LIVINGSTON, Ala.—University of West Alabama Provost David Taylor recently announced the recipients of the annual Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards. Becky Amato, Secretary to the Vice President of Student Affairs, received the Support Staff Excellence Award. Mitzi Gates, Academic Coordinator for Upward Bound, was presented with the Professional Staff Excellence Award. Dr. John McCall, Professor of Biology and Chair of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, was named the 2007 Trustee Professor.

 

Becky Amato joined UWA in 1992, serving in her current position for the last decade. In addition to her work with many Student Affairs projects, Amato serves as Panhellenic Council advisor. Her letters of nomination for this award speak to her extraordinary loyalty to the University and to her commitment to working with students, serving as a counselor and friend.

 

Mitzi Gates came to UWA in 1997 as a Lecturer in English. In 2000, she assumed her current position assessing the academic needs of 60 high school students served by Upward Bound and developing and implementing individualized plans for meeting those needs. She also teaches composition and speech, and she serves as Student Success Coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts.

 

Gates earned the B.S. in English from UWA in 1985 and the M.Ed. in English Education from Vanderbilt University in 1993. She is a member Phi Kappa Phi and former president of Alpha Delta Kappa. She is also a member of the Linden City Council.

 

Dr. John McCall joined the UWA faculty in 1992 and has served as department chair since 1994, after teaching high school science for 12 years and earning recognition as a Florida Master Teacher. He hosts the annual Elementary Science Olympiad and serves as faulty advisor to Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society.

 

McCall received the A.A. in Biology from Pensacola Junior College and the B.S. in Biology from the University of West Florida. In 1974-75, he served as a Graduate Research Assistant at the School of Oceanography at Oregon State University, and in 1992, he received both the Ph.D. in Zoology and the Master of Applied Statistics from Louisiana State University. He received the University’s William E. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1997. He is also the recipient of numerous grants, and he has authored many articles in scholarly journals.

 

The Loraine McIlwain Bell Trustee Awards were established in 1996 through an endowment by the late Mrs. Bell's daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Cunningham. Candidates for the awards are nominated by the University community, and the winner in each category is selected by a committee of peers.