Forty-three faculty and staff given ‘Two Thumbs Up’ for making a difference

Forty-three University of South Carolina faculty and staff members were recently honored with a “Two Thumbs Up” Award for making a difference in the education of a student with a disability.

The awards were presented April 25 by the Office of Student Disability Services and the newly formed chapter of Delta Alpha Pi, an honor society for students with disabilities. The chapter was officially chartered at the event, and 15 students were inducted.

The “Two Thumbs Up” Awards have been given annually since 2000 to recognize faculty and staff members who have helped or inspired students with disabilities.

“Making a classroom welcoming takes time and effort, which is why we started the ‘Two Thumbs Up’ Award nine years ago,” said Karen Pettus, director of the Office of Student Disability Services. “It allows our students to thank those who’ve worked to make the university’s classrooms welcoming to everyone.”

Nine of the winners have been honored previously. This year marks the fourth time Patti Marinelli, a senior instructor in the Spanish Program of the department of languages, literature and cultures, has won the award.

Marinelli, who teaches many lower-level classes, said she recalls her own college experience and the challenges that first- and second-year students face when preparing for each semester’s classes.

“I was shy -- petrified really -- as a freshman,” Marinelli said. “I feel like we, as educators, can make a difference during those challenging first years. I love teaching young students. I try to treat everyone with the same respect and plan ahead to meet the needs of all my students. A ‘Two Thumbs Up’ is a heartwarming honor, indeed.”

Marinelli was recently named Outstanding Foreign Language Teacher of the Year by the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers Association.

Lawton Matthews of Florence, a junior majoring in political science and president of Delta Alphi Pi, said co-sponsoring the annual “Two Thumbs Up” Awards underscores the mission of the honor society to raise awareness of the challenges and achievements of students with disabilities. Membership requires students to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.10.

“This society recognizes students’ great achievements and, at the same time, gives them a voice to enact change in areas offering them unique challenges,” Matthews said. “We want to promote awareness of issues and change people’s conceptions of what people with disabilities are capable of accomplishing. I look forward to working with students and the university to make this happen.”

The university’s Office of Student Disability Services serves approximately 400 students with learning, physical and psychiatric disabilities. For more information, call 803-777-6142, or visit the Web site: www.sa.sc.edu/sds/.

2007 – 2008 “Two Thumbs Up” Honorees

Wes Abercrombie -- continuing education ***
Dr. Ronald Atkinson -- history
Dr. Robert Brookshire -- technology support and training management
Elizabeth Collins -- instruction and teacher education
Dr. De Anna Cox -- nursing
Dr. Kendra Cusaac --psychology ***
Dr. Eva Czabarka -- mathematics
Tom Dimashe -- accounting
Georgia Doran -- graduate career management
Dr. Mike Dukes -- chemistry and biochemistry ***
Janice Fergusson -- accounting ***
Dr. Lacy Ford -- history
Dr. Nancy Freeman -- instruction and teacher education **
Stoyan Gamishev -- statistics
Kimberly Glenn -- nursing
Dr. Donald Jordan -- center for science education **
Dr. Bret Kloos -- psychology
Dr. Peter Kolkay -- music
Jessica Labbe -- English **
Eun Lee -- languages, literatures and cultures
Alston Lippert -- economics
Dr. Patrick Malone -- psychology
Patti Marinelli -- languages, literatures and cultures ****
Dr. Ronald Maris -- sociology **
Shawna Moffitt -- hospitality, retail and sport management
Richard Moore -- journalism and mass communication
Harvie Nachlinger -- mass communications and information studies **
Catherine Norris -- technology support and training management program
Sandra Owens -- statistics
Karen Patten -- technology support and training management program
Maureen Petkewich -- statistics
Chad Price -- Thomas Cooper Library
Jeana Rathel -- educational studies
Ruth Roberts -- college of education, student affairs
Ronda Sanders -- mathematics **
Dr. Stephen Sheehi -- languages, literatures and cultures
Catherine Smith – languages, literatures and cultures
Josh Smith – Thomas Cooper library
Dr. Suzanne Swan – women’s studies, psychology

Note:
** Two-year recipients
*** Three-year recipients
*** Four-year recipients