Two Indiana University East faculty members received Indiana University Distinguished Teaching Awards during Founders Day. Alisa Clapp-Itnyre, associate professor of English, received the Herman Frederic Lieber Memorial Teaching Award and Greg Braxton-Brown, professor of management and director of Southeast Indiana Programs, received the W. George Pinnell Award for Outstanding Service.

The awards were presented at the 2011 Celebration of Distinguished Teaching dinner held April 8 in Indianapolis.

Joanne Passet, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, said Clapp-Itnyre is an exemplary teacher, scholar, and colleague.

“The convergence of Dr. Clapp-Itnyre’s research with her teaching, involvement with the Humanities Club, and leadership in the Honors Program is moving our students to higher levels of student engagement, achievement and satisfaction,” Passet said. “She has achieved a wonderful sense of balance between having a personal connection with students and holding them to high standards of academic achievement.”

Clapp-Itnyre has taught at IU East since 1999. She established the Honors Program at IU East and now serves as its director. She is the founder and advisor for the Humanities Club, now in its 10th year, inviting students of any major with an interest in the arts for regular meetings and special events like poetry readings, attending local theaters and symphonic concerts, and the annual trip to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada.

Outside of the classroom, Clapp-Itnyre volunteers at the Richmond-Wayne County Boys and Girls Club and is an actor and volunteer board member with the Richmond Civic Theatre. In spring 2010, Clapp-Itnyre directed Anne of Green Gables. She inspires students at IU East through coursework and extracurricular activities to become involved in the community. In 2009, Clapp-Itnyre received the IU East Helen Lees Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Braxton-Brown has been at IU East since 2002. Since then, he has established and grown the business program at IU East’s off-campus site in Lawrenceburg at Ivy Tech Community College Southeast.

He has developed the Business Administration degree program in which students enroll full-time to a cohort in order to complete courses within a year. In fall 2011, the 15th cohort will begin. Also at the center are the B.S. in Business Administration, RN to B.S.N., B.S. in Communication Studies, B.S. in Education, and the M.S. in Education degree programs. The innovative partnership between IU East and Ivy Tech Southeast has provided educational opportunities for residents in southeast Indiana, improving the quality of the workforce for the region. The success of the program has seen over 270 graduates earn their bachelor’s degree.

“Dr. Braxton-Brown has dedicated his career to making the attainment of a college degree a reality for countless students. He has done so by working tirelessly to create seamless transfer programs between two and four year institutions, by developing innovative cohort program models and by assisting individual students with their academic planning needs. IU East is fortunate to have a person with the breadth of experience that Greg represents,” said David Frantz, dean of the School of Business and Economics.

The Frederic Bachman Lieber Award was established in 1954 by Katie D. Bachman in honor of her grandson. The Herman Frederic Lieber Award was originally sponsored by the IU Foundation and is now sponsored by Mrs. Herman Lieber of Indianapolis.

The University Faculty Council established the Pinnell Award in 1988, honoring the memory of the former executive vice president of the university who also served during his career as president of the IU Foundation and dean of IU’s Kelley School of Business. Pinnell was known for his stewardship, leadership, initiative and service to the university, the state and the national government. The award recognizes faculty members or librarians who have shown exceptional breadth of involvement and depth of commitment in service to the university, their profession or the public.

During the IU East Honors Convocation ceremony on April 28, Braxton-Brown and Clapp-Itnyre will receive two more awards. Braxton-Brown will receive IU East’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award which recognizes distinguished service, either one-time or sustained, by a full-time faculty member above and beyond the expectations of any compensation or release time provided for the service. Clapp-Itnyre will receive the Award for Excellence in Research. This award recognizes excellence in research and/or creative work by a full-time faculty member over a sustained period of time.