Campus News

Awards given during Commencement

May 16, 2009

Several members of the Simpson community were honored during the Simpson’s 2009 Commencement ceremony May 16.

Each year, three faculty awards are presented during the event.

This year, Carolyn Dallinger, assistant professor of social work and criminal justice, received the Distinguished Junior Faculty Award.

Dallinger, a 1979 Simpson graduate, was recognized for her ability to help students connect the lessons they learn in the classroom to larger community issues through hands-on experiences, such as service-learning projects, fall and spring break service trips and May Term courses to places like Ghana and Russia.

“Anyone can teach directly from a book—it is the personal, unselfish and teach-by-example approach that makes Carolyn ‘distinguished,’” Simpson President John Byrd said during the ceremony.

Nancy St. Clair, professor of English, was this year’s Faculty Award for Distinguished Research recipient. She was honored for her work on the book, The Distant Mirror:  Reflections on Young Adult Historical Fiction, which is used in master’s classes at three U.S. institutions, as well as her recent work on an essay entitled, “Through a Girl’s Eyes: Young Adult Fiction and Female Readers.” St. Clair also received the award in 2003.

“Not only is St. Clair a researcher, but she is a valued colleague, an intellectual leaders, a worker willing to shoulder heavy workloads, and a teacher whose students constantly praise her for the influence she has on them and the care she gives them,” said Byrd.

Professor of Economics Jim Palmieri received the Distinguished Teacher Award, which is voted on by the graduating class.

The students selected Palmieri based on his breadth of experience, his ability to integrate technology in his classroom and his ability to teach so “even non-majors in economics learn lessons they can apply to everyday life,” said Senior Class President Matt Olson, who presented the award.

In addition to faculty awards, graduating senior Clinton Bradfield received the 2009 Trustees Academic Award.

The Trustee’s Academic Award is given to the member of the graduating class who completed his or her course of study with the highest academic average. To be eligible for the Trustees’ Award, a graduating senior must have been a resident student at Simpson during at least the entire junior and senior years and must have the highest cumulative grade point average with the greatest number of quality points of the graduating class.

Last Updated: 5/18/09