Regina Parnell, assistant professor in Occupational Therapy, Department of Health Care Sciences, is awarded the coveted 2013 Prism Prize for Innovation in Teaching from the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate the true essence of service learning and its impact on students and the community.

Receiving Excellence in Teaching Awards for the past year are full-time faculty Kim Dunleavy, program director for Physical Therapy, Department of Health Care Sciences, and Mary Beth O'Connell, professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice. The part-time faculty honor is awarded to Mary Bee who teaches several programs in the Department of Health Care Sciences. The 2013 Outstanding Staff Award is presented to Heather Sandlin, academic services officer, Division of Health Sciences.

All awardees were nominated for honors by either a student or faculty member. A committee of their peers then voted on the nominees based on the recommendations. All awardees will be honored during the April 2 All College Faculty and Academic Staff meeting.

Prism Award

In recommending Parnell for the Prism Prize, Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller, assistant professor in Occupational Therapy, said, "She has made incredible efforts to provide our students with the most important type of learning and that is through service to our surrounding community."
DiZazzo-Miller cited Parnell for her work with the homeless for years "where she teaches students the most basic raw level of occupation, and that is bringing meaning and purpose to people whose lives are torn apart by poverty, joblessness, hunger, and depression."

Excellence in Teaching Award

Of his nominee O'Connell, Ray Cha, assistant professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, wrote: "Mary Beth's excellence in teaching is demonstrable beyond a list of programmatic contributions. It is rather defined through her dedication for creating leaders through professional transformation. She challenges students with uncompromising world-based case vignettes. She exemplifies professionalism to students with her steadfast presence at numerous student organizational events and through professional and life counsel."

Described as an enthusiastic professor, Tim Duff, a physical therapy (PT) student, nominated Dunleavy. "She pushes students to think about how all the pieces fit together with role play and examples," he said. Another PT student Sam Alqattan wrote, "Aside from working as a clinical rehab associate. . . teaching countless classes in patho-kinesiology and therapeutic exercise, she still makes the students' needs her number one priority."

Duff also nominated Bee for the part-time Excellence in Teaching honor. "Dr. Bee has taken a legacy from her father and built this curriculum into her own great gift to further health professionals," he wrote. In support, Rana Aljida, an occupational therapy student, stated, "She is super enthusiastic, very knowledgeable and always approachable. She challenges you and motivates you. Her classes are far from easy. It is her direction and organization that makes students succeed."

Outstanding Staff Award

In nominating Sandlin, Tamra Watt, academic services office for Pharmacy, cited her "incredible work ethic and puts 100 percent effort into all she does." In addition to guiding and counseling prospective and current students, Sandlin serves on various college committees interacting with student, faculty, staff and administration in a variety of academic programs, serving as chair for the college's social amenities committee, organizing summer barbeques, and coordinating the Adopt-A-Family program. Her commitment, however, "is not just to EACPHS, she also serves at the University level on Academic Senate and the President's Commission on the Status of Women Career Development." Sandlin also was acknowledged for her participation in professional groups, the Michigan College Personnel Association, Michigan Academic Advising Association, and National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society by preparing highly skilled health care practitioners and conducting groundbreaking research to improve models of practice and methods of treatment in pharmacy and the health sciences.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students.

March 14, 2014

Media Contact: Kathleen Karas
Phone: 313-577-2312
E-mail: kkaras@wayne.edu