Top WT staff members honored at Convocation ceremony launching academic year

CANYON — A West Texas A&M University employee who has helped thousands of students achieve their dreams was honored Aug. 19 as the academic year officially began.

During the annual Faculty and Staff Convocation ceremony, Trish McCormick, associate registrar, was named the recipient of the Clarence E. Thompson Staff Excellence Award, the University’s highest staff honor.

“I don’t do my job to be recognized. I do it for the service,” McCormick said. “So I’m humbled and honored to receive this.”

Also honored with staff excellence awards were University Police Chief Shawn Burns and Shannon Ham, director of payroll services.

WT President Walter V. Wendler addressed the assembled faculty and staff members, offering a state of the University speech that updated them on major construction projects, future plans and more.

“WT is first composed of its people,” Wendler said in prepared remarks. “We will continue to make every effort to recruit, retain and reward students, faculty and staff who share this commitment.”

The Thompson Award is named for a former mayor of Canyon who worked at WT for decades, ultimately serving as vice president for business and finance.

McCormick joined WT in 2002 in Advising Services, then moved to the Registrar’s Office in 2023.

In a nomination letter by Verna Hodge, curriculum coordinator in Advising Services, McCormick was lauded for her “advising expertise and her willingness to come up with solutions to academic problems.”

“I don’t know how many times faculty have asked me a difficult advising question, and I’ve often said, ‘Let me check with Trish on that and get back to you’,” Hodge wrote. “She … is constantly thinking of ways to make our processes more effective and more efficient.”

McCormick “never seems to buckle, no matter the pressure (she is) under, and delivers excellent work,” said Steven Knadle, Staff Council president, when presenting the award.

McCormick will graduate in December from WT with a doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Burns, who joined the UPD in 1995 and was promoted to chief in 2003, was praised for regularly sacrificing personal time to ensure WT is safe and secure.

The chief’s “dedication, service and leadership has made WT one of the safest campuses, year in and year out, not only in the State of Texas, but in the nation,” Knadle said.

Ham, who joined WT in 2012 at the University Bookstore before moving to Human Resources, was described as “an invaluable resource … whose work affects each and every one of us,” Knadle said.

“She recently tackled a payroll directive from the U.S. government impacting many at WT by working nights and weekends to prepare documents to aid affected employees and work with them to ensure they are not adversely impacted,” Knadle said.

The Magister Optimus award for faculty members was not presented this year. The chosen recipient, voted upon by the Faculty Senate, left the University for a new position over the summer.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Top WT staff members honored at Convocation ceremony launching academic year