Hixson-Lied Awards presented at Honors Day

(Back row, left to right) Dana Fritz, Jacqueline Mattingly, Glenn Nierman, Stanley Kleppinger, Dave Hall, Tony Bushard and Dean Charles O'Connor. (Front row, left to right) David Bagby, Brian Reetz, Michaela Habe, Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher. Photo by
(Back row, left to right) Dana Fritz, Jacqueline Mattingly, Glenn Nierman, Stanley Kleppinger, Dave Hall, Tony Bushard and Dean Charles O'Connor. (Front row, left to right) David Bagby, Brian Reetz, Michaela Habe, Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher. Photo by

The following Hixson-Lied Awards were presented to faculty and staff at this year’s Honors Day Celebration on April 23. The awards are made possible by the Hixson-Lied Endowment.

The College Distinguished Teaching Award recognizes a professor who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and a selfless dedication to students. This award is presented in a special University-wide Honors Convocation, but also receives an additional stipend from the Hixson-Lied Endowment. This year’s recipient was Associate Professor of Music Theory Stanley Kleppinger from the Glenn Korff School of Music. He developed two iBooks in an effort to enhance the sophomore music theory experience that add immeasurably to the more widespread Glenn Korff School undergraduate digital curricular initiative known as red2go. Students have responded quite favorably to the digital format and their overall learning seems to have improved. He also redesigned his Aural Skills course wherein students learn how to hear and listen to music. Students in this class use software to chart their progress outside of class.

The Faculty Award for Outstanding Outreach, Engagement or Service is given to a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in reaching out and serving the College, University, or community. This year’s recipient was Glenn Nierman, the Glenn Korff Chair of Music in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Nierman embodies the essence of this award, evidenced primarily through his role as President of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), as well as the myriad other ways he distinguishes himself in the larger field of music education. As President of NAfME, a role he assumed in 2014 after a two-year term as President-Elect, he leads a society comprised of nearly 70,000 music educators at all levels and a total membership nearing 150,000 members, making it the largest music organization in the U.S.

The Leadership Award in Curriculum or Programmatic Development is given to a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in curriculum or programmatic development over the preceding two annual review periods. This year’s recipient was Anthony Bushard, Associate Professor of Music History and Area Head for Academic Studies. The award acknowledges his extraordinary effort on two curricular projects. The first was the development by Bushard and Associate Professor Brian Moore on an interactive music course book for the introductory music class taken by all undergraduate music students in the fall of their freshman year. The second project is the ongoing development of an online version of his Music in Film class, with an eye in the first place to its use as an online summer course.

The Achievement Award in Academic Advising was presented to Jacqueline Mattingly, Lecturer of Music History and Chief Advisor for the B.A. and B.M. degrees in the Glenn Korff School of Music. As a member of the faculty since 2008, Mattingly has demonstrated tireless dedication to students in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Her advisees truly enjoy working with her and respond well to her mentoring. She always works to ensure that our students are in the best possible position to complete their academic requirements to the best of their ability.

The Senior Faculty Achievement Award in Research and Creative Activity is given to a faculty member who has been in the College for 10 years or more, who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in research or creative activity. This year’s recipient was Dana Fritz, Professor of Art in the Department of Art and Art History. Fritz is a highly valued member of the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History, who has made significant strides in her career over the last two years. Her creative work is focused on environmental and landscape issues in photography and has consisted of two projects: “Terraria Gigantica,” which was completed in 2011 but continues to receive national and international attention; and her current project “Views Removed,” a series of gelatin silver prints that reference Chinese and Japanese ink paintings and examine an Eastern aesthetic from a Western viewpoint.

The Junior Faculty Achievement Award in Research and Creative Activity is given to a faculty member who has been in the College for nine years or less, who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in research or creative activity. This year’s recipients were Stacy Asher and Aaron Sutherlen, who are both Assistant Professors of Art in the Department of Art and Art History. They produced and organized the Design + Social Justice Symposium last Fall. The symposium was the culmination of a month-long schedule of public events that included exhibitions, lectures, workshops and round table discussions that provided the opportunity for students and community members to interact and learn from Emory Douglas, the graphic designer and Minister of Culture for the Black Panthers, and Billy X Jennings, Black Panther Historian, among others.

The Junior Faculty Achievement Award in Teaching is given to a junior faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary accomplishment in teaching as an early career teacher. This year’s recipient was David Hall, Assistant Professor of Percussion and Jazz Studies in the Glenn Korff School of Music. Although Hall is comparatively new to the faculty, he has already distinguished himself as one of our most effective teachers and recruiters. His teaching has been praised by his peers for its organization and solid goal orientation, to which students are responding enthusiastically. The faculty have noted a buzz and professionalism among the percussionists as they collaborate with their peers around the School.

The Staff Award for Outstanding Service is given to a staff member who has demonstrated exemplary service to the College or Academic Unit over the previous year. Three staff awards were presented.

The first recipient was David Bagby from the Dean’s Office. Bagby is the Information Technology Services Manager for the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. He has consistently provided exemplary services in his role by leading his staff to provide a “personal touch” and solving complex problems that our College faculty and staff encounter. He recently completed the IT Leaders Program on campus and has successfully trained the newest member of his staff, Joseph Morris.

The second recipient was Michaela Habe from the Department of Art and Art History. Habe is the financial specialist for the Department of Art and Art History and is responsible for all aspects of the department’s financial dealings, from large to small. In addition, she has taken on additional responsibilities outside her department within the College. In the Fall of 2014, Michele Deaton, the financial specialist in the Glenn Korff School of Music passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, and Michaela, along with Wendy Duerfeldt Schutte in the Dean’s Office, helped maintain the business aspects of that unit and figure out Michelle’s files, processes and records. Six months later, she is again filling in, assisting the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, following the retirement of Marilyn Duba.

The third recipient was Brian Reetz from the Glenn Korff School of Music. Reetz is the Promotion and Publications Coordinator for the Glenn Korff School of Music. He administers a host of media platforms to promote the hundreds of performances and events staged on campus each year. He is also one of the most visible and active ambassadors for the School, interacting with prospective students, parents and alumni at major state and international events, such as the Midwest Clinic and Texas Music Educators Association Conference each year.

For a full listing of all awards presented at Honors Day, please visit http://go.unl.edu/svwn.