St. Scholastica announces faculty and staff award winners

The College of St. Scholastica’s annual appreciation luncheon was held Monday, Aug. 30 as part of Saints’ Institute, a week of community-building and professional development for faculty and staff. During this lunch, the following members of the Saints community were recognized and honored for their outstanding achievements.

Lupe Linares, PhD, assistant professor of English, received the Max H. Lavine Award, the College’s highest award for teaching excellence. This award is given annually to a faculty member who demonstrates a commitment to teaching excellence that supports the mission of the College through values-oriented teaching in the Benedictine tradition.

Nicholas Susi, DMA, assistant professor of Music, received the Equal Access Award, which recognizes faculty who exhibit exemplary effort to engage students with disabilities in academic and interpersonal growth and development.

Kara Thoemke, PhD, associate professor of Biology, received the Tassie McNamara Award, the highest honor presented by the student body to a faculty or staff member. This award recognizes those who exemplify the spirit of St. Benedict through teaching or working at the College.

Heather Brown, PhD, assistant professor of Chemistry; Lupe Linares, PhD, assistant professor of English; and Kevin Quarmby, PhD, associate professor of English were all presented with the Veritas Innovation Award, formerly known as Benedictine Professorship. The Veritas Innovation Awards promote and recognize innovation in the Veritas liberal education curriculum. As many as five Veritas Innovation Awards are given annually. Awardees receive an honorarium of $500 to recognize an innovative idea they want to try in a Veritas course. After trying their idea, awardees receive another honorarium of $500 for presenting lessons learned from their innovation to the College community.

All faculty and staff members were presented with the Living Our Values Award, which recognizes excellence of faculty and staff who support and further the College’s mission of preparing students for responsible living and meaningful work by exemplifying the Benedictine values in their work at the College.