Published: April 24, 2017
2016-17 Marinus Smith Awards winners

Twenty-five staff and faculty members received the Marinus Smith Award on Friday, April 21, during a reception hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder New Student & Family Programs office. The awards were presented to the recipients by Amber Cardamone, director of New Student & Family Programs.

The Marinus Smith Awards are presented each spring to select faculty members, advisors and staff who made a significant, positive impact on the lives of CU Boulder students and their families. Submitting a nomination provides a meaningful way for students and their families to say thank you to outstanding staff and faculty members who have taken the time to show care and concern for those they serve.

Nominations for the 2017–18 awards will open in spring 2018. Staff and faculty members are eligible to be nominated each school year; several of this year's recipients have been previously honored with a Marinus Smith Award.

The award is named after Marinus Smith, one of Boulder’s pioneer settlers who, in 1874, not only led the way with a $1,000 donation toward the creation of the university in Boulder but also donated 25 acres for the university, including Norlin Quadrangle.

Marinus Smith Awards ceremonyThe 2016–17 honorees are as follows.

  • Gabriel Aponte, International Affairs Advisor
  • Stephen Becker, Assistant Professor for Applied Mathematics
  • William Byrnes, Associate Professor for Integrative Physiology
  • Natalie Coston, Graduate Student in Department of Mathematics
  • Danielle Garrison, Instructor for Theatre and Dance
  • Nancy Guild, Professor and Director for Introductory Undergraduate Education for Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
  • Mohammad Amin Hariri-Ardebili, Adjunct Lecturer for Earthquake Engineering
  • Marianne Holbert, Associate Faculty Director and Senior Instructor for the Program in Environmental Design
  • Stefanie Johnson Assistant Professor for Management and Entrepreneurship
  • Keith Kearnes, Professor for the Department of Mathematics
  • Anne Kim, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for Counseling and Psychiatric Services
  • Jonathan Kish, Lecturer for Applied Mathematics
  • Daria Kotys-Schwartz, Director of Idea Forge
  • Anja Lange, Senior Professor for the Herbst Program of Humanities in Engineering
  • Jessica Martin, Instructor for the Global Studies Residential Academic Program
  • Suzanne Nelson, Instructor for Integrative Physiology
  • Amy Palmer, Associate Professor for Chemistry and Biology
  • Levi Perigo, Scholar in Residence for the Interdisciplinary Telecom Program
  • Everett Piper, McNeill Academic Coordinator and Math Instructor
  • Susan Ramirez-Armstrong, Undergraduate Program Assistant for Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
  • Elizabeth Stapp, Instructor for the Leeds College of Business
  • Theodore Stark, Senior Instructor and Costume Shop Supervisor for Theatre and Dance
  • Divya Vernerey, Instructor for the Department of Mathematics
  • Michael Walker, Instructor for the Environmental Engineering Program
  • Deborah Wuttke, Professor for the Molecular Biophysics Program