2013 Frist Student Service Award winner Marvin Wilson
OXFORD, Miss. – College students often face loneliness and difficult circumstances without family nearby to help. But at the University of Mississippi, many faculty and staff members fill the gap by stepping in to lend a helping hand or simply to listen and offer encouragement.
It’s all part of being a member of the Ole Miss family, and the students’ gratitude and success are generally reward enough. But students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff can formally recognize those who have truly “gone the extra mile” to help out students by nominating them for the Thomas Frist Student Service Award.
“Serving on the Frist Award selection committee is very gratifying due to the opportunity reviewing the nominations provides to become even more aware of the commitment of our faculty and staff to positively impact the lives of our students,” said Marvin Wilson, former associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Pharmacy and a winner of the 2013 Frist Award.
“The reality is that the primary reason each faculty and staff member is employed by Ole Miss should be to help achieve a very positive and successful experience on our campus. Selecting only two annual recipients from the nominations submitted is indeed a challenge for the committee.”
Students, alumni, friends, faculty and staff can submit nominations for the annual awards online through April 15. Any full-time faculty or staff, except previous winners, is eligible for the award, which includes a $1,000 prize and a plaque.
Written and submitted by individuals, nominations can be entered at http://www.olemiss.edu/frist_award. Past nominations are also considered.
Nominations should not focus on classroom teaching or tutoring efforts. The Elsie M. Hood Outstanding Teaching Award, announced at the annual Honors Day convocation, recognizes excellence in that area.
The nomination narrative should differentiate between obligation and service by citing specific examples in which the person being nominated has gone beyond the call of duty to help a student or group of students.
“Many faculty and staff on our campus fit the criteria for the Frist Award, which helps us identify two individuals who are exemplary of going beyond the norm in extending a helping hand to our students,” Chancellor Dan Jones said.
All nominees are notified that they have been so honored, and a campus committee appointed by the chancellor chooses the two winners. Awards are to be presented May 9 at UM’s spring Commencement.
“Receiving the call from Chancellor Jones that I had been selected to receive the award was among the most rewarding moments in my 43-year career at Ole Miss,” Wilson said. “We strongly urge faculty, staff, students, administrators, and especially parents to sacrifice the few moments required to prepare a nomination, to bring appropriate recognition to those who have made a significant positive impact on the lives of our students and have contributed to their overall success at Ole Miss.”
The 2014 Frist winners were Denis Goulet, lecturer and coordinator of laboratory programs in the Department of Biology, and Carol Forsythe, senior secretary in the Department of Legal Studies.
Previous recipients include current faculty members Aileen Ajootian, Don Cole, Charles Eagles, Ellen Meacham, Terry Panhorst, Ken Sufka and Eric Weber; and current staff members Thelma Curry, Dewey Knight, Ginger Patterson, Thomas J. Reardon, Valeria Ross, Amy Saxton, Marc Showalter and Linda Spargo.
The Frist Student Service Awards were established with a $50,000 gift from the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist of Nashville, a 1930 UM graduate.
For more information or to submit a nomination, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/frist_award.