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College of Arts & Letters Educators Awarded as Student Success Champions

Six College of Arts & Letters educators recently were recognized for their substantial contributions to undergraduate student success. They are among the 11 faculty and staff at Michigan State University who were awarded as part of the Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success Recognition Program presented by MSU’s Office of Undergraduate Education.

Ten people stand together for a group photo. From left to right: a woman in a green dress with short sleeves; a woman in a royal blue floral blouse with a black cardigan; a man in a white patterned shirt and gray slacks; a man in a gray blazer and checkered shirt; a woman in a black top and pink cardigan; a woman in a bright blue blouse and glasses; a woman in a taupe blouse using a cane; a man in a dark suit and red tie; a woman in a green plaid dress with a cream-colored jacket; and a woman in a black top with a black-and-white checkered blazer. All are smiling and standing in front of a grey wall.
Pictured at the 2025 Student Success Summit are (from left to right): Maria O’Connell, Undergraduate Student Success Strategic Initiatives Manager; Renata Opoczynski, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Student Success; College of Arts & Letters award recipients Pat Arnold, Kirk Domer, Maggie Harris, and Victoria Morris; award recipient Jonglim Han, Director of DOW STEM Scholars; Mark Largent, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education; Amy Martin, Assistant Dean of Student Success Strategy; and award recipient ShirDonna Lawrence, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. (Photo by Sarah Schultz, Director of the Spartan Experience Record)

Awards were given to faculty and staff who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to one of the Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success, which include:

  • Self-discovery of Purpose
  • Educational Success
  • Contributing to an Empowered Community
  • Developing a Sense of Belonging
  • Developing Wellbeing

College of Arts & Letters award recipients were represented in each of the five areas. The College of Arts & Letters educators receiving awards include:

For the area of Self-discovery of Purpose:

For the area of Educational Success:

For the area of Contributing to an Empowered Community:

For the area of Developing a Sense of Belonging:

For the area of Developing Wellbeing:

“This year’s recipients all demonstrated a commitment to fostering personal, academic, and cultural exploration while supporting students in articulating and achieving their goals through a commitment to continuously reviewing, refining, and adapting policies, procedures, and practices to better support students in each opportunity area for student success,” wrote Mark Largent, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, in the “Recognizing our student success champions” article published by Undergraduate Education. “Just as we know that we indicate what we value by what we measure, we also demonstrate our values in rewarding the work and the commitment of colleagues who center students and student success. In that way, awards like these are not just about the recipients; they are also exhibitions of our community’s values. Thank you again to our student success champions, to their nominators, and to the committees who read through the many nominations to choose this year’s award recipients.”

“This year’s recipients all demonstrated a commitment to fostering personal, academic, and cultural exploration while supporting students in articulating and achieving their goals through a commitment to continuously reviewing, refining, and adapting policies, procedures, and practices to better support students in each opportunity area for student success.”

Mark Largent, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education

The awards were presented at MSU’s annual Student Success Summit, which is an opportunity for faculty, advisors, and staff to connect at the end of the academic year on topics that support their student success work with an eye toward the future.

This year’s Student Success Summit took place over two days, May 7 and 8, with the first day being in-person and the second day being virtual. The Summit explored how faculty and staff continue to reform MSU using the Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success and celebrated impactful contributions across campus, including honoring those who received awards as part of the Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success Recognition Program.

Three women pose at an award ceremony. The woman on the left wears a black top with a pink cardigan and holds an open award box. The woman in the center wears a green plaid dress with a dark green waistband. The woman on the right wears a royal blue blouse with white flowers and a black cardigan. She holds a certificate awarded to Maggie Harris for “Self-Discovery of Purpose.”
Three women pose with awards. The woman on the left wears a bright blue blouse with rolled sleeves and black pants, and holds an open award box. The woman in the center wears a green plaid dress with a dark green waistband. The woman on the right wears a royal blue blouse with a white floral pattern and a black cardigan, and holds a certificate awarded to Victoria Morris, M.A., for “Self-Discovery of Purpose."
Three people stand together at an awards event. The man on the left is wearing glasses, a gray checked blazer, and a patterned button-down shirt. He holds an open award box displaying a glass plaque with green accents and a Spartan helmet logo. The woman in the center wears a royal blue blouse with a white floral pattern and a black cardigan. The woman on the right is dressed in a green dress with a plaid pattern and a dark green waistband. She holds a certificate awarded to Professor Kirk A. Domer.
Three people stand side by side in front of a gray wall. The woman on the left wears a royal blue floral blouse and black cardigan and holds a certificate awarded to Pat Arnold. The man in the center wears a white shirt with a small gray pattern and gray slacks, and he holds an open award box. The man on the right wears a navy blue suit, a white dress shirt, and a red tie.
Top two photos and bottom left photo show Amy Martin and Renata Opoczynski presenting awards to: Maggie Harris (top left photo), Victoria Morris (top right photo) and Kirk Domer (bottom left photo). In the bottom right photo, Renata Opoczynski and Mark Largent present Pat Arnold with their award. (Photos by Sarah Schultz, Director of the Spartan Experience Record)

“For me, the Student Success Summit marks the official start of summer,” Largent wrote. “Last year at Summit, we gave informal recognition to some colleagues on campus who made substantial contributions to student success. This year, we made it an official tradition with more formal recognition organized around the Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success.”

The keynote speaker for this year’s Student Success Summit also is a member of the MSU College of Arts & Letters community. The speaker was Nick Sanders, Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Oakland University and Michigan State University alum with a Ph.D. in Writing and Rhetoric from MSU’s Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures.

A woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair smiles while standing in front of a softly blurred, golden-yellow background. She wears a textured white blouse with button details on the shoulder and blue statement earrings.
A woman with curly salt-and-pepper hair and clear-framed glasses smiles slightly while standing outdoors with a background of green and yellow foliage. She wears a navy blue top, a light pink blazer, small gold hoop earrings, and a delicate gold necklace.
Student Success Award recipients Laura Yares (left) and Yvonne Morris (right).

For more information and a full list of all the award recipients of this year’s Five Opportunity Areas of Student Success Recognition Program, see the article, “Recognizing our student success champions,” published on the Undergraduate Education website.

By Kim Popiolek and the Office of Undergraduate Education

Categories: Award / Faculty / News / Staff