professor of history, and Marciniak, assistant professor of English, also brainstormed and helped with ONCA's promotional ideas this year. Shields, professor of physics and astronomy, also worked with the Goldwater Scholarship screening and selection committee.
"The great thing about this is that everyone wins," Shields said. "You get the students thinking about something bigger to aspire to. Things they may not have thought they were capable of before. It's great for their careers and great for Ohio University. I think this is the kind of thing all of our faculty should be encouraging our students to do."
