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2024 UVU Awards of Excellence

Celebrating the efforts of full-time faculty and staff who dedicate their time and talents to students, scholarship, and the advancement of higher education

By UVU Photo

April 11^th, 2024

On April 11, 2024, the Utah Valley University Board of Trustees and Presidential Awards of Excellence program honored full-time faculty and staff who dedicate their time and talents to students, scholarship, and the advancement of higher education. These individuals embrace UVU’s core values of exceptional care, exceptional accountability, and exceptional results.

Awardees and their guests enjoyed an evening of celebration and recognition with fine dining, musical performances from Artiva Strings and Bloom A Cappella, and remarks from UVU leaders.

UVU Board of Trustees member Andrea Clarke began the program with this message:

“If you’ve ever seen the outside of a geode, you might not suspect that the inside is lined with layers of sparkling crystals as they appear very humble. The crystals are formed when temperature, pressure, and evaporation changes exist. The color of geode crystals depends on the specific materials and minerals found in the environment.

“As we think about the individuals we are honoring tonight, they represent not only UVU’s core values but, in a way, they are also UVU’s geodes. They are humble. They are brilliant. They create beautiful crystals of their own through mentorship, scholarly and academic works, and most importantly, their environment has crafted them into true green UVU representatives. We are so grateful to these unique individuals who make UVU a beautiful and successful place to work, learn, and educate our students.”

UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez included this message:

“The Awards of Excellence honor those who live the core values of UVU: exceptional care, exceptional accountability, and exceptional results. They support our mission of student success and do it with discipline and love. To the awardees, I say: ‘You truly represent the best of UVU!’

“What makes the best of UVU? I believe these are faculty and staff who bring their best selves to work every day. They are clear about their goals. They work effectively alone or in teams. They are ambitious and gritty. They use resources wisely. They model behaviors that we want our own students to have when they leave the halls of UVU.

“To the awardees, thank you for your dedication, passion, skills, and leadership. Because of you, our students thrive and our university moves from strength to strength. I am proud and grateful to work alongside all of you.”

Board of Trustees Awards of Excellence Winners

Spencer Childs Senior Director, Concurrent Enrollment

Hailing from Mapleton, Utah, Spencer Childs came to UVU in the 90s as a student employee and transitioned to a full-time role in 2004. With degrees in business management and American studies, Childs oversees the department that represents 34% of UVU’s total headcount and has saved students over $35 million in annual tuition. His favorite parts of working at UVU are the opportunities for professional development and student success. When not enjoying the views of the scenic Orem Campus, Childs finds joy in family time, outdoor exploration, reading, and collecting minerals.

Christie Denniston Assistant Vice President, Strategic Engagement, Institutional Advancement

Christie Denniston calls Longmont, Colorado, home and has worked at UVU for almost four years. Her higher education journey is marked with milestones such as receiving bachelor’s degrees in public relations, political science, and gerontology, as well as a Master of Public Administration and a doctorate in higher education leadership with an emphasis in data analytics. A member of multiple boards, Denniston is also the winner of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Award for the EverGREEN Ambassador Program and CASE’s Best of CASE Director VII award for targeted constituency engagement. Her favorite parts of working at UVU are having the chance to help all students succeed, working in an authentic environment, and contributing to the university’s goal of “punching above our weight.” Denniston loves spending time outside UVU coaching youth sports and trying new tea blends. She and her husband, Mark, have a son named Anders.

John Curl Director, Financial Aid and Scholarships

John Curl is from Edgemont, South Dakota, and has worked for UVU since 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Utah. Winner of the Rocky Mountain Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator’s (RMASFAA) Distinguished Service Award (2010-2011) and the RMASFAA’s Ron Smout Award for Teaching and Mentoring (2023), Curl has had a successful tenure helping students succeed. When asked about his favorite part of working at UVU, he said, “The people of UVU are the difference.” Curl and his wife, Karalee, have a vibrant family consisting of two sons (Johnny and Jake), one daughter (Haylee), two daughters-in-law (Kendall and Lucy), and three granddaughters (Adeline, Karsyn, and Jordyn).

Claudia Jorgensen Associate Professor, Behavioral Science

From Salt Lake City, Utah, Claudia Jorgensen joined the Wolverine family in 2013 as an assistant professor and is presently an associate professor in the behavioral science department. Jorgensen holds an associate degree in early childhood development from Oakland Community College, two bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Michigan-Flint, and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Florida State University. With an extensive collection of published academic work and multiple awards under her belt, including the 2023 UVU Single Academic Innovation Award, Jorgensen is dedicated to further studying her craft and providing students with a high-quality educational experience. The driving force behind her dedication is also her favorite aspect of working at UVU: the university’s mission to create a welcoming environment for students, staff, and faculty. In her free time, Jorgensen loves to spend time outdoors or coloring and doing puzzles with her husband, Hans Jorgensen, and their two children, Aiden and Amelia.

Amy L. Smith Assistant Director, People and Culture

Amy L. Smith is from the nearby city of American Fork. Her first interaction with UVU was as a student in 2012, and in 2019, she achieved her goal of being hired at UVU as a benefits specialist. Her UVU path continued later that year when she was hired as an employee relations business partner, a compensation analyst in fall 2021, and the assistant director of compensation in fall 2022. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in integrated studies, where she combined business management and psychology. She graduated Magna Cum Laude. Voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in junior high, Smith sees the best part of her steady climb at UVU as the family that she’s created. “People are engaged in their work, take pride in their results, and believe in the university's mission. We’re all in it together, especially when it’s difficult.” She has four children with whom she shares “a love of arguing and jovial debate.” When Smith and her kids aren’t challenging each other’s philosophical constructs, she loves studying the earth, painting “really terrible” watercolor pieces, watching movies, and working on her golf swing.

Presidential Awards of Excellence Winners

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