On Wednesday, May 12, faculty, staff and SPH leaders convened for the virtual spring assembly where faculty and staff were honored for their outstanding service and commitment to the school.
View the PowerPoint slides from the 2021 SPH Spring Assembly.
Jerry P. Wrenn Outstanding Service Award
Presented to a faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding service in general and specifically to the University community. Special attention is given to noteworthy advising at both the Undergraduate and Graduate levels and is our highest award for service to students.
Dr. Katherine Sharp has been an invaluable member of the SPH community for over 16 years, 13 of those years as the graduate director for the Department of Behavioral and Community Health. Kathy has been providing unsung service to the School by readily making herself available to existing
and new graduate directors by offering invaluable support and guidance as the forms/student tracking processes/etc. for the Department of Behavioral Health programs were being built out. Kathy is known as the keeper of policies, and students are frequently referred to her by faculty from other departments for answers to their questions. She is the “go-to” leader for graduate affairs in the School and has established herself as a champion for Professional Track Faculty (PTK) in both the SPH and for the UMD campus. She has also served as a co-chair of the SPH Delta Omega Gamma Zeta Chapter since 2018. As the longest-serving member of our Graduate Programs in Public Health Committee for the School, she brings both institutional history and an unyielding commitment to improving our graduate programs.
Muriel R. Sloan Communitarian Award
Presented to a faculty member who has made a significant contribution through outreach programs to the State of Maryland and surrounding communities. Special emphasis is given to programs designed to assist the public school systems in achieving their overall mission of educating and graduating students.
Dr. Kellee White’s training and expertise in social epidemiology and cardiovascular epidemiology has allowed her to craft a research agenda related to institutionalized racism and population health; social determinants of cardiometabolic risk factors and management; and aging health disparities, multimorbidity, and cognitive disorders and diseases. She has successfully expanded research capacities and networking opportunities for students and volunteered numerous activities in the community practice setting. She has served as the PI or co-investigator on several university, NIH, and foundation-funded grants. She has been invited to serve as a committee member for the Maryland Task Force on Reconciliation and Equity, and her dedication to promoting population health and health equity has been widely recognized.
Research and Development Award
Presented to a faculty member who has been recognized for doing an outstanding job in research and/or development.
This group of brave researchers has been working long hours (sometimes even on weekends), in the clinic and in the lab and in direct contact with Covid-19 infected individuals to help better understand the Virus and the role of viral aerosols in its transmission. Even the scarcity of resources and lab equipment has not stopped the team and they have found creative ways to accommodate their needs. The work that the team is doing should be appreciated and remembered.
George F. Kramer Practitioner of the Year Award
Presented to a faculty member who has been recognized for doing an outstanding job of putting theory into practice (application of knowledge in a practical setting).
Dr. Mariana Falconier joined the faculty in January 2019 as a tenured associate professor and became the director of the master’s program in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) in May 2020. At CFT, with faculty supervision, our students provide therapy to individuals, couples and families from local communities in the Center for Healthy Families, where they complete a minimum of 300 hours of supervised practice prior to graduation. This program could not have been successful without Dr. Falconier. In March 2020, Dr. Falconier, in partnership with Dr. Patricia Barros, center director, facilitated the training and systems adaptations to enable the students to continue to deliver virtual therapeutic services to their clients. Dr. Falconier has also served as project director for the TOGETHER program that helps couples develop healthy relationships and economic mobility. With her passionate commitment to excellent clinical training and services through the Center for Healthy Families and her leadership of the TOGETHER program, Dr. Falconier epitomizes the legacy of Dr. Kramer.
Doris Sands Excellence in Teaching Award
Presented to a faculty member who has been evaluated by the department chair, peers and students as being an excellent teacher in his/her area of expertise.
As a relatively new teaching assistant, Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Aparacio had to develop all-new courses and has excelled in all of them. Her curricula are thoughtfully designed to actively engage students in the learning process–and it shows through student and peer evaluations! She teaches outstandingly at all levels; undergraduate, master's, and doctoral, which is extremely impressive. Her commitment to excellence is evidenced by her participation in numerous Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC) workshops. She gets amazing ratings on student course evaluations and her students and teaching assistants alike have raved about her interactive and innovative teaching style, some describing her qualitative methods class as their favorite class they have taken at UMD.
