Dunwoody Campus business professor Frederick Bounds threw his hands in the air and performed a quick happy dance upon receiving recognition for 25 years of employment at Georgia Perimeter College.

Bounds’ jovial antic played well during the 2015 Celebration of Excellence Awards Reception for Faculty, Professional and Administrative Staff—which was filled with robust applause, a few standing ovations and several humorous remarks by award presenters.

Rob Watts, GPC interim president, also announced 25-year service awards for 21 of Bounds’ colleagues, as well as a 35-year honor for Lynn Ellington, the college’s OIT production coordinator. “Collectively, there are more the 885 years of GPC knowledge and experience in this group,” Watts remarked.

For his part, Bounds also picked up this year’s Faculty Professional Development Award, selected largely for his ability to infuse his in-depth training and knowledge about Chinese and Asian culture into what he teaches students.

“I know that some of my colleagues put some sincere and energetic effort into nominating me, and knowing that someone was willing to do that makes me feel really good,” Bounds said after receiving the award.

Clarkston engineering professor Dr. Anant Honkan nabbed one of this year’s most prestigious Celebration of Excellence honors: the Cole Fellow. “It’s unbelievable; it’s a big deal for me,” Honkan said, beaming.

Cole Fellows are selected for extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching demonstrated by excellence in areas such as service to students, institution, community and profession, scholarly approach to teaching and impact on and involvement with students.

At GPC, Honkan has developed and produced two engineering courses now deemed fundamental to engineering students and their studies beyond Georgia Perimeter. He also led the establishment of the Regional Engineering Transfer Program with Georgia Tech.

“In teaching such students, I want to ensure that they are ready and independent to take on the demanding pressures of a four-year environment to complete their education and go beyond,” he says.

Another top award went to Dr. Jeff Portnoy, who oversees GPC’s Honors Program. Portnoy, an English professor, won the President’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award.

The 2015 Celebration of Excellence reception proved extra rewarding for Georgia Perimeter’s Health, Wellness and Recreation director Rodney Pegues and his team.

Pegues won the Leadership Award, while two of his staffers, Brandi Meriwether and Bishara Omar received Values Awards.

“I’m speechless,” Pegues said. “It’s not about me, it’s about the team.”

A full listing of this year’s awards and their recipients is listed below.

COLE FELLOW AWARD: Anant Honkan, Clarkston, Engineering

PRESIDENT’S DISTINGUISHED FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Dr.Jeffrey Portnoy, Clarkston, Honors Program

FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD: Dr. Frederick Bounds, Dunwoody, Business

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S OUTSTANDING FACULTY OF THE YEAR: Rosalyn Jacobs, Dunwoody, English

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION’S OUTSTANDING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Trae Johnson, College-wide Financial Aid

TEACHING EXCELLENCE: Joanne Weir, Dunwoody, Dental Hygiene, and Timothy Tarkington, Clarkston, Humanities

FACULTY SERVICE EXCELLENCE: Pamela Cushenan, Dunwoody, Dental Hygiene

PROFESSIONAL, ADMINISTRATIVE AND STAFF AWARDS

GPC CULTURE AWARDS:

Teamwork: Juan Brito and the GPC Grounds Crew, College-wide Plant Operations; and The Chattahoochee Review staff of Anna Schachner, Lydia Ship and Alicia Johanneson.

Leadership: Rodney Pegues, College-wide Health, Wellness and Recreation

Quality Service: Sheree Simpson and Linda Fields of the Clarkston Campus Enrollment and Registration office.

Continuous Improvement: Alice Murray, Collegian advisor, Student Affairs

 GPC OUTCOMES AWARDS:

Student Success: Nathaniel Holmes, College-wide Advising, Counseling and Retention Services

Access/Capacity: Cynthia Lester and Vertilee Henry, College-wide STEM programs

Enhancement: Jennifer Jenkins, Clarkston, Fine Arts

 GPC VALUES AWARDS: Simone Clay, Decatur, Financial Aid; Brandi Meriwether, Dunwoody, Health, Wellness and Recreation; and Bishara Omar, Clarkston, Health, Wellness and Recreation

25-YEAR SERVICE AWARDS: Louise Boynton, Sharon Riley, Linda Scott, Betty Benardo, Fred Bounds, Ashraful Chowdhury, Susan Clarke, Pamela Gore, Barbara Hall, Michael Hall, Beth Jensen, Rosemary Robertson, Sheryl Shanholtzer, Tina Stern, James Williams, Emily Whaley, Judy Nichols, Rhonda Shaw, Lora Mirza, Margaret Major, Keith Harris and Paul Beams

35-YEAR SERVICE AWARD: Lynn Ellington