Syracuse Sun

On April 26, the One University Assessment Celebration took place in the School of Education's Education Commons, where Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (IE) presented awards to faculty, staff, students, offices, and programs. The event recognized significant contributions to assessment practices aimed at enhancing student success.

Lois Agnew, associate provost for Academic Programs, emphasized the importance of celebrating engagement in assessment practices. "It illuminates our strengths but also reinforces a commitment to continuous improvement," she stated. Awards were distributed across five categories:

1. **Assessment Champion**: Acknowledging individuals who advocate for meaningful assessment.

2. **Outstanding Assessment**: Recognizing distinguished academic and co-curricular areas.

3. **Best Engagement Strategies**: Highlighting programs that effectively engage participants in the assessment process.

4. **Best Use of Results**: Honoring those who utilize assessment results in decision-making.

5. **Collaborative Inquiry and Action**: A new category recognizing units collaborating outside their primary divisions.

The award recipients included:

- **Assessment Champion | Academic**: Blythe Bennett, School of Information Studies

- **Assessment Champion | Co-Curricular/Functional**: Jessica Newsom, Living Learning Communities

- **Assessment Champion | Shared Competencies**: Maureen Thompson, Department of Public Health

- **Outstanding Assessment | Academic Programs**: Forensic Science Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

- **Outstanding Assessment | Co-Curricular**: Student Outreach and Support

- **Outstanding Assessment | Functional**: Future Professoriate Program

- **Best Faculty Engagement Strategies**: Human Development and Family Science program

- **Best Staff Engagement Strategies**: College of Professional Studies Dean’s Office

- **Best Student Engagement Strategies**: Living Learning Communities

- **Best Use of Results | Academic**: Film program, Department of Film and Media Arts

- **Best Use of Results | Co-Curricular**: Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (The SOURCE)

- **Best Use of Results | Functional**: Retention and Student Success

- **Collaborative Inquiry and Action**: Barnes Center at The Arch

Participants from the 2023 Assessment Leadership Institute were also recognized for their poster presentations detailing their activities over the past year:

- Keonte Coleman (Newhouse School)

- Nadeem Ghani (College of Engineering and Computer Science)

- Dimitar Gueorguiev (Maxwell School)

- Jody Nyboer (School of Design)

- Kathleen Roland-Silverstein with Isabel Hampton ’24 and Katie Weber ’24 (Sentor School of Music)

- Darwin Tsen (Languages, Literatures and Linguistics)

- Andrea Willis (College of Professional Studies)

Additionally, recipients of the inaugural “Student Engagement in Assessment” grant were acknowledged for their collaborative experiences:

1. Biomedical Engineering team led by Doug Yung with several undergraduate students.

2. Center for Learning and Student Success' Student Success Advisory Council.

3. New Student Programs team led by Winnie Naggar ’24 with Butch Hallmark.

4. Retention and Student Success team including Prabin Raj Shrestha ’24.

Senior Assistant Provost Jerry Edmonds concluded the event by highlighting two milestones achieved this year—celebrating five years since the inception of these annual awards and ten years since Syracuse University began systematically collecting evidence to inform decision-making across campus.

For further details on award recipients’ achievements or event photos, visit the IE website.

Story by Laura Harrington, Associate Director at Institutional Effectiveness