President Greg Weiner Announces 2024 Presidential Award Winners
The annual Presidential Awards and Employee Appreciation Ceremony was held in the Tsotsis Family Academic Center Ballroom on November 21. During the ceremony, six faculty and staff members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Assumption community.
“Today, we are pausing to express our gratitude for the remarkable contribution of our colleagues who have shaped Assumption University and sustained our mission of Catholic liberal education,” said Weiner in his opening remarks. “As we celebrate these milestones and accomplishments, we are reminded that to serve this institution is not merely a responsibility. It is a vocation. It is a calling to advance the common good, to foster a culture of excellence, and to enrich the lives of those who call Assumption home. The individuals we honor today have answered that call, leaving an indelible mark on our community and a lasting legacy of service.”
The winners of the Presidential Awards for 2024 are as follows:
Dr. Smriti Rao, Department Chair of Economics, Finance, and Accounting; Professor of Economics; and Global Studies Program Director, has received the Paul Ziegler Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
“I am very grateful to the members of the Presidential Awards Committee for giving me this award, and my wonderful colleagues in the Economics, Finance and Accounting department for nominating me,” said Rao. “My research in feminist political economy has been materially supported by Assumption University in numerous ways. But there is a more profound connection to the University’s mission, in that our mission makes explicit the interconstitution of reason and faith. This has allowed me, as an economist, to acknowledge the role of conscience in my intellectual work, enriching the work itself, and allowing me to sustain it over all these years.”
Dr. Eloise Knowlton, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for Undergraduate Studies, has received the Kathleen M. Murphy Presidential Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Mission.
“Thinking about these remarks, it struck me why I like this place and why I’ve stayed so long. I think for a lot of you this probably will resonate. I feel human here,” said Knowlton. “I feel lucky to work in a place where our humanity flawed, but learning is not forgotten or laid aside or something we have to be embarrassed about or try to hide. We don’t have to be perfect here, just real, and that makes all the difference, at least to me.”
Chief Steven B. Carl, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Chief of Police, has also received the Kathleen M. Murphy Presidential Award for Excellence in Contribution to the Mission.
“I accept this award on behalf of public safety,” said Carl. “I was fortunate to have a great team. We have great partners on campus. Our partnership with Student Affairs, the President’s Office, and Athletics, allowed us to be successful, allowed us to do our jobs to the best interest of our students. Thank you everyone; I will remember you all.”
Dr. Paul Shields, Associate Professor of English, has received the Michael O’Shea Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.
“I have been teaching at the college level since 1998, when I was a graduate student in literature at Florida State University. But I have been learning to teach my whole life,” said Shields. “My mother and father, brothers and sisters, and friends helped shape the professor I am today at Assumption University. I am grateful to them and all the teachers I had growing up. I would like to send special thanks to Dr. Daven Kari and Dr. Stan Gontarski, two professors—and mentors—who guided me on my own passage through academia as a young student.”
Dr. Jennifer Morrison, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs for Undergraduate Studies, has received the Presidential Award for Service.
“I am honored to accept the award for service, but I could never do this work alone. I am most grateful to all of my colleagues who share in the work of supporting our students, particularly first-year students. I work not just with wonderful colleagues, but with people I consider friends, and that is what makes being at Assumption a great privilege and joy,” said Morrison. “My own experience has given me a calm faith that there’s a plan for everyone, and, if we do our part, we will find it. It has been a great privilege to have had a role in helping students find their paths. Assumption has given me the opportunity to find my place, to do the work that I think I was meant to do, and to be recognized for it. It doesn’t get better than this, and I am deeply, deeply grateful.”
Mary L. Bresnahan, Assistant Vice President for Student Success, has also received the Presidential Award for Service.
“There are so many days here when I close the door at the end of the day and feel really genuinely lucky to be here,” said Bresnahan. “I feel that I’m living my purpose and my dream. Thank you for coming along on the journey with me, and I look forward to serving with all of you going forward in the name of our students.”
Along with these six honorees, faculty and staff were also honored with years of service awards, ranging in five-year increments from five to 45 years of service. One faculty member, Fr. Roger Corriveau A.A., Assistant Professor of Theology, was honored for 45 years of service and employment at Assumption University.