University News

WIU Employees Honored For Outstanding Service

April 2, 2001


Printer friendly version

Five Western Illinois University employees have been selected to receive community service and distinguished service awards. They, along with employees with 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service to WIU, will be honored at the annual Service Recognition Reception to be held at 7 p.m. Monday, April 16 in the University Union Lamoine Room. A social will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Jack Schoonover, University Housing and Dining Services director of residential facilities, will receive the University Community Service Award. He will receive an engraved plaque and a $250 honorarium funded by the Alumni Association. The award is presented in recognition of significant contributions to the WIU community, including activities for the benefit of others in Macomb.

Jude Kiah, University Transit coordinator and member of the Council of Administrative Personnel (COAP), will receive the Administrative Recognition and Service Award. He will receive a certificate and an honorarium of $250.
Carrie Keeney, billing and receivables; Mary Massa, staff secretary, WIU-Quad Cities; and Jan Mix, staff secretary, College of Arts and Sciences; will receive Civil Service Distinguished Service Awards. They each will receive certificates and a $250 honorarium. Human Resources funds the COAP and civil service honorariums.

Schoonover has devoted much of his time to WIU and the Macomb community. He is a member of the Meadowbrook Homeowners Association, the Heritage Days planning committee, the Lions Club and St. Paul Church. Schoonover is also involved in fund-raising activities for the Macomb school system.

"Even more than the list of Jack’s involvement is an understanding of how his involvement in the community affects his work on the WIU campus. We benefit by Jack’s ability to see the larger picture as it relates to campus and community issues. We benefit by Jack’s spirit of civility and his desire to make our community a better place…" wrote Kathy Cavins, assistant vice president for student services, in her letter of support for Schoonover.

Schoonover, who was nominated by James Keeney, director of Campus Recreation, is a member of the McDonough County Board and the St. Paul parish council. He also serves as treasurer for the church.

"…Jack and I had an enjoyable conversation concerning his career at the University. I could see in his body language and hear in the tone of his voice that he truly enjoys his work. Jack cares deeply for the students at Western Illinois University and is committed to the education and personal growth of the children in the Macomb School District," wrote Susie Nichols, director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Media Resource Center at WIU, in her letter of support for Schoonover.

Kiah, who will receive the Administrative Distinguished Service Award, was nominated for the honor by Vice President for Student Services Garry Johnson. Kiah determines the GO WEST bus routes, deals with occasional customer complaints, determines when additional buses are needed and purchases the buses. He has even driven a bus when a driver was not available.

"It was always our desire to have a more comprehensive transit system, and certainly we saw great potential in the "new" WIU Transit System. If Jude had not shared our vision, if he had not proven that he could deliver, if he had not taken the time to ensure that our routes were well-designed, if he had not continued to assess the efficiency of the routes and if he had not embraced the community portion of the system with the same enthusiasm as the initial WIU system we would not have the growing system and the strong working relationship that exists today," wrote Macomb Mayor Thomas Carper in his letter of support of Kiah’s nomination.

Keeney, who will receive the Civil Service Distinguished Service Award, works in the billing and receivables office. Keeney’s supervisors, Chrystal Adkisson and Debbie Summers, said that they have been impressed with her creativity.

"She has created numerous databases, which allow co-workers to handle their duties more efficiently… Carrie was very instrumental in the design of the [University’s] VA web pages. After completion of the VA web page she was given the additional task to design the Billing and Receivables web page, thereby making additional information readily available to parents and students. Carrie is also responsible for insuring other sites containing Billing and Receivables information are kept updated and accurate."

Massa, who will also receive the Civil Service Distinguished Service Award, is a staff secretary at the WIU Regional Center. She has worked at the center for almost 15 years and has been closely involved in two complete office moves — to the Black Hawk College Campus and the WIU-Quad Cities facility. Massa supervises a secretarial staff of six employees and a number of student workers. She also keeps track of all human resources matters for the civil service staff at the Quad Cities campus and is involved in the screening, interviewing, hiring, orientation, training and evaluation of civil service employees. Massa also issues and keeps track of all keys for WIU employees at the center.

