MACOMB/NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Western Illinois University (WIU) Athletics is pleased to announce that Janice Gates was named WIU's Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Outstanding Faculty Award winner. Gates, who earned her bachelor's degree and master's degree from WIU, is a Senior Instructor in the School of Management and Marketing and has been at WIU since 1997.
The OVC's Outstanding Faculty Commitment to Student Success Awards began in March 2023. The awards were created by the Provosts from each OVC member institution to recognize outstanding faculty at their institutions. Every OVC institution has the opportunity to nominate faculty members with the rank of associate or full-time professor who has been employed at the institution for at least five years. The nomination criteria includes impact on students, consistent professional development, community involvement, institutional service, and contributions made to the department and university, including in areas such as curriculum development. Once nominations are complete, each OVC institution selects one faculty member as the winner.
Western Illinois baseball student-athlete and SAAC Co-President, Adam Juran, was part of the nomination process.
"When I had [Professor Gates] as an instructor, she was very supportive of athletics," Juran wrote in his nomination letter. "A day never went by last semester that she and I didn't share a talk about sports at Western Illinois University. She is a great teacher as well as a great person!"
Gates is a hands-on educator invested in the success of WIU students. She serves as faculty advisor to four student organizations on campus and is a member of several other committees. Gates and her husband are also season ticket holders for several Leatherneck athletic programs. In addition to her WIU involvement, Gates is also an invested citizen in the Macomb community and is involved with the McDonough District Hospital Auxiliary, McDonough County Genealogical and Historical Societies, and Maple Avenue Christian Church.
Professor Gates was one of three WIU faculty nominated for the OVC Outstanding Faculty Award by Western Illinois' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Also nominated were Dr. Beth Hansen (Associate Professor of Statistics) and Dr. Amanda Silberer (Associate Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology).
