The second annual Education and Human Ecology Distinguished Faculty and Staff Awards recognized five employees whose efforts improve lives each day. Nominated by their peers, the 2012 recipients were honored on May 24 at the State of the College celebration with plaques and $1,000 honoraria. They are:
- Distinguished Scholarship: Martha Belury, Human Nutrition, for her research about the impact of dietary oils on health.
- Distinguished Teaching: Lynley Anderman, Educational Policy and Leadership, for drawing top-quality, enthusiastically produced scholarship from her graduate students.
- Distinguished Service -- Staff: Deborah Zabloudil, Educational Policy and Leadership, for dedicated service to college students, faculty and staff, including innovative use of social media to meet the needs of college students.
- Distinguished Service -- Faculty: Anastasia 'Tasha' Snyder, Human Development and Family Science, for volunteering for numerous college, university and state committees to ensure students and citizens are well served.
- Distinguished Diversity Enhancement: Deanna L. Wilkinson, Human Development and Family Science, for seeking to end the destructive cycle of violence among urban youth by sharing her expertise with fellow scholars, social and government agencies, and community activists.
Distinguished Scholarship
The recipient of this award transforms and integrates knowledge, facilitates learning, solves compelling problems, contributes to public policy, evaluates practices and programs and interprets knowledge for relevant audiences.
Martha Belury, the Carol S. Kennedy Professor of Human Nutrition, is an international and national leader in studying the role of conjugated linoleic acid and other dietary fatty acids in prevention of chronic diseases. She has distinguished herself in the field of human nutrition, providing new insights into lipid metabolism, insulin-resistance in diabetes and cancer.
She is an author of one of the most cited papers in the 70-year history of Nutrition Reviews, which indicates the respect peer scientists have for her research. She was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive.
She has completed 22 grants, serving as principal investigator for 17. Top-tier nutrition and metabolism journals have published her 60 research articles on nutrition, particularly her work elucidating the mechanisms of conjugated linoleic acid on metabolism, inflammation and carcinogenesis. In addition, she has written 22 book chapters or reviews. She offers many undergraduate students as well as graduate students opportunities to join in her research and leads a group of developing young scientists in her human nutrition laboratory.
A nominator said, "I was in awe of Martha's ability to lead such a diverse group of scholars, create an environment in which all voices were valued, honored, and heard."
Distinguished Teaching:
The recipient of this award encourages inquiry and reflection, values multiple perspectives, infuses technology and encourages scholarship, collaboration and outstanding teaching.
Lynley Anderman, associate professor of educational policy and leadership, has an ability to create scholarly communities and to foster supportive mentoring relationships with graduate students. She has outstanding student course evaluations (always hovering right at a perfect 5.0 overall rating).
In her research, she is devoted to understanding the intricacies of teacher-student interactions and student motivation. She served as lead author of the recent article, "How Do Teachers Support Students' Motivation and Learning in Their Classrooms?" in the very selective Teachers College Record.
She introduces graduate students to cutting-edge work and builds a strong sense of community among them. Students have declared her literature review course, which emphasizes scholarly craft and close mentoring, as "life-saving." Finally, her students have landed academic positions at notable universities such as Purdue, Virginia Commonwealth and North Carolina State.
A nominator said, "My peers and I rely on Dr. Anderman when we are seeking meaningful feedback in a manner that will improve our work, but also that will improve our experience and individual identity as young scholars."
Distinguished Service -- Staff and Faculty:
The recipients of this award further the college's mission, allowing faculty, staff and students to focus positively on achieving excellence.
Deb Zabloudil, director of student services and graduate studies, educational policy and leadership, shows unwavering dedication to the concerns and achievement of students. She serves as a personal connection to the university for countless students. Her open-door policy makes her the go-to person for any and all questions, from faculty and staff alike, related to graduate degree programs. She was one of the earliest users of social media to continually update students on important deadlines, events and job opportunities through e-mail and Facebook. She consistently puts in extra time in the office, responding to emails on weekends and late into the evening. Her knowledge of every student's faculty advisor helps her go above and beyond the call of duty to inform faculty about advisee issues of which they should be aware.
More than 15 educational policy and leadership students have acknowledged her in their theses and dissertations, with phrases such as "my first point of contact," "inspired me" and the college "could not have a greater asset."
One nominator said, "I can think of no member of the EHE community more distinguished in her commitment to the mission of the college and, most importantly, to the development and success of our students."
Anastasia 'Tasha' Snyder, associate professor of human development and family science, has provided notable dedication to the HDFS program, her colleagues and her students. She is a member of he department's graduate studies, design and diversity committees. She recently spearheaded the committee that converted the graduate curriculum for Ohio State's upcoming switch to semesters. She shows a one-to-one commitment to students by advising four dissertations, two master's theses and one undergraduate honors thesis. She has helped several graduate students submit their work to peer reviewed journals.
She serves the people of Ohio as well, providing information about Ohio and U.S. family demographic trends to OSU Extension Family and Consumer Science educators across the state. As a member of the Family Stability Issue Team, she guided the design of the Divorced Parenting Education Program, now offered by OSU Extension in more than 20 Ohio counties. Currently, she is collaborating with the Department of Consumer Sciences to understand how the Marcellus and Utica shale gas discovery and drilling impact families and communities in rural Ohio.
"Dr. Snyder is the first to volunteer to serve the department and college when the need arises, and is often the one who 'steps up' for the especially heavy challenges," a nominator noted.
Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award
Deanna L. Wilkinson, associate professor of human development and family science, researches adolescent development, risk and problem behaviors, community-police partnerships, citizen participation in social action, and urban communities. She seeks to end the destructive cycle of violence among urban youth by sharing her expertise on the motives behind destructive behavior, community processes and violence prevention.
She founded the Ohio State University Youth Violence Prevention Advisory Board, a coalition of scholars across the university. She developed strong relationships with church, social agency and government leaders within two historically violent Columbus neighborhoods. In order to reduce the rates of crime in the areas, she implemented CeaseFire Columbus, which is largely based on her research. Her New York City Youth Violence Study is the largest qualitative study of young African American and Latino males involved in violent behavior.
A nominator noted, "Her spirit of personal excellence, civic engagement and research distinction is infectious and has served as an influential exemplar to our research team and community."