Spring 2020

2020 UConn ECE Professional Recognition Awards Moves from Ceremony to Show

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By Carissa Rutkauskas

 

UConn ECE faculty, staff, and award winners look forward to the annual Professional Recognition Awards Ceremony each year. They enjoy an elegant sit-down dinner, serenaded by a trio of UConn jazz ensemble students, celebrating a successful academic year by recognizing outstanding instruction and administration for the UConn Early College Experience Program. This year it would have been on Tuesday, April 28 in the Gallery of the Jorgenson Center for the Preforming Arts. Things did not quite go that way.

 

As high schools began closing in early March, first for 2 week, then for longer, the University told college students not to return to campus from Spring Break; faculty and staff began working remotely; and the opportunity to honor those nominated by their students and colleagues was not going to happen in person. So, we embraced technology and the good nature of the award recipients and went online. The prerecorded 2020 UConn ECE Professional Recognition Awards Show premiered on Monday, May 4 with a private screening on the UConn ECE YouTube channel. Friends, relatives, students, and colleagues were able to watch and interact with the 25-minute production. Eleven award recipients, 7 staff members, and 1 faculty member had submitted video footage that was then edited together by Austin Gao, Digital Media and design student, to create a memorable evening for all.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the 2020 winners:

Award Name School Discipline
Thomas E. Recchio Faculty Coordinator Award for Academic Leadership Scott Campbell UConn English
Principal Award for Program Support & Advocacy Thomas Moore Wethersfield High School Principal
Site Representative Award for Excellence in Program Administration Alicia Melillo Cromwell High School School Counselor
Instructor Award for Excellence in Course Instruction Eric Bosley Plainville High School European History
Angela Brower RHAM High School Latin
Libbi Intemann Trumbull High School Philosophy
Geoffrey Kern Edwin O. Smith High School Statistics
James DeCesare The Master’s School Drawing
Sarah Tibbetts Daniel Hand High School Chemistry
“Rookie of the Year” Award for Excellence in First-Year Course Instruction Carla Toney Newington High School Italian and French
Jan Pikul Award for Continued Excellence in Instruction William Schultz Enfield High School Chemistry

Overcoming Adversity: UConn ECE Strong

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By UConn ECE Program Office Staff

 

A committee of four reviewed and selected the cover for the Spring 2020 edition of the UConn ECE Magazine from student submissions responding to a call to show adaption to distance learning that embodies “Overcoming Adversity – UConn ECE Strong.” The winning photo includes the caption “Distance makes the heart grow fonder” and captures one of the many signs that the community displays in their front yards thanking essentials workers.

 

The committee recognizes the essential work that teachers continue to do from a distance during such unprecedented times and have had to adjust their lesson plans and schedules to meet the needs of their students. We have also included two runner up photos, one depicting the abstract passing of time during such a surreal experience and the other capturing what school at home looks like for a student.