Margaret Groarke received the Kakos Excellence in Service Award and Jennifer Edwards received the Kakos Excellence in Teaching Award.
@MANHATTANEDU / INSTAGRAM
Leyla J. Mercado A&E Editor
The Kakos School of Arts and Sciences held their annual award ceremony on Jan. 15, where select faculty were recognized for their contributions to Manhattan University. Margaret Groarke, Ph.D., was announced as the recipient of the Excellence in Service Award, Jennifer Edwards, Ph.D., was awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award and Pamela Chasek, Ph.D., was awarded the Excellence in Scholarship Award.
The awards are fostered to reflect the work of Manhattan University’s faculty during the 2023-2024 academic year, with a stronger focus on the scholarly contributions within one’s discipline.
Dean of the Kakos School of Arts and Sciences Marcy Peteroy-Kelly, Ph.D., elaborated on what exactly the election process for these awards looks like, after establishing them three years ago.
“I solicit nominations from the department chairs, and they send them to me and my associate dean, Michele Saracino,” Kelly said. “We go through the nominations, read up on the different faculty members and select the one that had the most esteemed level of scholarly production during the year.”
Kelly went on to discuss the importance of the award to the Kakos School of Arts and Sciences.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge faculty excellence. In the end, any level of excellence from a faculty member trickles down and impacts the students,” Kelly said. “They can bring that information, or those experiences back to the classroom.”
Edwards, who was recognized for her creativity when it comes to teaching, has been known to foster a sense of engagement and community when it comes to students’ learning.
Edwards told The Quadrangle what stood out to her after receiving this award.
“It’s the acknowledgement of peers from the dean’s office,” Edwards said. “It’s really exciting that people are recognizing the work from the classroom, although they’re not in it everyday with me. [They] are seeing the thought, dedication and daily work. There are so many great teachers and there are so many inspiring people. For my colleagues to look at what I do and say that it’s worthy of acknowledgement is really touching … I feel seen.”
Edwards prioritizes the inclusion of real-world experiences that are showcased through in class games based on skill and learning. She leads her classes with the intent of allowing students to socialize and connect with one another at a greater level.
“I’m narrowing what’s out there to what’s relevant to our class, but I’m also looking at games that have a group of skills attached to them that help our students become more persuasive speakers [and] help them negotiate with people and work in teams,” Edwards said. “What I hope is that students in my classes come away with knowledge about the areas I teach … I hope that they remember the skills they have.”
Edwards also told The Quadrangle where the implementation of in-class games comes from.
“I just love any kind of game … It’s a way to connect with people where you go beyond small talk and you have a topic that you’re looking at, but you also learn about the people around you,” Edwards said.
Groarke, who was acknowledged for her service, spoke about what this award means to her.
“I was really surprised and appreciative of being acknowledged,” Groarke said. “I do take my service work very seriously and I try to do a lot of things to make the college a better place and to stand up for my colleagues.”
Groarke’s efforts were recognized through her passion for MU and her commitment to its student body and faculty. She helped overcome the obstacles MU faced in the last year by representing the voices of the faculty to administration in any way possible.
She further explained what motivates her actions of advocacy in relation to these matters.
“I’ve always believed that you need to stand up for yourself and you need to stand up for others, particularly people who are being treated unjustly, and there were a lot of unjust things that happened this last year,” Groarke said. “[There were] a lot of ways in which I thought bad decisions were being made for the college and I felt I had to speak up about that.”
Groarke also spoke on how she hopes to continue serving MU in the future.
“To model for my students, standing up for myself and other people, especially people who are being unfairly treated or having difficulty standing up for themselves, I want everyone to graduate here learning that’s the way to live your life,” Groarke said. “I hope a lot of students see that and do that in their own lives … I want to re-energize our efforts to do community engaged learning … I feel like this is a good moment to rebuild those efforts here on campus.”
Groarke went on to share some last words with The Quadrangle.
“I want to congratulate the other award winners, Pam Chasek, who got the award for scholarship and Jennifer Edwards, who got the award for teaching,” Groarke said. “Thank you Dean Kelly for creating a way to recognize what faculty do here.”