The NCSPOD Board and the 2007 Awards Review Committee were privileged to honor the following individuals/institutions at the Annual Conference in Buffalo.
The Institutional Merit Award recognizes excellence in the delivery and impact of staff, program and organizational development programs and in the promotion of these outstanding programs. Evaluation criteria include program objectives, creativity/innovation, impact, and evaluation of outcomes.
2007 Institutional Merit Award recipients were:
the Faculty Professional Development Program at Community College of Allegheny County, the Professional Development Program at College of the Canyons, and the Professional Development Program at St. Louis Community College.
Community College of Allegheny County
From L to R: Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President; Charles Blocksidge, Vice President, Organizational Development; Maureen Stradley
The Faculty Professional Development Program at the Community College of Allegheny County has the mission to provide faculty with opportunities and resources necessary to improve student learning and promote teaching excellence. The program is organized under the leadership of Dr. Charles Blocksidge, Vice President for the Center for Learning and Organizational Development, a system-wide faculty coordinator, and four campus faculty coordinators.
During the current 2006-2007 Academic Year, in accordance with the outcomes of the annual "Needs Assessment Survey," and aligned with CCAC's participation in the National "Achieving the Dream" Initiative, the theme of Student Success and Retention was chosen. Campus workshops were offered to discuss how the college might implement specific learning initiatives to improve student success and retention. In addition to student success workshops, a number of other workshops were presented which addressed a variety of topics including Generational Differences in the Classroom, Working with Students with Autism/Aspergers Disorder, the Returning Military Veteran, Information Literacy, and Issues of Student Behavior. A Campus Technology Fair and a Mini Health Fair were also offered to faculty.
CCAC consistently and systematically assesses its Faculty Professional Development Program using its data to benchmark institutional performance with that of other outstanding community college professional development programs. 
College of the Canyons.
From L to R: Alice McNeely,NCSPOD President; Dianne G. Van Hook; Leslie Carr, Director, Professional Development; Cathy Brewster, NCSPOD VP Western Region
College of the Canyons is dedicated to improving the professional growth of its faculty, staff and administrators by offering a wide variety of professional development opportunities supporting both the institution's strategic goals and the personal professional development goals of its employees.
POD opportunities are offered to promote technological advancement, institutional effectiveness, student support, model academic and professional programs, teaching/learning excellence, staff/student community and institutional leadership. The expectation that all employees will engage in professional development is integrated into every job description.
While many community colleges have recently downsized or eliminated professional development programs as a response to budget cuts, College of the Canyons has "blazed the trail" by fully funding the professional development program and maintaining standards for continuing ten days of FLEX activities each year.
College of the Canyons' professional development program is fortunate to have ongoing, dedicated support from Superintendent-President, Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook, and from their Board of Trustees. These leaders sincerely value the significance of professional development and employee growth. They champion the institutional culture necessary for all employees to "dare to dream" and to "make it happen"! 
St. Louis Community College.
From L to R: Alice McNeely,NCSPOD President; Ronald Nicoletti, Director, Human Resources; Anne Wessely, Professional Development Coordinator; far right Pam Bergeron, NCSPOD VP Mid-Western Region
St. Louis Community College has supported five programs reaching more than 600 employees and touching thousands of students' lives!
The Adjunct Faculty Certificate Program is a six-module program completed by over 100 adjuncts--with an additional 158 in process. The modules cover topics such as Cooperative Learning, Assessment, Working with Special Needs Students and Legal Issues. Upon completion, adjuncts receive a stipend of $200.
The Leadership Management Certificate Program, designed for employees in leadership positions, offers nine modules created to enhance individual leadership skills. More than 100 employees have participated in this program.
The Classified Development Certificate Program has served needs of 120 classified staff, completing the eight-module program and learning about Powerful Listening, Responding Non-Defensively, Participating Effectively in Meetings, Writing Skills and Workplace Ethics.
The ETSC (Essential Technology Skills Certificate Program) has served institutional employees with limited skill while the OPC (Office Productivity Certificate Program) was offered for advanced skill training. More than 130 employees have participated in these two technology programs. The support provided to the Professional Development Council for creating these programs exemplified administration's significant commitment for providing professional growth opportunities for SLCC employees.
The John Fry Individual Merit Award recognizes recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to staff, program, and organizational development on a regional, state/provincial, or local basis. This award is for an individual's activities that assist others in our profession to become more proficient. Evaluation is based upon local, state/provincial, or regional contributions to staff, program, and organizational development, especially including activities to assist others in our field to conduct more effective programming.
2007 John Fry Individual Merit Award recipients are: Dianne Bloor, Algonquin College; Lee Grimes, South Texas College; and Kim O'Donnell, Naugatuck Valley Community College. 
