WSU Applebaum celebrates Employee Recognition Week in Warrior Strong style
From Nov. 15-19, we are celebrating Wayne State University’s inaugural Employee Recognition Week by shining a light on those who make a Warrior Strong contribution to the university and our college. The five new employee recognition awards (based on WSU values) are Warrior Heroes, Warrior Excellence, Warrior Trailblazers, Warriors Who Care and Warrior Leadership.
Although there are so many in the WSU Applebaum family who fit these descriptions, the following several people have been recognized by leadership for going above and beyond.
Warriors Who Care: Sarah Agnihotri "Sarah is new but has made a difference. She is the champion of the Research Scholars track and she has done tremendous work to organize our curriculum." | Warrior Heroes: Amina Begum "Amina has stepped up and accepted the challenges that came with other staff leaving. She has that can-do attitude and is committed to service that helps us keep running smoothly." |
Warriors Who Care: Sarah Borland "As the program director for Radiologic Technology, she has consistently demonstrated an ability to listen to the needs of her students and implement policies which are fair to all. Students reach out to her, and she does a phenomenal job of letting them know they are not alone. She fosters a team environment by facilitating the relationship between Henry Ford Hospital and our university." | Warrior Heroes: Angela Bumphus "Angela and Chris Cowen [see below] are essential for Pharmaceutical Sciences, interacting with both faculty and students. They have been a tremendous help with students during COVID by working with them to get settled into the program after their move here and helping them get the things the students need to start their program. We could not do anything without them." |
Warrior Leadership: Mary K. Clark “Dr. Clark demonstrates authentic leadership at the college and around the community. As the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, she and her staff are at the epicenter of the college, hearing student concerns and helping find solutions. She values creative ways to build her team and support the staff in her unit, and in the community she is a strong advocate for women, caregivers and older adults. As a member of the college’s leadership team, Dr. Clark provides an important voice that is passionate about student success.” | Warrior Heroes: Chris Cowen "Chris and Angela Bumphus [see above] are essential for Pharmaceutical Sciences, interacting with both faculty and students. They have been a tremendous help with students during COVID by working with them to get settled into the program after their move here and helping them get the things the students need to start their program. We could not do anything without them." |
Warrior Excellence: Anthony Crawley "Walking through the halls of our college, you may not realize how much Anthony Crawley impacts our college every day. As an operating engineer, Tony works around the clock to make sure our building’s complex systems are maintained and functioning well. When shortages of resources impact campus, Tony finds solutions that keep our classrooms, offices, and labs safe and operational. He is the first person we turn to when building problems arise and we are so fortunate to have him looking out for us." | Warrior Heroes: Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller "She demonstrates the can-do attitude with an exceptional commitment to scholarship, research and service. Dr. DiZazzo-Miller delivered high quality, protocol compliant, in-person educational experiences during the peak of the pandemic to ensure our students were prepared for clinical rotations. She exemplifies leadership and compassion in her interactions with peers, students and as a faculty mentor." |
Chris Gill, Valdor Haglund, Joe Kiesznowski, Jessica Phillips, Joanne Rush and Georgia Young "Thinking outside of the box and changing the landscape of nurse anesthesia education is exactly what the faculty in our Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia program have been striving for! Over the last year, the faculty has been very creative in the implementation of active learning techniques to complement traditional lectures. The use of case discussions, word cloud, simulation, worksheets, and polling are some of the strategies that have been used to improve course delivery and academic success of our students. This shift promotes student engagement and helps our students acquire, retain, recall, and apply knowledge that helps them excel in clinical. The Nurse Anesthesia faculty is a team of passionate and dedicated individuals who devote countless hours to expand and refine the curriculum to grow the highest quality nurse anesthetist and propel the profession forward." | |
