Emeriti Awards 2017

October 4, 2017

Emeriti status is a designation conferred on those whose service to Bradley is among the very best and whose contributions to the academic mission are extraordinary. At the annual Emeriti Dinner, Bradley honored eleven individuals who have devoted their careers to the university and its students. They are trailblazing pioneers, expert teachers and caring mentors. 

Ms. Gloria Arrington

General Services Supervisor

Ms. Gloria Arrington's dedication to Bradley is legendary as she has been part of the Hilltop since 1984. She was quickly taking care of everything that needed to be done that wasn’t already being done by someone else. She was involved in several different aspects of Bradley and knows every nook and cranny of campus like the back of her hand.

In Arrington's nomination one person wrote, “Gloria comes to work and does her job. She works long and hard often with no fanfare and no fanfare requested. Gloria is part of the core of Bradley and is a huge part of what makes Bradley University a great place to work.”

Dr. Kendra Brandes 

Associate Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences

Dr. Brandes has been with Bradley for 20 years, eight as an instructor and 12 as an assistant and associate professor.

Her record of research is outstanding with 12 refereed articles, two technical reports, two book contributions, one book chapter, 19 creative products, five funded external grants and numerous professional presentations. One of her most distinguished projects was one she partnered on with one of Bradley's students. It was a four-year project that resulted in the creation of the Bradley Tartan and its registration with the Scottish Register of Tartans in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Dr. Brandes also obtained funding from OSF St. Francis Pediatric Diabetic Resource Center that allowed Bradley students to custom design products for children battling Diabetes. It brought students from education, dietetics and retail merchandising together. She always found ways to incorporate service learning, her research and real world experiences into her teaching.  

Dr. Shari Britner

Associate Professor in Teacher Education

Dr. Britner has dedicated 15 years of service to the Hilltop. She holds a certification that fewer than 3% of the nation’s teachers in the K-12 classroom have, the National Board Certification awarded by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.  

Dedication to her scholarly growth is evident in her professional contributions. She is extensively published with 10 peer reviewed articles, seven book chapters, one book publication and numerous presentations. In 2007, she received both the Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award for Scholarship and the Outstanding EHS College Research Award.

Professional service was also a focus for Dr. Britner. She was a member (or at least an active participant) in more than 20 department, college and university committees.

One final accomplishment that Bradley wants to draw attention to is her leadership as National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Coordinator which resulted in an unprecedented feat of ALL of the teacher preparation programs in the department receiving national recognition from their respective professional associations prior to the accreditation visit. Bradley received national recognition for meeting all six national standards with no areas of improvement cited.  

Ms. Kath Conver

Senior Director of Public Relations

Ms. Kath Conver has been a part of the fabric of Bradley for three decades. When it comes to positive work ethic and dedication, one would be hard pressed to find someone better.

While she may not have been out front all of the time, she had a hand in most of the major milestones Bradley has experienced in the past 31 years. For example, she helped design and execute communication plans for the transitions of five presidents and countless large scale celebrations.This includes Bradley’s gala salute to Congressman Robert Michel in Washington D.C., the Peoria Tricentennial, the Renaissance Campaign, Mrs. Bradley’s 200th Birthday, the yearlong campus celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the list goes on.

Conver was also the liaison with Pentagon officials over a 5-month period as Bradley was coordinating the campus visit of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Always a consummate professional, she has guided Bradley with grace and compassion through some dark times by maintaining and managing media relationships while also handling sensitive and confidential issues.

It would remiss to not also mention that she is greatly known by all of Bradley's faculty and staff for producing the B-news updates sent out daily. 

Dr. Claire Etaugh

Caterpillar Professor of Psychology

Dr. Claire Etaugh is not only highly accomplished, but also has been an inspiration to generations of students. During her 51 years at Bradley, she has been stimulating curiosity in the classroom with amazing results.

In February of this year, she was appointed Distinguished Professor of Psychology, a rare designation awarded based on outstanding qualifications. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has also established The Claire Etaugh Teaching Excellence Award in Claire's honor. Dr. Etaugh has authored more than 100 publications covering two separate fields of study. She is the lead author of multiple textbooks and has been selected as a Fellow in two prestigious national organizations.

