Previous Winners

2012- Ellen Urton

Ellen Urton, associate professor and Visual Literacy Librarian in the Undergraduate and Community Services department, was selected as the recipient of the 2012 Brice G. Hobrock Distinguished Faculty Award.

Ellen has made a tremendous impact on students and faculty, both directly through her activities and indirectly through the guidance and mentoring she has provided to her colleagues. Ellen has developed several strong, collaborative partnerships with faculty and has become embedded in several K-State courses. She is an exceptionally effective teacher, a bold thinker, and an extremely supportive and generous colleague.

As a teacher she challenges students to think more critically about the research process and does so in a way that both entertains and enlightens. Anyone who has the opportunity to observe her in front of a class, will sense a strong connection between her and the students. As a thinker, she focuses on ultimate goals and clearly envisions steps required to progress from current practice to ideal practice. Her commitment to collaboration and professional growth as well as her exceptional ability to teach make her very deserving of recognition. 

Ellen has been a member of the K-State Libraries faculty since 2004. She holds a BA from Augustana College and an MLS from the University of Missouri.

2011 - Sara K. Kearns

Sara K. Kearns, head of Undergraduate and Community Services Department at K-State Libraries, was selected as the recipient of the 2011 Brice G. Hobrock Distinguished Faculty Award.

Another nominator wrote, "As an undergraduate researcher, Sara has helped me by sharing her knowledge of RefWorks, leading classes on research tools and databases, and being available as to help McNair Scholars. I know that this is just a glimpse of all the things Sara does, but as a student her willingness to help out students has made a tremendous difference in my educational success."

In addition, Ms. Kearns has sought to extend her impact on students with her work on a Ph.D. in Student Affairs in Higher Education. She has been involved with various campus committees focused on the undergraduate experience including the Critical Thinking Task Force, General Education Task Force II, and the K-State 8 Technical Implementation Team.

Ms. Kearns has been part of the K-State Libraries faculty since 2001. She has served as the business librarian, instruction coordinator, and now head of Undergraduate and Community Services Department. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Kansas State University and a masters in library and information science from Catholic University.

Additional Winners

2011 - Sara K Kearns.

2010 - Alice Trussell

2009 - Marcia Stockham
2008 - Dale Askey
2007 - Beth Turtle
2006 - Gayle K. Willard
2005 - Mike Haddock