The School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics is pleased to present this year's diversity, service, and academic awardees.
SLCL Diversity & Engagement Award
This award recognizes alumni or members of the community at large who have made significant contributions (both tangible and intangible) to the SLCL community; contributions that strengthen our public service mission, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and our international connections.
This year's awardee is Aurore Mroz, a professor in the Department of French & Italian.
As the nomination letter underscores, "Just over the last three years, she has built a coherent and sustainable public-engagement ecosystem, “French Around the Corner,” that connects university teaching and research to schools, libraries, cultural institutions, and families in Champaign-Urbana. The strength of this work lies not only in the number of initiatives that it includes, but also in how it brings our language-teaching expertise into public spaces while integrating community priorities into our curriculum and student training."
Also, "Professor Mroz’s work is changing the way we think about public engagement within the unit. In just a few years, she has helped make this work feel feasible, valued, and part of our unit’s daily life. Just as importantly, she has strengthened SLCL’s public service mission by building relationships with libraries, schools, and museums, which are core pillars of equitable access and community well-being. Taken together, I believe my colleague’s contributions are significant both in what they deliver and in what they make possible: they have expanded our footprint in the community, modeled inclusive public humanities practice, created durable habits of partnership for multiple age groups, and built bridges between local needs and international Francophone networks."
Xiaohui Zhang Diversity & Community Engagement Award
This award honors graduate students, faculty, and/or staff members in the school who have contributed to our mission of promoting a diverse, inclusive, and engaged academic community, and/or who have facilitated meaningful connections between the school and the wider community, in a spirit of respect, partnership, and reciprocity.
This year's recipient is Williams Asamoah, a graduate student in the Department of French & Italian.
His nomination letter underscores that, "Within FRIT, Williams’ service has been wide-ranging. Over multiple semesters since joining our doctoral program in French & Italian in 2020, he has supported language instruction not only by teaching across the French basic language sequence and courses for majors and minors, but also by strengthening the instructional infrastructure that helps both students and instructors succeed. Last academic year, this engagement took a concrete form when we launched a peer mentoring and instructional coaching program for new instructors in French and Italian. He took on a substantial additional workload alongside his regular appointment: he reviewed lesson plans, observed classes, and provided weekly, constructive feedback aimed at strengthening student engagement and classroom climate throughout the spring semester."
Also, "Beyond academia, Williams’ contributions have been tangible and practical, aligning closely with this award’s emphasis on respect, partnership, and reciprocity. His current work with local health, education, and migrant youth services is especially noteworthy in showing how linguistic expertise can help some of
the most vulnerable young people as they begin a new life in our community."
Marita Romine Distinguished Service Award
This award was established in 2011 through the generosity of Douglas Kibbee, the first director of SLCL, to honor a selected staff member for outstanding contributions to the school. This award is given to someone who demonstrates high standards and excellence in overall work performance; promotes positive morale through a congenial, supportive attitude and by coaching, supporting, and mentoring others; shows commitment to professional development, as well as to developing and recognizing others; promotes teamwork, collaboration, and cohesiveness; exhibits initiative, creativity, and problem-resolution abilities, resulting in improved operating efficiency within the school; and contributes significantly to the overall success of his/her area, serving as a great representative of the school to our campus community.
This year, SLCL gave out two awards.
The first awardee is Natalia Sakhartova, office manager for the Department of Linguistics.
Her nomination letter states, "I have had the pleasure of working closely with Natalia since she joined the Linguistics department, and throughout this time she has consistently demonstrated the highest level of professionalism. She is kind, attentive to detail, and always willing to go out of her way to provide outstanding service and support to faculty, TAs, and instructors. Her responsiveness to our daily work contribute greatly to a positive and well-functioning academic environment. Over the course of the academic year, Natalia has provided enormous support to the LCTL program. She approaches every task with diligence. What stands out most, however, is her patience and calm persistence, especially during the summer months, when responsibilities can be particularly demanding. She carries out these tasks with remarkable dedication, without hesitation and without frustration, even under pressure."
Also, "Natalia is very honest, responsible, and reliable; she responds very quickly to all queries, and takes feedback very well. She has been extremely helpful and reliable in all our interactions. She is very good about double checking when something is not clear, thus avoiding potential misunderstandings or mishaps. I find her to be a great OM to work with and am very impressed with how much she has learned about the job since she first started."
The second awardee is Linh Tran, office manager for SLCL Reception and BTAA CourseShare.
Her nomination letter states, "Linh always kindly helps others and genuinely smiles when she assists. She is the front-facing support for visitors, faculty, and staff. She has a wealth of knowledge and goes beyond her normal duties to coach/support/mentor. When an issue arises, she walks you through the process so you have a learning experience. Linh shares not only her knowledge but also credits others in minor and major tasks. She works as a team, as well as an individual. She develops efficient strategies, builds relationships, and seeks new knowledge, and is up to date on new policies and procedures. Linh has a work environment that is thoughtful and welcoming. She has created processes that are highly efficient if one needs to cover the reception area."
Also, "Linh is an exceptional receptionist and has grown in her role in so many ways. She consistently checks in with the office managers on the second floor to see if they need assistance, goes out of her way to ensure needs are met, and takes great care to provide accurate and helpful information to everyone who stops by the reception desk. What I admire most about Linh is her genuine desire to grow. She regularly asks to shadow the office managers while they complete tasks outside of her direct responsibilities, demonstrating initiative and a strong interest in understanding the broader dynamics of the school. Her curiosity and commitment to professional development make her such a valuable asset to the SLCL community."
SLCL Dissertation Completion Fellowships & Douglas A. Kibbee Prize
The school awarded eight fellowships this year. These fellowships provide advanced doctoral students with an academic year of support to complete their dissertations. The Kibbee Prize is awarded annually to the recipient whose dissertation project is judged by the school’s executive committee to be the most outstanding.
Read our announcement of the recipients.
Staff Recognition of Years of Service
Each year, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign honors its dedicated employees who reach milestone anniversaries. Civil service and academic professional staff are celebrated starting at their 5-year mark.
Zacharia Reed, academic advisor for the Department of Linguistics, is being recognized for 10 years of service.
Jody Wagner, senior accounting associate in the SLCL Business Office, is being recognized for five years of service.