UC Irvine Extension Honors Course Instructors, Advisory Committee Members And Partners At Annual Appreciation Event

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- University of California, Irvine Extension recently honored course instructors, advisory committee members and a partner organization for their commitment to continuing education at the 14^th Annual Instructor and Advisory Committee Member Appreciation Breakfast. Held on Dec. 13, UC Irvine Extension conferred honors in four award categories: The UCI Extension Distinguished Advisory Committee Member Award, the UCI Extension Partnership Award, the UCI Faculty Recognition Award and the UCI Extension Distinguished Instructor Award. A video of the event is available here: http://youtu.be/OsF700EAvzo

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"This occasion is to thank the many people who are key to our operation at UC Irvine Extension," said Dr. Gary W. Matkin, dean of Continuing Education, Distance Learning and Summer Session at UC Irvine. "Extension embodies the highest qualities of our course instructors and advisory members and we honor their examples of dedication and excellence seen by our students in the courses and programs offered."

The "UCI Extension Distinguished Advisory Committee Member Award" acknowledges committee members who volunteered their time and expertise in assisting program directors with the initial and ongoing development of certificate programs. Each has lent expertise on course curriculum, providing industry insights to help align the certificate programs with emerging business needs. The recipients are:

• Phyllis Meng, deputy executive officer, general services, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority  (Facilities Management Certificate Program)
• Steve Antonoff, educational consultant and former dean of Students and Financial Aid and dean of Students at the University of Denver  (Independent Educational Consultant Certificate Program)
• Jennifer McCusker, director of global talent management and retail, Oakley, Inc.  (Human Resources Management Certificate Program)

The "UCI Extension Partnership Award," a recognition of a business or organization that has enhanced UCI's continuing education programs, expertise and professional skills, was presented to Ming Cai and his organization, the Guangzhou Shi Jin Sheng Consulting (H.K.) Company. As Extension worked on creating a new undergraduate and graduate preparatory program for international students, Cai demonstrated a strong understanding on how to shape these programs for students from China. Cai received the award for his continuous efforts in collaborating with UC Irvine Extension staff. His contributions have resulted in more than 300 international freshmen being accepted to UCI.

The third award category, the "UCI Faculty Recognition Award" acknowledges significant and important contributions made by a UCI faculty member. This year's award recipients have collectively served more than 200,000 students in ten courses. The award recipients include:

• Joanne Christopherson, associate director of the UC Irvine M.A. program in Demographic and Social Analysis, and a lecturer in the School of Social Sciences;
• Zuzana Bic, tenured lecturer and the director of Student Experience in Public Health Practice in the Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention;
• Michael Dennin, professor of Physics and Astronomy; and
• Sarah Eichhorn, tenured lecturer and assistant vice chair for undergraduate studies in the Mathematics Department.

The final category is the "UCI Extension Distinguished Instructor Award" which honors the contributions of instructors who have helped UC Irvine Extension remain on the forefront of education and helped provide students with what they need to advance careers. The nine instructors to receive the awards are:

• Patricia Bravo, organizational development manager,  Starbucks Coffee Company (Human Resources Management Certificate Program)
• Laszlo Retfaldi, project management consultant (Project Management Certificate Program)
• Mike Moran, marketing consultant, professional speaker and senior strategist, Converseon (Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization Certificate Programs)
• Kathy Miller, litigation paralegal, FedEx  (Paralegal Certificate Program)
• Don Shannon, manager of training and curriculum design, HireRight (E-Learning and Instructional Design Certificate Program)
• Catherine D'Aoust, consultant, Saddleback Valley Unified School District (Preliminary Administrative Services Credential Program)
• Nancy Levine, ESL instructor, UC Irvine Extension
• Joshua Jo, senior optical engineer, Newport Corporation (Optical Engineering and Optical Instrument Design Certificate Programs)
• Kesha Smith, web development expert (Java Certificate Programs)

About UC Irvine Extension: University of California, Irvine Extension is the continuing education arm of UC Irvine, serving nearly 40,000 students globally and offering more than 3,200 classes annually on the UC Irvine campus, online and at employer sites throughout California and worldwide. Since 1962, UC Irvine Extension has served Orange County with programs and classes to help adult learners reach their career advancement and personal enrichment goals, and remains dedicated to providing broad access to the resources of the University for the benefit of the public, both through University Extension certificate and specialized studies programs and a broad range of free and open educational resources including UC Irvine OpenCourseWare. Learn more at http://extension.uci.edu, or join us on YouTube or Facebook.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's largest employer, UC Irvine contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UC Irvine news, visit today.uci.edu. 

SOURCE University of California, Irvine Extension