The evening of February 6, 2015 was a celebration filled with laughter, gratitude, and excitement at the College Annual Awards Banquet—an evening to honor faculty and staff within the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
“Each year at these college dinners . . . we have the opportunity to give out some college awards to people who have done some wonderful things in the college, and we appreciate all of your efforts,” Sommerfeldt said.
The announcements began with the University Service Awards, given to staff and administrative employees for every five years of service to the university. This year’s recipients were Linda Richards, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (10 yrs), Rod Scheetz, Department of Geological Sciences (10 yrs), and Lonette Stoddard, Department of Mathematics (30 yrs).
Sue Mortensen, department executive secretary in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was honored with the Outstanding Staff/Administrative Employee Award. Mortensen is respected by her colleagues both for her dedication and competence with her wide scope of responsibilities. As she interacts with others and seeks how best to solve a problem, she conducts herself with compassion and efficiency.
“Sue has the remarkable ability to make [people] she deals with think their issues or projects are the most important item on her agenda,” Sommerfeldt said. “She is the wizard that makes the seemingly impossible, probable.”
Matt Heaton, an assistant professor in the Department of Statistics, received the Faculty Young Scholar Award. Sommerfeldt noted that Heaton’s research productivity is remarkable for a young statistician. He has already published 21 papers in top-level journals in the past four years and has a number more waiting for review. In addition, he is an excellent teacher, consistently getting high reviews on BYU’s student rating system.
“Matt is a productive faculty member who has already made several contributions to the department in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and citizenship,” Sommerfeldt said.
Roger Harrison received the Distinguished Citizenship Award for his work within the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Harrison has demonstrated his willingness to serve and to improve the department. He has served as the chair of the department curriculum committee for eleven years and as the area chair for the inorganic chemistry area. Harrison is also a dedicated teacher and mentor to his undergraduate and graduate students. He recently discovered that many undergraduate students were leaving the chemistry program after their first year. He and his committee identified the issues surrounding this finding and implemented a plan to address the issues.
“Roger is a quiet, dependable member of the faculty who is an outstanding citizen,” Sommerfeldt said. “His attention to detail and work ethic have exceeded department expectations and show genuine initiative in a number of goals for the department.”
Natalie Blades, an associate professor in the Department of Statistics, received the Excellence in Teaching Award (3-10 years of service). Blades consistently gets high ratings from the students with comments like, “the best teacher I’ve ever had,” and is praised for her timely and applicable feedback. Blades works with the department’s undergraduate curriculum to meet the needs of graduates.
“Natalie exemplifies a faculty member who is engaged in the process of educating BYU students with tools and experiences that will prove useful in the emerging technical, data-centric world,” Sommerfeldt said.
Tom Morris, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences, was also honored with a Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award (10 or more years at BYU). Morris engages the minds and hearts of his students in both non-major and major classes, and inspires them to learn and become passionate about geology. He also developed the career pathway seminar lecture series, which is devoted to exposing students to professionals in the industry.
“Tom has had a profound impact on the teaching and career development of many appreciative undergraduate and graduate students,” Sommerfeldt said. “His legacy will be the graduate students he has mentored, the hundreds of students who’ve benefited from his heartfelt teaching, and all who’ve incorporated his passion for geology into their own lives.”