Board of Trustees Awards of Excellence
Matt Bambrough, creative director, University Marketing & Communications
Kate McPherson, professor of English literature, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
D.J. Smith, associate director, Athletics
Richard Tolman, professor of biology, College of Science & Health
Ian Wilson, vice president , Academic Affairs
Matthew S. Holland, President
Utah Valley University
Greg S. Butterfield, Chair
UVU Board of T rustees
2011-2012
Trustees Awards & Presidential Excellence Awards
The University Awards of Excellence program recognizes faculty and staff who dedicate their time and talents to students, scholarship and the advancement
of higher education. This year, the UVU Board of Trustees elected to recognize five employees for their contributions to forwarding UVU’s mission. The
Presidential Awards of Excellence highlight faculty and staff for their efforts in key areas related to UVU’s mission and core themes.
Presidential Awards of Excellence
Janet Colvin, scholarship and teaching
Michelle Kearns, student success
Jane Loftus, inclusion and service
Brett McKeachnie, excellence
J. Bonner Ritchie, lifetime service
Jonathan Westover, engagement
Divisional Awards of Excellence
Deans’ Awards of Excellence
Faculty Senate Awards of Excellence
PACE Awards of Excellence
As I conclude my third year as president of Utah Valley University, I still marvel at how often I am moved by the dedication and
commitment of the employees of this institution. From the faculty to the staff to the administration, everyone at UVU seems to
go the extra mile in doing his or her part. Such broad effort truly is one of the great hallmarks of UVU.
One of the practical problems presented by this nearly universal commitment to excellence, however, is the difficulty of selecting
just a few for special recognition each year. In spite of that challenge, it is my pleasure to formally congratulate and thank a
handful of people from the UVU community for demonstrating superior service in executing the essential functions and core
aims of this university. The work being recognized here is tremendous. A heartfelt thanks to all for playing such a vital role at
this important time in UVU’s history.
It is a privilege for members of the Board of Trustees to join with the UVU community in honoring you as members of the
University family in your pursuit of excellence. Tonight we recognize the efforts of a select few who have distinguished
themselves through outstanding service to the students, the institution and the community.
We congratulate those who are being honored. We thank you for demonstrating exceptional commitment in fulfilling your
assignments and for your dedication to the ideals and mission of UVU.
As Trustees, we acknowledge the contributions made by all the faculty and staff of the University. On behalf of the Board, I
thank you for your service, and reaffirm the commitment of the Board to support UVU’s ongoing dedication to student success.
UNIVERSITY e.AwARDs of GXCELLENCE
PRESIDENT 's cti\4EssAGE
'BOARD of 'TRUSTEES e5WEssAGE
Matt Bambrough
Matt Bambrough has worked as a graphic design specialist in University Marketing & Communications for more than seven
years, including more than three in his current role as creative director. He has also taught graphic design classes as an adjunct
faculty member in UVU’s Art & Visual Communications department.
Bambrough has been instrumental in developing UVU’s recruitment marketing campaign, which is a key tool in helping the
institution’s recruiters convey its unique value to prospective students and their parents. Bambrough also leads a team of
designers and photographers who manage the visual aesthetic for UVU’s marketing campaigns. Bambrough’s proficiency as a
visual artist is all the more impressive given the fact that he suffers from quadriplegia that affects not only his legs but also his
hands, which are critical tools for an artist.
Bambrough and his wife, Krista, have been married for 13 years and have three children. His hobbies include boating, public
speaking, biking and playing wheelchair rugby.
top
Kate McPherson
Kate McPherson has taught at UVU since 2000 and is currently a professor of English literature. She is a renowned scholar on
Shakespeare and has authored or co-authored more than a dozen articles, books and reviews. She will become director of the
UVU Honors Program in July.
