Michelle Webb, Littleton, Colo., was named today as the recipient of the Torch Award as the outstanding graduating senior from the Class of 2011 at Fort Hays State University.
Webb will receive a Bachelor of Arts in English at Commencement, which begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 14, in Gross Memorial Coliseum on the FHSU campus.
The announcement of the Torch Award came today at the annual Graduate and Faculty Brunch, sponsored by the FHSU Alumni Association. The Pilot Award for outstanding faculty member and the Navigator Award for outstanding faculty advisor were also announced. The recipients will sit on the platform and be recognized at Commencement.
Dr. Jeffrey Burnett, associate professor of health and human performance, was the Pilot Award recipient, and Nanette Fitzhugh, virtual coordinator and student services, College of Business and Leadership, received the Navigator Award as outstanding faculty advisor.
In announcing the Torch Award winner, Brenda Herrman, president of the Alumni Association, quoted a faculty member who said of Webb, “I have taught at FHSU for 17 years. During that time, I have known just three other students with her level of academic ability. In other words, she stands in the top 1 percent.” Another faculty member, quoted Herrman, said, “This candidate is an outstanding individual, who excels academically, exhibits leadership skills and serves as a model for others. “
Herrman said Webb has held numerous leadership positions across campus, including as a founding member and past president of the Fort Hays State Honor Society, as a member of the editorial board of Lines literary magazine, treasurer of the Math and English clubs and of Kappa Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society. She was also a chapter vice president and regional student representative for Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, where she oversaw and planned events for 49 chapters across a seven-state region.
Webb has also worked as a freelance editor for the National Literacy Coalition, for Loyola Marymount University and for the Colorado Department of Education. She was assistant editor of the 2010 Teacher-Scholar: The Journal of the State Comprehensive University and was co-editor of the spring 2010 volume of the Willa Cather Newsletter and Review, a publication of the Willa Cather Foundation.
Burnett, said one nominating student, “made it clear from the first day I walked into class that the instructor was here for us, the students, and that we were going to have some fun, but we were also going to learn a great deal.”
“Overall,” said this student, “as an instructor, adviser and person there is no candidate better to receive this award. He is a true ‘Pilot’ on this campus.”
Fitzhugh, the Navigator Award winner, was introduced by Alex Hendee, Roeland Park sophomore who serves as vice president of the Student Government Association. Navigator Award candidates are nominated, interviewed and selected by graduating seniors. Hendee quoted one nominating senior’s praise of Fitzhugh: “This individual’s attention to detail and ability to personalize the experience so it fit me as a virtual student was exactly what I needed. It is easy to get lost in an online environment. She made the experience very comfortable.”
The Alumni Association instituted the Torch and Pilot awards in 1974 to emphasize the importance of excellence in teaching and learning. They are presented every year at the Graduate and Faculty Brunch in advance of Commencement.
The Torch Award candidates are nominated by members of the faculty on the basis of classroom excellence, participation in professional organizations and involvement in student or civic activities. The Pilot Award is given on the basis of classroom excellence, ongoing research and service activities. Candidates are nominated by graduating seniors. Nominations for the Navigator Award are also made by graduating seniors in a process conducted by the Student Government Association.
The Alumni Association, established in 1916, is dedicated to identifying and serving the needs of more than 46,000 graduates living throughout the United States and 70 foreign countries.
For more information, contact the Alumni Association at 785-628-4430 or alumni@fhsu.edu.