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The Distinguished Service Award is given annually to members of the Miami University faculty or staff who have made a significant impact on the life and mission of the university. This year's recipients are Susan Mosley-Howard, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, and Judith Sessions, dean and university librarian.
Mosley-Howard, who has been at Miami for 25 years, has been a distinguished scholar, teacher, administrator and mentor to many. She has been a leading force in structuring initiatives to enhance student life at Miami, including leadership for the Bicentennial Student Center, the sophomore year experience and strengthening the university's academic advising system. "As Dean of Students, she handles with extraordinary skill the difficult issues and crises that arise, including those of student violence and tragedy," said one nominator.
"Miami University has been enhanced in innumerable ways by Dr. Mosley-Howard's vision, insight, and synergistic leadership. ... She encourages us as a University to dig deeper and think more systematically. ... And always, students are at the center of all that she does. Every action she takes, every report she writes, every conversation she has is imbued with a concern for the education, health and well-being of our Miami students," wrote another nominator.
Sessions arrived at Miami in 1988 and immediately set a new direction for Miami's libraries. Her commitment to re-developing physical library facilities, making informational resources more accessible, providing educational opportunities, promoting diversity and fully embracing and advocating for the increased use of technology "has had a profound impact on scholarly work by faculty and students," wrote one nominator. "Now at our libraries, students and faculty can engage in the multiple, integrated activities associated with research."
Dean Sessions' leadership and enthusiastic support for the infusion of technology into all aspects of learning is seen through her involvement in establishing OhioLINK, an online materials resource, research help via instant messaging and a high-tech Thunder Room instructional space. To make the libraries more user-friendly, Sessions' staff has also greatly expanded orientations and technology workshops.
The Distinguished Service Award, established in 2006, is the most significant recognition that Miami has to offer for service to the university.
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