Warrior Leadership: Karen Apolloni "I am privileged to work with Karen, who is respected not only by her colleagues at Wayne State but nationally. Karen is a consummate professional; an educator and administrator who knows every aspect of her Clinical Laboratory Science program and profession. Karen's wisdom, advice, and careful analysis of issues are invaluable to her program, our department and the college. Some of the many things I admire about Karen are her work ethic, intellect, quick thinking, and absolute dedication to her students and alumni.” | Warrior Leadership: Lou Kramer "Lou continues to impress me with her drive to make our Pathologists' Assistant program the premier program in the country. Lou has expanded her program nationally, secured new experiences for her students, and is an example to all in program design, improvement and innovation. What impresses me most about Lou is that she is always thinking about how to advance the program and enhance the experiences of her students. Lou spends so many hours preparing labs, creating presentations, speaking to clinical preceptors, and going above and beyond for the betterment of her program.” |
Warrior Leadership: Moira Fracassa "It is always a blessing when something falls into her realm since I always know that it will be done and done right. She is always professional, kind and willing to help." | Kurt Frederick "Kurt has worked as the Radiation Therapy Technology program clinical coordinator for 18 years. He is an invaluable member of this team. Kurt ensures all student clinical rotations are properly scheduled. He provides students with hands-on clinical experience prior to their first clinical rotation. Kurt helps with ensuring clinics follow all JRCERT recommendations and policies. During the COVID pandemic, he has remained vigilant about following CDC guidelines. I appreciate Kurt’s hard work and dedication to the students and program." |
Warrior Heroes: Karen Gessler "Throughout COVID, she has been available to all of the faculty in the Pharmacy program (both PPR and PSC). She has spent countless hours practicing technology, helping with active learning in a new environment and meeting with students who have found remote learning challenging. She looks at every problem as an opportunity to come up with a creative solution and her most common words are, 'We can do this!'" Check out Karen's Spotlight on Wayne State's HR site. | Warriors Who Care: Jeannetta Greer "As the program director of the Radiation Therapy Technology program, she consistently shows the utmost respect for others and consistently puts the needs of others before her own. She fosters a collaborative culture where others are always willing to go above and beyond to help her. She is one of the most positive individuals I have ever had the pleasure to work with." |
Warriors Who Care: Jozy Hayek “Applying to and entering pharmacy school can be a very stressful time for students, and our college is blessed to have Jozy Hayek be one of the first faces our prospective students meet. She goes above and beyond answering countless questions, reviewing and re-reviewing transcripts, helping put students at ease. As new P1 students join the program, Jozy continues to work with them to help ensure they understand our resources and find a place that they feel they can belong.” | Warrior Leadership: Doreen Head "As the director of the Occupational Therapy program, Doreen has tirelessly worked in various leadership roles at WSU, including Interim Department Chair for two years and OT Program Director since 2008. She works tirelessly for diversity, inclusion and equity, which helps to attract talented faculty to the OT program. She encourages personal growth in herself and her faculty members." |
Alisa Kagen "Since Alisa was hired in August 2020 as associate professor-clinical for the RTT program, she has brought such positive energy. She teaches with passion and is very dedicated to the students and program. She is constantly coming up with different ideas to keep the program fresh and current. This past summer, Alisa came up with the idea to have staff and students participate in a team building event at an outdoor adventure park. It had such a positive impact on staff and students. We not only had a great time, we also found out how amazing we are as a team. I am very proud of Alisa and enjoy working alongside her." | Warrior Excellence: Rebecca Kavanagh "Rebecca works with leadership to refine and present exceptional postings on our website. The quality of her work, the quick turnaround, and always going above and beyond is why she jumped to mind for this recognition. I have been constantly amazed at how she can take a concept or paragraph and make it shine." |
Warrior Heroes: Anthony Kilimas “The challenges of remote and hybrid teaching and meeting would not be possible without incredible support from C&IT. Anthony has been an outstanding source of advice and expertise throughout the process of bringing faculty and staff back to campus and students back to the classrooms.” | Warrior Heroes: Anita Knight "Anita is a secretary III who works with Applied Health Sciences and other units when needed and serves as the go-to person with an historic level of expertise on policies." |
