Faculty and Staff Honored for Service, Teaching Excellence

Congratulations to the 2022 recipients of the Whitney R. Powers Award for Teaching Excellence, Faculty and Staff Award of Merit, and the Special Recognition of Extraordinary Service. These honors recognize faculty and staff’s ongoing commitment to service and teaching excellence during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Professor Kaytlin Eldred is the recipient of the Whitney R. Powers Award for Teaching Excellence. This award recognizes an outstanding teacher from the Sargent faculty and is named in honor of Whitney R. Powers, professor emeritus of BU Sargent College, who for more than 25 years shared his gifts as an outstanding teacher.

In her award nomination, Professor Eldred was praised for her superlative teaching ability and commitment: “She truly represents the best of us in cultivating students’ passion for learning and in supporting students as whole individuals throughout their educational journeys.”

A lecturer in the health science program, Professor Eldred has taught seven courses including Cultural Humility, Racial Justice, and Health in which she developed an innovative partnership with BU MetroBridge to provide students hands-on public health education. In this course (featured in BU Today), Eldred and her students help to address homelessness in the city of Framingham using what they’ve learned about health equity, data science, government relations, and advocacy. Eldred’s dedication to teaching also includes broader curricular development and investment in DEI initiatives including global engagement with the Sargent Service Learning program and Public Health Brigades.

Professor Stacey Zawacki received the Faculty Award of Merit. This award honors a Sargent faculty member who has made impactful service contributions benefiting programs, faculty, students, and/or alumni of Sargent College.

Professor Zawacki is a clinical assistant professor of nutrition in the Department of Health Sciences and director of the Sargent Choice Nutrition Center (SCNC). Under her direction, SCNC has developed the one-of-a-kind healthy eating program Sargent Choice and consistently delivered high-quality nutrition services, student learning opportunities, and interprofessional research.

In her Award nomination, Zawacki was recognized as an energetic, enthusiastic and talented teacher and leader: “Professor Zawacki is an outstanding faculty member who is beloved by her students for her reputation of integrity, accessibility, and academic excellence. She is the fearless leader of the SCNC staff of registered dietitians where she’s cultivated a team of professionals who provide comprehensive care across a variety of specialty areas of dietetics.”

Jacqueline (Jackie) Fournier, Assistant Director of Clinical Education Administration, received the Staff Award of Merit. This award honors a Sargent staff member (administrative staff, non-faculty clinical staff, or non-faculty research staff) who has demonstrated excellence in his/her position and has made a positive impact on programs, faculty, students, and/or alumni.

In addition to her role in Clinical Education Administration, Jackie is also the secretary and chair of the Sargent College Alumni Association nominating committee. This year alone, Jackie has taken on additional responsibilities in both the Clinical Education Services Office and program administration. Jackie’s “can-do” attitude, commitment to students and colleagues, and her willingness to go above-and- beyond have benefited student clinical experiences across programs.

In her award nomination, Jackie’s was praised for her support, innovative thinking, and interdepartmental collaboration: “Her attention to detail is outstanding in a position that requires dealing with many organizations’ procedures and programs. She quickly adapts to new tasks and handles previously learned ones with expertise. I am repeatedly amazed at how well she handles interactions in various programs not only with students, but with faculty, staff, and administration.”

      
Special Recognition of Extraordinary Service to Boston University is awarded to the Sargent Choice Nutrition Center (SCNC) Quarantine and Isolation team. This award recognizes team members Leslie Caiola, Sarah Gilbert, Clare Murphy, Rachel Reynolds, and Elizabeth Sauter.

Since the start of the pandemic, this team rose to the tremendous challenge of meeting the needs of BU students in COVID-19 isolation, providing nutritious meals, tailored for students, seven days a week. Their individualized oversight for more than 1,000 BU students included addressing food-related medical conditions like intolerances and life-threatening allergies. Their 24/7 response can mean working during university breaks, holidays, evenings, and weekends, in addition to their work across the Center’s many other service delivery areas in nutrition counseling, workshops, support for students with food-related medical conditions, and the development and delivery of clinical education opportunities.

“Their work through enormously challenging pandemic circumstances powerfully demonstrates the highest aspirations: a continuation dedication to the students at Sargent College and across the University to improve the health of all.”