Recognizing excellence among faculty and staff
President John Langell recognized the 2024 President’s Excellence Award recipients prior to the ceremonial groundbreaking for Bitonte College of Dentistry on Oct. 10. One award was also presented from nominations made in 2023, when the awards were postponed.
Douglas Beach, Ph.D., who called to order his last meeting as chair of the NEOMED Board of Trustees earlier on Oct. 10, was also recognized during the program for his contributions as chair and nine years of service as a trustee. Dr. Beach is pictured below with incoming chair Darrell McNair.
“Dr. Beach has overseen significant changes at the University, including the new College of Dentistry, the expansion of the College of Graduate Studies,” Dr. Langell noted. “He saw the opening of the Medical Office Building, the launch of NEOMED Health Care, the expansion of our pharmacy programs and NEOvations, our medication therapy management program. He has been here through so much change, and not having him on our Board any more will be a loss., but Dr. Beach, you will always be a welcome friend to this University.”
Congratulations to the honorees!
2023 President’s Staff Excellence in Continuous Improvement Award: Craig Theissen
Craig Theissen, director of the Learning Center, was recognized for executing the highest level of operating efficiencies by implementing continuous quality improvement and using Lean Six Sigma principles to improve and deliver an Exceptional Student Experience. He was also instrumental in the establishment and support of the NEOMED Writing Center from both an advocacy standpoint and by making the necessary budgetary and staffing arrangements to launch the Writing Center. He helped to identify a major gap in services and effectively navigated University procedures and dynamics to manifest real impact for our students and faculty.
2024 President’s Staff Excellence in Continuous Improvement Award: Scott Rutan
Scott Rutan, senior graphic designer in the Office of Marketing and Communications, designed the NEOMED’s Impact Report “Positive Change,” for the President’s Diversity and Equity Advisory Council. The report shares the progress made in increasing the diversity of the student body, goals for the future, and our success stories. His work in creating the layout, use of photos, the bold colors and the overall look and feel of the report come alive on the page. The design was so well done, AAMC-GIA awarded the Gold Award for Excellence to NEOMED in 2024.
President’s Excellence in Teaching Award for Rootstown-Based Faculty: Feng Dong, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Feng Dong, associate professor, Department of Integrative Medical Sciences, serves on the Pre-Clerkship Subcommittee and has played a major role in NEOMED’s curriculum transition from a traditional lecture-based framework to one centered on engaged learning. He has also been integral in the development of the peer instruction format. Dr. Dong consistently scores high on student evaluations for his teaching and was chosen as the M1 Teacher of the Year in 2022. He is also recent recipient of a College of Medicine Education Innovation Award for his project focused on ‘student-centered teaching and curriculum development.’
President's Excellence in Teaching Award for Clinical Faculty: Cheryl Johnson, M.D.
Dr. Cheryl Johnson, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, is clinical experiential director for NEOMED’s required M3 OB/GYN clerkship. She has leveraged distance learning to ensure that all students, regardless of location, receive standardized instruction and is poised to monitor the quality of that education based on student feedback and academic metrics. Dr. Johnson has proved to be an exemplary educator, as reflected in student evaluations.
