SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence conferred on Fredonia faculty, staff

Faculty and staff of SUNY Fredonia, whose contributions to the campus encompass teaching, professional service, faculty service and classified service, have received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, a system-wide honor that recognizes consistently superior professional achievement.

Individual award recipients include: Professor of English Natalie Gerber, Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service; Lecturer of Piano/Collaborative Piano Anne Kissel, Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching; Associate Professor of Communication Angela McGowan-Kirsch, Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching;  Custodial Services Cleaner Anthony “Tony” Pagano Jr., Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service, and Web Development Manager Andrea Wasiura, Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.

It was noted that Dr. Gerber has demonstrated consistently superior service across multiple years, geared toward bringing about positive change while going beyond the work generally considered to be part of her professional obligation. Service can be given to the campus, SUNY or the local community; contributions can be made at the regional, state, national or international levels.

The committee was impressed by the wide array of service activities Gerber has led or participated in over her career at SUNY Fredonia. Among her many “big-ticket” items cited by the committee were:  serving as Director of the Honors Program, vice chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, co-founder and current chair of Writers@Work, a mentor in the Connections faculty guidance program, a member of the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities Committee, and supervisor of more than 100 credits of applied learning experiences for students.

Gerber’s off-campus roles, which the committee considers to be impressive, include: associate editor, Wallace Stevens Journal; external review for English program reviews at Nazareth College and Jamestown Community College; founder and director of Poetry by Sea: A Global Conference and Community; guest editor, Robert Frost Review; and executive board, Robert Frost Society.

Contributions made by Gerber were found to be consistently substantial, based on the committee’s review of some 25 letters of support from colleagues that endorsed her award nomination.

Gerber earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley; an M.A. in American Studies at New York University, and a B.A. in English and B.S. in Film and Broadcasting from Boston University. She joined SUNY Fredonia in 2004 as a visiting assistant professor. She was promoted to assistant professor in 2005, associate professor in 2011; and professor, in 2017.

It was noted that Dr. Kissel has compiled an impressive dossier through an eclectic path – which the nominating committee described as inspirational – as a musician and a teacher that has enabled Kissel to demonstrate excellence in teaching.

Goals that Kissel set for herself as an instructor center around empathy and treating each student as an individual with promise. That focus on the individual is a common thread through all her teaching. She works to see what each student needs in order to nudge their skill set forward, and then strives to adapt her teaching to suit what’s required at the moment, while maintaining high standards for everyone.

Kissel joined the School of Music in 2009 as an adjunct instructor of piano and was promoted to full-time lecturer of Piano Class in 2017. She has taught a variety of courses in the collaborative piano M.A. program, which she coordinates, as well as undergraduate courses in piano accompaniment, opera and class piano.

She completed her D.M.A. in Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music, an M.M. in Piano Performance at Indiana University, and a B.M. in Piano Performance at the University of Georgia. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Stuttgart, Germany, and performed several years with Boston area ensembles and opera companies.

Dr. McGowan-Kirsch performs superbly as a teacher by challenging her students to grow and evolve, according to the committee, utilizing a range of tools to ensure that they have meaningful experiences in all of her classes. McGowan-Kirsch successfully balances traditional lecture approaches with innovative assignments to incorporate real-world examples, discussions and professional skill development.

Such an array of techniques clearly sparks learning in her classroom and inspires her students, according to the committee. McGowan-Kirsch guides her students as they examine how communication theories connect to their own lives outside of the classroom, challenging them to think deeply and critically about complex concepts on a personal level.

McGowan-Kirsch joined the Department Communication as a lecturer and academic advisor in 2015, rose to assistant professor in 2016 and associate professor a year later, while continuing to serve as an academic advisor. She added departmental internship director duties in 2017.

High expectations for students, thoughtful and reflective pedagogical approaches that have evolved to help students learn in a traditional classroom and online, along with a commitment to her students’ success are consistent themes throughout McGowan’s credentials.

Degrees that McGowan-Kirsch holds include a Ph.D., Rhetorical Criticism from the University of Southern Mississippi; a M.A. in Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and a B.A. in Political Science and Communication from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She holds professional certificates in Graduate Training and Development and Graduate Rhetorical Leadership.

Mr. Pagano exemplifies the primary criteria for the Classical Service award by providing exemplary service to the community he serves, according to the nominating committee, by caring for staff and students, taking pride in his work and adhering to a strong work ethic. Pagano provides a safe and clean environment for staff, administrators and students in Maytum Hall.

Examples of Pagano’s extraordinary service abound, from cleaning virtually everything – including microwaves and coffee pots – to constantly vacuuming or sweeping up salt left behind on rugs in offices and hallways during the winter season. Pagano also goes above and beyond by coordinating his cleaning schedule to minimize disruptions to office workers. He’s even been known to discard outdated food left behind in refrigerators and making them sparkling clean – without behind asked by anyone.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Pagano went above and beyond to make sure areas were disinfected and safe, wiping down door knobs and counters where the staff serviced customers as well as in hallways, drawing compliments from staff.

There was no shortage of examples of praise and anecdotes of support for Pagano’s nomination among Maytum Hall staffers. 

Pagano, who joined Custodial Services in 2015 as a cleaner, is well-liked and respected by his peers and draws high praise from those he serves.

Ms. Wasiura, of the Department of Marketing and Communications, has compiled over 23 years of experience in web development and higher education, all at SUNY Fredonia. She’s skilled in initiating, developing, managing and leading high-profile projects and websites, drawing on strong analytical, organizational, collaborative and problem-solving skills. Project management, leadership and mentorship by Wasiura have resulted in improved organization, transitions and timeframes across her department.

The nominating committee concluded that Wasiura also demonstrates excellence in professional activities beyond the parameters of her job description. Moreover, she seeks out opportunities to expand her skills and share her knowledge by attending and presenting at multiple conferences.

Wasiura began her career at SUNY Fredonia as an instructional support assistant in Information Technology Services (ITS) in 1999. Subsequent positions include multimedia specialist and web administrator/production coordinator, both at ITS. Since becoming web development manager in Marketing and Communications in 2018, Wasiura has provided project management, leadership and mentorship and has served as a lead and project manager in multiple areas.

With 40 new display installations across the campus, the BLUEview Network Digital Signage project developed by Wasiura has become invaluable source of information. She also effectively migrated campus public websites from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8.

Wasiura consistently demonstrates leadership and routinely collaborates with departments and individuals across the campus and beyond.

Wasiura is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia, earning a B.S. in Sound Recording Technology and B.A. in Applied Music in 1990.

Recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, Rebecca Cuthbert and John C. Stone, were announced in a recent article