Danelle Bickett-Weddle
Associate Director, Center for Food Security and Public Health
In 2006, the College of Veterinary Medicine was placed on limited accreditation in part due to poor isolation facilities and inadequate biosecurity plans for the veterinary teaching hospital.  Dr. Bickett-Weddle wrote a biosecurity plan for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the College of Veterinary Medicine and also developed a curriculum for veterinary students.  Because of her writings and presentations, Dr. Bickett-Weddle was instrumental in the College of Veterinary Medicine in receiving full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education in March 2007. 

Douglas Bull
Program Coordinator, Center for Online Learning
Computer Science 103, is an entirely online Gen. Ed. Course with enrollment approaching 2300 students throughout the academic year.  When designing this course, one of the major hurdles to overcome was how to securely administer examinations to these students.  Doug and the Center for On-Line Learning Testing Facility provided the answer.  Doug manages the testing facility that houses 48 computers that he has specifically configured for the on-line testing environment.  He worked to configure the machines so they would work with outside commercial software.  However, he did not stop there; he insisted on taking exams to test the installation and ensure the quality of the service.  His proactive approach continues to provide for a smooth operation when dealing with these numbers of students and the challenges on-line technology may present. 

Phil Caffrey
Senior Associate Director of Admissions
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa commissioned an Admissions Study Team in the summer of 2006 that was comprised of representatives from the three Regent Universities to review and make recommendations on changes to the undergraduate admission standards for Iowa high school graduates.  In the fall of 2006, Phil Caffrey volunteered to join the team representing the ISU Office of Admissions.  This past year, Phil has proactively taken on a leadership role related to the implementation of the newly approved Regent Admission Index.  His leadership and willingness to think through all of the details is truly valued by our colleagues at the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.  The Board of Regents, State of Iowa and the Iowa Legislature may have ‘approved’ the change, but Phil Caffrey is the key individual at Iowa State (and across the three Regent Institutions) at making sure that we successfully implement the change.

Liesl Eathington
Associate Scientist III, Director of Social and Economic Trend Analysis
Ms. Ethington has worked in the Economics Department since 1998.  This past year, however, she assumed extra and important responsibilities leading directly to the revitalization of the sociology and economic departments’ capacities to provide information and technical assistance to citizens, communities, and public officials in Iowa and beyond.  Amidst staffing declines of SETA (Social and Economic Trend Analysis) the chairs of both Sociology and Economics asked Ms. Ethington to step into a leadership role and revitalize the SETA program.  In less than a year, Ms. Ethington’s leadership and extra commitment have taken a struggling program and re-organized it so that it now focuses on a core, well-defined set of products and users; assumed extra responsibility to the State of Iowa’s Economic Forecasting Council; coordinated an efficient re-design and re-implementation of the programs internet capacities; and created a viable and valuable university asset that should well-serve the university and the state in the future. 

Carole Gieseke
Chief Communication Officer, Alumni Association
As editor of VISIONS (the official alumni magazine of Iowa State University) Carole has always made it a priority to use the popular magazine to advance the mission of the university.  Her approach to covering the university’s sesquicentennial celebration resulted in a much-celebrated commemorative issue, released in spring 2007, that engaged and informed alumni and friends of the university.  Carole spent countless hours doing research, soliciting feedback, fact-checking, writing, and searching for the perfect visuals to create the issue, which included a 150-year timeline thoroughly documenting the institution’s history and achievements.  She fully understood and appreciated the importance and historical significance of what she was doing.  Thanks to Carole’s excellent work, the timeline-and therefore the university’s sesquicentennial celebration was something of which every Iowa Stater could be proud. 

Mary Goodwin
Advising Coordinator, Engineering Advising and Student Services
As a member of the University Academic Advising Committee (UAAC), Mary volunteered to review and analyze the data collected from more than 4000 undergraduate students regarding their perception of academic advising.  This project is significant because no such survey had been done before.  Mary is deserving of the CYtation award because this project was a volunteer effort.  Mary’s knowledge of statistics and her experience as an academic adviser helped her frame the data to effect change on campus.  UAAC would like Mary to receive this award as a public recognition of her dedication to students and to academic advising. 

Dennis McCarville
Systems Analyst, Information Technology Services
In January 2007, Iowa State University instituted a new Academic Probation Policy for undergraduate students.  The policy was a complete overhaul of the old one and involved cooperation and involvement of many members of the ISU community.  Starting in September 2006, Dennis McCarville met weekly with either the Implementation Task Force or the co-chairs to devise a communication system that encompassed the full intent of the new policy.  His understanding of the AccessPlus student information system, its capabilities and input regarding what could and could not be done was invaluable to the task force in our decision-making.  He had everything in place for a new flawless run at the end of August and successful transition to fall semester.  Changing an academic policy affected close to 3000 students and hundreds of faculty and staff who work with them on a daily basis to provide academic advising and support.  Without the cooperation, interaction, and expertise of the ISU Information Technology Services and Dennis McCarville, this would have been a nearly insurmountable task.