Awards Recognize Success of Assessment Through Engagement and Collaboration

Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness (IE) presented awards to faculty and staff members, students, offices and programs and hosted a poster presentation during the One University Assessment Celebration on April 25 in the School of Education’s Education Commons.

Nadaya Brantley (second from left), assistant teaching professor of social work, assessment champion award honoree and recipient of the Student Engagement in Assessment mini-grant, poses with four of the project’s School of Social Work student partners. The entire student assessment team included Naomi Brogden, Paige Esposito, Amaya Saintal, Hailey Vanish, Casey Wills and Annabelle Wemmer.

In her opening remarks, Julie Hasenwinkel, associate provost for academic programs, highlighted the importance of celebrating the various ways faculty, staff and students have engaged in assessment practices. Awards were given in five categories.

• Assessment Champion: This award recognizes University community members who advocate for meaningful assessment to enrich the student experience and who have made outstanding contributions to the University’s culture of improvement. The recipients were:
  • Academic: Nadaya Brantley, undergraduate director and assistant teaching professor, School of Social Work, Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics
  • Academic/Functional: Michelle Blum, associate dean for student affairs, teaching professor and Dean’s Faculty Fellow for Assessment, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Shared Competencies: Syracuse University Libraries
• Outstanding Assessment: This award recognizes a distinguished academic, co-curricular and functional area for overall robust assessment. The recipients were:
  • Academic: Illustration M.F.A., School of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts
  • Co-Curricular: Kessler Scholars Program
  • Functional: College of Arts and Sciences/Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs academic and professional advising office
• Best Engagement Strategies: This award recognizes programs/units for engaging faculty, staff and students to participate and contribute to the assessment process. The recipients were:
  • Faculty Engagement: Civil and environmental engineering B.S. programs, College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Staff Engagement: Community Standards
  • Student Engagement: Center for Learning and Student Success
• Best Use of Results: This award recognizes an academic, co-curricular and functional area for how assessment results are used in making decisions. The recipients were:
  • Academic: Public health B.S. program, Falk College
  • Co-Curricular: Syracuse Abroad
  • Functional: Learning Environments and Media Production
• Collaborative Inquiry and Action: This award recognizes a partnership that extends beyond a single school, college, division or unit and uses strong assessment methods and data as a catalyst for improvement. The recipient was:
  • University Retention and Student Success Council

After the awards, 2024 Assessment Leadership Institute faculty participants were recognized for their poster presentations detailing assessment activities over the past year:

• Deepika Das, Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, College of Arts and Sciences
• Hille Paakkunainen, philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences
• Yilei Shi, civil and environmental engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Svetoslava Todorova, civil and environmental engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Rebecca Ruige Xu, film and media arts, College of Visual and Performing Arts

Recipients of the Student Engagement in Assessment grant were also acknowledged for their poster presentations showcasing the collaborative experiences of students, faculty and staff:

• Linguistic studies M.A. program: Loretta Adadzewa Awuku, Sylvia Page, Johnson Akano, Amanda Brown
• Newhouse Office of Academic Affairs: Kit Fletcher
• Public health program: Collins Annor, Bernard Appiah
• Retention and Student Success: Prabin Raj Shrestha ’24, Hope Smalling
• School of Social Work: Naomi Brogden, Paige Esposito, Amaya Saintal, Hailey Vanish, Casey Wills, Annabelle Wemmer, Nadaya Brantley

In the closing remarks, Laura Harrington, director of institutional effectiveness, noted that the One University Assessment Celebration “is an important reminder that assessment is not a checkbox or something that goes into a black hole. It is a dynamic and collaborative process that strengthens teaching, learning and operations across our campus.” The showcased efforts demonstrate “a deep commitment to and investment in student success. Thoughtful assessment gives us agency to better understand, support and elevate every part of the University.”

Visit the IE website to see event photos, presentation materials highlighting recipients’ achievements and posters.

Story by A’yla James