Visionary Leadership Awards Recognize Diversity, Inclusion and Mentoring Efforts
Celeste Kanzig, manager of purchasing in Procurement and Contracting Services
Mary Koithan, associate dean for professional and community engagement, College of Nursing
Marti Lindsey, associate director of the Center for Toxicology
Stephanie Troutman, assistant professor and director of the Southern Arizona Writing Project, Department of English
Guadalupe Federico-Martinez, assistant dean of faculty affairs and development, College of Medicine – Phoenix
Ashlee Linares-Gaffer, assistant professor of practice, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Staff members in the Eller College of Management Undergraduate Programs office
Staff members in the Pathway Scholars Program at the College of Medicine – Phoenix
Earyn McGee, doctoral student in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment
The Universitywide Visionary Leadership Awards Ceremony honored UA employees, an office, a program and a doctoral student for leadership in diversity, inclusion and mentoring.
The annual ceremony, presented by the Office of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence and the Commission on the Status of Women, was held April 9 on the lower level of the UA BookStore at the Student Union Memorial Center. The event included remarks by UA President Emeritus Peter Likins, Jeffrey Goldberg, interim senior vice president of academic affairs and provost, and Teresa Graham Brett, assistant vice provost for inclusion and multicultural engagement.
Read more about the 2019 honorees below.
The Emerging Visionary Award and the Established Visionary Award were renamed in 2017 in honor of Edith Sayre Auslander, who, as a UA Foundation consultant, raised money for the Arizona Assurance program, which assists low-income Arizona high school graduates who have the ability but not the means to attend the UA. She previously was vice president and senior associate to the UA president and served on the Arizona Board of Regents. Find a list of past recipients on the Commission on the Status of Women website.
Edith Sayre Auslander Emerging Visionary Award
Celeste Kanzig, Manager of Purchasing in Procurement and Contracting Services
Kanzig's nominators noted that although she has been in her current position for less than a year, she has managed to "engage, uplift and empower her team with her caring and conscientious spirit." Kanzig is committed to the professional development of her entire team, and gives all team members the opportunity to share their goals and ambitions, and to ask for help or guidance, according to her nominators.
"Celeste embraces all good ideas and opportunities for growth and sustainability," one nominator wrote. "She leads by example."
Edith Sayre Auslander Established Visionary Award
Mary Koithan, Associate Dean for Professional and Community Engagement and Anne Furrow Professor of Integrative Nursing, College of Nursing
Koithan coaches 16 staff members and one faculty member in supporting student success across five of the College of Nursing's degree programs. Koithan's nominators called her a "model of inclusivity," evidenced by her work to secure nearly $2 million in federal funding for the Arizona Nursing Inclusive Excellence program, which helps recruit and support undergraduate nursing students from underrepresented communities. Nominators also noted Koithan has served as a lead investigator, co-investigator or consultant for more than 12 national and international studies about integrative therapeutics or systems of care in diverse populations, particularly Native Americans, cancer survivors, and those with HIV and AIDS.
Koithan's leadership, one nominator wrote, "has led those in our college to more fully embrace a culture of diverse and inclusive teamwork."
Each award comes with a $500 stipend for professional development and a trophy.
Maria Teresa Velez Outstanding Mentor Awards
The Outstanding Mentor Awards were renamed in 2017 in honor of Maria Teresa Velez, associate dean of the Graduate College, who died in 2016. She worked to extend access to higher education for students who historically have been underserved. Find a list of past recipients on the Commission on the Status of Women website.
Marti Lindsey, Co-Director of the Keep Engaging Youth in Science Research Internship Program, Community Engagement Director at the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, and Associate Director of the Center for Toxicology
Lindsey's award recognized her work to create the Keep Engaging Youth in Science Research Internship Program. The program, commonly known as KEYS, provides full-time research laboratory internships to Arizona high school students. Since establishing KEYS in 2007, Lindsey has directly mentored more than 400 high school students. The program now brings in about 50 high school students each year. Lindsey, nominators wrote, works hard to foster relationships with faculty and staff in Arizona's high schools to develop lesson plans for high school classes.
"It is impossible to tabulate the miles she has travelled across the state forming relationships with teachers, schools, and underrepresented gifted high school students," one of Lindsey's nominators wrote.
Stephanie Troutman, Assistant Professor and Director of the Southern Arizona Writing Project, Department of English
Troutman, her nominators wrote, is a committed mentor who makes her students feel valued and capable of success. Troutman is also director of Wildcat Writers, a program that links high school writing students with UA composition students, and the Southern Arizona Writing Project, a professional development program that helps local teachers improve their teaching of writing. In these roles, Troutman mentors teachers at Arizona schools, which extends well beyond the UA, her nominators wrote.
"To know Dr. Troutman is to know not only an exemplary mentor, but also an exemplary scholar who embodies what she teaches," wrote Zachary Hill, a doctoral student in the Department of English.