"I have found Mary to be a capable, motivated and intelligent person who clearly deserves such recognition. In her present responsibilities as the office manager for the WIU-Quad Cities campus, she has clearly demonstrated a high level of support to faculty and staff, excellent written and oral communications, a professional demeanor, a commitment to customer service and an ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with students, faculty and staff. She has been a valuable asset to the WIU-Quad Cities campus since 1986," wrote James Patterson, management associate professor, in his letter of support for Massa. Massa was nominated for this award by Linda Wilkinson, manager of the WIU Regional Center.

Nominated by Dean Phyllis Farley Rippey, Janice Mix, staff secretary, will receive the Civil Service Distinguished Service Award. Mix has worked at the University for more than 20 years, 12 of those as the secretary to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"When I say that Jan is an invaluable assistant, I mean that she is a treasure house of information about the University and that she uses her information and experience continuously to solve problems and help all who seek her advice. Further, she consistently thinks about the best interests of the college and University and takes action only in light of those interests. Over the years Jan has woven a fabric of information, history and interests of the college with which she cloaks her actions, forestalling most problems," wrote Rippey.

Employees who will be recognized for years of service to WIU include:

35 Years of Service - William Combs, history; Patricia Hutinger, Institute for Best Practices in Early Child Education; Lawrence Lewis, geography; James Vining, geography; Lynn Wolfmeyer, mathematics;

30 Years of Service - James Ackil, psychology; Jay Balderson, English; Beverly Head, building services; Marilyn Johnson, president's office; Sterling Kernek, history; William Kleiner, economics; John Mann, English; Karen Mann, English; Karen Nelson, word processing services; David Quinn, foreign languages and literatures; Carole Rothberg, educational administration and supervision; Richard Thomas, foreign languages and literatures; Kathleen Veroni, athletics; Morris Vos, foreign languages and literatures; David Voss, mathematics;

25 Years of Service - Dennis Bliss, law enforcement and justice administration; Sharon Brown, WIU Library; Marcia Crisp, administrative computing; Alan DeRoos, registrar’s office; Joe Driskell, grounds maintenance; Holly Garbo, recreation, park and tourism administration; Catherine Hainline, career services; Virginia Helm, provost and academic vice president’s office; Sharon Hundley, University Housing and Dining Services; Stephany Joy-Newman, counseling center; Delores Keith, advising and academic support center; Douglas March, management; Mary Lou Mathew, accountancy; Christina Noble, administrative computing; Rosemary Parks, Union Service Center; Philip Reno, building mechanical maintenance; Richard Rieck, geography; Bonnie Riggens, athletics; Essie Rutledge, sociology/anthropology; Jack Weaver, building services; Cathy Werner, Affirmative Action; Mary Kathy Wilson, building services;

20 Years of Service - Lori Boyer, College of Business and Technology; Ivy Brooks, building services; Michael Campbell, music; Belinda Carr, Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center; Fred Caspall, geology; Hayden Cooper II, building maintenance; Judith Dallinger, communication; Mary Day, WIU Library; Craig DeMoss, administrative computing; Laurie Derry, Beu Health Center; Cindy Driskell, admissions; Janet Foster, building services; Joan Frohne, College of Education and Human Services; Janice Hart, international education; Karen Hunt, human resources; Christopher Jagielo, public safety; Tej Kaul, information management and decision sciences; Lucille Kepple, human resources; Rhonda Kline, institutional research and planning; Edward Knod, management; Catherine Koester, building services; Donna Kreps, building services; Joan McEneany, admissions; Norma Millmeyer, president's office; Julie Murphy, College of Education and Human Services; Bernard Murray, University Union-operations; Thomas Roger Myers, building maintenance; Dolly Patterson, physical plant; Estelle Plewa, advising and academic support center; Arthur Peterson, athletics; Pamela Powell, accounting office; Gene Predmore, building services; Joseph Protsman, athletics; Theresa Roe, accounting office; Dan Rouse, athletics; Lorraine Schwartz, art; Hugh Shane, management; Mary Beth Smith, art; Bonnie Smith-Skripps, College of Education and Human Services; Jeffrey Stockton, Campus Recreation; Stephen Straub, information management and decision sciences; Ronald Sydnor, building services; Joseph Vandemark II, Visual Production Center; Gerald Vigue, agriculture; Larry Wall, College of Business and Technology; Rebecca Wayland, counseling center; Lawrence Welch, mathematics; Sara Winship, Campus Recreation; Judy Yeast, Campus Recreation; Patricia Yeoman, Visual Production Center;

