Mountain Lions shine at 2023 Campus Awards Ceremony

The UCCS community celebrated faculty, staff, students and alumni in the annual Campus Awards Ceremony, held on April 18 in Berger Hall.

“As always, we have had an incredible year here at UCCS,” said Venkat Reddy, Chancellor of UCCS. “There has been so much to celebrate, from breaking ground on the Anschutz Engineering Center to establishing our new Doctor of Physical Therapy program to our recent renaming of the College of Public Service. Our campus has continued to grow, innovate and succeed, and we couldn’t have done it without all of you – so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of this community.”

The ceremony honored recipients of campus awards, in addition to faculty and staff who retired in the past year. The award recipients included:

  • Alumni and Friends Award: Lee Ingalls Noble, Bachelor of Arts in Sociology May 1976, Master of Arts in Sociology May 1979, former UCCS employee and current KPWE Advisory Board Chair

  • Campus Legacy Builders: Bob Camley, Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics and Energy Science; Janet Myers, Senior Instructor, Department of History; Rob Sackett, Professor/Interim Chair, Department of History; and Carlos Paz de Araujo, Distinguished Professor, Associate Dean for Research and Development Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Campus Sustainability Award: David Havlick, Professor and Chair, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies

  • Chancellor’s Award: Heather Song, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Faculty Assembly Service Award: Laura Austin-Eurich, Co-Chair/Director of Undergraduate Studies, Communication

  • Faculty Award for Excellence in Research: Gedare Bloom, Associate Professor, Computer Science

  • Garrett Swasey Outstanding Staff Award: Stephen Cucchiara, Director of Student Engagement, Student Life

  • Inclusive Excellence Awards: Omar Montoya, Faculty Director, Gateway Program Seminar and Jessi Smith, Vice Provost & Associate Vice Chancellor for Research

  • Outstanding Instructor Award: Cheryl Doughty, Senior IRC Faculty, Department of Biology

  • Outstanding Teacher Award: Brandon Vogt, Associate Professor/Graduate Director, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies

  • Ron Wisner Human Spirit and Leadership Award: Kevin Velasco, senior majoring in Economics and Political Science

  • Student Achievement Awards: Aja Zamundu, senior majoring in psychology; and Seth Lindsey, senior majoring in Visual & Performing Arts with Emphasis in Theater

  • Student Employee of the Year Award: Sana Hamad, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Assistant, junior majoring in Criminal Justice

  • Students’ Choice Award for Educator of the Year: David Weiss, Associate Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry

  • Thomas F. McLaughlin Awards: Audrey Bloomquist, Track and Field athlete, junior majoring in Business; and Dakota Abbott, Track and Field athlete, MBA graduate student

You can watch the full ceremony online.