KU News Release

10 graduating seniors selected for Chancellor’s Student Awards

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas officials visited the classrooms of 10 graduating seniors March 31-April 2 to announce that they are 2009 Chancellor’s Student Award recipients. The awards recognize the students’ academic, volunteer and leadership accomplishments during their time at KU.

Marlesa Roney, vice provost for Student Success, and Ann Eversole, assistant vice provost for Student Success, made the following award presentations:

— Donald K. Alderson Award: Christopher James Reine of Kansas City, Mo., and Norfolk, Va.
— Class of 1913 Award: Zachary Josef Abramovitz of Overland Park and Stephanie Hill of Shawnee
— Alexis F. Dillard Student Involvement Award: John Babcock of Fort Scott and Holton, and Kevin McCormick Campbell of Leawood
— Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Award: Nathan Andrew Mack Jr. of Lawrence and Alyson M. Rodee of Wichita
— Caryl K. Smith Award: Jade Marie Martin of Rose Hill
— Agnes Wright Strickland Award: Rachel Elizabeth Burchfield of Topeka and Fairmount, W.Va., and Todd Christopher Crawford of Leawood

As part of the 137th commencement at KU, the Chancellor’s Student Award recipients will be honored at a reception Saturday, May 16, at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union. The honorees also will be among those on the platform with the chancellor during commencement May 17 in Memorial Stadium, and their portraits will be in the commencement program.

The Chancellor’s Student Awards committee selected the winners from university-wide nominations submitted by students, faculty and staff. The 15-member selection committee includes students, faculty and staff. Winners receive cash prizes, except recipients of the Agnes Wright Strickland Award, which comes with lifetime membership in the KU Alumni Association.

The Class of 1913 Awards annually go to a graduating man and woman who show evidence of intelligence, devotion to studies, personal character and promise of usefulness to society.

The Donald K. Alderson Memorial Award goes to a graduating senior who has demonstrated loyalty to and interest in the university and who has been active in events and services that benefit other students. The award was established in memory of Alderson, former dean of men and dean of student services.

The Alexis F. Dillard Student Involvement Award goes to a graduating student who has unselfishly contributed to the university through campus involvement. The award was established in 1993 by Dillard’s family and friends to remember and honor him.

Rusty Leffel Concerned Student Awards annually go to students who demonstrate a concern for furthering the ideals of the university and higher education. The award was established by a group of seniors in 1973 to honor their fellow student, Leffel.

The Caryl K. Smith Student Leader Award goes to a graduating fraternity or sorority member who has demonstrated commitment to the local chapter, the KU Greek community, the university and the Lawrence community. The award was established in 1993 to honor Smith, a former dean of student life.

The Agnes Wright Strickland Awards were established in 1953 in memory of Strickland, a member of the class of 1887. The awards annually go to graduating seniors in recognition of their academic records, demonstrated leadership in matters of university concern, respect among fellow students and indications of future dedication to service in the university.

BUTLER COUNTY
From Rose Hill 67133
Jade Marie Martin is a candidate for a degree in political science and international studies and plans to attend law school. Martin notes that she was a newcomer to Jayhawk traditions when she enrolled as a freshman and entered KU’s honors program. She had moved with her family to Kansas from Michigan as a high school graduate and had planned to attend a university with her high school friends in what was then her home state. Martin attributes her success in acclimating to KU and Kansas to skills learned as a child in a family accustomed to transfers. She notes that she found that KU was the exact place for her to be. Martin is president of Kappa Delta sorority and has been involved in leadership of the chapter since joining in 2005. She was one of 10 students selected as an Outstanding New Member of the Greek Community in 2006. She also is a member of the Order of Omega, a national Greek honor society, and Mortar Board national honor society. She is on the senior advisory board. As a sophomore, she participated in KU’s Topeka Internship Program, working for Rep. Jo Ann Pottorff, R-Wichita. She volunteers with the Adopt-a-School program and has volunteered with Natural Ties, a group that matches KU organizations with individuals with developmental disabilities. She is the daughter of Alan and Kristen Martin and is a graduate of Brighton (Mich.) High School.

BOURBON COUNTY
Fort Scott 66701 and Holton
John Babcock is a candidate for a degree in music and will teach in Kansas City, Mo., as a member of the Teach for America Corps next fall. He joined the corps last fall and will begin training in a Teach for America summer school program in Chicago. Babcock has served three years with KU’s New Student Orientation, first as an orientation assistant for incoming students and their families, then as a registration coordinator and recently as a student assistant. He also worked two years with KU Info, helping students and others find answers to their questions. This year, he served as finance director of KU’s Blueprints Leadership one-day conference for 90 emerging student leaders and with a $6,500 budget. Babcock is assistant live music coordinator for Student Union Activities to produce concerts and music events. In addition, Babcock led SUA’s creation of a Spirit committee and the “Hawk Zone,” a positive cheering section that will debut at football games in the fall. Since his freshman year, he has worked as a worship coordinator and student associate with Wesley KU, a campus ministry for the United Methodist Church. With that ministry, Babcock traveled to Juarez, Mexico, to construct housing and to Chicago, where he helped clean a homeless shelter, organize food distribution and remove trash from city plantings. Babcock also volunteered with a mission following an earthquake in Peru to build a house. He has served with KU’s Alternative Breaks program as a site leader at a Chicago center for non-native public school students. He was a Mount Oread Scholar and is Mortar Board member. He is the son of Paul and Debra Babcock of Fort Scott and is a graduate of Holton High School.

