Four of UWA’s faculty and staff awarded for service

Four of UWA’s most outstanding faculty and staff were recognized by peer-voted awards for their service and excellence. Pictured left to right are Dr. Tim Edwards, provost; Dr. Veronica Triplett, Nell

The University of West Alabama presented four prestigious awards to members of its faculty and staff during the Dec. 13 Board of Trustees quarterly meeting at Bell Conference Center. The Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards and the Nellie Rose McCrory Service Excellence Award were presented to distinguished employees.

Candidates for the awards are nominated by the University community, and the winner in each category is selected by a committee of peers.

The McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards are presented annually in three categories: support staff, professional staff, and faculty. Each comes with a plaque and a check for $1,000.

Leroy “Peanut” Jones, a longtime member of UWA’s housekeeping staff, received the 2022 Support Staff Excellence Award. He joined the University staff as a member of the Physical Plant’s grounds and maintenance crew. He recently was promoted to warehouse manager where he handles the University’s incoming parcels and deliveries.

UWA Provost Tim Edwards explained that one of Jones’s letters of nomination tell of the example he sets for other employees, describing him as a “truly great asset to UWA.”

“For years I have seen Mr. Jones as an active employee across our campus,” the nomination reads. “He is seemingly at every major event and almost every day of the week. In the earlier years it was common to see Mr. Jones working with the grounds crew in the morning, moving office furniture by mid-day, and helping with setting up or breaking down for an event at the Bell Center in the evening. At any point in those activities, he normally had a smile on his face and was leading the crew he was with, whether he was in charge or just making sure everyone was organized.”

The late Susan Sparkman, former UWA Registrar, received the 2022 McIlwain Bell Professional Staff Excellence Award. Sparkman’s tragic death in September rattled the University community while also proving the tremendous positive impact she had on students for many years.

Sparkman joined the University staff in 1998 and served as registrar from 2008 until her death in 2021. She was a two-time UWA graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1998 and a master’s degree in 2000, lettering in volleyball for the Tigers from 1994 to 1997.

“Susan truly cared for every student with which she dealt,” her nomination letter reads. “She worked hard to rectify a particular student’s situation that was convoluted and said that a student should never be punished for someone else’s mistake. I wonder now if this student (or any of the countless others she helped) ever realized how hard Susan worked on his case—not for glory, congratulations, or a chance at a raise or promotion—simply because it was the right thing to do.”

The 2022 McIlwain Bell Trustee Professor Award was presented to Dr. Brian Keener, professor of biology in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. He came to UWA in the fall of 2003. He also serves as assistant dean of the School of Graduate Studies and is widely known for his work with the Alabama Plant Atlas and as curator for the UWA Herbarium.

Keener holds a 1996 bachelor’s degree in botany from Auburn University, a 1999 master’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Alabama, and a 2005 doctorate in biological sciences from UA.

Keener serves as director of the UWA Cahaba Biodiversity Center, a site that was gifted to the University by Bibb County landowner William D. Hubbard, valued at more than $3 million and spanning more than 2,000 acres of land along the Cahaba River. The property and the programs associated with it provide research activities for faculty and students (undergraduate and graduate), the Center embodies and materializes the University’s vision for a fully-immersed conservation biology program.

“Brian’s contribution to the university’s receiving Mr. Hubbard’s gift deserves commendation,” his nomination letter reads. “He did an exceptional job of bringing the gift to UWA, especially since both the University of Alabama and Auburn University were in the running to receive the property. I heard Mr. Hubbard say this himself on many occasions—’if it were not for Brian, the university would not have received this gift.’”

Dr. Veronica Triplett, assistant professor of management in the College of Business and Technology, is the recipient of the 2022 Nellie Rose McCrory Service Excellence Award. The McCrory Service Award recognizes commitment to the University community through scholarship and service. Triplett joined the UWA staff in 2007, later moving to faculty, continually developing an impressive record of service to the community and the University.

Triplett holds three degrees from UWA: a 2007 bachelor of business administration, a 2009 master’s degree in continuing education, and a 2016 master of business administration. She earned a DBA in marketing from Liberty University in 2020.

“Her enthusiasm, love, and passion for teaching exemplifies true professional leadership,” her nomination letter reads. “I have noticed how she mentors her students and offers innovative ideas to our College of Business and Technology faculty and staff meetings. Dr. Triplett inspires and impacts those she comes in contact with each day. “Instead of seeing the challenges of our ever-transitioning educational system, she embraces them, leans from them, and adapts her curriculum and instructional methods without compromising her values and her students’ needs. Dr. Triplett is always willing to sacrifice her time to help and support her colleagues when needed.”

The Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards were established in 1996 through an endowment by the late Mrs. Bell’s daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Cunningham. UWA’s Bell Conference Center is also named in honor of Mrs. Bell and her husband.

The McCrory service award is made possible by an endowment by the late Miss McCrory, who earned the B.S. in English and M.Ed. in Secondary Education from UWA and the doctorate from the University of Alabama.