In addition to being a wellrespected teacher in the classroom, McPherson has used en-gaged learning projects to demonstrate
the broad and timeless appeal of Shakespeare’s works. She serves as resident scholar for the Grassroots Shakespeare
Company, an original practices performance group created by two of her students, and she is a judge for the Utah High School
Shakespeare Competition. Under her direction, students in an upperdivision Shakespeare class mentored incarcerated young
men at the Slate Canyon Youth Center in the study and performance of a Shakespeare play.
McPherson and her husband of 17 years, UVU alumnus Michael Nagro, have one daughter, Miranda. The family is excited to
travel to Spain this summer following a study abroad program McPherson is directing in London.
top
D.J Smith
D.J. Smith has spent more than 27 years at UVU and has served in his current role as associate director of athletics since
2003. Prior to joining UVU, Smith earned bachelor and master degrees in recreational education from BYU and a Doctor of
Education degree in the same field from the University of Utah.
Over the course of nearly three decades, Smith has held nearly every responsibility in UVU’s athletics department, including
fundraising, sports information and game management — he has even driven the team bus in a pinch. He won national awards
for the media guides he created and has been active in working with other programs in the conference to develop Web content
and build out their individual athletics operations. Smith was instrumental when UVU athletics made the leap from junior college
status to full NCAA Division I com-petition in 2009.
Smith and his wife, Roberta, have six children and 20 grandchildren. His hobbies include singing, dancing and painting.
top
Richard Tolman
Richard Tolman joined UVU in 2003 as a professor of biology after spending more than two decades in the same role at BYU.
Prior to that, he led research and curriculum development at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study between 1969 and 1982.
He earned bachelor and master degrees from the University of Utah before completing a Ph.D. in science education at Oregon
State University.
Tolman came to UVU to build the institution’s baccalaureate program in science education, which was a collaborative project
between the College of Science & Health and School of Education. In addition to developing and refining curriculum, Tolman
has cultured excellent relationships with local school districts to provide opportunities for UVU students and graduates. Tolman
is regarded as one of the top science educators in Utah and has a national reputation for excellence in teaching and curriculum
development.
Tolman and his wife of 47 years, Bonnie, have four children: Alicia, Brett, David and Matthew. They also have six grandchildren,
with whom Tolman enjoys fishing and other outdoor activities.
top
Ian Wilson
During more than two decades at UVU, Ian Wilson has served in leadership positions rang-ing from dean to vice president of
multiple campus divisions. An expert in the area of organizational behavior, Wilson served as chair of the business
administration department at Mount Royal University in his native Alberta, Canada.
Since coming to UVU in 1989, Wilson has had his repeated attempts at settling into a teaching role thwarted by calls for him to
assume the leadership mantle. He was dean of the Woodbury School of Business from 1989 to 2001 and was interim dean
from 2008 to 2010. He also worked as associate vice president of Institutional Advancement from 2001-2002 before being
named vice president of Institutional Advancement & Marketing, a capacity he served in from 2002-2006. In spite of his intention
to return to the classroom in 2010, he accepted President Holland’s request for him to lead UVU’s Office of Academic Affairs as
vice president.
Wilson and his wife, Jeanne, have been married for 39 years and have four children. He enjoys reading, running and rooting for
his favorite hockey teams, the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
top
Janet Colvin
Janet Colvin won a number of distinctions for her excellent teaching during this academic year, including the Distance
Education Teacher of the Year Award and the Top Paper Award at the international conference for the National Communication
Association. An assistant professor of communication at UVU, Colvin is named in more than a dozen academic papers and has
given scholarly presentations around the world.
As the Presidential Award winner for teaching and scholarship, Colvin represents the high level of commitment to teaching and
learning among UVU faculty. She credits the UVU administration with enabling her to make constructive suggestions in the spirit
of constantly improving the learning environment at UVU. She finds satisfaction in participating in scholarly projects, developing
new academic programs and interacting with her colleagues across campus.
