The Office of Inclusive Excellence would like to congratulate Ms. Nadirah Mayweather and Dr. Catrena Lisse on receiving this year's Inclusive Excellence Awards! Each year, OIE asks the GC community to submit nominations for the Staff and Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award. Members of the Staff and Faculty Diversity Peer Educators reviewed the nominations and selected the winners.
Ms. Mayweather is the Director of the Cultural Center. In her nomination, Ms. Mayweather was praised for her commitment to the success of Georgia College’s underrepresented students: "As Director of the Cultural Center, Nadirah serves our underrepresented students every day though education, community-building, and mentorship. But Nadirah also goes above and beyond the regular duties of her job to ensure students feel welcome, included, empowered, and cared for as they navigate the complexities of college life and the tumultuous world around them. She invited them to conversations before they set foot on campus to make sure they were seen and heard as already valuable members of our community. As a one-person unit, Nadirah pulls off incredible feats of programming and initiatives, creating a supportive, creative, and intellectual home for underrepresented students at Georgia College."
Dr. Lisse is a Professor of Chemistry and serves as the Director of Science Education Center. In her nomination, Dr. Lisse’s dedication to bringing science education to undeserved students in the community was highlighted: "Dr. Lisse has dedicated herself to providing STEM educational experiences for youth in under-resourced communities and to recruiting underrepresented students into STEM in higher education. Her role as director of the Science Education Center means she takes on the primary responsibility of coordinating the Annual Regional Science and Engineering Fair for grades 6-12, hosted at Georgia College annually. In 2021, she successfully coordinated the 44th annual fair virtually, bringing in 74 projects from 133 students from 12 surrounding counties. What makes this undertaking particularly inspiring is that many participating counties are insufficiently resourced for STEM-related activities and have network connectivity challenges. In her efforts and her drive to achieve a virtual experience of this magnitude for our local middle and high school students, she embodies the value of inclusion."