Park University's annual Honors Convocation on April 22 acknowledged the outstanding scholastic efforts of Park University students, faculty and staff during the 2008-09 school year. In addition to departmental academic honors, the University also honored a handful of exceptional students and faculty with a variety of special awards.

Jessica Moody, left, and Elvin Hatamzade, right, with Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts

program. She has a 4.0 GPA and is a member of Pi Lambda Theta, an invited honorary society for education students who have a high GPA, outstanding research skills and an excellent service record. This year, Moody served as president of Park's chapter of the American Association of University Women. She has also been the president of Park's Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development student chapter. Through her work in these groups, she has developed many service, social and educational events, including a service trip to New Orleans and a school supply drive for tornado victims in Greensburg, Kansas. She was recognized as Student Club Officer of the Month in September 2008, and she represented Park University at the 2008 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in Washington, D.C.

As one nominator stated, "Jessica has an unwavering commitment to service and exemplifies Park's mission and values selflessly and genuinely."

Dr. Jean Mandernach, left, and Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts

B. Jean Mandernach, Ph.D., associate professor of

who served Park from 1948 to 1990. The award pays tribute to a faculty member who shows evidence of commitment to high standards of excellence in the area of scholarship: teaching, discovery, integration and/or service. The recipient also shows effective and innovative connections between teaching and research, especially by undergraduate student involvement and participation.

The Park Piano Trio -- Martin Storey, left,Stanislav Ioudenitch and Ben Sayevich, with Dr. Beverley Byers-Pevitts

Honored with the Distinguished Humanities Faculty Award was the Park Piano Trio -- pianist Stanislav Ioudenitch, associate professor of music and the artistic director of the

and serves as its trio-in-residence. Later this year, the group will release its first recording, featuring the music of Brahms and Mendelssohn.

Ebadi also established this award, in August 2007, to celebrate the work, life and thoughts of Woodbridge O. Johnson, Ph.D., professor emeritus and chair of religion and Biblical literature at Park from 1946 to 1966. The award is presented to a University faculty member who exhibits extraordinary accomplishments in research or creative scholarship through teaching, discovery, scholarly or creative work, and service.

Three additional Presidential Awards were also presented:

Adrienne Barr

Javier Centonzio

• Students Adrienne Barr and Javier Centonzio received the Louisa Davidson Hinde/Carolyn Hinde Zarkaryan Memorial Award. This award is given to the individuals who best represent the spirit of Park University by promoting in others that quality of excellence that has always been associated with a Park University education.

Barr, currently living in Stafford, Va., but originally from Gladstone, Mo., graduated in December 2008 with a bachelor's degree in

president during 2008-09. He will attend the Stetson University College of Law in Florida later this year. Before coming to the Parkville Campus, Centonzio was a combat veteran of the U.S Marine Corps and with the Kansas National Guard. He is the past president of Park's Political Science Club and he has taken steps to get a new student group organized at Park -- Student Veterans of America. In April, the American Council on Education invited him to speak at the Washington (D.C.) Higher Education Secretariat on the value that veterans bring to the University community.

Betty Bennett

Dr. Andrew Johnson

• The Excellence in Academic Advising Award was presented to Andrew Johnson, Ph.D., professor of

A listing of other awards presented during the Honors Convocation follow:

DEAN'S HONORS
(To qualify, students must be a full-time, degree-seeking student with sophomore status or above and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.6 or higher.)
Beverly Adair, Nicole Ainsworth, Yuki Akechi, David Albers III, Danielle Allee, Richard Allen, Denise Anderson, Aaron Appling, Haithem Araissia, Oswaldo Aranzamendi Caller, Trevor Arnold, Camille Aton, Nargiz Bagirova, Athena Bandy, Joshua Barr, Natalie Bedford, Emily Bent, Quinn Bixler, Seth Blakely, Allison Block, Daniel Bonebrake, Aaron Boorem, Zoran Borojevic, Jordan Breedlove, Ashley Brouillette, Vladan Bundalo, Daniel Burgan, Emily Calder, Jeffery Campbell, Rebekah Canales, Javier Centonzio, Roxanne Chadwell, Ching Chi Chan;

Tsz-Chung Cheng, Vesela Chileva, Anna Christiansen, Steven Chrostowski, Cassandra Claxton, Sarah Cochran, Steven Cochran, Nicole Colao, Crystal Cole, Chrystal Coltharp, Garry Comer, Micah Conkling, Laura Cornett, Amy Crumbliss, Heather Cutair, Katelyn Davies, Resa Dawson, Deborah DeGrate, Michelle De La Cruz, Douglas DeWald, Amy Dedrick, Andria Detel, Sherena Dick, Kimberley Diefenbach, Laura Dorsey, Erin Duprey, Darina Durlova, Brittanie Dyer, Brianne Edwards, Joshua Edwards, Kerry Ehrhardt, John Ewigman, Mark Fairhurst;