Colvin and her husband have four children and six grandchildren. She taught piano for many years before returning to graduate
school to prepare to teach in higher education, and she enjoys reading, traveling and doing crossword puzzles.
top
Michelle Kearns
Michelle Kearns began her career at UVU in 1992 and spent 17 years in the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships. Prior to
taking her current position as director of student success and retention, Kearns served as assistant dean in University College
at UVU. She won UVU’s Distinguished Employee Award in 2003 and the Staff Excellence Award in 2005.
The Presidential Award winner for student success, Kearns is a tireless advocate for the importance of getting students
committed to their success in higher education from the time they first set foot on campus. Her work in this area was
acknowledged during the 2011-2012 academic year with a nomination for the National First Year Student Advocate Award.
Kearns has presented on student success and retention concepts nationally and internationally and is well respected in these
important areas of university support.
Kearns’ greatest joy comes from raising her three children, Cody, Shelby and Shalyse, who are all actively involved in activities
ranging from dance to piano to baseball. She also enjoys playing the piano, reading, traveling and spending time in her parents’
cabin in Scofield, Utah.
top
Jane Loftus
A native of Scotland, Jane Loftus came to the U.S. in 1996 to pursue a master’s degree and Ph.D. from BYU. She came to UVU
in 2005 to teach developmental math and received tenure in 2011.
The Presidential Award winner for inclusion and service, Loftus is an example of UVU’s ef-forts to extend opportunities to
underserved and disadvantaged populations. In 2007, Lof-tus and a few colleagues visited Legacy High School, a secondary
school in Springville, Utah, for young single mothers. Impressed by the school’s efforts to serve teens under difficult
circumstances, Loftus lead out on developing a tutoring program to supplement Legacy’s classroom instruction. The tutoring
program utilizes UVU developmental math faculty and students who serve as mentors. In addition to tutoring, the program has
brought Legacy students to the UVU campus to connect them to the university environment. So far, Loftus’ efforts have helped
23 girls attend UVU or the Mountainland Applied Technology Center after finishing at Legacy.
Loftus has two sons — Jason, 23, and Michael, 21 — and she enjoys hiking, traveling and meeting new people.
top
Brett McKeachnie
Academic Affairs
Spencer Childs
Karen Merrick
Renee Van Buren
Ashley Kaverin-Davis
Development & Alumni
Nicki Gilbert
Executive
Kyle Reyes
Finance & Administration
Melissa Bolt
Laura Carlson
James Hansen
Jo Ann Innes
Ryan Lindstrom
Aaron Nielson
Student Affairs
Ryan Burton
Ruth Ann Haws
Greg Jackson
Eric Madsen
Leialoha Pakalani
Junko Watabe
University Relations
Curtis Puzey
Brett McKeachnie started managing UVU’s email system in 1993 and has spent his career building and maintaining the
institution’s information technology infrastructure. A UVU alumnus, McKeachnie has had a hand in developing many of UVU’s
key technologies, including the campus’s first Web server.
The Presidential Award winner for excellence, McKeachnie was instrumental in the campuswide “Great Migration” from Novell
GroupWise to Exchange and other Microsoft technologies during the 2011-2012 academic year. The UVU IT team leaned
heavily on McKeachnie’s two decades of technical expertise and institutional knowledge when making the landmark leap away
from the institution’s legacy email system — a complex process on an unprecedented scale for UVU.
McKeachnie and his wife of 22 years have six children, and so far, five members of his family have attended UVU. He stays
busy juggling his fulltime IT responsibilities with adjunct teaching at UVU.
top
J. Bonner Ritchie
J. Bonner Ritchie is an institution in the field of international organizational behavior and an important figure in the growth of
UVU’s Woodbury School of Business, which is now the largest business school in the Utah System of Higher Education. Prior
to joining UVU in 2001, Ritchie was on the faculty at BYU for 27 years and the faculty at the University of Michigan for six years
before that.
The Presidential Award winner for lifetime service, Ritchie boasts an impressive academic record, personally mediated peace
negotiations between Israel and Palestine and has served as a management consultant to some of the world’s largest
organizations. In 2001, Ritchie came out of retirement to help build UVU’s business school in the run-up to university status.
