Students receive awards for excellence

Ten of IU's finest students and faculty members were honored for their extraordinary work in the classroom, campus groups and achievements during the Spring Recognition Banquet in April.\n"This occasion has always seemed to me one of the best illustrations of how a university works, because it gives the faculty an opportunity to acknowledge, and perhaps more crucially to say thank you to several outstanding seniors," said IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis at the event.\nThe ceremony awarded five students the Elvis J. Stahr Award for earning excellent academic marks while also serving the campus as leaders in extracurricular student activities. Also recognized were five faculty members who won the Student Choice Award for Outstanding Faculty.\nWinners of the Elvis J. Stahr award were nominated by faculty members and selected by committee.\n"It was a really well-done ceremony," said alumnus Kieran Farr, one of the five winners. "It was really cool, because they took quotations from the people who nominated the winners."\nFarr, whose degree is in business marketing and telecommunications with a minor in French, is the founder of IU Student Television, and served as an IU Student Association senator. Gros Louis said in his speech that one of Farr's professors said, "Kieran is not just an excellent student and moral individual. Rather, Kieran is of the caliber I seek in my colleagues."\nAlso recognized at the event were alumni Sarah King, D'Andre May, Matt Mindrum and Scott Shackelford.\nKing, whose degree is in journalism and political science, was president of the Panhellenic Association, where she encouraged women in the Greek system to avoid fraternity parties and worked to see existing alcohol policies enforced, according to the chancellor's Web site.\nMay, an information systems and business management major, has led many student organizations, including the IUSAA and Board of Aeons, as well as acted as a chairperson of the Student Athletic Board.\nMindrum, whose degree is in vocal performance with a minor in business, has performed in eight operas in the past four years, and has also served as the customer relations manager at the IU Auditorium.\nShackelford majored in economics and political science, and minored in Spanish, international studies and psychology. He has served a wide variety of roles on campus, including a justice on the IUSA Supreme Court, writer for the Indiana Daily Student, president of Blue Key and director of community service at the Area 10 Agency on Aging.\nThe award is named for Elvis J. Stahr, the 12th president of IU, according to a press release issued by the IU Alumni Association. Stahr's presidency saw the formation of the joint IU-Purdue University, IU Northwest and the School of Library and Information Science, according to the IU Web site.\nAdditionally, the Student Choice for Outstanding Faculty award was bestowed upon five faculty members. They are: Phil Carspecken, professor of counseling and educational psychology; Mehmet Dalkilic, assistant professor of informatics; Zaineb Istrabadi, visiting lecturer in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures; Michael Molenda, associate professor of education; and Irene Vlachos-Weber, lecturer in psychology.\nJason Russ, vice president of University relations for IUSAA, estimates about 675 votes were cast this year, the majority of them online. Much of the voting occurred at the close of academic advisement appointments, when students were asked if they wanted to participate. \n"Voting online only takes a minute," Russ said.