Guadalupe Federico-Martinez, Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs and Development, College of Medicine – Phoenix
Federico-Martinez was recognized in particular for her work leading the College of Medicine – Phoenix's junior faculty mentoring program, known as Leading and Inspiring Faculty Trajectories. The program, which Federico-Martinez helped establish, combines traditional mentorship with peer group workshops that cover a range of mentoring needs, such as career development, research, teaching and clinical skills. Federico-Martinez's attention to mentorship dates back to her previous positions in the College of Medicine – Tucson, her nominators added, where she also helped establish a mentoring program in the Department of Medicine.
"The majority of her professional activities stem from her passion for mentoring others and creating environments for others to succeed," one of Federico-Martinez's nominators wrote.
Each award comes with a trophy.
Richard Ruiz Diversity Leadership Faculty Award
This award is given to someone who made a significant contribution to embed diversity and inclusiveness into a structural or institutional aspect of the UA, either through policies or procedures. The winner must demonstrate dedication toward retaining and recruiting diverse faculty, staff and students, fostering equality of opportunity, and creating a welcoming and supportive campus climate. The award is named for the late Richard Ruiz, former head of the Department of Mexican American Studies and professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies. Find a list of past recipients on the Office of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence website.
Ashlee Linares-Gaffer, Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Linares-Gaffer was recognized for her work to create policies and procedures that support diversity and inclusion in the Department of Nutritional Sciences. These include a departmental mission statement on diversity and inclusion, as well as a procedure for reviewing whether best practices surrounding diversity and inclusion were being followed in undergraduate courses. Linares-Gaffer also led an initiative to implement a diversity and inclusion survey for the department, as well as an action plan to address needs identified from survey results. Linares-Gaffer also helped bring speakers to campus for the college's Perspectives on Diversity speaker series through her work as a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council in the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences and Cooperative Extension.
"Ashlee has made it her mission to foster a culture at the University of Arizona and within her profession that is inclusive and which values diversity second to none," wrote Veronica Mullins, assistant professor of practice in the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
The award comes with a $500 stipend for professional development.
Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards
The Peter Likins Inclusive Excellence Awards were created to recognize students and employees who enhance the UA by creating an inclusive environment by fostering equality, encouraging diverse perspectives, and working on recruitment and retention of a diverse campus community. The award is named for President Emeritus Peter Likins, who led the University from 1997 to 2006. Find a list of past recipients on the Office of Diversity and Inclusive Excellence website.
Staff Award – Undergraduate Programs Office, Eller College of Management
Eller's Undergraduate Programs office, under the leadership of Senior Associate Dean Pam Perry, provides administrative support for the college's undergraduate programs. The office was nominated by Vice Dean of Academic Programs Lisa Ordóñez. Eller's undergraduate programs are ranked No. 11 in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings of public business schools in the country. Perry and her team, Ordóñez wrote, are constantly listening to students about how to make programs better. That feedback led the office to create the Diversity Initiatives Program, which aims to create an environment that supports student diversity. The program, Ordóñez added, also partners with other campus programs, such as the New Start Summer Program, to recruit students from diverse and traditionally underrepresented groups.
"If students believe they are part of a community that cares about them and respects and values their differences in backgrounds and cultures, they are more likely to find this academic success," Patti Ota, associate professor of management information systems, wrote in a letter of support.
That philosophy, she said, drives the office.
Academic Program Award – Pathway Scholars Program, College of Medicine – Phoenix
The Pathway Scholars Program, led by Director Maria Manriquez, provides academic, social and mentoring support to students from underserved and diverse populations with the goal of helping them matriculate into medical school. Francisco Lucio, associate dean of diversity and inclusion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, nominated the program. The program, Lucio wrote, has helped 39 of its 40 participants enter medical school, a success rate of nearly 98%. This year, the program's 10 participants are on track to complete the program and matriculate, and four members of the inaugural cohort will graduate with medical degrees, according to Lucio.
"PSP not only addresses inclusiveness by improving educational access, it also sets up participants to be important contributors to the improved health of all Arizonans," Lucio wrote.
Student Award – Earyn McGee, Doctoral Student
McGee, a doctoral student in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, was nominated by Michael Bogan, an assistant professor in the school, who called her "both an excellent ecologist and an incredible change maker." McGee was recruited as a graduate student member of the school's inclusive excellence committee as a result of her work to make the school more inclusive. She was later made co-chair, Bogan said, "effectively operating at the level of a faculty member" as a first-year doctoral student. Since then, McGee has helped the school craft an inclusive excellence mission statement, and create policies for combatting discrimination and enhancing inclusion and equity. McGee, Bogan added, also leverages her growing social media following to promote diversity in science.
"Earyn is becoming the representation that she longed to see as a young child – a black woman scientist showing the world how science is done," Bogan wrote.
Each award comes with a $500 stipend for professional development.