The Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) will honor six Wittenberg employees with 2020-21 Excellence Awards. The winning three staff members and three faculty members will be promoted by SOCHE throughout the 2022 calendar year.
Academic and human resources officers at each of SOCHE’s member institutions submitted names of faculty and staff members who demonstrated excellence in teaching, service, scholarship, and assessment throughout 2021.
Wittenberg faculty members selected include Stephanie Eveland Parrott, visiting professor of chemistry, who will be featured in February; Cherie Rebar, professor of nursing, who will be featured in June; and Cynthia Richards, Veler Endowed Chair in English, who will be featured in July. Staff members selected include Carol Nickoson, senior assistant director of human resources, who will be featured in April; Joi Garrett Scales, associate director, career operations and student employment, who will be featured in September; and Michell Wilke, campus visit coordinator, Office of Admission, who will be featured in November.
SOCHE will honor a total of 71 Excellence Award recipients from across 22 member institutions from January through November of 2022 with approximately six-to-seven winners being highlighted each month via SOCHE social media channels and on the SOCHE Excellence Awards webpage. The full list of award winners and their supporting information is available here.
SOCHE is the regional leader for higher education collaboration, engaging with colleges, universities, and the industry to transform the economy through the education and employment of nearly 200,000 students in Southwest Ohio. See more at www.soche.org
About the Winners
Eveland Parrott joined the Department of Chemistry in fall 2019 and has already made significant contributions in her tenure. In addition to teaching several new courses, she successfully navigated the challenges of pivoting to remote and hyflex teaching while providing guidance to the rest of the department in these endeavors. Additionally, Eveland has mentored summer research students, formed a reading group on women and science, and served as advisor to the Chemistry Club. She is featured by SOCHE this month.
Nickoson’s warm demeanor and depth of compassion for people has consistently been seen by the Wittenberg University campus community in both her prior student involvement role and now in human resources. Nickoson was described by a colleague as one who “approaches everything inquisitively to best understand circumstances and to gather as much information possible from all sides. She is quick to learn and easily transitions into the many roles she must juggle in human resources.” Her work with both students and employees has been recognized as stellar. She will be featured by SOCHE in April.
Rebar, professor of nursing, joined Wittenberg’s newly established department in August 2016. Students and colleagues praise her commitment to student success. She describes her aim as preparing curriculum, courses, and activities for students that are current, evidence-based, and applicable to current nursing practice. To make her courses relevant, for example, she recently developed a telehealth exercise for her students. A colleague wrote in support of her teaching excellence that “Rebar capitalizes on each student’s liberal arts education by connecting nursing education concepts to courses taken, or that will be taken, while a student at Wittenberg. This fosters a sense of holism in the ways in which nursing students approach patient-centered, evidence-based nursing practice.” Among her accomplishments, Rebar is co-author of Medical-Surgical Nursing: Concepts for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, a popular medical-surgical nursing textbook. She will be featured by SOCHE in June.
Richards embodies the best of Wittenberg’s faculty in creative teaching, cutting-edge scholarship, and tireless service to the school and the Springfield community. Recipient of the 2021 Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award and Omicron Delta Kappa Award recipient, Richards teaches a range of courses, and her research interests include 18th-century literature, women and gender studies, Mary Wollstonecraft, and pedagogy. A former Fulbright Scholar to the Czech Republic, she was recognized with an innovative course award in 2003 by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. She passes her light in the classroom and community not only by sharing her expertise in critical theory and literature, but also by making those challenging subjects both relevant and compelling. As one alumna shared: “Dr. Richards was the most amazing professor during my time at Wittenberg. She was so passionate about writing and literature that I continually channel that passion when I teach my own students.” Richards will be featured by SOCHE in July.
Garrett Scales is described by colleagues as an exceptional employee at Wittenberg University, with a strong work ethic. “She is a reliable team player who focuses on providing excellent services to students. Garrett Scales has the ability to develop relationships with students and employees, due to her listening and communication skills.” While her tenure at Wittenberg has not been long, she has already established a good rapport with students and colleagues, because of her confidence and professionalism when interacting with others. She will be featured by SOCHE in September.
Wilke is described by her colleagues as “the ultimate representation of welcome. ‘Grace under fire’ is a phrase that could easily be used to describe how she works at the front desk in the Office of Admission every day. She positively and calmly manages and maneuvers each in-person visitor, phone call, email, and request. Wilke is genuine and always present to help a prospective student, current student, or colleague. She is truly a shining star within the enrollment division.” Wilke will be featured by SOCHE in November.