Warrior Heroes: Tiffany Lloyd "As secretary III, Tiffany is always willing to take on a new task and learn new processes and skills. She is relatively new to the Office of Student Affairs but quickly became a valuable team member with her positive attitude and good humor. Her colleagues know they can go to her with various needs and she has yet to be presented with challenge she didn't take on and complete successfully. Students may not interact with Tiffany every day, but her work makes their experience in EACPHS better!" | Warriors Who Care: Bindiya Nandwana "Bindiya is a critical liaison who goes the extra mile in coordination and sustainability of Physician Assistant student activities at Henry Ford Health System against challenging unfolding issues." |
Brandon Parker "As grant and contract administrator, Brandon’s dedication to all grant applications is most appreciated and keeps the college’s grant submissions on time for all our PIs!" | Warrior Heroes: Mary Jo Pilat "In 2018, Mary Jo took on the responsibilities of the Physician Assistant Studies program after three senior leaders left the program. She tirelessly worked to replace the missing faculty, develop outcome measures for the program, and keep students and faculty calm during this crisis for the program. She has worked tirelessly to improve the PAS program for both faculty and students." |
Nick Pilot "As budget analyst II, Nick has great skills in reporting in Banner and Cognos!" | Warrior Trailblazer: Kristina Reid "As director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, Tina is very creative at developing new programs, such as the idea to start a Research Rehabilitation Certificate. Her ideas help motivate me to think outside the box for ways we can grow and expand our programs in Health Care Sciences. She is a big picture thinker and has been instrumental in adapting the PT curriculum before other programs across the college." |
Warriors Who Care: Heather Sandlin "As an academic services officer IV, Heather is not only always willing to take on tasks as an academic staff member, she consistently meets difficult situations with empathy and understanding. No matter how challenging someone's words or behavior are, she seeks to learn the background of that person and situation and to see matters from a different point of view. This is so valuable in keeping operations running smoothly and dealing with difficult times. WSU Applebaum is lucky to have someone with her caring demeanor."
| Warrior Excellence: Martha Schiller "Martha is a faculty member who goes the extra mile for community activity with students (DEW and SAY clinics, among others) and she assists with preceptor recognition event ceremonies." |
Warrior Heroes: Kristen Sears “Kristen’s work in experiential education is essential in maintaining strong connections with our partners and ensuring consistent and clear communication with students about their placements. Experiential training in pharmacy has become increasingly complex, as our clinical practice sites adapt to the changing needs with COVID-19 and as our students experience unprecedented challenges balancing their educational needs. Kristen meets these challenges every day with care and compassion.” | Jarrod Thorwart "I would like to recognize our clinical coordinator for the great job he has done with ever-changing clinical schedules. He has worked so hard over the past 20 months to keep the students progressing, while also taking into consideration the changing COVID restrictions of our clinical areas. It hasn’t been easy for any of us, but the students are making progress. Great job, Jarrod." |
Warriors Who Care: Richard Vollmerhausen "As central contact people for Pharmacy Practice, Richard and Amanda Woody [see below] have been there for everyone and have kept the department together and running smoothly."
| Warrior Excellence: Mary Walczyk "Mary is a model of integrity who has recently become program director for Nurse Anesthesia. She sets goals and works collaboratively with her team to get things accomplished. She has improved processes in the NA program that have made it easier for the department chair to communicate with her team and understand their needs. She is collaborative with other program directors and sets a high bar for outcomes both within and outside of her program." |
Dawn Waltz "Dawn newly joined the BAO team and her stellar skills in reporting and collaboration in all things in university processes is invaluable!" | Warriors Who Care: Amanda Woody "As central contact people for Pharmacy Practice, Amanda and Richard Vollmerhausen [see above] have been there for everyone and have kept the department together and running smoothly." |
Read all about Wayne State's inaugural Employee Recognition Week and consider downloading a Care Note to give to one or more of your colleagues who make a Warrior Strong difference throughout the year.