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Lawrence 66047
Nathan Andrew Mack Jr. is a candidate for degrees in Russian and linguistics and plans to pursue a career in higher education administration. He is vice president of administration for Student Union Activities. Mack won an Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership Award in November, an honor that includes responsibility for planning the annual Blueprints Leadership conference at KU. In summer 2006, he taught English in a suburb of Kampala, Uganda, to students in first, second and fifth grades during the day and to adults, most of whom were Congolese refugees, in the evenings. In Lawrence, he has volunteered for more than five years with the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutritional Kitchen, which provides meals to needy residents. Mack worked as an orientation assistant for the New Student Orientation office for three years and as an assistant for the University Advising Center for four years. He was chair of the New Student Orientation Advisory Board. He has served on numerous committees and boards including the All-Scholarship Hall Council, Homecoming Steering Committee, the Multicultural Affairs Committee, the KU Memorial Unions Corporation Board and Student Union Activities. He served a year in the Student Senate and was president of KU for Uganda, a group that raised about $4,000 for northern Ugandans. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He is the son of John and Karen Mack and attended Sophia Academy High School in Lawrence.

JACKSON COUNTY
From Holton 66436 and Fort Scott
John Babcock. SEE BOURBON COUNTY

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Leawood 66209
Kevin McCormick Campbell is a candidate for a degree in human biology and is preparing to study medicine. This summer, he will participate in a two-week medical mission with Comfort the Children International in Maai Mahiu, Kenya. He was executive producer of KU’s Rock Chalk Revue, an annual student variety show that benefits United Way. He says his involvement with Rock Chalk Revue has been the highlight of his student experience. Campbell is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, where he has held several offices including recruitment chair, judicial board chair, Interfraternity Council representative and historian. He is president of Mortar Board and a member of the National Honor Society. During his senior year, Campbell has worked as a teaching assistant for a microbiology class and as a lab instructor for a basic biology course. He is head swim coach for the Blue Hills Country Club. He is a patient care specialist for Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and has worked as a same-day surgery volunteer at Lawrence Memorial Hospital; an escort volunteer for KU Hospital and a volunteer for the Heartland Medical Center in Lawrence. He is the son of John and Mary Campbell and is a graduate of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo.

From Leawood 66206
Todd Christopher Crawford is a candidate for a degree in finance and is planning to study medicine at KU. He was president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and is vice president of the Board of Class Officers and treasurer for Mortar Board honor society. This year, he was a teaching assistant for a course titled Financial Modeling and Risk Analysis. His early experience with risk analysis began in high school, when Crawford and his brother operated a residential lawn service, clearing an annual profit of $2,000 for four summers. Last summer, Crawford was an intern with Haakon Capital, a private equity firm in Kansas City, Mo. In addition to gaining experience in the financial matters, Crawford has sought volunteer opportunities related to medicine and caring for others. He is secretary of Natural Ties, a group that matches KU organizations with individuals with developmental disabilities. He has worked for the Plaza Primary Care and Geriatrics and the heart rhythm management office at KU Medical Center. He is the son of Jeff and Kim Crawford and a graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School.

From Overland Park 66213
Zachary Josef Abramovitz is a candidate a degree in English with a 4.0 grade-point average. He has earned accolades for research not only in his major but also in a host of other fields including French language and literature, World War I and animal communication, specifically the mating songs of wax moths. Abramovitz plans to enter graduate school with a career goal of public service in international relations. He wants to focus on peace and conflict resolution. This past year, he was a Hall Center for the Humanities Scholar and a student ambassador for visiting lecturers and scholars. As a junior, Abramovitz combined his interests in French and World War I to research writers of the era and presented his findings at KU’s 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium. His current research of French novelist Roger Martin du Gard will be presented in the 2009 symposium. An interest in science led him to Michael D. Greenfield, professor of ecology and environmental biology, who researches animal behaviors, specializing in acoustic signaling in insects and frogs. For the past two years, Abramovitz has worked as an undergraduate assistant in Greenfield’s lab. There, Abramovitz not only learned how to record the mating songs of wax moths but also how to analyze the moths’ songs, conduct DNA extractions and enter the data into scientific computer programs. He is a musician and played bass clarinet for the KU Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra and KU Band. He is a member of the University Honors Program’s Dean’s Scholars Program, designed for academically talented students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who are interested in graduate study and who represent groups traditionally underrepresented in graduate education. He is the son of Morris and Sara Abramovitz and is a graduate of Olathe East High School.

