August 29, 2019
College of Health and Human Sciences recognizes faculty award winners
Submitted by College of Health and Human Sciences
The College of Health and Human Sciences presented three faculty members with college-level awards at its annual Fall Forum on Aug. 19.
This year's award winners:
Junehee Kwon, professor in the hospitality management department, was awarded the Dawley-Scholer Award. The award recognizes and rewards outstanding achievement in the area of student development resulting in the personal, professional, educational growing of one or more undergraduate and/or graduate students.
The key to Kwon's philosophy of student development is the idea of community. She works with her graduate students to help them develop a community setting where they can help one another accomplish their professional goals. By operating as a community, students develop leadership skills, gain experience as a team leader and follower, have the opportunity to support and develop multiple research projects and advance their teaching techniques.
Over the last 11 years, Kwon has mentored 12 doctoral students, eight who have successfully earned their degree. Of the eight graduates, seven are now working in higher education institutions while the eighth is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, leading a dietetics internship program.
Richard R. Rosenkranz, professor in the food, nutrition, dietetics and health department, was awarded the Faculty Research Excellence Award. The award recognizes superior accomplishment in research, scholarly and creative activities and discovery.
Over the past five years, Rosenkranz worked with a regional Girl Scouts council to address healthful eating, physical activity and obesity prevention among school-aged girls in 22 counties in northeast Kansas. Throughout multiple project phases, hundreds of troop leaders have participated in wellness training, with subsequent impact on more than 1,000 girls and their parents. Outcomes of the project have included the designation of the team's work as a Research-Tested Intervention Program with the National Cancer Institute; a wellness-promoting practices website for troop leaders; widely available Girl Scouts Wellness promotion curricular materials and professional-grade training videos; numerous national and international scientific presentations and peer-reviewed publications that have been cited and used to inform policy; stronger connections between the university and the region; a new generation of public health researchers and practitioners in engaged scholarship.
Linda Yarrow, instructor in the food, nutrition, dietetics and health department, was awarded the Myers-Alford Teaching Award. The award is presented to a faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding ability not only in teaching undergraduate and/or graduate students, but also in providing valuable information to colleagues, peers and other practitioners in the field.
Yarrow says preparation and passion are the best words to represent her teaching style. Her personal preparation allows her to provide the most up-to-date clinical information in her field, as well as improve her teaching skills. Her passion for the subject matter keeps students engaged and interested in the topics covered in class.
Yarrow values preparation and passion not only for herself, but also for her students. Her goal is to inspire her students to be passionate about the subject matter and helping others. Using real-life examples and case studies, she challenges students to use the knowledge they have gained and apply it to actual scenarios to achieve positive outcomes. Students describe Yarrow as uplifting, inspirational and as truly caring about her students.