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Distinguished Staff Award Winners

2021 Distinguished Staff Award Winners

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Elise Bohn

Elise Bohn is known for her diligent work as Reference and Instruction Librarian and, since 2019, as Library Director for Kendall College of Art and Design. In her roles, she has been responsible for oversight of a full-service academic library, as well as development and delivery of its resources. She has been integral to multiple projects to incorporate faculty and student artwork into the library environment. Elise embraces the leadership opportunities, variety of responsibilities and the “all hands on deck” approach involved in maintaining a smaller library, loves that her position continues to allow her to work directly with students, creating comfortable, welcoming spaces for them to study, socialize and belong. She serves on numerous KCAD academic committees, and, in her community, she has participated in the Grand Rapids Women’s Chorus.

In recognition of her outstanding service as a valued member of Ferris staff, Elise Bohn has been selected to receive the 2021 Ferris State University Distinguished Staff Award.

Nicole DeKraker

Nicole DeKraker has served Kendall College of Art and Design in many roles supporting students, most recently as its Director of Student Engagement. She has helped build resources such as the KCAD Food and Wardrobe Pantry, which started as a closet with basic food resources for students in need but grew in scale through staff collaboration to include clothing and art supplies that are free to students in need. She also has served on multiple campus committees to support student experience and campus climate, as well as outreach to the larger Grand Rapids community. She currently is working with Friends of GR Parks’ Adopt a Park program to facilitate KCAD’s adoption of Rosa Parks Circle for the purpose of hosting community activities. Nicole and her husband are also deeply committed to animal welfare, and have cared for and fostered more than 21 animals.

In recognition of her outstanding service as a valued member of Ferris staff, Nicole DeKraker has been selected to receive the 2021 Ferris State University Distinguished Staff Award.

Franklin Hughes

Franklin Hughes has served Ferris for more than 10 years, primarily as Multimedia Specialist for the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Strategic Initiatives and the Jim Crow Museum. An avid researcher and visual storyteller, Franklin notably uncovered the university’s forgotten history of early service to African-American students, many of whom attended via Virginia’s Hampton Institute during the Jim Crow era. He cites co-authoring the book “Haste to Rise” with Diversity, Inclusion and Strategic Initiatives Vice President and JCM founder David Pilgrim as one of his proudest accomplishments at Ferris, along with his work with the Johnson Scholars Program of the Ferris Youth Initiative, for which he has served as a mentor. Franklin and his family also has provided housing to Ferris students in need. They are active in Riverside Christian Church in Big Rapids and Ripley Church of Christ in Ripley, West Virginia, where he provides the music ministry.

In recognition of his outstanding service as a valued member of Ferris staff, Franklin Hughes has been selected to receive the 2021 Ferris State University Distinguished Staff Award.

Kristen Johnson

Kristen Johnson has worked at the university for more than 22 years as a Secretary Level 2, first in Transfer Articulation for Allied Health Sciences and then for the Humanities Department, which also encompasses the Creative Arts Center, Theatre Program and Williams Auditorium. In her work, she provides administrative support for the auditorium in addition to critical functions for Humanities, including personnel action form, release time and FTE database, and syllabi document management. A superb listener who likes helping students and faculty solve problems, Kristen is known for her cool head and readiness to flex and take on new and diverse responsibilities as duties shift. In the Big Rapids community, Kristen and her family support their daughters’ 4H participation, as well as local shelter Our Brothers Keeper, the Animal Rescue Coalition and Muskegon River Watershed.

In recognition of her outstanding service as a valued member of Ferris staff, Kirsten Johnson has been selected to receive the 2021 Ferris State University Distinguished Staff Award.

Anne London

Anne London has worked as Director of Student Academic Affairs for the College of Arts, Science and Education since 2017. In this role, she liaises with Admissions to provide communications, and support faculty and staff participation in recruitment and retention activities. She also conducts Tuition Incentive Program reporting and NCAA verifications for all of CASE, as well as graduation auditing. Additionally, she currently serves as Interim Director of Academic Advising for the college. Anne is seen as a point of contact for academic policy questions for CASE and has led a number of process improvements, including college-wide adoption of MyDegree and other digital forms, as well as design of the communication processes related to summer orientation for CASE. She has served in multiple roles for the Region V National Academic Advising Association’s Planning Committee and the Michigan Academic Advising Association.

In recognition of her outstanding service as a valued member of Ferris staff, Anne London has been selected to receive the 2021 Ferris State University Distinguished Staff Award.

Previous Recipients

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