Four faculty and staff members were recognized by the State University of New York Board of Trustees as recipients of 2023 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. The awards acknowledge and provide system-wide recognition for consistently superior professional achievement and encourage the ongoing pursuit of excellences.
“Student excellence cannot be achieved without excellence within our faculty and staff,” said College President Dr. Timothy E. Sams. “The contributions of this year’s awardees demonstrate that, and exemplify why Old Westbury is an exceptional place to study and learn.”
- Dr. Jody Cardinal, Director of the Writing Center, earned the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. The award recognizes an individual who has continuously demonstrated outstanding achievement, skill and commitment to excellence in the position held and also excellence in activities beyond the scope of the job description. During her more than 15 years at Old Westbury, Dr. Cardinal has made the Writing Center a place for the students to improve and get help with workshops and instructions.
- Dr. Jillian Crocker, Associate Professor in the Sociology Department earned the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. It recognizes the consistently superior service contributions of full-time teaching faculty. In addition to her academic excellence since starting at Old Westbury in 2014, Dr. Crocker has been involved with the Gender Talks events sponsored by the Women’s Center, the Teaching and Learning Resources Committee (TLRC), a Middle States Steering Committee member and was a part of the Strategic Planning, Assessment, Analysis and Review (SPAAR) Task Force.
- Dr. David Glodstein, Associate Professor in the Accounting, Taxation & Business Law Department, earned the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The Award recognizes consistently superior teaching at the graduate, undergraduate, or professional level in keeping with the State University’s commitment to providing its students with instruction of the highest quality. Dr. Glodstein founded the Justice for Fraud Victims Project to provide experiential opportunities for his students while helping victims of suspected financial fraud and led the creation of the curriculum for the M.S. in Forensic Accounting.
- Ms. Rhea Hitter, Administrative Assistant for the School of Professional Studies earned the 2023 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in the Classified Service. It recognizes an individual who has continuously demonstrated outstanding achievement, skill and commitment to excellence in the position held and also excellence in activities beyond the scope of the job description. In addition to the support given to the students and faculty in the School of Professional Studies, she is involved with both the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and State Employees Federated Appeal (SEFA) organizations and has spearheaded a shoe drive on campus that collected over 1,400 pairs of shoes in one year.
The award recipients were honored at the 57th Commencement of SUNY Old Westbury at Nassau Coliseum on May 24, 2023.
Banner Photo Caption: (From left to right) Dr. David Glodstein, President Dr. Timothy E. Sams, Ms. Rhea Hitter and Dr. Jody Cardinal at the 2023 Commencement Ceremony. Awardee Dr. Jillian Crocker is not pictured.