![\"\"](\"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/IMG_5864-Terry-Schwartz.jpg\" "\\"IMG_5864")
<\/a>Terry Schwartz,<\/strong> associate dean and professor, School of Public Affairs, whose commitment to public affairs led to the expansion of programs at UCCS.<\/p>\nDavid Braddock,<\/strong> executive director, Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities and psychiatry professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, whose work and service help people with disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Thomas Jefferson Award winners are great ambassadors for our university. Their excellence in academics extends into communities throughout our state, where they partner with public and private entities to improve quality of life,\u201d said CU President Bruce D. Benson. \u201cWe have many high-quality people providing great service to Colorado, and these deserving honorees are great examples of that.\u201d<\/p>\n To be considered for the award, nominees must demonstrate: a broad interest in literature, arts and sciences and public affairs; a strong concern for the advancement of higher education; a deeply seated sense of individual civic responsibility; and a profound commitment to the welfare and rights of the individual. Honorees must combine excellence in the performance of regular academic or work responsibilities with outstanding service to the broader community.<\/p>\n As associate dean at UCCS, Schwartz leads the institution\u2019s School of Public Affairs. Strictly a graduate school in the past, its mission expanded once Schwartz accomplished the development and approval of an undergraduate program in criminal justice.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout this process, Professor Schwartz has continued her zeal and commitment to teaching,\u201d wrote James A. Null, professor and chair of the UCCS political science department. \u201cShe offers classes and serves as both professor and adviser to her students.\u201d<\/p>\n Schwartz also sponsors an annual leadership training event for the public sector, attracting up to 150 enrollees from the Colorado Springs area, and is active in the arts community. \u201cEven with all of these activities she still finds time to be a scholar and publishes her writing,\u201d wrote Null, noting Schwartz\u2019s works on science, health in the public sector, public policy and public opinion.<\/p>\n Braddock holds the Coleman-Turner Endowed Chair in Cognitive Disability as professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. He has been executive director of the Coleman Institute since 2001, when the institute was established by a gift from founding donors Bill and Claudia Coleman. The institute\u2019s mission is to catalyze and integrate advances in science, engineering and technology to improve the quality of life and independent living for people with cognitive disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid is a freedom fighter, much like Jefferson was, in establishing the rights of people with cognitive disabilities,\u201d wrote Enid M. Ablowitz, associate director of the Coleman Institute, in her nominating letter. \u201cFor over 40 years, David has contributed to cognitive disability research in public health and social policy as evidenced by his 240 publications and papers and several books.\u201d<\/p>\n A committee composed of CU faculty, staff and students from all four campuses selects award winners. Recipients receive an engraved plaque and a $2,000 honorarium, and are recognized formally by the CU Board of Regents. The regents and President Benson are expected to recognize this year\u2019s award recipients at the Feb. 22-23 board meeting.<\/p>\n The Thomas Jefferson Award was established at the University of Virginia in 1951 by the Robert Earll McConnell Foundation to honor teaching faculty who exemplified the humanistic ideals associated with Jefferson. By 1962, six other institutions had established a Jefferson Award, including CU. In 1980, the university added a student category; in 1988, the staff category was approved. Funding for the awards is derived from earnings on an endowment provided by the McConnell Foundation and from a bequest by Harrison Blair, a CU alumnus.<\/p>\n — Jay Dedrick, CU System University Relations<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"