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Dr. Jeff Fager, vice president and dean of Maryville College, addresses attendees at the annual Academic Awards Ceremony held April 17 in the Ron and Lynda Nutt Theatre.

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Maryville College students honored at Academic Awards Ceremony

April 30, 2010
Contact: Jamie Stewart, Communications Assistant
865.981.8085; Jamie.Stewart@my.maryvillecollege.edu

Scholarship and the ideals of the liberal arts were celebrated April 17, when awards were presented to 54 students at Maryville College's annual Academic Awards Ceremony.

“All of us at the College take great personal satisfaction in the accomplishments of these students as we recognize them for their special commitment to learning, their passion for understanding, their sensitivity to nuance, their appreciation for social and cultural diversity, and their willingness to use their growing wisdom for the common good,” said Dr. Jeff Fager, vice president and dean of the College, who served as the evening's emcee.

Held at the Clayton Center for the Arts in the Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, the ceremony was attended by numerous students, parents and family members. Bagpiper Sam Newton, a current freshman at Maryville College, led the procession of faculty members and administrators.

Below is a list of awards given and students recognized in all eight academic

divisions, core curriculum and other departments.

CORE CURRICULUM

The Glenn Hewitt Award in Ethics was presented to senior Kelsey White of Union, S.C., for outstanding work in Ethics 490: Philosophical and Theological Foundations of Ethical Thought. She was also awarded the Sigma Delta Pi Primo Gabriela Mistral Award, which is given to an outstanding student of Spanish who is an active member of Sigma Delta Pi.

For earning the highest grade point average in all core courses taken at Maryville College, senior Malinda Taylor, an English literature major from Rockford, was recognized with the Liberal Arts Award.

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

The David H. Briggs Award recognizes the senior psychology major with the best academic performance in psychology as judged by classroom performance, overall scholarship and grade point average. This year, Angela White of Maryville was honored.

Kristin Oliver of Knoxville was honored with the Child Development Award, which is awarded annually to a rising senior who has demonstrated competence with children and achieved outstanding performance in the major, as well as in overall scholarship as reflected in grade point average.

EDUCATION

Jessica Herrell of Gatlinburg, Tenn., was awarded the Phi Epsilon Rho Award, which goes to a rising senior in physical education or recreation who has at least a cumulative 3.0 GPA and has exhibited leadership in campus and departmental activities and professional organizations.

Amanda Bennett of Maryville received the Physical Education, Health & Outdoor Recreation Outstanding Senior Award. This award recognizes a graduating senior in the major who has at least a cumulative 3.5 GPA, serves as a role model in the classroom and community and is involved in professional organizations.

The Outstanding Student Teacher in the Elementary Grades Award was presented to senior Erin Keller, a child development and learning for teacher licensure major from Seymour.

Kyle Chewning, a biology for teacher licensure major from Gainesville, Ga., was named recipient of the Outstanding Student Teacher in the Secondary Grades Award.

FINE ARTS

This year, the Barraclough Choir Award, which recognizes a senior who has been a Maryville College Choir member for at least two years and who is judged to have been outstanding in service to the choir, was awarded to two students, both from Maryville. Music major Alonda Cutshaw and Sharon Lankford, a vocal performance major, were honored.

Lankford also took home the Robert Bonham Music Faculty Award for Superior Performance.

Katie Stangarone, a theatre major from Chattanooga, Tenn., was presented the Outstanding Senior Theatre Student Award.

Sunny Masters of Park Hills, Mo., took home the Bates Forensic-Drama Award, which is awarded to the most outstanding senior in drama.

The Sharon A. Murphy Crane Memorial Award was given to junior Harriet “Caitlin” Corbitt, a theatre for teacher licensure major from Nashville, Tenn. The award is given to a rising junior or senior who is an active participant in the College Theatre and/or student programming activities.

HUMANITIES

Nicole Cashen, a religion major from New Port Richey, Fla., was recipient of the Bates Bible Award, which is presented each year to the graduating senior who has demonstrated the most ability in the study of religion or philosophy.

Leslie Ann Baxter, a history major from Jackson, Tenn., was awarded the Verton M. Queener Award for History, which recognizes outstanding study of American and English history by a junior.

LANGUAGES & LITERATURE

For achieving the best four-year record in the study of English, Carolyn Lyden, a senior English literature major from Sevierville and Malinda Taylor were both awarded the Alexander English Prize.

Margaret Carouthers, a junior writing/communication major from Maryville, was awarded the Charlotta Cook Hensley Memorial Award for outstanding academic achievement and significant involvement on the staff of The Highland Echo campus newspaper.

The Edwin R. Hunter Award for Excellence in Research in English or American Literature goes each year to the senior judged to have produced the most outstanding Senior Study in English or American Literature. Jeffrey Taylor of Charleston, S.C., was the recipient.

Impressions, MC's campus literary magazine, presented three awards to magazine contributors. Samuel McCord of Kingsport, Tenn., was honored with the award for Best Poetry; senior Brett Jacobsen Brewer of Maryville earned the award for Best Prose; and the award for Best Visual Art went to Stephen Nee, a business major from Manchester, Tenn.