Dianne Bloor,
Algonquin College.
From L. to R. Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President; Dianne Bloor (recipient), Algonquin College.; Brian Thom, NCSPOD VP. Canadian Region
Dianne Bloor, Algonquin College. In her role at Algonquin College, Dianne Bloor, has assisted staff, program, and organizational development at the institutional and provincial levels for over 20 years. Dianne has played a major role in the implementation and development of a comprehensive full- and part-time faculty support program leading faculty through orientation, probation and into lifelong learning with activities tied to comprehensive teaching competencies.
Through the ongoing pursuit of her own studies, Dianne has been able to introduce faculty to the emerging trends in teaching and learning. She has provided leadership for creating/directing the Course Outline and Management Mapping System, the Tools for Teaching Program, and the annual Kaleidoscope Conference. At the provincial level, Dianne has served as visionary leader on the Eastern Region College Committee on Human Resource Development for 30 years.
Dianne is committed to the support of faculty and staff in the teaching and learning profession. Willingly available and generous with her time, she strives for excellence and promotes high standards, always acknowledging the work and contributions of others. Dianne Bloor is highly respected by all of her peers and colleagues throughout the Canadian college community. 
Lee Grimes,
South Texas College.
From L. to R. Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President; Lee Grimes (recipient), South Texas College.; Bobbi Dunham Carter, NCSPOD VP. Publications
Lee Grimes, South Texas College. Lee Grimes began her career at STC as a faculty member in the Government Department and continues to serve in that capacity. When the coordinator for Professional Development position became available in January of 2006, Lee was asked to step in as an overload assignment. Because of her dedication and commitment to STC and to her new assignment, Lee has become the full-time Coordinator of Professional Development. Under her guidance, the department has grown in staff and direction. She now supervises a full-time project developer, secretary and several direct-wage employees. The STC Professional Development Department has also become a resource for faculty and staff across the State of Texas.
Lee has already expanded and enhanced long-standing STC professional development activities, developed multiple new programs and has an extensive list of additional program activities for the coming year. She currently serves as the Project Director for a three-year, state-wide, Carl D. Perkins Leadership Grant Project, "Focus on the Student: Critical Thinking in the 21st Century." Lee is actively engaged in many state and national Professional Development organizations and was honored recently with a 2007 NISOD Excellence Award.
Accordingly to STC administration, Lee speaks often of her experience at the NCSPOD Summer Institute and credits the Institute for helping her achieve so much over the past year. "Being surrounded by all the wonderful people and resources from the Institute," she says, "it was like a light bulb clicked." Lee developed a vision for what could be accomplished and has pursued that vision tirelessly ever since. 
Kim O'Donnell,
Naugatuck Valley Community College.
From L. to R. Kim O'Donnell (recipient), Naugatuck Valley Community College.; Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President
Kim O'Donnell, Naugatuck Valley Community College. Kim O'Donnell's involvement in faculty development began in 1999 within her institutional department when she hosted in-service activities for the department's part-time faculty and organized brown-bag discussions for full-time faculty. Her responsibilities have grown from that time through her many contributions as the first committee member and chair of the Center for Teaching into a recent shared-position as Teaching and Learning Consultant with a significant role for providing professional development opportunities for all faculty at the campus.
In addition to Kim's contributions in the Center for Teaching, she has co-chaired the Strategic Planning Subcommittee for Professional Development. Through such efforts, she and her colleagues were able to successfully petition and reserve centralized funds needed to allow staff to participate in statewide workshops and for college-wide professional development days. Kim also led activities to develop a college-wide professional development activity assessment instrument and to create the POD website.
She has been the Coordinator for the Connecticut's Great Teachers Seminar for the past several years. As such, she has had a tremendous influence on faculty throughout the Connecticut Community College System.
The Innovation Award recognizes achievement in a program, project, or event that demonstrates innovative ideas, adaptations, activities, or approaches that enhance the effectiveness of staff, program, and/or organizational development.
The recipient of the 2007 Innovation Award is:
the "Be Well Program" from Central Piedmont Community College.
From L. to R. Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President; Diann Back, Dr. Libby Vagnoni (recipients), Central Piedmont Community College, NC; Bobbi Dunham-Carter, NCSPOD VP. Publications
Central Piedmont Community College, a multi-campus community college located in Charlotte, NC, serves over 70,000 students per year. With 972 full-time employees and 2,310 part-time employees scattered over six campuses, creating a unified wellness program created a significant challenge for any department individually.
Representatives from Human Resources, the Center for Leadership and Staff Development, Student Life, College Senate, Classified Staff Council, Women's Resource Center, Library, CPCC Foundation, Nursing, Health and Safety, Marketing, and Corporate and Continuing Education came together to support a worksite wellness program called "Be Well."
