By rdnewsNOW staff

RDC awards ceremony recognizes employee contributions

Oct 22, 2018 | 9:14 AM

Red Deer College celebrated the achievements and milestones of faculty and staff last Thursday at the 2018 RDC Recognition Awards.

A highlight of the evening included the presentation of the Awards of Excellence to deserving recipients. The annual award provides a formal recognition for the extraordinary contribution employees have on the success of RDC through support of learning, community involvement, innovation, service provision, academic scholarship or teaching. All College employees are eligible, and the award is given for contributions outside of an employee’s specific job expectations and those that leave a lasting legacy in the College, community or in the employee’s field of expertise.

Four individuals received this special honour:

Dr. Choon-Lee Chai, Sociology Instructor, School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Chai actively pursues scholarly activities, and he has been awarded the RDC Recognition of Scholarly Activity Award twice. He is active in the community and, as a teacher, enthusiastically engages students in community-based projects, providing students with real-life learning experiences. Most recently, he led and completed a Photovoice partnership research project with the Central Alberta Immigrant Women’s Association. The project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to study settlement experiences of recent immigrant women; it was one of the projects across the country selected and featured by Colleges and Institutes Canada at the Parliament Hill in February 2018.

Joseph Fittes, Advising and Recruiting Specialist, School of Arts and Sciences. Joseph Fittes has been an employee of Red Deer College for 13 years. He has worked in many departments, primarily on the “front lines,” working directly with students and assisting them in meeting their educational goals. Currently, Joseph is pursuing a Masters of Arts in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from Royal Roads University.

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Adrienne Orr, Instructor, School of Arts and Sciences, and Sarah Hunt, Program Assistant, School of Arts and Sciences, who were nominated together. Adrienne Orr joined Red Deer College in 2013 where she taught in the Communications and English Programs. Adrienne has also been instrumental in the Agora Student Conference, as well as the Agora and Student Writer Awards Journals. In her role as the Agora Editor-in-Chief this past year, Adrienne oversaw the publication of nearly 600 pages of student writing from over 60 different student writers. Adrienne is wholeheartedly dedicated to supporting and recognizing student work.

Sarah Hunt joined RDC in 2014 and worked as an Administrative Assistant in Student Services before moving into her current role as the Program Assistant for the School of Arts and Sciences: Social Sciences, Media Studies, Professional Communications, English, and Social Work. As a Program Assistant, Sarah supports the Dean’s Office, dozens of faculty, and countless students. She also plays a vital role in orchestrating major aspects of RDC’s Agora Student Conference, where close to a hundred students present their best work each year.

At the RDC Recognition Awards, more than 120 employees also received long-term service awards for devoting their skill, energy and passion to serve students, the College and the community. Service awards were given based on the length of employment at RDC, including:

• 35 Years: Carol Lounsbury, instructor with the School of Arts and Sciences, and Jennifer Cross, instructor with the School of Health Sciences

• 30 Years: Charles Mowat, instructor with the School of Education; Deb Kindopp, instructor with the Donald School of Business; Dr. Maureen Toews, Director of Teaching and Learning; and Dr. Roberto Bencivenga, instructor with the School of Arts & Sciences

• 25 Years: seven individuals recognized

• 20 Years: eight people recognized

• 15 Years: 16 people recognized

• 10 Years: 40 individuals recognized

• 5 years: 45 people recognized

(RDC media release)

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