Awards Recognize Success of Assessment Through Engagement and Collaboration

Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (IE) presented awards to several faculty and staff members, students, offices and programs during the One University Assessment Celebration on April 26, in the School of Education, Education Commons.

In her opening remarks, Lois Agnew, associate provost for Academic Programs, highlighted the importance of celebrating the various ways faculty, staff and students have engaged in assessment practices, illuminating our strengths but also reinforcing a commitment to continuous improvement. Awards were given in five categories:

Assessment Champion: Recognizing campus community members who advocate for meaningful assessment to enrich the student experience and who have made outstanding contributions to the University’s culture of improvement.
Outstanding Assessment: Recognizing a distinguished academic, co-curricular and functional area for overall robust assessment.
Best Engagement Strategies: Recognizing programs/units for engaging faculty, staff and students to participate and contribute to the assessment process.
Best Use of Results: Recognizing an academic, co-curricular and functional area for how assessment results are used in making decisions.
Collaborative Inquiry and Action: A new award recognizing a unit that collaborates with others outside of their primary school, college or division to use assessment methods and data, resulting in actions to improve student learning and campus operations.

This year’s recipients included:

Assessment Champion | Academic: Blythe Bennett, program manager, School of Information Studies
Assessment Champion | Co-Curricular/Functional: Jessica Newsom, assistant director, Living Learning Communities
Assessment Champion | Shared Competencies: Maureen Thompson, undergraduate director and associate professor, Department of Public Health, Falk College
Outstanding Assessment | Academic Programs: Forensic Science Undergraduate and Graduate Programs, Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)
Outstanding Assessment | Co-Curricular: Student Outreach and Support, Student Experience
Outstanding Assessment | Functional: Future Professoriate Program, Graduate School
Best Faculty Engagement Strategies: Human Development and Family Science program, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Falk College
Best Staff Engagement Strategies: College of Professional Studies Dean’s Office
Best Student Engagement Strategies: Living Learning Communities, Student Experience
Best Use of Results | Academic: Film program, Department of Film and Media Arts, College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA)
Best Use of Results | Co-Curricular: Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (The SOURCE)
Best Use of Results | Functional: Retention and Student Success
Collaborative Inquiry and Action: Barnes Center at The Arch

After the awards, 2023 Assessment Leadership Institute participants were recognized for their poster presentations detailing assessment activities over the past year:

Keonte Coleman, director of assessment and program review and assistant professor, Newhouse School of Public Communications
Nadeem Ghani, assistant teaching professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS)
Dimitar Gueorguiev, Chinese studies program director and associate professor, Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Jody Nyboer, associate professor, School of Design, VPA
Kathleen Roland-Silverstein, associate professor, presenting with Isabel Hampton ’24 and Katie Weber ’24, Sentor School of Music, VPA
Darwin Tsen, Chinese language minor coordinator and assistant teaching professor, Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, A&S
Andrea Willis, director of academic programs, College of Professional Studies

Recipients of the inaugural “Student Engagement in Assessment” grant were also acknowledged for their poster presentations showcasing the collaborative experiences of students, faculty and staff:

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering: Tessa DeCicco ’25, Kerrin O’Grady ’25, Jade Carter ’24, Carly Ward ’24, Natalie Petryk ’21, Bridget Sides ’25, Mia Paynton ’25 and Doug Yung, associate teaching professor, Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program director, ECS
Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS): Student Success Advisory Council, which includes Eadin Block ’26; Margot MacKechnie ’26; Gary Shteyman ’26; Karen Toole, coordinator of academic support, Center for Disability Resources; Tasha Terzini, advisor, A&S; Kate Bussell, assistant director of academic expectations CLASS; and George Athanas, associate director, CLASS
New Student Programs: Winnie Naggar ’24 and Butch Hallmark, interim director, New Student Programs
Retention and Student Success: Prabin Raj Shrestha ’24 and Hope Smalling, functional business analyst, Retention and Student Success

Jerry Edmonds, senior assistant provost, shared final remarks. He noted that Syracuse University achieved “two important milestones this year. It is the fifth annual celebration highlighting the dedicated efforts of faculty, staff and students to assess and improve, as well as 10 years since the University embarked on a campus-wide initiative of systematically collecting evidence to inform decision-making across our campus.” He concluded with thanks and appreciation for everyone’s continued efforts.

Visit the IE website for event photos, presentation materials highlighting recipients’ achievements and posters.

Story by Laura Harrington, associate director, Institutional Effectiveness