By Amelia Kibbe
Advisory Editor
Members of the St. Bonaventure community have less than a week left to complete nominations for the 2017 Fr. Joe Doino, O.F.M., Honors & Awards Program.
Nominations, which can be found on my.sbu online and printed at various locations around campus, will close Wednesday, March 22. The award ceremony will take place in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Tuesday, April 4 at 4 p.m.
According to Chris Brown, a member of the selection committee, the annual awards, which recognize groups and individuals who have made significant contributions to the university community over the year, provide a way for the students and staff to pause for a few moments and appreciate the good things happening on campus.
“…I recognize there are students, faculty, staff and clubs that are making a positive difference on campus and in the community,” he said. “I might not personally see all of these good things, so the nominations from the SBU community help to make sure we are considering a wide variety of possibilities for the awards.”
Dr. Paula Scraba, another selection committee member, echoed Brown’s thoughts.
“Anyone can nominate anyone,” she said. “I always say, ‘Vote early and vote often.’ There are a lot of people giving so much to the university every day.”
Brown added community members can fill out multiple forms, which each take about 10 minutes to complete.
As in past years, the awards are broken into 11 categories: University Mission Volunteer of the Year; Adviser/Moderator of the Year; Program of the Year; Community Service Award; Staff Person of the Year; Organization/Club of the Year; Student Leader of the Year; Student Life Award; SGA Member of the Year; Faculty Appreciation Award; and Support of Diversity Initiatives.
In 1994, Father Joe Doino, O.F.M. became the first faculty member to receive the Faculty Appreciation Award after death, and in 1995, St. Bonaventure officials renamed the awards in his honor, according to Ann Hurlburt, chair of the selection committee. Church officials ordained Doino a Franciscan priest in 1950, and he died on March 7, 1994, at age 70. After beginning his teaching career at St. Bonaventure in 1986, Doino advised SGA and served on its awards committee, she said.
In 2009, university officials decided to combine three ceremonies: the Doino Awards sponsored by SGA and Student Affairs, the Staff and Faculty Recognition Awards sponsored by Human Resources and the Faculty Awards sponsored by university officials and the provost, said Hurlburt.
To decide the winners each year, the selection committee consisting of students, faculty and staff, reads all the nominations and considers the number of nominations each individual or group receives.
Each winner receives a plaque with his or her name on it. A reception in the atrium of the Quick Center will follow the about 60-minute ceremony.
“So many people on this campus daily put in 200 percent and go above and beyond,” Scraba said. “And those organizations, departments, whatever should really feel free to put the person’s name in. It’s not going to hurt—it can only help.”
kibbeaa13@bonaventure.edu
