The Wesley C. Walraven Faculty Award and Mace Bearer Award are given each year at GHC to deserving faculty members. 

Named after former Academic Dean Dr. Wesley C. Walraven, the Walraven Award recognizes attributes such as unselfish dedication to students, a quietly focused management style and keen intelligence. 

Sharryse Henderson has demonstrated those qualities this year. Henderson is a professor of biology within the School of Stem and was presented the award at the May 12 commencement ceremony. 

Likewise, it is a great honor to be a recipient of the Mace Bearer Award. Recipient Dr. Lisa Jellum, Dean of Health Sciences, said, “I feel honored to have been voted by my peers to such an honor.” 

The mace from the Mace Bearer Award is symbolic, as medieval universities would use the club weapon to defend themselves. They would not use swords as “it was considered inappropriate for gentle scholars to draw blood,” GHC Senior Administrative Assistant Rhonda Sosebee said in a mass email. 

The mace made the assertion that the academy should protect and foster things such as the liberty to do research, to study, to publish and to learn. 

The Mace Bearer Award recipient served at all three commencement ceremonies on May 12, 2022. 

 “I am very excited to represent the faculty in such a way,” Jellum said.