KU Continuing Education to honor four for distinguished service

LAWRENCE — University of Kansas Continuing Education will honor four Distinguished Service Award recipients at a reception from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at Continuing Education, 1515 St. Andrews Drive.

Recipients are Ed Berger, president, Hutchinson Community College; Donald T. Ward, professor emeritus, Texas A&M University; John Lloyd, Air Force Fire Chief (retired), Wellington fire chief (retired) and Fire Service Training Commission member; and Dr. Steven Simpson, professor, acting chair, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, director, Fellowship Training.

The Distinguished Service Awards recognize KU partners and faculty who have embraced university outreach by incorporating public service into their daily lives. “Through Continuing Education, KU opens its doors and offers its abundant resources to learners of all ages from every county in Kansas to every corner of the globe,” said Frederick Pawlicki, executive director of KUCE. “But we could not do it without the support and guidance of faculty, administrators, citizens, volunteers and participants. These awards are our way of recognizing four special advocates of Continuing Education for their invaluable service.”    

Berger will receive the award for Partner in Outreach and Development for South Central Kansas. In 2004, the Bernard Osher Foundation chartered an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at KU through Continuing Education. The Institute was given programming jurisdiction throughout Kansas and the Greater Kansas City area to offer noncredit enrichment short courses and events for people 50 years of age and over.

In 2008, Berger was instrumental in partnering with KUCE to bring the first Osher courses to the Hutchinson community and to extend outreach by offering additional courses to nearby communities. In 2012, the Osher Institute at KU created a South Central Region, including partnerships with Hesston College and Schowalter Villa, Hesston; Kidron Bethel Village, North Newton, and in 2013, The Cedars Retirement Community. Registrations continue to soar throughout the five-county region, enriching the lives of hundreds of Kansans.

Ward will receive the award for Dedication in Teaching/Educational Services for the Aerospace Short Course Program. Ward is professor emeritus of aerospace engineering and former director of the Flight Mechanics Laboratory at Texas A&M University. Previously, Ward served 23 years as an officer in the Air Force, retiring with the rank of colonel. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is the senior co-author of two textbooks, Introduction to Flight Test Engineering (Volumes I and II). He is a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers and the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Ward teaches four short courses for the Aerospace Short Course Program at KU Continuing Education — Flight Test Principles and Practices, Advanced Flight Tests, Aerospace Applications of Systems Engineering and Flight Control Actuator Analysis and Design. Since joining the Aerospace Short Course Program in 1991, Ward has taught more than 120 classes in the United States and abroad and is one of the most respected faculty members in the Aerospace Short Course Program. He is known for his strong loyalty to and support for KU Continuing Education.

Lloyd will receive the award for Partner in Public Service. In 1997, while serving on the executive board of the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs (KSAFC), he was asked by Glenn Pribbenow, the new director of Kansas Fire & Rescue Institute, to become an active partner in improving the training program.   

Lloyd and Pribbenow approached the Kansas Legislature for support, and in 2002, the Legislature created the Kansas Fire & Rescue Institute along with temporary funding. In 2004, the same initiative brought permanent funding to the Institute as well as creation of The Fire Service Training Commission. Lloyd has also served on the Governor’s Kansas State Association of Fire Chief’s Commission as a leader, defender and mentor since its creation.

Dr. Simpson will receive the award for Partner in Medical Outreach and Application of Early Goal-Directed Therapy for Septic Patients Based on Successful Applied Research at The University of Kansas Hospital. He is the course director for the Kansas Sepsis Project and co-founder and leader of the Midwest Critical Care Collaborative. He has also served as faculty member and co-chair of two Institute of Healthcare Improvement/Bureau of Primary Healthcare National Health Disparities collaboratives.

Dr. Simpson has conducted extensive research on sepsis, an illness in which the body has a severe response to bacteria or other germs. This research has elevated him to national prominence for his work reducing mortality and costs associated with severe sepsis. He has worked in partnership with KUMC Continuing Education to educate Kansas health care professionals in the rapid diagnosis and treatment of sepsis and has delivered 20 presentations in 12 locations throughout Kansas. The University of Kansas Hospital, through the work of Dr. Simpson and his colleagues, has reduced the mortality of severe sepsis from 49.1 percent to 22.6 percent and saved KU Hospital $18 million per year through implementing evidenced-based quality care in the diagnosis and management of sepsis. He is currently working with Continuing Education to target critical access hospitals (CAH) in rural, underserved areas in Kansas.

University of Kanas Continuing Education supports the teaching, research, and public service missions of the University, contributing to postgraduate professional education, workforce development, distance learning, and quality of life for Kansas and worldwide communities. 

For more information visit Continuing Education, email kuce@ku.edu or call (785) 864-5823 or toll-free (877) 404-5823.