March 22, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- Two Western Michigan University faculty members and two seniors will be honored Tuesday, March 28, by the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities.
The faculty members are Cindee Q. Peterson, chairperson of the Department of Occupational Therapy, and Michael S. Pritchard, senior associate dean for the Graduate College and the Willard A. Brown Professor of Philosophy.
The students are Brian K. Boardman, a senior majoring in aviation flight science from Holland, Mich.; and Gina M. Garza, a senior majoring in secondary education and mathematics from Wayland, Mich.
Each year, the MAGB, which includes representatives from the governing board's of the state's 15 public universities, honors two distinguished faculty members and two outstanding students from each institution. The four from WMU will be honored, along with their counterparts from other Michigan universities, at the MAGB's 20th annual awards convocation at the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State University campus.
Each honoree will receive a certificate from the MAGB, a special tribute from the Michigan Legislature and a letter of congratulations from Gov. John Engler. Using MAGB criteria, student recipients are nominated by a committee representing the offices of the provost, secretary to the Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate and vice president for student affairs from among students who are designated as outstanding by their academic departments. Faculty recipients are nominated by the executive board of the Faculty Senate.
The chairperson of WMU's Department of Occupational Therapy since July, Peterson has taught in that department since 1980. A specialist in occupational therapy for children, she has published widely and presented internationally on such topics as the treatment of children with Attention Deficit Disorder and rehabilitation in mental health. In addition, Peterson has done work on voice activated robotics. She is the co-author of "Rehabilitation in Mental Health: Goals and Objectives for Independent Living."
The winner of numerous research and creative activities grants, Peterson also received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to prepare occupational therapists to work with underserved children in school-based health centers.
She serves on the board of directors for the Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center in Augusta, Mich., and is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association and the National Assembly of School-Based Health Centers. She received a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and a master's degree in counseling psychology from Western Michigan University and a doctoral degree from Union Institute Graduate College in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Pritchard, who is also the director of WMU's Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, has been a faculty member since 1968 and has twice served as chairperson of the Department of Philosophy. In 1998 he was rewarded for his excellence in teaching and research by being named WMU's Willard A. Brown Professor of Philosophy.
Specializing in ethics and moral responsibility, Pritchard has written, edited or collaborated on 10 books, including the widely acclaimed 1991 volume "On Becoming Responsible" and the 1996 volume "Reasonable Children: Moral Education and Moral Learning." He has made more than 140 national and international presentations of his work.
He has received support for his work from several sources, including three awards from the National Science Foundation. He co-directs the biennial National Conference on Communication Ethics and has served as a reviewer and evaluator for a number of publications and programs. Named a WMU Distinguished Faculty Scholar in 1995, Pritchard earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Alma College and a doctoral degree in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin.
Boardman, who will graduate in April, is planning a career as a pilot and flight instructor. He served an internship with United Airlines, where he worked in Emergency Procedures Instruction and plans to attain his Certified Flight Instructor's rating. A member of the Sky Broncos, WMU's nationally-recognized precision flight team, Boardman has placed among the top 15 collegiate pilots in the nation. His flying ability also earned him a scholarship from Aerodynamics Inc. to train at FlightSafety International.
Boardman also has participated in the Sunseeker solar car project working as a strategy team leader for the biennial cross-country race. He spends his volunteer time working with the homeless and organizing community events for youth in Holland. He received that community's Mayor's Recognition Award for community service. A WMU Presidential Scholar in aviation, he has also received the dean's award for academic excellence from the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Garza, a WMU Medallion Scholar, will graduate summa cum laude in April in secondary education and mathematics. As a junior, she was chosen to be an undergraduate teaching assistant and received a College of Arts and Sciences Creative Research Award to conduct research that was later published in the international Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. She has received scholarships from the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the WMU College of Education and the WMU Department of Mathematics and Statistics. She served as president of the Student Education Association and the Science and Mathematics Teachers Association and is a member of two honors organizations, Kappa Delta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi.
In her free time, Garza coached the junior varsity tennis team at Wayland Union High School and volunteered as a Special Olympics bowling coach. She has worked as a substitute teacher and a private tutor. She is looking forward to being a teacher and plans to pursue a graduate degree in mathematics education.
Boardman is the son of Robert and Rosemarie Boardman of Holland, Mich., and Lorraine Boardman of Leesburg, Va.
Garza is the daughter of Manuel and Marsha Garza of Wayland, Mich.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu
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