Five students were recognized for outstanding achievement in foreign language study. First-year student Thomas Webster of Knoxville was honored for his work in Chinese. The award for outstanding achievement in Japanese went to freshman Maxwell Davidson of Maryville. Sophomore Jonathan Brent of Oak Ridge was recognized for his work in German. Recognition for achievements in Spanish went to Amy Jo Hagerman of Maryville and Elaine Henry of Bristol, Va. First-year student Cameron Clark of Maryville was recognized for exemplary work in French.

MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCE

Recognized as the most outstanding junior in the department of mathematics and computer science, Wilbur Williams of Greenback, Tenn., was the recipient of the Troy Bell Lane Waggoner and Russell N. and Frances Lane Edwards Award.

The George A. Knapp Mathematics Award, which goes to the most outstanding and most promising junior or senior student majoring in mathematics, was presented to senior Chase Worley of Cumberland, Va.

Judged the most outstanding performance in calculus, sophomore Katherine Nadler from Greensboro S.C., was presented the William H. Dent Calculus Award.

The Jerry L. Pietenpol Computer Science Award, which recognizes the most outstanding and most promising junior or senior student majoring in computer science, went to M. Cody Rodefer of Madisonville, Tenn.

The Outstanding Achievement in Statistics Award went to Joseph Alexander, a chemistry major from Kingston, Tenn.

NATURAL SCIENCES

Morgan Douglas of Knoxville accepted the Susan Allen Green Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding student in the junior class who is majoring in biology.

For her outstanding four-year record in biology, senior Anna McRee of Knoxville was honored with the A. Randolph Shields Award.

Adam Patterson, a biology major from Greenback, Tenn., accepted the Sophomore Biology Award for his outstanding ability and promise in the biological sciences.

Recognized as a woman in the junior class who showed excellence in the study of chemistry, biochemistry major Kylie Baumgart of Knoxville was awarded the Elizabeth Hillman Award.

The award for Outstanding Performance in Inorganic Chemistry was presented to freshman Callie Blackford of Lenior City, Tenn.

Two students were selected as winners of the Outstanding Performance in Structural Chemistry Award, which recognizes outstanding ability in the study of organic chemistry and structural analysis. Morgan Douglas and J. Ridge Carter of Maryville were both honored.

Recognized as the senior who demonstrated the most outstanding accomplishments in chemistry, Brandon Todd of Bartlett, Tenn., was awarded the Distinguished Achievement in Chemistry Award. He also received the Alpha Lamda Delta Award, which goes to the senior member with the highest GPA through the fall semester of the senior year.

The George A. Knapp Physics Award, given to the junior or senior judged as the most promising student in physics, went to William Alexander, a chemistry major from Knoxville. He was also presented the LeQuire Award, which recognizes the top student in the humanities or natural science divisions who has chosen medicine as a career goal.

SOCIAL SCIENCES

The John W. Burgess Award for meritorious achievement in the field of political science was presented to senior Eric Joyner of Oak Ridge.

Two students, Deborah Schneider of Speedwell, Tenn., and Nicholas Moore of Knoxville, were awarded the Judson B. Murphy Endowed Business Award, which is presented annually to a senior who demonstrates outstanding work in business and organization management with outstanding character and well-rounded achievement and career promise.

Stephanie Smith of Lenoir City was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award in Sociology, which is awarded to the senior who has high achievement in the sociology major, exemplified by GPA in the major, excellence in the senior thesis and comprehensive exam and contributes to the classroom, college and community.

The Hall “Ethical Thinking” Award, which is presented annually to a member of the junior class whose creative or practical essay on ethical thinking on a particular theme from a variety of perspectives could be published in a journal or magazine, was given to two students. First place went to Maryville native Angela Oswald, who is a double major in English and history. Jordan Sherrod, a sociology major from Kingston, Tenn., placed second.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS

Psychology major YiLong Zheng was named winner of the Outstanding International Student Award, which goes to a senior, non-native English speaker who has been a student at the College for one academic year, has a minimum GPA of 3.5 and has shown leadership inside and outside the classroom.

Jonathan Salked, a sophomore physical education major from Knoxville, was named recipient of the College's full-tuition Presidential Scholarship.

The Alpha Gamma Sigma Award, which goes to a junior with the highest scholastic average for the first two years of college, was awarded to two students this year. Caroline Redmond, a double major in English literature and writing/ communication from Kingsport, Tenn., and Sherrod were honored.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OUTSTANDING SENIOR AWARD

Lyden was named the 2010 Outstanding Senior. One of the most prestigious honors given a student, the Outstanding Senior Award recognizes a senior student who has been active in a broad range of activities, who most exemplifies the “ideal” Maryville College graduate and who has the potential to be an outstanding alumnus.

Todd was a finalist for the award, along with Moore, Chelsea Barker, a sociology and environmental studies double major from Brentwood, Tenn., and Lisa Hayes, a biochemistry major from Knoxville.