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The Graduate Student Association awarded individuals for their
service to graduate students at its end-of-the-year reception
Tuesday.
Given out annually by GSA, the James LuValle Distinguished
Service Award and the Jeffrey L. Hanson Distinguished Service Award
recognize individuals for their commitment to the graduate student
community.
LuValle award recipient Michael Cohn said he is very honored to
receive the award and to be associated with James LuValle, founder
of UCLA’s GSA.
Having worked with officers and forum members this year as an
administrative representative to the association, Cohn said he is
impressed with efforts by officers to address student concerns, as
well as the increased student involvement in the association this
year.
“It’s extremely thoughtful of GSA to give these
awards … and I look forward to working with incoming officers and
forum members next year,” he added.
Other administrators also expressed their appreciation of the
awards.
“When you devote your career and life to working for
students it feels good to be recognized for that,” said
Robert Naples, dean of students and another recipient of the
award.
He said he has seen GSA become more involved in making changes
to better the lives of graduate students in the past two years.
This year’s other recipients of the LuValle award ““
created this past year to recognize faculty, staff and
administrators who have gone out of their way to serve the needs of
graduate students ““ include staff members Verra Morgan, Dena
Chertoff and Ronni Sanlo.
The Hanson Awards are given to GSA student representatives and
appointees to acknowledge their work in representing the interests
and concerns of graduate and professional students through forum
and various committees.
“It’s encouraging and an honor to be recognized for
something that I’ve worked on,” said Haig Hovsepian, a
student in the neuroscience program and a recipient of the
award.
Hovsepian, who represents the association at the Academic Senate
Committee on Diversity and Equal Opportunity, said he hoped to
continue working to get graduate student input on the issue of
faculty diversity.
Other recipients of the Hanson Awards this year include Naser
Hamdi, representative to the Student Fee Advisory Committee, Marie
Parks, who sits on the Associated Students of UCLA Board of
Directors, and Jerome Zoidakis, representative to GSA.
In evaluating the nominations, GSA President Charles Harless
said current officers selected award recipients “who had gone
that extra step in addressing graduate student issues.”