Each year, Colorado State University celebrates the teaching, research and service achievements of CSU students, alumni and friends, academic faculty, administrative professionals and classified staff as part of the Celebrate! Colorado State Awards. While we can’t Celebrate! in person again this year, here are the college’s list of honorees. Please reach out to your co-workers to congratulate them on a job well done.
University Distinguished Teaching Scholar
Dr. Jane Shaw, Department of Clinical Sciences
Dr. Jane Shaw, professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been named a Colorado State University University Distinguished Teaching Scholar for 2021.
The University Distinguished Teaching Scholar designation honors faculty members for outstanding teaching and their continuing commitment to the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning.
Shaw, a pioneer in the field of veterinary communication, has achieved international and national recognition for building a model curriculum to train veterinary students to communicate effectively with clients, and for developing a transformative communication workshop series while a member of the CVMBS faculty.
Upon graduation, 97% of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Class of 2020 rated communication as a competent skill and identified the communication curriculum as the strongest aspect of the veterinary medical program.
“I can unequivocally state that CSU DVM alumni cite their [communications] training as the single greatest contributor to professional preparedness,” wrote Dr. Melinda Frye, associate dean for veterinary academic and student affairs in the college, in nominating Shaw for the UTDS honor. “After assuming their professional roles, these individuals quickly come to appreciate their communication education as they daily apply their foundational skills not only in communication but in interpersonal relations and professionalism.”
The Veterinary Communication and Professional Excellence curriculum has received commendation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The curriculum has been studied and adopted by veterinary colleges around the world.
Frye acknowledged Shaw’s perseverance to gain acceptance of the curriculum within a profession not always focused on such “soft skills.”
“Dr. Shaw worked tirelessly to educate teachers and learners across the globe regarding the critical nature of these attributes in optimally equipping veterinary professionals to thrive in an array of roles,” she wrote.
The groundbreaking and rigorous VCPE program provides veterinary medicine students with critical skills for compassionate and effective communication that improves client understanding, partnership, and satisfaction that results in better patient outcomes and improved animal welfare.
A major component of VCPE is simulated interviews between students and actors specially prepared by Shaw to simulate interactions veterinarians encounter in their practices every day. Students are briefed before and debriefed after each encounter to understand how they handled the discussions and how things could have been done differently to create better outcomes for not only the client and the vet but for the patient as well.
Students report gaining important professional skills and insights from the experience.
“The structure of the client interviews really facilitated improvement,” one said. “Having time to access the cases beforehand to think about what might be happening, and then sharing these thoughts in a group collaboration before the interview allowed me to really organize my thoughts. The debrief and feedback from colleagues was an excellent way to reflect on what happened, highlight potential improvements and alternative approaches, and prepare for the next interview.”
“I really appreciate how Jane Shaw pushes us to get out of our comfort zone and stretch ourselves, but insures a supportive and comfortable environment to do so in,” said another. “Hands down the most useful thing we did this week.”
Shaw also developed the FRANK™ Workshops to provide continuing communication education to practicing veterinarians worldwide as well as to train CSU interns, residents and faculty.
Shaw joined CSU in 2005, after completing her undergraduate work in animal science at Cornell, her DVM at Michigan State, and her Ph.D. in epidemiology at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Until 2014, she served as the director of the Argus Institute, a one-of-a-kind program in a veterinary college dedicated to the human-animal bond, counseling, pet loss and grief support, and veterinary-client-patient interactions.
She has written 20 published manuscripts and a guidebook to veterinary communication. Over her career, Shaw has raised $827,673 in programmatic, continuing education, educational and research grants. Shaw was named Colorado Veterinary Medical Association Outstanding Faculty of the Year in 2011 and elected to the Teaching Academy of the Consortium of Regional Western Colleges in 2015.
Office of International Programs Distinguished Service Award
This award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the internationalization of CSU.
Dr. Danielle Frey, Director of International Student Experiences for D.V.M. Students
Frey collaborated with community partners to develop experiential learning opportunities for fourth-year veterinary medicine students at the CSU Todos Santos Center. She co-created a bicultural program in Todos Santos for CSU and Mexican students called VACA, which engages local ranchers for hands-on learning with their livestock. Frey also co-created a Spanish for Veterinarians language series that prepares students for their experiences in Latin America.
Oliver P. Pennock Distinguished Service Award
This award recognizes meritorious and outstanding achievement over a five-year period by full-time members of the academic faculty and administrative professional staff.
Dr. Kristy Pabilonia, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Diagnostics, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
In the fight against COVID-19, Pabilonia developed and implemented a human-certified testing laboratory at the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, which tested about 90,000 human samples. This additional testing capacity was a great benefit for assisted-care facilities and the Larimer County Department of Public Health.
Alexander Brandl, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Brandl served as interim department head during a particularly difficult period and resolved several lingering and contentious situations with clarity, equity, and effectiveness.
Classified Personnel Council Outstanding Achievement Award
This award celebrates meritorious and outstanding achievements to the University by State Classified employees.
Courtney Hensel, Communication and Curriculum Coordinator for the Veterinary Communication for Professional Excellence Program, Department of Clinical Sciences
Hensel is a rare combination of patience, competence, seamless efficiency, and cheerful collegiality. Her work was critical to the success of the Virtual Laboratory for the veterinary students; helping everyone navigate new technology and virtual spaces. Her innovative support and attention to detail allows others to focus on the students and not worry about the technology.
CSU Ventures Award for Innovative Excellence
This award is presented to a researcher who is not only an innovator but someone whose innovations have been transferred to industry and are exhibiting strong potential for commercial success.
Raymond Goodrich, Ph.D., Executive Director IDRC; Professor, Infectious Disease Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
Goodrich has a lifelong history of translational research achievement. Since joining CSU, Goodrich has transformed the Infectious Disease Research Center, and particularly led BioMARC to be a significant biomedical industry partner for cGMP production of clinical supplies to support development of innovative therapeutics. Goodrich is the cofounder of Photon Pharma, a CSU startup that licenses the CSU-owned technology fundamental to the novel InnocelT cancer immunotherapy. Goodrich is the principal inventor on a novel water purification method and on several CSURF patent applications that are the focus of licensing initiatives to industry partners.