Leda Amick Wilson Mentoring Award
Established in 2003 to honor a former FMSC faculty member who was an advocate for undergraduate students and mentoring their progress toward the completion of their degree requirements. Presented to a faculty member who has done an outstanding job of mentoring students in the department or college.
Dr. Jie Chen’s commitment to and excellence in mentoring is demonstrated through her work with students at all levels: the department, the School of Public Health, the University and through her work with outstanding national professional organizations. From her initial appointment in 2012 through the present, Dr. Chen has strategically and deliberately integrated mentoring into all of her faculty activities: research, teaching, and service. The students she has mentored have received recognition awards, been accepted into strong graduate programs, and/or have secured prestigious positions in academia, government and non-profit organizations. Dr. Chen’s approach to mentoring includes routinely publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts with her students (46 pubs since 2013). She has funded six doctoral students and sponsored 35 student presentations at national conferences. Simply stated, Dr. Chen has the “mentoring gene.”
Viki Annand Staff Excellence Award
Established in 2009 in honor of a former Assistant Dean. Presented to a staff member who has demonstrated superior service and ongoing contributions to a department and/or the school. Special emphasis is given to outstanding achievement and performance, personal interaction and initiative and creativity.
Since coming to the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, Matt Wootten has provided superior service in academic advising. During a time of transition in the department, Matt stepped up and not only handled his job duties but those of the director of undergraduate studies all with a smile on his face and an eagerness to serve. During this time, Matt advised all Department of Behavioral and Community Health undergraduates, assisted in scheduling, engaged in departmental initiatives, and led recruitment efforts. Matt is always willing to lend a hand. When CASA staff were out on leave, he added on to his already overloaded duties by assisting with exception to policy requests.
Gloria S. Friedgen School Spirit Award
Established in 2014 in honor of an alumnus and first Coordinator for Alumni and Outreach. Presented to an SPH faculty, staff, or student who has demonstrated outstanding performance and consistent dedication, initiative, motivation, positive attitude and customer service to those they support and with whom they interact.
Maurice Rocque’s dedication, initiative, and positive attitude are valued throughout the School. As the assistant director for finance and administration in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, Maurice supports all of our ~25 TTK and PTK faculty, staff, and many students. He oversees multi-million-dollar state and research budgets, with all faculty members funded via extramural sources. At every point, Maurice has maintained his positive attitude and friendly demeanor despite the additional burdens he’s faced as now the sole staff member in MIAEH. His reflection of the values of the Spirit Award is also found in his activities outside of MIAEH. Maurice regularly steps up to support the School and other units in so many ways it’s difficult to list them: he supports the Global Health Initiative budget; oversees the travel and expenses of the Public Health Beyond Borders
group; assists with EPIB APT dossier submissions; supports the finance teams of other units in
the School when they have staffing shortages or need help; serves as a mentor to new hires of
various stripes across the School; and more. Maurice simply defines excellent customer service in
all that he does.
Staff Teamwork and Community-Builder Award
Established in 2015 to recognize a staff member who works effectively to advance a department, unit and/or the SPH through teamwork, collaboration and cooperation. S/he shares knowledge and helps others to achieve job-related goals inspires others to work successfully as a team, contributes to group problem-solving and supports an inclusive community that respects and embraces differences.
Bianca Garcia is the community builder that links faculty and students. Bianca has demonstrated amazing service and has provided outstanding contributions to the HPM Department. As a member of the Department of Health Policy and Management team, she accepts and holds accountability for the advancement of the department. She enjoys speaking and working with faculty and students about what we can do to make the department better. Several of her suggestions have been implemented, such as providing more summer support to students, a program that incentivizes faculty to support students through their discretionary accounts, and others. Bianca is always glad to volunteers at SPH staff service events or any event. Bianca provides an environment of respect and trust where everyone, in the department and the School, feels like they can depend on her as a valuable resource. She takes pride in building effective collaborative relationships with business colleagues and students, always providing and looking for solutions to their problems.
