Southeastern faculty, staff honored with President's Award for Excellence
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: August 20, 2013 
Recognizing Excellence – Southeastern President John L. Crain, right, recognized faculty and staff with the President's Award for Excellence at the university's annual Convocation Friday. Honored were, from left, David Wyld, Excellence in Teaching; Jacqueline Guendouzi, Excellence in Research; Alissa Mercurio Rowe, Excellence in Artistic Activity; Joseph Burns, Excellence in Faculty Service; and Marcus McMillian, Excellence in Unclassified Staff Service.
HAMMOND - Five members of the Southeastern Louisiana University faculty and staff were honored
with the President's Award for Excellence, the university's highest honor for employees,
at Southeastern's annual fall convocation on Friday (Aug. 16).
Receiving the awards were Jacqueline Guendouzi of Covington, the Knights of Babylon
Endowed Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Excellence in Research;
David Wyld of Hammond, the C.E. Laborde Professor of Management, Excellence in Teaching;
Alissa Mercurio Rowe of Mandeville, assistant professor and director of choral activities
in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Excellence in Artistic Activity; Joseph
Burns of Hammond, professor of communication, Excellence in Faculty Service; and Marcus
McMillian of Hammond, Excellence in Unclassified Staff Service.
A linguist, Guendouzi studies how people process language, applying her resesarch
to children, adults and people with brain injuries and dysfunctions. Her field of
study also includes gender differences in how men and women use language and communicate.
A native of Great Britain, she joined the Southeastern faculty in 2001. She is the
author of the book "Discourse Approaches to Dementia" and is currently collaborating
on projects with colleagues in the United States, New Zealand, Canada and the United
Kingdom.
Wyld was honored with his second' President's Award, having received the award
for excellence in research in 1998. Recognized as an innovator in teaching and willing
to try new approaches to reach his students, he places significant effort in keeping
courses highly relevant to modern business content and utilizing modern technology
and social media as part of instruction. He has been instrumental in helping students
get their papers published on the Internet, which helps those students improve their
chances for employment.
Rowe is the conductor of the Southeastern Concert Choir and has performed as
a soprano soloist nationally and internationally. A member of Southeastern's music
program since 2002, she currently serves as president of the Louisiana American Choral
Directors Association. Last year, she was recognized as the St. Tammany Parish Musical
Artist of the Year. Her colleagues praise her natural gift of motivating and inspiring
her students to strive for excellence and achieve their highest potential and artistry.
The graduate coordinator for the Organizational Communication program, Burns
has been a member of the faculty since 1999. Early in his tenure, he became involved
in the Faculty Senate, serving the group as its webmaster, vice president, and as
president for two years. As a former radio disc jockey, Burns is particularly known
as the developer and main host of Rock School, a weekly program on KSLU, Southeastern's
FM radio station, which has been recognized with two International Communicator Awards
for Excellence.
McMillian is the student technology services coordinator in the Office of Technology
and a 2003 graduate of Southeastern's computer science program. McMillian works in
several volunteer capacities, serving as an advisor for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity,
and mentoring at-risk children and young men through his church. On his own time,
Mr. McMillian underwent police training and currently serves as a reserve deputy with
the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office. He is a member of the Sheriff Office's Cyber
Crimes Task Force, working numerous sting operations to put child predators behind
bars. For his efforts, he was recognized by the Sheriff's Office as the Coordinator
of the Year in 2011.
