2023 Awards and Recognition Nominations
TAYLER BOELK | ESPRIT DE CORPS
Tayler Boelk is the manager of graduate recruitment and retention for the College of Education and Human Development. She is responsible for promoting graduate programs for each of the college’s six departments. Three months into her new position, she was asked to fill the responsibilities of her supervisor and quickly become responsible for events and tours for admitted/prospective undergraduate and graduate students. In her first full semester here, Boelk implemented the CEHD student ambassador program, consisting of seven undergraduate students who communicate and lead tours with prospective students, run a student newsletter, participate in student panels, and facilitate student-led social media. This initiative has been a huge undertaking and has drastically increased CEHD's visibility and capacity to host prospective students in an efficient way. In just this academic year, Tayler and the recruitment team have hosted over 600 high schoolers, five teacher cadet visits and held multiple program specific large-scale recruitment events. Boelk's positivity and spirit has become the face of the college and her passion for WMU, her alma mater, is something we are most thankful for.
CHRISTY CHAMBERS | STAFF EXCELLENCE
Christy Chambers is a budget analyst for the College of Education and Human Development. Since starting in August 2021, Chambers quickly moved up the ranks, from an administrative assistant I to her current role within central services. During her onboarding throughout each level of her employment she has offered ideas for improvement while always remaining respectful of the current system. Early in 2023 Chambers was responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of three positions while central services searched to fulfill the roles of administrative I and administrative II. During this period, she performed the responsibilities without complaint and kept things running smoothly. Chambers also served as supervisor to the students who work in central services, ensuring they reflect a positive image of the college. In addition, she implemented a student employee pay structure that equitably aligns multiple position levels, responsibilities, and pay across student employees within the area. Her initiative has created an easier progression for our students to move into higher positions. Within central services she is now seen among colleague as a leader and the “go-to” for answers and is willing to go out of her way to help others.
WHITNEY LEWIS | RISING STAR UNDERGRADUATE
Whitney Lewis, a junior in the elementary education program, is a consummate learner, dedicated craftsman and a thoughtful advocate for the community. Lewis excels in the classroom, maintaining a 4.0 GPA and consistently producing high-quality assignments and exemplary coursework. Her passion for teaching and her natural leadership skills transcend as she passes on her knowledge to classmates. Beyond her regular role as a restorative justice practitioner at Gryphon Place, she writes lesson plans for diverse learners and communities. Lewis ensures accessibility for all and improves lessons to make them socially and culturally responsive to learners. Lewis was a volunteer teacher leader, leading activities at Woods Lake school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and is also secretary of Future Teachers of Color, an organization for students pursuing a degree in education and passionate about working in inclusive environments. Her commitment to social justice and equity beyond the classroom connect her to programming at KVCC and WMU, where she served as a student leader while signing a major articulation agreement.
Logan Bockheim | RISING STAR MASTER’S
Logan Bockheim is a graduate student earning her master’s degree in special education. She maintains a 4.0 GPA and serves as a graduate assistant in undergraduate courses within the Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies. Bockheim is heavily involved in the partnership between WMU and the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) of Greater Kalamazoo that provides after-school literacy tutoring to at-risk elementary students. Bockheim works closely with WMU faculty and BGC Directors to ensure the program is successful. She shared her research on collaborating with the BGC at the Michigan Council of Exception Children Annual Conference in March 2023. Bockheim is also a part of a WMU research team that collaborates with the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District designing and evaluating a professional development training series for paraprofessionals working with students with intensive needs. As part of this team, she completes systematic literature reviews, plans research studies, and presents finding to the district partners. During fall semester 2022, special education faculty identified the new expedited graduate program needed additional support. With excitement, Bockheim changed her weekly schedule and visited schools all over southwest Michigan and Kalamazoo area to assist faculty in providing support to students in the new program.
