YAC Honors Fruitful Faculty, Staff at Golden Apple Awards

There are those who teach. And there are those who inspire. Cleveland State University is filled with faculty and staff members who have a knack for leaving a lasting mark on the lives of students. This year, CSU’s Young Alumni Council (YAC) honored 44 of them with their annual Golden Apple Awards.

Honorees were recognized last week at a ceremony October 5 in the Student Center Atrium. Both the recognitions and resulting event are sponsored by YAC in partnership with the CSU Alumni Association.

“On behalf of the Young Alumni Council, we would like to extend congratulations to all of the faculty and staff receiving Golden Apple Awards this year,” said Joe Bianchini, co-president of the YAC, as he addressed the award winners and distinguished guests at the October 5 ceremony. Nominations for the Golden Apple Awards are accepted annually from alumni who have graduated over the past decade. 

“We thank you for your accomplishments and appreciate all that you do for CSU students,” concurred Enas Enzerra, fellow YAC co-president.

CSU President Laura Bloomberg marveled at the time many university alumni took to nominate faculty and staff, despite having moved into the next phase of their lives and careers. 

She also noted that most Golden Apple alumni electorates have “remained connected to CSU” in no small part due to the honorees–calling the nominations an “incredibly thoughtful gesture in recognition of those who helped them along the way."

“Some of our nominators were recent graduates; others go back 10 year. Some of our honorees this evening were nominated multiple times this year, and some have received more than one Golden Apple Award–which means your impact was felt by many former students!” agreed Anne-Marie Connors, associate vice president for Alumni Relations and executive director of the Alumni Association. 

At the conclusion of the remarks, award winners were called to receive award certificates and Golden Apple lapel pins.

The 2022 CSU Young Alumni Council Golden Apple Award Winners are:

Jennifer Bartholomew, Social Work

Elizabeth Benninger, Curriculum & Foundations

Chelsea Monty-Bromer, Chemical & Biomedical Engineer

Amy Burchfield, Law Library

Thomas Bynum, Africana Studies

Susan Carver, College of Engineering, Dean's Office

Pong Chu, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Sun Chung, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Stephanie Drcar, Counseling, Administration, Supervision and Adult Learning

Yiying Fan, Mathematics & Statistics

Marketa Fuller-President, Teacher Education

Michael Gallagher, Mechanical Engineering

Jaime Gay, Law Office of Career Planning

Andrew Gibson, Biology, Geology, Environmental Science

Elizabeth Goncy, Psychology

Alfredo Guerrieri, Music

Kim Hurn, College of Business Administration, Dean's Office

John Jeziorowski, School of Health Sciences

Robert Kleidman, Criminology Anthropology & Sociology

Irina Koukhanova, Art & Design

Bogdan Kozul, Mechanical Engineering

Marianne Kuchik, Student Success

Thomas Lempner, Music

Bibo Li, Biological, Geological, & Environmental Sciences

Brandon Longmeier, Athletics Administration

Christopher Mallett, School of Social Work

Kathryn MacCluskie, Counseling, Administration, Supervision and Adult Learning

Brian Mikelbank, Urban Studies

Daniel Munther, Mathematics & Statistics

Todd Nelson, Political Science

Meghan Novisky, Criminology Anthropology & Sociology

Elizabeth Okwudi, Honors Program

Prester Pickett, Africana Studies

Linda Quinn, Mathematics & Statistics

Brian Ray, College of Law

Jill Rudd, School of Communication

Shawn Ryan, Mathematics & Statistics

Christine Schneider, Health Science

Marcus Schultz-Bergin, Philosophy & Comparative Religion

Girish Shukla, Biological, Geological, & Environmental Sciences

Michael Skladany, Criminology, Anthropology & Sociology

David Topor, Management

Phillip Wanyerka, Criminology, Anthropology & Sociology

Myrita Wilhite, School of Health Sciences

Bianchini said he pleased at how everything turned out, hinting at a “bigger, better” ceremony for 2023. “It's a big anniversary and we’re hoping to go bigger with Golden Apple to make it even more special for all involved.”

About CSU’s Young Alumni Association

A constituent committee of CSU’s Alumni Association, YAC advances the association of more than 120,000 members by creating and supporting programs and services that specifically benefit recent graduates and current students.

“Since 2014, the annual YAC-sponsored awards have aimed to recognize outstanding contributions of faculty and staff through the process of alumni nominations,” said Enzerra. “Membership is available to alumni who are 35 years old or younger, have received their degree in the last ten years and “desire to serve CSU through volunteerism and philanthropy.”

Interested CSU alumni can learn more by visiting the Young Alumni Council FAQ page.