Pitt-Bradford will honor Dr. Helene Lawson with the PBAA Teaching Excellence Award and alumnus Ward Garner ’89 with the Distinguished Volunteer Award as part of Alumni and Family Weekend .
The awards will be given at the PBAA Awards Brunch and Hall of Fame Induction held at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 3 in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The brunch is open to the public. To make reservations, call the Pitt-Bradford office of alumni relations at 814-362-5091 or send an e-mail to Lindsay Hilton Retchless , director of alumni relations, at lhr2@pitt.edu. Cost for the brunch is $12.
The PBAA Teaching Excellence Award recognizes a faculty member who has exemplified established educational principles, shown dedication in teaching his or her students and excelled in his or her area of specialty.
Lawson, professor of sociology , was nominated by Sherard Thorne ’09, who took five courses from her and graduated in August as a sociology major.
“She would relate the material to everyday life, but at the same time, she focused on aspects of life that not many people would take the time to think about,” Thorne said. “She genuinely cares about her students and has worked very hard to get where she is.”
Lawson came to Pitt-Bradford in 1991 after earning her doctoral degree in sociology at Loyola University in Chicago. She also holds master of arts degrees in gerontology and early childhood education and a bachelor of arts degree in education.
She has taught pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and university students.
In February, she and her colleague Dr. Michael Klausner were named Beyond Brand Champions , an honor given each year to the academic department that most closely lives Pitt-Bradford’s brand promise of creating a personalized, safe and friendly environment for students.
In 2007, she received the Chairs’ Faculty Teaching Award, which is determined by the chairmen and chairwomen of Pitt-Bradford’s five academic divisions.
In 2000, Lawson founded the Penn-York Undergraduate Research Association with the goal of promoting undergraduate research in universities in the region. That same year the first-ever Penn-York Undergraduate Research Conference was held at Pitt-Bradford. The association will host its 10th conference this fall.
Garner was nominated by last year’s Distinguished Volunteer winner, Tim Fannin ’78.
Garner has been involved for eight years with various programs of the PBAA and has served as both a member of the PBAA board for six years and as a representative to the Pitt Alumni Association.
“Ward has never missed an opportunity to promote the PBAA and the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford,” Fannin said. “He has an infectious enthusiasm and a can-do attitude that makes his presence at any PBAA meeting or function a real joy.”
Retchless said that “he is one of the most dedicated board members I have worked with. His support to the PBAA through his leadership role at Pitt-Oakland is one of the reasons we are so successful as a board today.
“Ward’s interactions with Pitt-Oakland have kept our partnership with the Pitt Alumni Association strong and viable.”
Garner is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and a senior vice president at Bill Few Associates Inc. in Pittsburgh. He is the vice chairman of the Advisory Board for Allegheny County Department of Human Services and serves on the board of the River City Brass Band.
He and his wife, Lori, live in Wexford. He enjoys trap shooting, fly fishing and riding his motorcycle and ATV.
