May 13, 2022
Delta College is celebrating the outstanding achievements of its faculty and staff at the 57th Annual Employee Awards, to be held in-person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.
The event, which also celebrates years of service, will take place May 13 from 1-4pm in the Pioneer Gymnasium on the main campus.
This year’s honorees include two faculty members who are recipients of the Bergstein Award for Teaching Excellence, the highest honor a faculty member can receive. The recipients, Wendy Szafranski and Angela Trabalka, were chosen by a vote from students and faculty.
Szafranski, associate professor of nursing, said receiving the award feels great – and surprising. She said the pandemic made it difficult to teach nursing because clinical skills and concepts had to be translated to an online environment.
“We had to take students into hospitals that were full of COVID-19 patients, but the students were brave and resilient,” said Szafranski, who joined Delta in 2009. “To be recognized during such a challenging time in nursing education makes this recognition mean even more to me, and it gives me the motivation to continue to develop myself as an educator.”
Trabalka, associate professor of English, joined Delta in 2007. She said being acknowledged by the same students and colleagues who inspire her is a great honor.
“This award acknowledges not just me, but my colleagues in developmental education at Delta, who have worked tirelessly to champion our most struggling students and set them on a path for success. Like most careers in service, it’s important to do good work regardless of extrinsic factors, so when an award like this comes along, it’s a tremendous and unexpected surprise,” said Trabalka.
Bergstein Award for Teaching Excellence
Wendy Szafranski (Linwood), Associate Professor of Nursing
Angela Trabalka (Saginaw), Associate Professor of English
Ormond E. Barstow and Ludo K. Frevel Award for Scholarly Achievement
Nancy Hartshorne (Mount Pleasant), Professor of Psychology
Rollin M. Gerstacker Award for Innovative Use of Technology in Teaching
David Baskind (Saginaw), Professor of Psychology
Eric “Q” Beckman Award for Exceptional Service by an Adjunct Faculty Member
Maggie Zimmerman (Breckenridge), Laboratory Coordinator/Adjunct Faculty of Biology
and Fire Science
Lynn Heatley Award for Distinguished Service by an Adjunct Faculty Member
Wes VanPetten (Reese), Adjunct Faculty of Office Administration and Technology
Lula Woodard (Saginaw), Adjunct Faculty of English
Executive Committee for Administrative and Professional Staff (ECAPS) Team Excellence
Award
Covid Team
Robert Battinkoff (Brant), Director of Public Safety; Reauna Brushaber (Beaverton),
Disability Services Specialist/Covid Manager; Wendy Childs (Bay City), Assistant Director
of Human Resources; Leanne Govitz (Beaverton), Director of Marketing and Public Information;
Randall Hall (Midland), Pioneer Connect Advisor; Wendy Harness (Saginaw), Assistant
Director of Sustainability and Downtown Midland Center; Dionne McCollum (Saginaw),
Director of Athletics and Student Athlete Development; Daisy McQuiston (Saginaw),
Professor of Nursing; Shannon Mehl (Freeland), Benefits Manager; Christopher Rader
(Canton), Director of Student and Career Engagement; Karl Rishe (Midland), formerly
Vice President of Student and Educational Services; Melissa Vargas (Saginaw), Scheduling
Processor/Veteran’s Certifying Official; Melissa Wallace (Saginaw), Director of Disability
Resources
ECAPS Willie E. Thompson Outstanding A/P Service Award
Angela Cramer (Munger), Controller
Shannon Mehl (Freeland), Benefits Manager
Faculty Executive Committee Award for Support Staff Distinguished Service
Tonya Hafoka (Freeland), Office Professional
Stacey Shinkel (Linwood), Administrative Office Professional
Support Staff Excellence Award
Tina Gwizdala (Bay City), Coordinator – Library
35 Years
Susan Nowicki (Bay City), Manager of Business & Auxiliary Services
30 Years
Tina Gwizdala (Bay City), Coordinator - Library
Timothy Piechowiak (Bay City), Printing Production Coordinator
Steven Rosin (Midland) Professor of Mathematics
Ralph Worthing (Saginaw) Professor of Psychology
25 Years
Linda LaRoche (Bay City), Student Billing Specialist
Erik Radomski (Bay City), Custodial Supervisor
Patrick Randall (Kawkawlin), Academic Data Analyst
20 Years
Nathan Blecke (Essexville) Professor of Mathematics
Jeanne Doyle (Bay City) Accountant
Charles (Jeff) Dykhuizen (Midland) Professor of Psychology
Nicole Gwizdala (Bay City) Student Billing Office Coordinator
Jill Harrison (Auburn) Professor of Child Development
Raymond Lacina (Midland) Professor of English
Natascha Rivet (Bay City) Professor of Mathematics
Maureen Schultz (Saginaw) Laboratory Manager
15 Years
Amy Ames (Caro) Business Service Manager, Great Lakes Bay MI Works!
