UHCL honors faculty and staff for distinguished service

Each year, the University of Houston–Clear Lake (UHCL) holds an awards ceremony to honor distinguished service by faculty and staff.

The 41st Annual Faculty and Staff Awards were held on April 10. Honors included distinguished teaching, research and staff service, outstanding adjunct and lecturer, staff merit, commitment to the university in terms of length of service based on 5-year increments, and retirees.

The UHCL distinguished faculty and staff awards program began in 1983. Recipients must be nominated by a colleague and are then reviewed by a president-appointed committee. Staff members must have at least two years of continuous service to UHCL to be eligible. The committee may recommend one individual as a recipient for each award, but the university president makes the final decision. All winners receive a plaque, as well as a monetary award ranging from $500 to $5,000.

The Hugh P. Avery Distinguished Staff Service Award, renamed in 1991 to honor the UHCL employee who initiated the staff recognition program, was given to Cynthia A. Cook, executive director of counseling, health and career services.

“I was surprised and honored to win this award a second time and receive acknowledgement for my service to UHCL,” Cook said. “I am committed to and passionate about serving UHCL students and helping them meet their personal and academic goals. Our work is about connecting and engaging with students, empowering them to recognize and engage their strengths, and helping them use those strengths and other tools learned in counseling to thrive.”

As executive director, Cook is not only the director of counseling services, she also oversees Health Services and Campus Recreation and Wellness and is the program director for the Mental Health First Aid grant her department received from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Regardless of all these responsibilities, Cook emphasized the role of her colleagues in all her accomplishments.

“Any celebrations of the work we do in the counseling center are a reflection of the excellent, talented, and dedicated staff we have and they are every bit as dedicated to helping students as I am,” Cook said.

Shreerekha Subramanian, associate professor of humanities and department chair of liberal arts for the College of Human Sciences and Humanities, received the Distinguished Teaching Award, which honors exemplary accomplishments in the craft of teaching.

“This award is deeply affirming and humbling,” Subramanian said. “The daily joy of teaching is affirmed by this award – to receive the award from the hands of our esteemed president has truly been a highlight of my time here at UHCL.”

In addition to teaching upper level and graduate classes in humanities, Subramanian also teaches courses at a men’s prison, where UHCL offers both Bachelor’s in Behavioral Sciences and Master’s in Humanities programs.

Subramanian notes that her colleagues, in addition to her diverse body of students, are her favorite part of her job.

“The community of faculty, especially my friends in HSH [Human Sciences and Humanities], many of whom nominated me for this award, and some who have been nominating me ceaselessly for some years now, form the core support I have and need in my working life,” Subramanian said. “We have formed friendships that bridge over the differences of disciplines, our backgrounds, our outlooks and so much else and have a community that sparkles with energy and good vibes. I do better each and every day because I learn from my colleagues who keep raising the bar. I am a better person, professor, scholar, and learner, because of them.”

This year’s recipient of the Distinguished Research award, which commemorates professional accomplishment in one’s field through published work, exhibitions, or similar activities was Assistant Professor of Computer Science Kewei Sha from the College of Science and Engineering.

In addition to his position as an assistant professor of computer science, Sha is also the associate director of the Cyber Security Institute. His major responsibilities here at UHCL include teaching graduate and undergraduate courses as well as conducting research, such as his recent project EdgeSec, a pioneering edge computing security framework, which has received a lot of attention in the few years since its publication.

“It is my great honor to win this award,” Sha said. “I have great passions for cutting-edge research in the fields of Internet of Things, Network Security, and Edge Computing. My colleagues recognize my efforts and achievements in research using this award. This means a lot to me. I feel honored, and it will encourage me to work more on research.”  

The 2019 UHCL Distinguished Service Award was given to College of Human Sciences and Humanities Associate Professor of Social Work Heather Kanenberg for significant accomplishments in professional leadership to the university, profession and/or region.

“It feels really special to receive this award,” Kanenberg said. “I have some of the most amazing colleagues here at the university! That someone would take their time and energy to nominate me is really meaningful to me. I am very appreciative of the acknowledgment; it was quite a surprise!”

Kanenberg, who teaches courses in social policy and policy analysis here at the university, said that teaching involves a passion for the subject being taught and a commitment to student development and growth. In fact, Kannenberg stated that her students are what she loves most about teaching.

“We have some of the most tenacious and committed students at UHCL and in our BSW [Bachelors in Social Work] Program,” Kanenberg said. “They are all balancing life, work, family and finding time to make school a priority. In the end, I feel so very fortunate to have the job that I do and to work with the students, faculty and staff at UHCL.”

In 2009, awards for Outstanding Adjunct and Outstanding Lecturer were added, both meant to recognize excellence in teaching.

This year, College of Education Adjunct Instructor Joan Mauldin was the recipient of the Outstanding Adjunct Award. The award for Outstanding Lecturer went to Denise Cazes, lecturer in fitness and human performance for the College of Human Sciences and Humanities.

“It’s a surprise, but an honor, to be acknowledged for my work here,” Cazes said.

Cazes is not only a lecturer in the Fitness and Human Performance program, she is also the program director. She stated that she sees her job as a “wonderful opportunity,” which involves ensuring that the program is running smoothly and keeping up with current research so that the students “get the best education and experience possible.”

Cazes said that she tries to have a personal relationship with each of her students, taking time to learn each of their names and ask them about their lives. She tells them they can always email her with questions and concerns even after they graduate, “and they do,” Cazes said.

“I’m honored that my Department Chair nominated me, and it will inspire me to continue to grow as a teacher,” Cazes said.

Staff Merit award winners included Director of Theater and Cultural Arts Alex Malone, Senior Staff Assistant for the College of Science and Engineering Lien Pham and Civilian Supervisor for the University Police Marlene Richards.