All-school honors banquet eliminated
Waynesburg University has seen many changes over the past year, and yet another one will be taking effect this spring. In past years, the university has held an honors awards banquet in the spring that encompasses all academic departments. This spring, however, that process will change.
Dr. Jacquelyn Core, university provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, explained how and why the awards banquet will be split into many smaller ceremonies starting this spring.
In the past, students attended both a university-wide awards ceremony and individual department awards ceremonies. Under the new format, students will only have to attend their department’s awards ceremony.
Core said the timing of the university-wide awards ceremony did not always provide the best opportunity for parents to come to the university to visit their son or daughter.
“We basically took the student and parent feedback that we had received and just tried to consider it and implement a change that reflected that feedback,” said Core.
“I believe having the departments give out awards on their own [in], more intimate ceremonies makes them more personal,” said Jellison. “We are like a family here, and each department is even more so, and I much prefer to have dinner with the honorees in my department and congratulate them and discuss their future plans at a ‘family’ dinner, rather than with just a handshake in front of an audience.”
“I’m really happy that we’re able to do this,” she said. “When I was an undergraduate, I liked being in the environment of my own department with the students I regularly took classes with [and] the professors who were most important to me.”
Nine university-wide awards will still be given out during the last chapel service of the semester April 29.