Outstanding Administrator Award Winners

The Professional Instructors Organization at Western Michigan University has selected two members of the College of Arts and Sciences as recipients of the inaugural Outstanding Administrator Award. Dr. Alexander Enyedi, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Dr. Jonathan Bush, Chair of the Department of English are the first WMU administrators to receive this distinction. As an organization of part-time faculty, PIO strives to encourage WMU administrators to:

• Promote teaching effectiveness
• Include part-time faculty in governance decisions
• Provide sufficient support, resources and encouragement
• Recognize and reward excellent performance

Dean Enyedi was selected in recognition of his demonstrated commitment to part-time faculty, evidenced by this year's introduction of the College of Arts and Sciences Part-Time Instructor Excellence in Teaching Awards. According to one faculty member, "Dean Enyedi has done a great job at communicating with PIO on a number of issues concerning part-time instructors. He always seems willing to meet with us to either keep us informed or to discuss our concerns. There are few awards given on campus that part-timers can participate in. The College of Arts and Sciences, through Dean Enyedi's leadership, created an award specifically for part-time instructors. This type of action speaks volumes to me."

Dr. Bush was also selected for his proven commitment to part-time faculty. Since he has become chair, he has made a strong effort to include part-timers in department meetings and committee meetings. He has maintained close ties to PIO by informing them each time budget concerns threatened to affect the number of people employed by the department. One faculty member states, "Dr. Bush consistently treats part-time employees as if they were of the same caliber of tenured faculty. He always makes himself available for a question, concern or even just a conversation.”