Many of UVU’s faculty and administrators can trace their academic history through Ritchie’s teachings in leadership, conflict
resolution, organizational philosophy and many other topics.
Ritchie and his wife, Lois, have been married for nearly 30 years and together have four children and eight grandchildren. He
enjoys reading, travel and caring for the hundreds of plants he keeps at home.
top
Jonathan Westover
Jonathan Westover is a widely respected expert in the fields of business management and organizational leadership, having
been published in 28 academic publications and given more than 70 scholarly presentations around the world. Westover taught
at BYU and the University of Utah prior to moving into his current roles as an assistant professor of management and director of
academic service learning at UVU.
The Presidential Award winner for engagement, Westover was given a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach MBA students in Minsk,
Belarus. His Fulbright appointment helped UVU receive the Fulbright program’s distinction as a “top producer” in 2011 and
further bolstered the University’s growing connection with the prestigious international scholar program. In addition to his work
with Fulbright, Westover is a regular visiting faculty member at the University of Science and Technology in Hefei, China, and is
on the board of directors for the National Association of Academies of Science.
Westover and his wife of 10 years, Jacque, have five children: Sara, Amber, Lia, Kaylie and David.
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Rob Carney, English & Literature — creative work
Erin Donohoe-Rankin, Philosophy & Humanities —
advising
Grant Richards, Behavioral Science — service
Christine Weigel, Philosophy & Humanities —
scholarly research
College of Science & Health
Alvin Benson, physical science — teaching
Daniel Stephen, earth sciences — service
Steve Wasserbaech, physics — scholarship
College of Technology & Computing
Curtis Welborn, Computer Science — scholarship
Eric Russell, Emergency Services — teaching
Dennis Lisonbee, Digital Media — service
School of the Arts
Jackie Colledge, Dance — teaching
School of Education
Travis Lemon, Master of Education — cooperating
teacher
Ann Sharp, Elementary Education — graduate mentor
University College
Chitralekha Duttagupta, Basic Composition —
scholarship
Forrest Williams, Basic Composition/ESL — service
Woodbury School of Business
Jared Chapman, Management — teaching
Jonathan Westover, Management — scholarship
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Jolene Arnoff, Office of the Dean
College of Science & Health
Tom Liljegren, Earth Science & Physics
College of Technology & Computing
Vaylene Perry, Computing & Network Science
School of the Arts
Rae Ann Ellis, Academic Advising
School of Education
Eva Sanchez, Advisement Center
University College
J. Waterreus, stCareer & Academic Counseling
Woodbury School of Business
Michelle Escamilla, Legal Studies
Silvia Lobendahn, Management
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Janet Colvin, Communications
College of Science & Health
Heather Wilson-Ashworth, Biology
College of Technology & Computing
Mike Harper, Digital Media
School of the Arts
Hilary Demske, Music
School of Education
Bryan Waite, Secondary Education
University College
Marcus Jorgensen, Developmental Math
Woodbury School of Business
Harry Taute, Marketing
College of Humanities & Social Sciences
Sheila Bibb, Behavioral Science
College of Science & Health
Maria Groves, Earth Science
College of Technology & Computing
James Jackson, Engineering Graphics & Design
Technology
School of the Arts School of Education University College
Faculty
STAFF
FULL-TIME FACULTY
ADJUNCT FACULTY
Kristen Hawkins, Dance Frank Garrett, Elementary Education Jamie Littlefield, Basic Composition
Woodbury School of Business
Amy Bettridge, Marketing
FULL-TIME STAFF
Brent Anderson, head coach, Women’s Soccer
MeriAnn Boxall, counselor, GEAR UP Project
Steven Crook, director, International Student Services
Kathy Johnson, gift processing, Development &
Alumni
Loretta King, administrative assistant, Theatre Arts
Cristina Pianezzola, director, Planned Giving
Rebecca Rothey, administrative assistant, Concurrent
Enrollment
Ursula Sorensen, associatedirector, Faculty Teaching
Excellence