Contact: Amy Armstrong, Assistant Director of University Relations,
830-792-7405 or anarmstrong@schreiner.edu

Schreiner University 2005-06 Faculty Awards Announced

The Schreiner University faculty awards for the academic year 2005-2006 were announced during a campus ceremony April 28.     Dr. Diana Comuzzie, professor of biology and dean of the Trull School of Sciences and Mathematics, was awarded the Minnie Stevens Piper Award. The Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation honors only 15 university professors each year for their dedication to the teaching profession and for their outstanding academic, science and scholarly achievement. There is a $5,000 stipend given with the award.       The purpose of the award is to give recognition to the teaching profession rather than to research, publication, administration, or other related activity, although, those criteria are also considered. “I am grateful to be selected from among such an outstanding group of educators, both here at Schreiner University and throughout the state of Texas,” said Comuzzie. “I have learned much from my colleagues here, and I hope I will honor them as a Piper Professor.”     John Pruessner, professor of art, received the 2006 Scholarship and Creative Activity Award. The award recognizes Pruessner’s outstanding contribution to scholarship at Schreiner University. “The support and encouragement of everyone on campus only enhances our individual efforts, so the recognition of one is shared by many,” said Pruessner.     Dr. Jude Gallik, assistant professor of psychology and director of Learning Support Services, was the recipient of the 2006 Margaret Hosler Award for Excellence in Teaching. Schreiner students select the winner of this award based on teaching skills and the lasting impression a professor has had on them. “Receiving the Margaret Hosler Award for Excellence in Teaching is a tremendous honor,” said Gallik. “For an educator, nothing is more gratifying than knowing you touch a student's life. I appreciate the opportunity I've had at Schreiner to connect with students and get to know them as individuals.”     Dr. Lydia Kualapai, assistant professor of English, received the 2006 Elmore Whitehurst Award for Creative Teaching. It is one of two Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Awards established at Schreiner University in 1986. The faculty award is to recognize excellent teaching and encourage implementation of new strategies, methodologies, and programs, which will enhance and enrich the academic integrity of the learning experience at Schreiner University.   The award comes with a $2,000 grant that Kualapai said she would use to hold an exhibition and sale of her art photography.  The proceeds from the show will help fund international study trips for students in need of financial assistance. “I am enormously grateful to the teachers on the Whitehurst committee for giving me the opportunity to share my art photography and, in the process, to establish a scholarship for Schreiner students who might otherwise not be able to participate in international study courses,” said Kualapai.   Assistant professor of history and political science Dr. Jeannette Cockroft, professor of mathematics Dr. Clint Coles, and assistant professor of art David Smith were named Advisors of the Year, honoring their outstanding contributions to the success of Schreiner students.     Dr. Stefan Mecay, assistant professor of mathematics, received the Harriet Garrett Award. The annual Garrett Award is selected by students in recognition of outstanding teaching. The recipient is also honored by leading the procession of graduates into the Edington Center to receive their diplomas. "I am very honored and excited to have received this award,” said Mecay. “It's truly a pleasure to teach at Schreiner, which has such awesome students and faculty.”       Schreiner University is an independent coeducational liberal arts university related by choice and by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). For more information, visit our Web site at www.schreiner.edu or call the Office of Admission at (830) 792-7217