Carolina Faria, Mallory Ferguson, Rachel Fessenden, Esther Francis, Meghan Frick, Kristen Fursa, Aiden Galarza, Melissa Gardner, Andoni Garrote, Amiran Gelashvili, Jennifer Godoy Campos, Daniel Goodroad, Christie Gray, Danielle Green, Jesse Green, Kerry Green, Samantha Gross, Crystal Guthrie, Bethany Guy, Aziz Hakimov, Erin Hales, Jeffrey Hall, Jillian Harper, Crystal Harris, Kayla Harrity, Susan Hartington, Elvin Hatamzade, William Hegner, Trisha Henry, Stacye Hillman, Edward Hinton Jr., Nodirbek Hojimatov, Hilary Holden, Elashun Hollowell;

Elisabeth Hon, Austin Honeycutt-Otte, Jason Hoy, Owens Hull III, Sherzodbek Ibragimov, Shanna Jackson, Tamera Jenkins, Jennifer Johnston, Kirsten Joiner, Dermidio Juez-Perez, Whitney Justice, Aysha Kampman, Shimpei Kawasaki, Travis Kegley, Mark Kever Jr., Ryan Kinne, Joshua Lane, Amanda Lark, Dawn Larson, Sadie Larson, Loren Laughlin, Braden Lawson, Khanh Le, Thang Le, Danielle Lee, Allissa Lewis, Megan Lewis, Joseph Linhardt, Lindsey Linthicum, Mari Loesing, Jennifer Maddux, Lillian Madeje, Sheila Madonia, Vusal Mammadov;

Darrin Manna, Jamie Marrant, Emily Martin, Hannah Matlock, Christina McBroom, Cheree McCallon, Ross McKenzie, Sarah McLaughlin, Emily McMannus, Wondwossen Meshesha, Nickole Mitchell, Jessica Moody, Gisella Moreno Guevara, Laban Muchiri, Ana Mutu, Rodrigo Neri, Jill Nichols, Jared Norman, Saad Nsimbe, Andria Nutsch, Alisha O'Dell, Nneka Dawn Oji, Adenike Orekoya, Jordan Owens, David Park, Heather Pate, Jason Penix, Elizabeth Perry, Jennifer Peterson, Patrizia Pfefferkorn, Dena Pires, Jeanna Prather, Maria Protodyakonova, Sara Ramey;

Sydney Rennack, Isabella Restrepo, Ashley Richardson, Lyman Rickman, Jaimie Robeson, Sean Robinett, Claire Robinson, Madison Rommel, Angelina Russo, Tami Russo, Gabriela Sa Teles, Andrea Sampson, Melisa Satterfield, Stacy Schenck, Andrea Scherer, Rachel Schifferle, Bob Sears, Patricia Selders, Jennifer Senn, Jessica Sharp, Holly Shelton, Benjamin Shinyambala, Laesa Shoults, Mary Siedlik, Kati Smith, Tara Smith, Vusala Snyder, Kristina Spurgeon, Richard Stanway, Jack Stasi, Sean Staten, Andrea Stauch, Rachel Stevens, Monika Stoiber;

Megan Straughen, Kathryn Stubbs, Ami Stuff, Matthew Suppenbach, Tatyana Tasheva, James Terrell, Michelle Thompson, Brittany Thornburg, Sinclaire Toman, Angelica Tovar, Allison Vaughn, Cynthia Vreeland, Stephen Waldon, Amanda Walk, Cayla Waller, Mendy Walls, Jennifer Walton, Charles Ward, Melissa White, Abigail Whitehead, Nicole Wiehe, Nicole Wilson, Tina Windsor, Luke Wolkers, Jennifer Wymore, Elizabeth Youmans, Barbara Youngblood, Khyber Zalmai, Carl Zicarelli, Michael Zimmerman


OUSTANDING STUDENT AWARDS
Dr. Doris Howell Leadership Awards 2008-09
These awards were presented at the Dr. Doris Howell Leadership Awards Banquet on April 15. Howell, a 1944 Park graduate, provided the keynote address. Please visit http://news.park.edu/pub/news_001253.shtml to view a list of the award-winners.

Alpha Chi Membership
Alpha Chi is a national college honor society. Its purpose is to promote academic excellence and exemplary character among college and university students, and to honor those who achieve such distinction. The following students are nominated for induction into Alpha Chi and Park's chapter of the society, Missouri Theta:
Nicole Ainsworth, Laura Cornett, Amiran Gelashvili, Aziz Z. Hakimov, Ross McKenzie, Sarah McLaughlin, Nneka Dawn Oji

Study Abroad Outstanding Graduates
This honor is reserved for those students who added an exceptional international facet to their undergraduate experience by studying abroad. These students stepped outside their comfortable routines to experience the culture and people of another country. In doing so, they forever changed their lives and the lives of those they met abroad.
Megan Haley, Christine Vannoy, Ashley Venerable, Brazil; Krista Irick, China; Lauren Greer, Denmark; Lindsey Genovese, Italy; Darrin Manna, Italy/Croatia; Aaron Ennis, Matthew Suppenbach, Spain; Amelia Brandt, Adenike Orekoya, United Kingdom

Lynda Goodwin, Student Employment Services, presents Gentle Sigrah with his Student Employee of the Year award.