Donna Bon, director of the Sheetz Fellows Program and senior instructor in entrepreneurship, was presented with two commendations of praise from the state during a Sheetz Fellows meeting April 26.
Nicholas Rowland, associate professor of sociology at Penn State Altoona, received the 2016 University-wide George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. Each year, Penn State honors several members of its faculty and staff for the highest levels of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and meritorious service.
Todd Davis, professor of English at Penn State Altoona, will receive the Kjell Meling Award for Distinction in the Arts and Humanities at 7 p.m. April 28 in the Edith Davis Eve Memorial Chapel. Penn State Altoona initiated the Meling Award in 2006 to honor the memory of its longtime associate dean for Academic Affairs, who passed away in 2005. The award is intended to memorialize Meling's love of literature and language and his unwavering support as an administrator for the development of Penn State Altoona's faculty as scholars and artists.
Each year, Penn State honors several members of its faculty and staff for the highest levels of academic excellence, outstanding leadership and meritorious service. The 2015 Faculty/Staff Award recipients — 33 outstanding University employees and one program — reach across campuses, colleges and administrative units and exemplify best practices and achievements among Penn Staters reflecting the University's mission of teaching, research and service.
Kenneth Womack has earned first place honors in the contemporary fiction category from the Texas Association of Authors for his novel "Playing the Angel," which was published by Stephen F. Austin State University Press in August. Womack will receive the award in October during the Texas Book Festival.
Lynette Kvasny, associate professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology; Laura Rotunno, associate professor of English at Penn State Altoona, and Jennifer Wood, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State New Kensington, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2014 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1985. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation.
Erin C. Murphy, associate professor of English at Penn State Altoona; M. Kevin Parfitt, associate professor of architectural engineering in the College of Engineering, and Robert D. Richards, Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies in the College of Communications, have received the Alumni/Student Award for Excellence in Teaching and have been named 2011 Penn State Teaching Fellows. The Penn State Alumni Association, in conjunction with undergraduate and graduate governing bodies, established the award in 1985. It honors distinguished teaching and provides encouragement and incentive for excellence in teaching. Recipients are expected to share their talents and expertise with others throughout the University system during the year following the award presentation.