When thinking of the embodiment of a teacher-scholar, she is precisely what comes to mind. Throughout her career, she has been a teacher, a mentor, an advisor and a friend to many. She has served as department chair, associate dean, dean, and interim provost & vice president of academic affairs. 

Mr. Nial Johnson

Executive Director of Instructional Technology and Media Services

After 42 years and numerous roles within IRT, Mr. Nial Johnson quickly became known as the "tech expert" around campus. If anyone needed assistance with technology in the classroom, they were to call Nial. If anyone needed someone to set up the technology for a meeting, they were to call Nial. He provided a great deal of support and guidance to the University leadership when it came to technology evaluation and integration.

Beyond his IRT role, he also contributed to the academic mission by teaching an EHS 120 course for several years and serving as Sigma Nu’s advisor.

For 24 years, he was the chairman of the commencement committee, a position that is of the utmost importance to Bradley.  

Ms. Janis Lillard 

Director of Internal Audit

Ms. Janis Lillard has been with Bradley for 27 years and served as the university's bursar, where she worked extensively with students and parents before becoming Bradley's Internal Auditor.  

Not only was she in charge of monitoring and reviewing the internal controls of Bradley, but she has also been Bradley's liaison to the Board of Trustees for audit issues as well as Bradley's conduit with external auditors and federal & state agencies for financial reporting. 

Ms. Shirley Dawdy Meils

Director of Peoria NEXT Innovation Center Enterprise Support Center

Ms. Shirley Dawdy Meils has received her 45-year pin by beginning service in the President’s office. She has always been a model of dependability and an incredible ambassador for Bradley. She was known to promote alliances and relationships with students, faculty, staff and the community at large.

With her responsibilities at the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center, she managed a facility that would better the community by cultivating new business opportunities and new relationships between the academic and civic arenas. 

Ms. June Moore

Custodial Supervisor

Ms. June Moore has spent 43 years at Bradley working as a member of the university's housekeeping staff before becoming part of Bradley's management team and then to custodial supervisor.

One of her nominators said June has an expectation of perfection before a student moved into a residence hall. “She was often pressed with difficult deadlines and unthinkable messes after construction or summer work and, in short time, she would have to make the building shine…and shine they would!”

Her perfectionism is a testament to how much she cares about Bradley. She works extra hard to make sure our best foot is forward. The living experience of Bradley's students and many of the university's working environments fell on her shoulders. 

Ms. Judy Moroz

Lecturer in the Mund-Lagowski Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Ms. Judy Moroz has been with Bradley for 35 years serving as an instructor and a mentor. Prior to that, she was a student at Bradley, receiving her BA and MS in chemistry.

She started teaching general courses in the evening to stay active in the discipline, but it didn’t take long before she was hooked; her passion for teaching became evident. One of her roles was Bradley's stockroom coordinator; she was the one in charge of Bradley's chemical & supplies inventory, making sure Bradley was following the federal & state regulations for the storage & disposal of chemicals, teaching safety courses to our undergraduates, and modernizing our inventory system.

As an instructor, her student-course evaluations are always positive and her students say, while her standards are high, she always provides the support they need to succeed.

She has been either the presenter or co-presenter for 11 presentations and co-authored two published manuscripts. She’s always willing to try new things and go out on a limb to test new ideas.

Dr. Sandra Perry

Professor of Business Law

Dr. Sandra Perry has been a member of the Foster College of Business since 1984. Bradley considers her among the most superb faculty in the Foster College. She epitomizes the teacher/scholar role.

While Dr. Perry served as chairperson for the Department of Business Management & Administration for six years, her service to the department goes well beyond that. She helped develop the legal studies concentration and the business law minor. She was responsible for maintaining the Faculty Handbook for 15 years and helped develop the first constitution for the Foster College. During her tenure at Bradley, Dr. Perry had 35 refereed journal publications, 9 of those have been since 2011.

She is not only committed to the growth and education of her students, but she is also committed to the growth of her fellow faculty. Dr. Perry is known to serve as a mentor to new faculty, regularly sharing her course materials with others.

Among the awards she has received are the Foster College of Business Innovation in Teaching Award in August 2009, the Bradley University Parents' Association Certificate of Merit in April 2005, and the Alpha Kappa Psi and Phi Chi Theta Teaching Award in 1989.