The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Staff Senate will celebrate the achievements of more than 150 staff members during the Staff Awards Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 26, in the Engineering and Information Technology Building Auditorium. 

Staff members will be honored for educational achievements, years of service, and retirement, and Staff Achievement Awards and scholarship recipients will be announced. The UA Little Rock community is invited to attend. A reception in the lobby will immediately follow the awards ceremony.

“This year, I’ve had the opportunity to witness the dedication of our staff members and how vital they are to the UA Little Rock community,” Staff Senate President Angie Faller said. “We are honoring nearly 100 staff members who have given more than 1,340 years of combined service to the university. We are also recognizing 25 graduates, 18 retirees, and 17 nominees for the Staff Achievement Awards. Thank you to our staff members and everything you do for the university.”

UA Little Rock will honor 18 retiring staff members, including Jan Dannaway, Robert Davis, Stephan Dixon, Broderick Ganaway, Gregory Hamilton, Gail Harris, Kerrick Hartman, Gary Hogan, Joseph Lewis Sr., Sharon Linz, Patsy Martin, Lewis Moody, Veva Petty, Phyllis Roche, Timothy Porter, Gay Sanders, Larry Walker, and Clyde Wilkerson.

Graduating staff members who have earned a degree or certificate in the past year include:

•      Amber Bartolotta, School of Counseling, Human Performance, and Rehabilitation, Master of Education in counselor education
•      Damian Berry, Donaghey Student Center, Bachelor of Arts in sociology
•      Larry Blackmon, Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering, Master of Science in construction management
•      Valerie Breashears, Office of Admissions, Doctor of Education in higher education
•      Ian Calder, Information Technology Services, Master of Science in business information systems
•      Jacqueline Durr, Student Support Services, Master of Arts in higher education
•      Kenneth Edwards, Donaghey Student Center, Bachelor of Arts in sociology
•      Deona Elliott, UA Little Rock Children International, Associate of Arts in general studies
•      Timothy Frazier, Donaghey Student Center, Master of Science in sport management
•      Colleen Godley, William H. Bowen School of Law, certificate of proficiency in business analytics
•      Ashley Heath, Department of English, Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies
•      Michael Heavner, Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, Master of Arts in interdisciplinary studies
•      Kimya Herd, Disability Resource Center, Bachelor of Arts in applied communication
•      Jinson Kang, Little Rock Athletics, Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies
•      James Robert Kashak, Facilities Management, Bachelor of Science in health, human performance, and sport management
•      Christina Laurentia, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, graduate certificate in data science
•      Danielle Lee, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Bachelor of Science in information science
•      Kathleen Lewis, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, graduate certificate in online writing instruction
•      Cynthia Nia Rieves, Human Resources, graduate certificate in human resources and organizational psychology
•      Raymond Patey, Department of Chemistry, Master of Science in chemistry
•      Stephen Roberson, Information Technology Services, Master of Science in business information systems
•      Juanita Sherman, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, Master of Education in adult and professional learning
•      Jennika Smith, College of Education and Health Professions, Master of Arts in professional and technical writing
•      Kimberly Thorton, Department of Rhetoric and Writing, Bachelor of Arts in professional and technical writing
•      Lisa Williams, Department of Biology, Master of Science in biology

The 2019 Staff Achievement Award nominees include Ashley Beatty, Emily Bell, John Evans, Angie Faller, Cody Henslee, Wanda Hoover, Eureka Ice, Shannon Kardiak, Ann Marie Lott, Laura McClellan, Mark Pellegrini, Michael Seamon, Christina Smith, Dana Steele, Kelly Rigby, Sabrenna Rodgers-Lee, and Freta Rogers-Mason.

The UA Little Rock staff members who are being honored for the most years of service include Ophelia Dedner of Human Resources and John Eley of Printing Services, both celebrating their 40-year work anniversaries.

Four staffers are celebrating their 35-year anniversaries, including Suzette Anderson, UA Little Rock Children International; Diane Thomas-Holladay, Arkansas Economic Development Institute; Lenzo Turner, Facilities Management; and Angela Willis, Office of Research Compliance.

Those celebrating their 30th anniversary include Sylvester Cartwright of Information Technology Services, Vinnie Francis of the William H. Bowen School of Law, and Charles Hancock of the Department of Engineering Technology.

Additional staff members celebrating work anniversaries include:

25 years: Christal Aist-Farris, Verna Fleming, Tangie Jones, Merlene Love, Johnny Smith, Marilyn Thompson, and Minnie Walker.

20 years: Jerome Bailey, Ellen Binford, Darlene Bunt, Linda Czirr, Veronica Davis, Robin Dean, Catherine Hagemeier, Howard Jackson, Barbara Johnson, Vicki Plant, Daniel Spillers, Allen Stanley, and Regina Wade-Carter.

15 years: Paula Baker, Katresha Bell, Alexandru Biris, Brandy Cochran, Cynthia Dedner, Thomas Genz, Shannon Gwinn, Terry Harrison, Ganesh Kannarpady, Grainger Ledbetter, Jennifer Maxwell, Jennifer Moody, Virginia Oswalt, Russ Riegel, and Joshua Webb.

10 years: Brenda Alexander, Tyrone Barrow, Alicia Cash, Heyam Dannawi, Michael Dodson, Cynthia Evans, Karissa Graham, Alisha Harris, Gregory Hicks, Wanda Hoover, Jewel Johnson, Karin Jones, Lisa Layman, Gayle Lenard, Kaye Lundgren, Laura McClellan, Meaghan Milliorn, Demetrius Owens, Marian Payne, Nathaniel Roe, Daniel Shelton, Alveno Smith, Georgette Walker, and Robert White.

5 years: James Amick, William Buddenberg, Carlton Coleman, Colleen Dennis, Kristen Dickson, Creston Emory, Benjamin Fisher, Rejena Grotjohn, Ian Hadden, Jackelyn Hanner, Richard Harper, James Harrington, Cody Henslee, Kimberly Herron, Jeremy Laxton, Charles Mathews, Faith McMath, Michael McNerlin, Ashia Muhammad, Chuks Odor, Gigi Peters, Tugrul Polat, Cari Reeves, Felicia Rogers, Julie Shelby, Nicholas Thorton, Jonathan Timm, Amber Wolf, and Crenisha Wright.

In the upper right photo, the 2018 Staff Achievement Award and scholarship winners celebrate at the Staff Awards Ceremony. Pictured (L to R) are Pamala Stanley, winner of Personal Growth Award, Celeste Watson, Crittenden Book Scholarship recipient, Tierra Hutley, Staff Senate Scholarship winner, and William Wagner, winner of Ben Fry Service to UA Little Rock Award. Photo by Ben Krain.