Melanie Dancer (Saginaw) Student Success Counselor
Chey Davis (Midland) Associate Professor of English
Charles Eldridge (Bay City) TV Traffic Coordinator
Jennifer Gaumer (Freeland) Student Success Advisor
Leanne Govitz (Beaverton) Director of Marketing & Public Information
Bernadette Harkness (Midland) Associate Professor of Chemistry
Cindy Kramer (Bay City) Professor of Radiography
Peter Larkowski (Midland) Professor of Chemistry
Amy McKinstry-Barnard (Saginaw) TAA Case Manager, Great Lakes Bay MI Works!
Ryan Petersen (Midland) Associate Professor of Political Science
Crystal Starkey (Sanford) Professor of English
Patrick Truszkowski (Auburn) Associate Professor of Biology
Thomas Wells (Stillwater) Associate Professor of Mathematics
Anna Willman-Onstott (St. Louis) Programs Director, Great Lakes Bay MI Works!
10 Years
Loyce Brown (Saginaw) Director of Employee Development & Equity/Title IX Coordinator
Thomas Delaney (Bay City) Team Supervisor
Julie Dorcey (Saginaw) Foundation Manager
Daniel Francke (Essexville) Assistant Manager
Dorian Phelps (Saginaw) Saginaw Center Coordinator
Kathleen Phillips (Freeland) Postal/Parcel Specialist
Harvey Schneider (St. Charles) Manager, Skilled Trades
Susan Steiss (Burton) Assistant Professor of Sociology
5 Years
Loni Benkert (Saginaw) Employment Services Advisor, Great Lakes Bay MI Works!
Adam Bennett (Freeland) General Maintenance
Shane Bishop (Midland) Aquatic Coordinator/Operations Supervisor
Nicholas Bovid (Midland) Director of Facilities Management
Craig Bowen (Bay City) Mechanical Maintenance Person
Martha Crawmer (Midland) Dean of Teaching & Learning
Sarah DuFresne (Essexville) Vice President of Finance & Business Services
Michael Goodall (Sanford) Academy Coordinator/Police Sergeant
Kevin Hobart (Midland) Institutional Research Data Analyst & SES Research Specialist
Marcia Hulett-Jones (Saginaw) Educational Opportunity Center Advisor
Kimberly Katzer (Bentley) Assistant Registrar/Technologist
Brian Kennedy (Essexville) Planetarium Show Specialist
Jordan Kolm (Auburn) Manager of Development, Corporate Services
Pamela Livingston (Fenton) Assistant Professor of Dental Hygiene
Elsa Olvera (Saginaw) Director of Educational Opportunity Center
Danielle Petersen (Midland) Manager of Teaching/Learning & Testing Center
Andrew Straub (Auburn) Admissions Technologist/Communications Coordinator
Sara Thomas (Midland) Administrative Assistant
Gerald Russell (Saginaw) Business Services Representative/Apprenticeship Specialist
Carol Wieland (Kawkawlin) Instructor of Dental Hygiene
Anna Williams (Midland) Administrative Assistant to the Vice President
Written by Leah Twilley, Communications Specialist.
Photos by Matt Brown, Multimedia Content Coordinator.