The mission of the Be Well Program is to provide the college community with wellness opportunities that support the desire to make healthy lifestyle choices through a multi-faceted program involving education, physical activities, and connections to wellness opportunities within the Charlotte, North Carolina community. With a small budget, the Be Well Committee focused its collective energy on projects that were low cost, effective, and collaborative. As a result, college employees rewarded the committee's efforts with accolades and more importantly, increased college-wide participation in all wellness activities.
The College President's/Chancellor Award recognizes a college president or chancellor for outstanding leadership in support of SPOD activities. The support for staff, program, and organizational development can occur in a variety of ways and at a variety of levels (institutional, regional, national, or international).
The 2007 NCSPOD College President's/Chancellor's Award recipients are: Dr. Dianne Van Hook from College of the Canyons and Dr. Larry Litecky from Century College. 
Dr. Dianne Van Hook, College of the Canyons.
From L to R - Alice McNeely, 2007 NCSPOD President; Dianne Van Hook (recipient)
"Professional development programs play a vital role in California's community colleges and within colleges/universities everywhere. They enable people to acquire job skills in technological advancement, institutional effectiveness, student support, excellence in teaching and learning, and foster the importance of creating a sense of community among students and staff, while inspiring innovation and enabling the development of leadership skills of all staff. College of the Canyons Superintendent-President, Dr. Dianne Van Hook, plays an important role in bringing professional development programs that incorporate all of these goals and that cultivate, grow and expand them at College of the Canyons and beyond."
Dr. Van Hook has been a dedicated advocate for staff development throughout her 35+ years in higher education. She has been a trailblazing leader, providing the direction of the college's staff development program, by setting the tone for an organizational climate in which employees can thrive and work together to achieve common goals, reach their greatest potential and meet the challenges of being leaders with great success. Dr. Van Hook is a person who motivates others to do their very best. 
Dr. Larry Litecky, Century College.
From L to R - Alice McNeely, 2007 NCSPOD President; Dr. Larry Litecky (recipient); Pam Bergeron, NCSPOD VP Mid Western Region
Dr. Larry Litecky from Century College is viewed by constituents as a supreme supporter of faculty/professional development and is recognized within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system as an outstanding, dedicated leader.
Prior to becoming president of Century College, Dr. Larry Litecky served almost 20 years as state faculty association president, where he was a champion for professional development. He serves locally, regionally and nationally through involvement and service in multiple entities supporting instruction, student success and employee development.
Dr. Litecky's nomination stated the following: "Dr. Larry Litecky deserves this award because of his exemplary leadership and support of faculty, staff and organizational development as President of Century College. He has promoted development of our people and the College as an organization--not just with ideas, words, and his inspirational leadership style--but also, with funding. Last year, he earmarked over $750,000 for innovative initiatives designed to develop faculty and staff, and to grow Century's curriculum and programs. Dr. Litecky is generous with his time as well-he personally has held unit meetings involving over 200 employees each year, generating nearly 200 ideas for continuous improvement at Century."
HELEN BURNSTAD NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARDThe Helen Burnstad National Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions in writing, research, leadership, or advocacy that promotes the goals of staff, program, and/or organizational development at the national or international level.
The 2007 Helen Burnstad National Leadership Award recipient is:
Karen Troller, College of Dupage, Glen Ellyn, IL.
L to R - Alice McNeely, NCSPOD President; Karen Troller (recipient), College of Dupage, Glen Ellyn, IL.; and Helen Burnstad, Emeritus, Johnson County Community College
Karen Troller is currently the Manager of the Teaching and Learning Center at College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn, IL. For the past 15 years, Karen has been a continuous and active supporter of NCSPOD. She served the organization as the Vice President for Membership/ Secretary from 2002 through 2004 and as the coordinator for the 1995 NCSPOD Annual Conference conducted in Schaumberg, IL.
Locally, Karen plays an instrumental role in coordinating and supporting routine Staff Exchanges, Retreats for Support Staff and other activities for the Northern Illinois Network for Staff Developers (NIN). Her tireless efforts are positive contributions for the structured activities initiating support, networking, and contacts for fellow participants from other community colleges.
GLENN SCHMITZ AWARDThe Glenn Schmitz Award is awarded each year to an individual who has provided outstanding service to the NCSPOD Board.
The 2007 Glenn Schmitz Award recipient is:
Dr. Kathryn Weiss
The NCSPOD board in indebted to Kay Weiss for her continued dedication and service to NCSPOD. Kay has been the energy and impetus behind our SPOD Certificate Program, coordinating the program and serving as the Certification Liaison since its inception. Thank you Kay!
The North American Council for Staff, Program and Organizational Development is an affiliate council of the American Association of Community.
