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Campus Review
October 3, 2012
Page 2
Clayton State has Two Finalists for
Chancellor’s Customer Service Awards
The New Department of
Interdisciplinary Studies… Diversity Personified
By John Shiffert, University Relations
One year after Clayton State University’s
Carolina Amero and Norman Grizzell
were named winners in the 2011
Chancellor’s Customer Service Awards,
Clayton State has two more finalists for
the prestigious honors, awarded yearly by
the University System of Georgia (USG).
Pat Barton, Clayton
State director of
financial aid, is a
finalist in the
Customer Service
Excellence Award -
Individual catego-
ry, the same catego-
ry
for
which
Grizzell
was
awarded a silver medal in 2011. Clayton
State’s IT help desk, The HUB, is a final-
ist for the Front Desk Support Excellence
Award.
Being named a finalist means that the
nominee will be announced as either the
first (gold), second (silver) or third
(bronze) place winner in their respective
categories at the official awards ceremo-
ny, to be held this year in the Student
Activities Center (SAC) at Clayton State.
The awards ceremony will be held on
Wednesday, Oct. 3, beginning at 1 p.m. in
the ballroom of the SAC. All 35 institu-
tions in the University System submit
nominations for the yearly Chancellor’s
Customer Service Award program
Amero, Clayton State’s assistant vice
president of Auxiliary & Administrative
Services, struck gold last year as the 2012
winner of the Joseph Greene Award as the
USG’s Customer Service Champion of
the Year.
One of the hallmarks of Clayton State
University is diversity. It’s a key part
of the University’s Strategic Plan.
Indeed, the University’s mission, as
stated in the Strategic Plan is “Clayton
State University cultivates an environ-
ment of engaged, experienced-based
learning, enriched by active communi-
ty service, that prepares students of
diverse ages and backgrounds to suc-
ceed in their lives and careers.”
While when talking about diversity at
Clayton State, it’s common to talk
about the student body, diversity also
takes programmatic forms. Possibly
the most diverse academic program at
the University is the new Department
of Interdisciplinary Studies, under the
direction of Dr. LaJuan Simpson.
While Department Chair Simpson is
an associate professor of English, the
rest of the faculty and staff in her
department are, naturally enough, a
diverse group. That’s in keeping with a
department with individual programs
in; the Bachelor of Applied Science
(B.A.S.), Integrative Studies, Liberal
Studies, Women's Studies, Aviation
Administration, and African American
Studies.
Simpson’s department includes: Dr.
Christie H. Burton, B.A.S. program coor-
dinator and associate professor; Dr.
Shannon Cochran, assistant professor of
English and Interdisciplinary Studies; Dr.
Thomas W. Garsombke, associate profes-
sor of Management; Bryan LaBrecque,
limited term professor for the B.A.S.;
Dr. J. Celeste Walley-Jean, director,
Integrative Studies program; Vangela
Humphries, advisor, Liberal &
Integrative Studies programs; and
Ginny Bass, director, Online B.A.S.
and Online Integrative Studies pro-
grams.
Getting a handle on such a diverse
grouping is no easy task. Thus, it’s best
The HUB, is a finalist for the Front Desk
Support Excellence Award.
Barton
Interdisciplinary, cont’d., p. 5
Finalists, cont’d., p. 11