Professor of English Ricardo Cortez Cruz has been awarded the 2022 Outstanding University Service Award. Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning Kristina Falbe and Assistant Professor Anne Shelley of Milner Library have been awarded Service Initiative Awards.
University Service Awards
The Service Awards honor and recognize faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in service to Illinois State University. By honoring such individuals, the University demonstrates its commitment to recognizing service as an activity essential to its mission and governance, provides incentive for faculty members to pursue activities that enhance the quality of their service, emphasizes the importance of outstanding service.
Outstanding University Service Award
Ricardo Cortez Cruz
Professor Ricardo Cortez Cruz joined the department of English in 1998 as a guest professor, becoming assistant professor in 1999. Dr. Cruz’s professional service philosophy stems from his belief that “service is always about people.”
Since joining the university, Cruz has served on nearly every standing committee in the department including Department Faculty Status Committee, Equity and Diversity Committee, English Education Committee, Graduate Committee and Curriculum Committee. He served as associate chair from 2012 to 2015, and in 2020 as acting chair, successfully helping faculty and students navigate the move to online learning. He served on a College Council subcommittee in 2002-2003. Cruz served on university committees such as Academic Freedom, Ethics, and Grievance, Foundations of Excellence Task Force, and the Faculty Review Committee. Additionally, he served on the search committee for Director of Diversity and Affirmative Action. From 2013 to 2018, he sat on the Illinois Board of Higher Education Diversifying Faculty Initiative Program committee. For over 10 years, Cruz has been faculty coordinator for the department’s annual “Day of Writing” for the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO).
Cruz was the recipient of the John A. Dossey Award for Outstanding Teaching, the highest honor for teaching bestowed by the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Outstanding Teacher Award in Arts and Sciences. In 2009, he received the David A. Strand Diversity Achievement Award and in 2011, he received the Outstanding College Service Award. A prolific creative writer, he has had two novels published and dozens of contributions in print and electronic magazines and journals. He has received multiple grants from the Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program.
University Service Initiative Awards
Kristina Falbe
Dr. Kristina Falbe joined the School of Teaching and Learning in 2017 as an assistant professor. She believes a foundational piece of her identity as a first-generation college student and teacher rests on the idea that she is an “architect of change.” As such, her role calls for action where innovation and creativity have a voice. Her service, which is tied to both her research and teaching, is primarily focused on her commitment and advocacy for young adolescent and middle school learners.
Falbe has been involved with service at the school, college, and university levels. She is a member of the Graduate Committee and has served on Student and Faculty Interest Committees. She serves on the College Technology Committee and is vice chair of the College Council. She is a member of the University Curriculum Committee and the Electronic Portfolio Ad Hoc Committee.
Active in professional organizations, Falbe is a member of the Advisory Committee for the Association of Middle Level Education. She also serves as treasurer in the Middle Level Education Research SIG of the American Educational Research Association. She has served as an editor for professional publications and has been a lead program reviewer for Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). Within the state, she serves as co-director of Horizons Schools to Watch and is the university’s at-large representative on the Association of Illinois Middle Schools.
Falbe has been the recipient of the College of Education Service Award and the Registered Student Organization Advisor of the Year. She has had numerous articles and three book chapters published and has given over 40 presentations and workshop sessions. She has also received several research fellowship grants from the College.
Anne Shelley
Anne Shelley joined Milner Library in 2012 as instructional assistant professor becoming assistant professor in 2017. When service opportunities arise, one thing she considers is who or what would benefit from the work. In many cases, her work has positively impacted the students of Illinois State University. Shelley has been very involved with the ISU Textbook Affordability Committee as well as the CARLI OER Committee, which began as a task force and for which she was an inaugural member. According to Shelley, “students are at the heart of most discussions that take place in both groups such as defining the affordability problem of course materials on our campus…and identifying and working with partners who are equally committed to student success, retention, and equity.” Through these activities, she has learned more about ways to support students in her role as scholarly communication and music librarian.
Shelley recently served on the Milner Library Strategic Planning Team and the Patron Services Working Group. She has served on the Department Faculty Status Committee and many recital committees. At the university level, she serves on the Intellectual Property Committee and has been on several search committees. She has served on the Open Educational Resources Task Force – Consortium of Academic Research Libraries in Illinois as chair and co-chair. For the past 10 years, she has been very involved with the Music Library Association in various roles.