15 Years of Service - Manoucher Ardalan, information management and decision science; Barbara Baily, graduate studies; Kathy Barclay, curriculum and instruction; Martha Barclay, family and consumer sciences; Jan Barker, student development and orientation; Charles Bell III, theatre; Allen Black, building services; William Breckenridge, building mechanical maintenance; Carol Brooks, University Housing and Dining Services; William Bushaw, financial aid; James Courter, English; Edward Crahan, physical plant; Kim Curtis, Beu Health Center; Michael Davey, community health and health services management; Barry Davis, University Union; Esther Grimes, economics; Julie DeWees, budget office; Michael Dickson, CAIT; Nick Digrino, recreation, park and tourism administration; Barbara Dosier, Center for Management and Professional Development; Scott Fisher, building services; Judith Grafton, registrar’s office; Robert Hall, educational administration and supervision; Annette Hamm, School of Extended and Continuing Education; Julie Hannen, WIU Library; Jerry Hansen, English; Carol Harper, Institute for Rural Affairs; John Harvey, community health and health services management; Michael Hazlett, law enforcement and justice administration; Lisa Hinman, accounting office; Dean Howd, WIU Library; Mary Hughes, music; Larry Hunter, WIU Library; Michael Illovsky, counseling center; Choonsan Kim, information management and decision science; Howard Kreps, building services; Sandra Larimer, Curriculum Publication Clearinghouse; Marcia Lucas, accountancy; Jennifer Mason, admissions; William Mason, building services; Cheryl Matteson, music; Sharon McCamant, admissions; Richard McClintock, building maintenance; Lawrence McWard, engineering technology; Samuel Moran, public safety; Susan Miner, alumni; Roberta Morelli, extended learning; Dallas Mowen, administrative computing; Richard Nott, building services; Judith Olson, mathematics; Melfried Olson, mathematics; Cathy Onion, information management and decision sciences; Brenda Parks, administrative computing; Gary Powell, building services; Penny Pugh, graduate studies; Dwaine Roche, athletics; Diane Sandage, sociology and anthropology; Timothy Sheridan, student judical programs; William Sibley, WIU Library; Randy Smith, building services; Tammy Thomas, public safety; Arthur Thorpe, building services; Marlene Toland, history; Thomas Tomlinson, law enforcement and justice administration; John Van Dyke, building services; Roger Vizdal, mail services; Daniel Voorhis, regional development; Ronald Walker, English; Bonnie Wilson, building services; Robin Wilt, Beu Health Center; Glen Wuestenfeld, building maintenance;

10 Years of Service - Chrystal Adkisson, billing and receivables; Joyce Cale, building maintenance; Carole Carter, internal auditing; Janece Clough, art; Nancy Coney, social work; Richard Cook, building mechanical maintenance; Michael Creekmore, building services; Kevin Downs, building maintenance; Timothy Engel, University Relations; Janet Fowler, Beu Health Center; Nathan Garlick, public safety; Diane Garlisch, Student Judical Programs; Sandra Good, physical plant; Evelyn Hagan, physics; Joseph Hattaway, bookstore; Linda Hess, English; William Hoon, communication; Richard Janoski, law enforcement and justice administration; Lynn Johanson, Institute for Best Practices in Early Child; Kenneth A. Johnson, bookstore; James Kenny, marketing and finance; Peppi Kenny, marketing and finance; Bill Knight Jr., English; Steven Kline, Institute for Rural Affairs; Terence Krell, management; Zobeida Laufenberg, WIU Regional Center; Ada Macias, counseling center; Mary Markert, bookstore; Cynthia Moore, telecommunications; Sue Myers, bookstore; Catherine Null, international non-credit programs; Catherine Peters, payroll; Donna Quesal, communication; Robert Quesal, communication; Danny Rittenhouse, building maintenance; Larry Schmitt, building maintenance; Meckinley Scott, mathematics; Patricia Shryack, building services; Michael Stevenson, athletics; Jeanne Stierman, WIU Library; Patrick St. John, building services; Rachel Sutton, financial aid; Richard Thorman, grounds maintenance; Ronald Toland, building maintenance; Susan Tygrett, graduate studies; Connie Van Dyke, student activities programs; Philip Weiss, communication; Wilma Wilson, University Housing and Dining Services; John Wiorek, law enforcement and justice administration.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing