Dean Dennis Kratz, Inga Musselman and Abby Kratz

Dr. Inga Musselman (center) is congratulated on two decades of services to UT Dallas by Dr. Dennis Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities; and Dr. Abby Kratz, UT Dallas associate provost.

The University took time this week to recognize 186 faculty and staff members who have devoted years — and sometimes decades — of service to UT Dallas.

The 26th annual Service Awards saluted 186 faculty and staff members who had reached employment milestones of five, 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service between September 2011 and August 2012.

“We can never say thank you enough to the faculty and staff who run this University and who define who this University is,” President David E. Daniel told the honorees in a ceremony at the Clark Center.

Colleen Dutton and President David E. Daniel

The awards were presented by Dr. David E. Daniel, president of The University of Texas at Dallas; and Colleen Dutton, assistant vice president for administration, human resources management.

“I’m constantly reminded that the world is more competitive than ever. The need for smart people is just getting more and more intense. And the role that we here at the university play, not only in the lives of the students who pass through our hallways, but in the overall advancement of our society, has never been more important,” Dr. Daniel said.

“On behalf of our students whom you benefit in so many ways, I say thank you,” he said.

At a reception following the ceremony, Dr. Inga Musselman, chemistry professor and associate provost, said she’s seen student life “really take off” in the 20 years she’s been at UT Dallas. When she arrived, the University was only in its third year of having freshmen on campus.

“It was a little sleepy back then,” she recalled. “There were not many students on campus, but that’s really changed. Now there are hundreds of students out there, and I really like that.

“The vibrancy of UT Dallas and the growth of the University have been just refreshing. It shows it’s thriving, and it’s an exciting place to be,” Musselman said.

Dr. Lynn Melton, a former chemistry faculty member and now a professor of Science/Mathematics Education who works to improve science instruction in middle schools, topped the list of honorees with 40 years of service. He was followed by Dr. Warren Goux, an associate professor of chemistry who has logged 30 years.

Melton recalled in an earlier interview how much things have changed in four decades. When he arrived in January 1972, the campus consisted of just two buildings—Founders Hall and Founders North. Acres of cornfields filled the rest of the property all the way to Campbell Road.

Even so, he described his early years at what was then the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest as “the job of my dreams.” He was particularly inspired by Polykarp Kusch, the 1955 Nobel laureate in physics, who had a way of “driving home core concepts in a visual way.”

Over the last four decades, UT Dallas’ academic excellence has raised the bar for other Texas universities, Melton said.

“When I graduated from high school in 1962, if you were a bright student you either went to Rice University or you left the state,” Melton said. “Now we have about 12 places in the state where you could go, and UT Dallas is one of them. That part of the dream has been realized.”

Darlene Johnson and Karen Dunlap

Darlene Johnson of telecommunications and Karen Dunlap, a 10-year employee who is an administrative assistant in Information Resources.

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Hobson Wildenthal, who marked 20 years, said he has served under all three UT Dallas presidents during that time.

“I’m happy to say I had the confidence that each of them would listen to my recommendations, and together we did some good things for the University. I couldn’t have done it without the confidence of Robert Rutford, Franklyn Jenifer and now David Daniel,” Dr. Wildenthal said.

“I’ve had the benefit of a lot of great colleagues to work with. And of course, a lot of this would not have happened without the support of Margaret McDermott,” he said. “There have been thousands of great students, and dozens and dozens of great faculty. It’s been a great 20 years.”

Kathleen White said the campus has changed dramatically in the decade since she became a lab safety manager for Environmental Health & Safety in April 2002.

“You’d drive around campus and it would be pretty much empty during the day,” she recalled. “We’ve grown so quickly. This place has really started to look like a top-ranked campus. It’s just incredible the change.”

Since then, she has trained research lab personnel—from principal investigators to summer school students—in lab safety principles. She never thought she’d still be here 10 years later, but she has a ready explanation.

“The people,” White said. “They’re awesome, they’re friendly and they’re ready to help. They’re a pleasure to be around. It makes coming to work fun.”

 

Service Award Honorees

Forty Years

Lynn Melton
Chemistry

Thirty Years

Warren Goux
Chemistry

Twenty Years

Sharon Bowles
Student Counseling
Homer Salazar
Student Union
Stephen Levene
Molecular & Cell Biology
Toni Stephens
Office of the President
Inga Musselman
Chemistry
Hobson Wildenthal
Executive Vice President
and Provost

Ten Years

Hans-Joachim Adler
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Valerie Lariscy
Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Arthur Agulnek
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Seunghyun Lee
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Gregory Branch
Texas School Project
Wenqi Li
Arts & Humanities
Timothy Bray
Economic, Political & Policy Sciences
Thomas Linehan
Arts & Humanities
Freddie Brown
Callier Center
Cynthia Long
Space Sciences
Cherryl Bryant
Behavioral & Brain Sciences
Matthew Makowka
Library
Janet Collins
Interdisciplinary Studies
Susan McElroy
Economic, Political & Policy Sciences
Gregory Dess
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Rita Medford
Economic, Political & Policy Sciences
Sarah Dorsey
Financial Aid
Syam Menon
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Karen Dunlap
Telecommunication Services
Radha Mookerjee
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Sharon Edwards
Lithospheric Studies
Marcos Negrete
Facilities Managment
Robert Elia
Financial Services
Lauraine O’Neil
Office of Communications
Steven Ervin
Enrollment Services
Karen Pliskal
Academic Affairs & Provost
Alem Ghebrkirstose
Enrollment Management
P Rajasekaran
Electrical Engineering
Jill Glass
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Cleon Ramey
Facilities Administration
David Gleason
Human Resources Management
Anna Resendiz
Computer Science
William Griffin
Geosciences
Jimmie Rose
Facilities Administration
Sanda Harabagiu
Computer Science
Jane Salk
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Mary Harrison
Library
Lori Skillestad
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Susan Heiler
Executive Education
Paul Smith
Environmental Health & Safety
Scott Herndon
Academic Affairs and  Provost
Virginia Smith
Budget and Finance
Patrice Holt
Printing Division
Kathryn Stecke
Naveen Jindal School of Management
Ruth Howell
Enrollment Services
Jason Stedry
Information Resources
Ingrid Huisman
Interdisciplinary Studies
Kathleen White
Environmental Health & Safety
Nasser Kehtarnavaz
Electrical Engineering
Weichen Wong
Computer Science
Leszek Kisielewski
Academic Affairs and Provost
Harold Wood
Arts & Humanities
Tess Kuo
Interdisciplinary Studies
Elizabeth Young
Arts & Humanities
Cynthia Ladejo
Financial Services
Sandra Zemcik
Electrical Engineering

Five Years

Alfred Abundo
Accounting & Financial Report

Delia Aguirre
Callier Center

Amanda Aiuvalasit
Graduate Studies

Jerry Alexander
ECS Student Services

Cary Alsobrook
Technology Customer Service

Avery Ausborne
Enrollment Services

Bhaskar Banerjee
Electrical Engineering

Randy Battaglio
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Hynek Boril
Electrical Engineering

Jennifer Boyd
Enrollment Services

Michele Brown
Interdisciplinary Studies

Valerie Brunell
Undergraduate Education

Thomas Campbell
Callier Center

Travis Carruthers
Athletics

Ruben Cavazos
Research

Huseyin Cavusoglu
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Marcos Chavez
Living Learning

Kortysheima Coleman
Office of Administration

Rachel Croson
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Brandon Crutchfield
Enrollment Services

Lou Delcamp
NSM Dean’s Office

Gloria Eby
Geosciences

Samuel Ehrenreich
Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Arturo Elizondo
ECS Student Services

Elizabeth Evans
Enrollment Services

Jody Everson
Career Center

Blair Flicker
Academic Affairs and Provost

Kimberly Flicker
Academic Affairs and Provost

J Foxworthy
Financial Aid

Ann Geers
Behavioral And Brain Sciences

Kimberly Goodfriend
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Tarita Graham
Procurement Management

Kellie Hanford
Student Transition Programs

Katherine Harabis
Student Health Services

Laurie Harness
Information Resources

John Harvey
Information Resources

Christopher Hinkle
Material Science Engineering

Nicholas Hinojosa
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Jason Hirsch
Athletics

Russell Hulse
Science and Engineering Education Center

Betty Hurt
Academic Affairs And Provost

Joanna Hutchison
Center for BrainHealth

Mihaela Iovu
Chemistry

Nathan Ivey
Undergraduate Education

Lori Jacobsen
Financial Services

Roozbeh Jafari
Electrical Engineering

Margaret James
Academic Affairs and Provost

Calvin Jamison
Vice President for Administration

Hui Jiang
Financial Services

Duk Jin Kim
Engineering & Computer Science

Michael Kormanik
Enrollment Management

Tomislav Kovandzic
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Shari Kwon
Callier Center

Kara Leonard
International Student Services

Vickie Lincoln
Research

Chona Lucas
Behavioral And Brain Sciences

Javier Maldonado
Facilities Administration

Stanimir Markov
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Troy McFarland
Procurement Management

David More
Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Robert Morris
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Talisha Murphy
University Police

James Neal
Science /Math Education

Ricki Nelson
Procurement Management

Suzanne Newsom
Electrical Engineering

Joanne Owens
Mechanical Engineering

Melissa Park
Electrical Engineering

Mary Partain
Living Learning

Rebecca Peterson
Center For Brain Health

Elizabeth Pickett
Molecular & Cell Biology

Rena Piper
Office Of The President

Monica Powell
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Manuel Quevedo-Lopez
Material Science Engineering

Miguel Angel Razo-Razo
Computer Science

Michael Rebello
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Michael Ridgeway
Facilities Administration

Preston Robinson
University Police

Raquel Ovalle Robles
NanoTech Institute

Amanda Rockow
Vice President for Public Affairs

Francisco Rodriguez
Facilities Administration

Susan Rogers
Vice President for Communications

Narcely Ruiz
Women’s Center

Margaret Russell
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Myron B Salamon
Physics

Sonya Salamon
Academic Affairs and Provost

Mark Salmon
Information Resources

Deborah Samac
Executive Education

Salvador Santos
University Police

Ermelinda Saucedo
Facilities Administration

Deborah Sauer
Facilities Administration

Molly Seeligson
Academic Affairs And Provost

Lydia Selvidge
Chemistry

Alamgir Sharif
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Hongying Shi
Information Resources

Jay Silber
Facilities Administration

David Simcoe
Callier Center

Billy Simpson
Information Resources

Amanda Smith
Wellness Center

Stuart Smith
University Police

Tonya Smith
Procurement Management

Hamid Soheili
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Vijayanthi Srikanth
Engineering & Computer Science

Karen Stepherson
Academic Affairs And Provost

Melissa Stokely
Technology Customer Service

Stephenie Tarzwell
Information Security

Charissa Terranova
Arts and Humanities

Van Tran
Information Resources

Wing K “Eric” Tsang
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Cathy Van Noy
Undergraduate Education

Farah Veerjee
Records & Registration

Josef Velten
NanoTech Institute

Lynne Vieraitis
Economic Political & Policy Sciences

Cynthia Walder
Molecular & Cell Biology

Christopher Walker
Facilities Administration

Ru-Hung Wang
Chemistry

Wei-Jen Wang
Executive Education

Yu Wang
Naveen Jindal School of Management

Cassandra Warren
Development & Alumni Relations

Gregory White
Procurement Management

Stephanie Williams
Accounting & Financial Report

Andrea Younger
Records & Registration

Xiao-Mei Zhao
Material Science Engineering