From Shawnee 66217
Stephanie Ann Hill has been preparing for a career in cancer research. She is a candidate for degrees in biochemistry and chemistry and has a 3.98 grade-point average. Hill will attend Cambridge University in England as an NIH Oxford/Cambridge Scholar to study for a doctorate in medicinal chemistry. As a sophomore, Hill won a Goldwater scholarship, the premier national competitive award for math and science college students planning careers in research. For three years, she has worked in the lab of Brian S. Blagg, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry, whose research includes the development of anticancer agents. Hill’s contributions to recent findings by Blagg’s team earned her the distinction as second author of an article submitted to the Journal of Organic Chemistry. Hill will also be a second author of a manuscript on results of another research project to be submitted this year for publication. For an undergraduate to earn two publications in three years is extraordinary, Blagg said. Hill has received three Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence scholarships and presented posters at the Kansas IDeA seminar and at the KU Research Experience for Undergraduates. Hill is also a National Merit Scholar, a Chancellors Club Scholar and a Kansas Governor’s Scholar. An accomplished violinist, Hill performs in the KU Symphony Orchestra and was a concertmaster with the Kansas City Youth Symphony. She is the daughter of Douglas and Mary Hill and a graduate of Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.

SEDGWICK COUNTY
From Wichita 67212
Alyson M. Rodee is a candidate for a degree in communications studies and plans to work in public service in Washington, D.C. Rodee was a Teach for America volunteer during KU’s Alternative Break in January. She chairs the KU Memorial Union Board Corporation and has served on numerous KU committees, including the Senior Advisory Board and Homecoming Steering Committee. Rodee was named a 2008-09 Woman of Distinction by KU’s Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center for her political action and service. She has served in Student Senate since spring 2007, including as communications director and executive secretary. She has been involved in the Student Alumni Association since her freshman year. In 2007, she was one of three students to receive a Judy L. Ruedlinger Award granted to those who convey pride in membership and public awareness of the Student Alumni Association. She is the daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Rodee and a graduate of Wichita High School Northwest.

SHAWNEE COUNTY
From Topeka 66614 and Fairmont, W.Va.
Rachel Elizabeth Burchfield is a candidate for a degree in journalism. She began her freshman year by taking a job at the Student Involvement and Leadership Center, which coordinates student groups and leadership activities on campus. Her skill and enthusiasm in working with students and faculty advisers not only convinced her but also her supervisors that she should plan a career in student affairs. Burchfield continued her journalism major but focused her campus activities on pursuing a graduate degree in student affairs. This spring, in addition to reporting for the University Daily Kansan, Burchfield was a teaching assistant for an Introduction to Leadership class. Last fall, she was a discussion group leader for a similar class. Burchfield is president of the senior class and the Board of Class Officers. In November, she won an Excellence in Community, Education and Leadership Award. ExCEL award winners plan KU’s annual Blueprints Leadership conference. She has worked as a New Student Orientation assistant. As a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, she has served KU’s Panhellenic Association as scholarship chair and vice president of educational programs and scholarship. As vice president, she initiated a Strive for Pi campaign, encouraging all sorority chapters to earn 3.14 grade-point averages. In addition, she was secretary for the advisory board for Rock Chalk Revue, an annual student variety show that benefits United Way. She is a member of several honor societies, including Mortar Board, Sigma Alpha Lambda and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She is the daughter of Joy Burchfield of Topeka and Larry Burchfield of Fairmont, W. Va., and is a graduate of Washburn Rural High School.

MISSOURI
From Kansas City 64111 and Norfolk, Va.
Christopher Reine is a McNair Scholar and a candidate for a degree in psychology. Reine has worked on research projects focused on children and adolescents and plans to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology. The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program prepares students from traditionally underrepresented groups for doctoral study. Reine has worked in the clinical child psychology lab of Yo Jackson, associate professor of clinical child psychology, since August 2007. This spring, Reine received an undergraduate research grant to study cultural influences on parenting practices in African-American families with Jackson as his adviser. In July 2007, he presented his research analyzing existing treatments for depression with Stephen Ilardi, associate professor of clinical psychology as his research adviser. He has worked with graduate students on studies of adolescents and trauma at KU’s Educational Psychology Lab. For the past two summers, Reine has served as a guest lecturer for KU’s Upward Bound Summer Institute. He was a peer adviser for KU’s Learning Communities to assistant first generation college students to succeed academically. In his junior year, Reine was president of Black Student Union, where he served in a number of offices since joining as a freshman. He is active in Black Men of Today and a member of the Senior Advisory board. Reine worked as a student assistant at KU’s Multicultural Resource Center for more than two years and with KU Catering at the KU Memorial Unions for four years. He is the son of Camille Reine of Kansas City and Earl Reine of Norfolk, Va., and is a graduate of Lincoln College Prep.

VIRGINIA
From Norfolk 23501 and Kansas City, Mo.
Christopher Reine. SEE MISSOURI

WEST VIRGINIA
From Fairmont 26554 and Topeka, Kan.
Rachel Elizabeth Burchfield. SEE SHAWNEE COUNTY

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