Dale Brown | RISING STAR DOCTORAL
Dale Brown is a doctoral student in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies with a focus of philosophy of education. Brown is using his Ph.D. program as a platform for doing current work that he is passionate about. His work with the WMU Higher Education for the Justice-Involved (HEJI) program continues to positively affect numerous lives, including the incarcerated and detained individuals impacted by this program. Brown’s work with the program began with his teaching, world-building and service as founding director. In the coming year, HEJI will begin to offer credit- and credential-bearing programming via dialogical, relational, and textually rich instruction in the humanities and liberal arts at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, MI. Beyond service and collaboration, Brown continues conducting research and actively publishing about the transformative and humanizing potential of higher education for justice-involved people. Brown was recently named WMU All-University Graduate Research and Creative Scholar at the doctoral level (2023), and received the “K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award,” from the American Association of Colleges & Universities (2022).
dr. Celeste Shelton-Harris | TEACHING EXCELLENCE, PART-TIME
Dr. Celeste Shelton-Harris, a part-time instructor for the elementary education program, is an exceptional colleague, community collaborator and an inspiration to students and faculty alike. In her role, she collaborates closely with the program to mentor and support students in their sophomore-year teaching labs and supervises students in their clinical experiences at Comstock Elementary school. Dr. Shelton-Harris has been instrumental in launching CEHD’s new PK-6 elementary education coursework in multiple classes. Her instruction of K-3 and 3-6 foundational teaching labs 3002 and 3003 helped to lay the groundwork for our students’ educational practicums. She has mentored our new Elementary Education majors, Special educators, and specialists through the formative steps of launching their educational careers. Additionally, Dr. Shelton-Harris has previously been a part-time instructor in our Department of Special Education and Literacy Studies as well, serving as an instructor of literacy. Before becoming a part-time instructor, Dr. Shelton-Harris taught middle and high school, and was principal at Portage Central high school and Portage North middle school. She was also elected to and served two terms as secretary on the Portage Public School Board.
DR. Summer Davis | TEACHING EXCELLENCE, FULL-TIME
Dr. Summer Davis is an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies. In her three years as a faculty member at WMU, Dr. Davis’ teaching and engagement with students has created a fundamental shift in the kinds of support and critical approaches to teaching that secondary teacher candidates graduate with. Her deep experience as a public school teacher combined with her research in public schools, and her understanding of creative and innovative teaching methods helps her to engage WMU students in ways that speak to both the careers they hope to have and the ways that they understand the world. Dr. Davis holds her Ph.D. in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education from Indiana University with a concentration in Urban Education Studies (IUPUI). Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Dr. Davis was a middle school English/Language Arts teacher for fourteen years. Many of these life experiences have assisted her understanding of the practical and theoretical concerns of classroom teachers, as well as those they serve. Through understanding critical issues, she believes areas of disconnect can be remedied to strengthen and create more positive outcomes for students and communities.
dr. carla Adkison-Johnson | TRAILBLAZER
Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson is a professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology and has been at the University for over 17 years. Dr. Adkison-Johnson is a prolific scholar and has authored or co-authored three books, ten book chapters, thirty-eight peer review articles in leading professional journals, presented 41 peer refereed conference talks, has presented seven invited national presentation, and consulted widely as expert witness related to child discipline and child rearing. She has served her profession via editorship and reviewer for major leading professional journals, and as a board member for the leading accrediting body in the profession of Counselor Education, among numerous other leadership roles in lead professional organizations. She has been the recipient (lead investigator) on numerous grants totaling several million dollars in her areas of research expertise, recently being awarded $1.9 million to support the development of a culturally and linguistically responsive behavioral health workforce. This four-year award is from the Health Resources and Services Administration will support the Interprofessional Peer Education and Evidence for Recovery (I-PEER) program, which was established to provide workforce training in best practices to better serve rural and medically underserved communities in Southwest Michigan.
Dr. david Szabla | TRAILBLAZER
Dr. David Szabla is the interim chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology. His research focuses on the content, process, and context of organizational change. To move his field forward, Dr. Szabla chooses to engage and lead organizational change scholars and practitioners in initiatives that create books that advance organizational change research and practice. The first and second edition of Dr. Szabla’s “Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers” engaged over 150 international contributing authors to profile the backgrounds, contributions, insights, and legacies of over 100 renowned sages of organizational change. With his “Handbook of Methods in Organizational Change Research,” Dr. Szabla and 40 organizational change scholars developed 20 chapters that detail various methods used to research organizational change, from action research to processual methods to psychoanalytic and socio-analytic approaches. As the newly appointed chief editor of the book series, “Research in Management Consulting,” Dr. Szabla is launching two volumes this spring: “Digital Transformation: Organizational Challenges and Management Transformation Methods” and “Management Consulting in the Era of the Digital Organization.” In addition to his book development efforts, Dr. Szabla is also conducting empirical research and developing theoretical papers that center on organizational change: how it emerges, how to lead it, and how to measure it. Dr. Szabla also serves as the coordinator of the MA and PHD in Organizational Change Leadership in the College of Education and Human Development.