UWA presents awards to outstanding employees

Four University of West Alabama employees were recognized with special awards. Pictured left to right are Dr. R.T. Floyd, Dustin Prine, Dr. Wayne Bedford and Glenn Smith.

The University of West Alabama recognized three employees with the annual Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards at Monday’s board of trustees meeting. Dustin Prine, Glenn Smith, and Dr. Wayne Bedford were selected by their peers for the prestigious campus awards. In addition, the University presented its first Nellie Rose McCrory Service Excellence Award to Dr. R.T. Floyd.

Dustin Prine received the Support Staff Excellence Award. Prine joined the UWA staff as a media technician shortly after his graduation from the University in 2005, when he received a bachelor’s degree in social science.

Prine works closely with the student broadcast facility, Studio 96, instructing journalism and integrated marketing communications students in the technical aspects of pre- and post-production. Overall, Prine serves the University in several other capacities, maintaining audio/visual equipment across campus.

A former student assistant to the band director, Prine has continued his work with the band. He assists in organization of concerts, camps, and other events, and offers his skills in construction and design for all aspects of the program. One colleague commented that more remarkable than his many contributions to campus is the cheerfulness he displays in serving UWA.

The Professional Staff Excellence Award was presented to Glenn Smith, director of Bands. Smith joined the UWA community in 2001. He attended UWA as a student and played. After college, Smith served in the U.S. Army for three years, where he was a member of the 98th Army Band in Fort Rucker, Ala.

Throughout his career, Smith has been known for his knack for growing band programs from single- to triple-digit membership.  UWA’s Scarlet Band from Tiger Land is comprised of 168 students who entertain audiences at football games, Homecoming, Mardi Gras in Mobile, Christmas on the River in Demopolis, and at Higher Education Day in Montgomery.

Smith’s colleagues know him as a mentor to band members and the rest of the student body. In a letter of nomination, one wrote, “He truly cares about his members and provides a significant amount of advice and counseling with them to not only improve their status in the band, but more importantly, their academics, their outlook on life, and their citizenship.”

The 2013 McIlwain Bell Trustee Professor is Dr. Wayne  Beford, professor of computer information systems and associate dean of UWA’s College of Business. Bedford, who joined the UWA faculty in 2002, also serves as chair of the department of computer information systems. He holds a 1992 bachelor’s degree in business administration and a 1993 MBA. Later, he earned a 2001 master of science in business administration and a 2005 doctorate in business administration, all from Mississippi State University.

Bedford, who retired from the U.S. Navy in 1989 after 26 years of service, is the author of a host of papers in academic journals and has presented at many professional conferences. His areas of expertise range from using technology to prevent online cheating to open source vs. proprietary software.

Bedford recently won a 2012 Teaching Excellence Award from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs for his strong teaching skills, outstanding advising, and high standards as well as his use of the most current technology available in course delivery. In addition to his other duties, Bedford serves as the faculty advisor for the University’s chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon Honor Society in Computer Information Systems.

The Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards, established in 1996 by Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Cunningham, the late Mrs. Bell’s daughter and son-in-law, honor the UWA alumna who served as a teacher and nurse in West Alabama. Candidates for the awards are nominated by the University community, and the winner in each category is selected by a committee of peers. The award includes a plaque and a check for $1,000.

Dr. R.T. Floyd received the Nellie Rose McCrory Service Excellence Award, which was presented for the first time this year. Floyd holds a bachelor of science in health, physical education, and recreation, a master of arts in teaching physical education from UWA and a doctorate in education in human performance studies from the University of Alabama. Floyd chairs and teaches in the department of athletic training and physical education

This award, which recognizes distinguished service to UWA and the surrounding region, is given to Floyd for his outreach to a service area that includes some 39 high schools in addition to the UWA campus through his role as director of the Athletic Training and Sports Medicine Program.

Floyd is recognized nationally as a distinguished member of the athletic training profession. He recently completed eight years as a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Directors and as a Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association Executive Board Member. He continues to serve on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Research and Education Foundation Board as Vice President for District Relations and is an ex-officio member of the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association’s Executive Council.

The Nellie Rose McCrory Award, made possible by an endowment by the late McCrory, who earned a bachelor of science in English and a master of education in secondary education from UWA in 1962 and 1965, respectively. McCrory spent her career at Gaston College in North Carolina as an instructor of English, and she later became chair of the department. The award includes a plaque and a check for $1,000. Candidates for the award are chosen by a committee of peers.