Top WT Staff Members Honored at Ceremony Launching Academic Year

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — 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.

Classes begin Aug. 26. Move-In Day is Aug. 22, and Buff Branding, the traditional welcome weekend for new and returning students, is Aug. 22 to 24.

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.

Photo: West Texas A&M University President Walter V. Wendler, left, celebrates with staff award winners Shannon Ham, Trish McCormick and Chief Shawn Burns.

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.

A commitment to excellence among faculty and staff is a key component of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World .

That plan is fueled by the historic  One West  comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised nearly $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of about 10,000 and offers 59 undergraduate degree programs and more than 40 graduate degrees, including two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

Photo: Trish McCormick, associate registrar, was named the recipient of the Clarence E. Thompson Staff Excellence Award at the 2024 Faculty and Staff Convocation at West Texas A&M University. WT President Walter V. Wendler presents the award to McCormick.

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