CEBAH awards first annual faculty awards

The College of Education, Business and Allied Health (CEBAH) at UW-River Falls presented its first annual faculty excellence awards for the 2024-25 academic year.

“This is a good way for us to recognize exceptional performance...I think we should recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our faculty,” Dean Muhammad Chishty said in an interview.

Four awards were presented to professors at the college. The awardees were: Dr. Paul Shirilla for excellence in advising, Dr. Hiawatha Smith for excellence in research, Dr. Molly Gerrish for excellence in service, and Dr. Geoff Schuerman for excellence in teaching.

“It is an honor to receive this award, which recognizes my commitment to improving education beyond the walls of my classroom. It acknowledges the caliber of faculty in my department, as several of my scholarly activity projects have been co-authored with other UWRF faculty,” Smith stated.

“Growth and development is an infinite and eternal phenomenon, and it is a privilege to be able to spend a lifetime moving forward personally and collectively in a profession like this,” Schuerman said.

The awards were presented at the first college meeting of the semester in late August.

“At the end we did this. None of the faculty members knew that they were receiving the awards...we kept it confidential, and it was a surprise to all of them,” Chishty stated.

Selection for the awards is conducted through the research and scholarship committee at the college, where potential candidates provide information on specific items pertaining to the award that they are nominated for.

Some items included in that information are things such as publications, service on committees and proactive teaching methods.

Nominations are done through a variety of ways according to Chishty, with one such avenue being through student nominations.

“For some awards, [the college] sends out emails to all students and asks for nominations and comments,” Chishty said.

“Dr. Schuerman has a huge heart for his students and goes to incredible lengths to create authentic learning spaces. It is evident that he is passionate about education and goes out of his way to connect with his students on a personal level,” a student nomination read for excellence in teaching awardee Geoff Schuerman.

“Day-to-day interactions with students who come by my office to explore an idea further or who make a unique contribution to a stimulating class and remind me that I am first and foremost a student myself. And since I am now in the 65th grade, I guess I always will be,” Schuerman remarked.

These awards marked a first for the college of CEBAH, which merged the college of business and economics along with the college of education and professional studies in July of 2023.

“What we have tried to do is to essentially create a new identity for us,” Dean Chishty said. “One thing I have tried to promote is a spirit of collaboration and cooperation.”

Recipient of the excellence in research, Dr. Smith co-authored Beyond the Basics: Children’s Literature for the Elementary Teacher, which serves as a foundational text for undergraduate education majors in language arts and literacy. He is currently set on releasing a new book this fall.

“My inspiration comes from the many mentors in my career who have encouraged me to do the work and be the best I can be. I thank all those both within and outside the university who saw something in me as an academic,” he stated.

Recipient of the excellence in teaching award, Dr. Schuerman reminisced on his 32-year career at River Falls.

“I strive to put students at the center of their own learning, and this award came from them, it feels like I am sharing it with them...UWRF has allowed me to work with teacher candidates from the moment they walk onto campus until they enter the classroom as student teachers and take their final walk across the stage at commencement,” he said.

With the new merger and a 15% budget cut to the college, CEBAH is looking at different paths to maximize efficiency and productivity for students and faculty alike according to Chishty.

“The budget cuts are having an impact on what we can do and how much we can do,” he stated. “We are making changes in course offerings and course schedules. Fewer classes, fewer sections and consolidation of programs. At the same time, we are creating new programs which will bring new students to the university.”

Some new programs that CEBAH is introducing are a master’s program in special education and a revamped Montessori program which includes collaboration of several different disciplines in the college according to Chishty.

“Ultimately it is the personal relationships which make me look forward to coming to work every day,” he said. “We like to recognize, appreciate and celebrate (the faculty), I also hope this serves as a motivator for others to do the same.”