2023–24 Employee Milestones

During those years he has led dozens of successful May term trips to France and taught people to make thousands of crepes with the local Francophone community. He’s also a beloved friend and colleague to faculty, always willing to ask the hard questions the rest of us want to know but are too polite to ask, like “what happened to those awful Remington statues”?

As a Physics professor, he was an early adopter, in mid-90s, of active learning techniques. Techniques almost universally adopted in science classrooms by now, but were very uncommon, and even cutting-edge nationwide, at the time. Chris has provided the physics program, and the science programs more broadly, with a vast amount of expertise and leadership in the quest to help students learn and grow as thinkers. He is also an avid supporter of student athletics and student performance in music and theater. Chris is hard working, dedicated educator that plows ahead focused on student success, with a vibrant sense of humor and unending curiosity. He will be greatly missed when he retires at the end of this year.

Paul has contributed much service work during his career at the university, including service on the Faculty Affairs Committee as both a chair and committee member, and during past university administrations, served on the President’s Leadership Council. As a faculty member, Paul has taught several courses within his areas of expertise, including an upper-division capstone seminar in social influence, a course on the psychology of control (individual differences in beliefs pertaining to the causes of events in one’s life, e.g., perceptions of random luck/misfortune vs. self-determined outcomes), and a course on the psychology of why people believe “weird” things (e.g., conspiracy theories).

More recently, Paul has taught several lower-division courses, including an introductory psychology course, a social psychology course, and a careers exploration course. Students often comment on Paul’s ability to connect psychological/behavioral science research to their daily lives and appreciate the discussion-centered approach used in the classroom. Similarly, Paul has involved students in supervised research projects in recent years, including research exploring relationships between social media behavior and decision-making.

Daily, Rick and his team manage a multitude of tasks and are continually stretched thin, though continue to provide quality service and support to our athletic teams and student-athletes. This profession requires long hours including nights and weekends, plus continual team travel. Rick is very passionate and caring about the work he and his team does on behalf of our student-athletes. Rick is held in high regard by our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and I. The university is very fortunate to have Rick as a staff member and as its Head Athletic Trainer. On behalf of Westminster and our Athletics Department, I want to congratulate Rick on his 20 years of service and sincerely thank him for the great work he’s done, which has positively impacted many student-athletes. We wish him good health and happiness in the years ahead.

I could go on and on. She’s shown up each day to make tomorrow better. Some days, some months or even years could probably be described as better than others, but still you showed up…for 20 years, Piper, you showed up. For the past 20 years, you’ve stood strong, dutifully firm and unwavering. The first one in the door and always the last one out.

When I think of your time at Westminster, I’m reminded of a children’s story; written in 1932 by Virginia Lee Burton called “The Little House.” It’s a wonderful story about a house that watches as the world around her changes. It’s starts out with:

“Once upon a time there was a Little House way out in the country. She was a pretty Little House and she was strong and well built. The Little House was very happy as she sat on the hill….She watched the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evening.”

The story goes onto tell of how:
“The Little House watched as the countryside slowly changed with the seasons. In the Spring she waited for the first robin. She watched the grass turn green. She watched the buds on the trees swell and the apple trees burst into blossom…(sounds vaguely similar to our own campus). 
“In the long summer days she watched the trees cover themselves with leaves… And in the Fall, she watched the first frost turn those leaves to bright yellow, orange and red. She watched the harvest gather and apples picked. And she watched the children going back to school.”

You see, each day The Little House watched the tiny changes; she watched flowers bloom, seasons change, and children grow but eventually those tiny, subtle changes turned into big ones. The Little House is unsure of what to make of the new, big changes. Carriages turn to vehicles, houses to apartment buildings and shops to skyscrapers. The Little House stood and watched an entire city being built around her. And with this new city, the once slow and peaceful days became busy where “people were moving faster and faster.” But even in the big, bustling city, the Little House still stood strong. She was “still as good as ever” because she was “built so well” and could withstand what seemed like anything. The story of the Little House is about change but the charm of the story is that even as the world changed around the Little House, the Little House was the constant.
Just like you, Piper. You are Westminster’s Little House.

You’ve stood faithful through small changes and really big ones. You show up, literally daily, with a steadfast resolution that consistency is how to guarantee tomorrow’s achievements. Your permeance at Westminster has contributed to the greatness that this institution passes along to its students and our community. All of us are so grateful for you and so grateful that you “are strong and well built,” because without you I’m not sure any of us could guess what our Westminster World would look like.

Mark’s academic background, life experience, and sociological perspective infuse the learning experience in his classrooms. Mark has a gift for engaging students, and this is reflected in the number of students that take multiple classes with Mark during their time at Westminster University. In addition to creating an engaging classroom, for more than twenty years, Mark has served as chair of the undergraduate sessions of the National Popular Culture Association Conference and has organized panels for Westminster students, and students from around the country and beyond, to have the opportunity to present their undergraduate research at an interdisciplinary academic conference. Mark’s commitment to Westminster students does not end when they graduate, he continues to offer mentoring, support, and letters of recommendation for as long as students need this professional support. In sum, in Mark Rubinfeld’s 20+ years at Westminster University, he has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to teaching, mentoring, and student success.

Twila‘s easy going and colorful personality make her approachable by anyone on campus regardless of their position or question.

While she is a rockstar on running the purchase cards, she also works with employees across every department, students paying tuition or deposits, and vendor relations. Even though she knows nearly everything there is, she doesn’t let it go to her head and is open to feedback learning new tasks and improving processes.

Twila is relatable, friendly, and supportive of others. She takes the time to explain and help you understand the forms, receipts, and various processes. In the rare occurrence that she does not have the answer, she is able to point you in the right direction and help you figure it out.

A lot can and has happened in the last 20 years, both at Westminster and for Twila. There have been many pots of coffee that she shares with anyone looking for a cup and a friendly face. In spite of any challenges, Twila has remained a dependable and positive force in supporting and improving the people around her and the University. 

The most famous of these courses is “How to be a Bitch,” which Dr. Zarkin has taught on campus and modified into lectures and discussions presented at campus gatherings, conferences, and community events. She has served or chaired almost every Westminster committee and served on the hiring committees for every member of the Communication Department and for faculty and staff across campus. Besides remembering every pop-cultural figure from the 1970s until now, Dr. Zarkin also remembers just about every student she has worked with in the past 20 years. If there is an event to maintain connections to Westminster’s alumni or to recruit students, Dr. Zarkin is involved, and she likely created the rubric to assess whether it was successful.

His "nuts and bolts" approach to teaching, where he shows students useful analytical tools and then guides them in applying these frameworks to real-life situations, helps prepare students to be flexible in changing situations. His research in regulatory policy, particularly as it pertains to public lands and the environment, is relevant and meaningful, and he has a knack for making his results accessible to a general audience. Mike has served the university community widely, strategically, and effectively, as Faculty Chair, head of the Faculty Affairs committee, and in many other ways. As a person, he's steady, kind, friendly, and always willing to help, showing his genuine concern for the Westminster community.