Plemmons Medallion

        

        

        Four individuals who have improved campus life for thousands of Appalachian State University students were honored during fall convocation September 6, 2001. Vaughn Christian, William Buck Derrick Jr., Peggy Eller and Ashley Goad received the universitys W. H. Plemmons Leadership Medallion.

        Vaughn Christians work has enriched the quality of life and has advanced the education of students. He chairs Appalachians Department of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science. During his tenure at Appalachian, Christian has seen the HLES program grow from offering one degree a joint health, physical education and recreation degree- to five degree areas. He has been mentoring students since he joined Appalachians faculty in 1971. His philosophy about teaching is simple. When youre a teacher, you have got to put the students above yourself because they are the most important thing, he said. Christian says watching students grow intellectually and seeing graduates become successful in their professions has been among the highlights of his career at Appalachian. Watching the light come on when they get the idea and realize the material is more than something to be memorized, that it is to be applied to improve peoples lives is one of the many rewards of teaching, he said.

        Christian continues to teach a lifestyles course that addresses ways to improve life through exercise and stress management, and a research methods course. Christian was instrumental in beginning an exercise program for faculty and staff that has grown into the universitys Health Promotion program. He helped expand the departments human performance lab, which originally focused on improving the conditioning of student athletes, into a program that addresses wellness issues of the entire campus community as well as area children and adults.

        Christian was Appalachians mens soccer coach in the 1970s and received Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1974, 1975 and 1976. He also received an outstanding teaching award in 1975. He helped establish the Student Exercise Club and he has been active with Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Chi honor societies.

        He earned bachelors and masters degrees from George Peabody College and an Ed.D. from Louisiana State University.

       Buck Derrick was Director of Student Health Services at Appalachian from 1991 to June 2001. He joined the university in 1976 after serving in family practice in Boone for eight years. He was the Assistant Director from 1976 until 1991.

        During his 25 years at Appalachian, Derrick has helped diversify and expand student healthcare at the university. In addition to traditional health services, Student Health Services operates a rehabilitation/injury clinic, an allergy clinic, radiology and medical lab, pharmacy, a walk-in clinic for students who do not have appointments, gynecology clinic and an after-hours clinic.

        A travel services component provides students with appropriate travel information, immunizations and medications in preparation for international travel. Derrick said Student Health Services is an integral part of the university and its teaching mission. Any MD can practice, but we must be part of the students education outside of class, Derrick says. We recognize that the students are here to learn and be in the classroom, so we provide that health care in a way to maximize their participation in the classroom, Derrick said. We also teach our students, even when they come to us ill, about healthy practices such as smoking cessation, moderation with alcohol and protection from sexually transmitted diseases.

        In April 2001, Derrick received the Charles Bohmann Award from the Southern College Health Association in honor of his longstanding service to the organization. Derrick received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wofford College and his MD from the Medical University of South Carolina.

        Peggy Eller thrives on having a job she knows makes a difference to other peoples lives.

As Director of the universitys Child Development Center, Eller and her staff have created a safe haven for children and a place that provides a welcoming, loving and learning environment, wrote a nominator.

        During her 13 years as Director, Eller has shepherded the centers growth from a facility on Rivers Street accommodating 15 children to the current Poplar Grove Road location, which serves 51 children ranging from six weeks to age 5. A planned addition will expand services to 76 children.

The center is one of only two facilities in the UNC system providing full-time child care for students, faculty and staff. It is considered a model by other universities planning similar campus-based child development centers. The center has a four-star rating from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Child Development. Fifty percent of the spaces available are reserved for Appalachian students, a service that has allowed many students, particularly single parents and non-traditional students, to begin or complete their college degrees.

        Eller is a 1977 graduate of Appalachian. She is a member of the Northwest Association for Education of Young Children, the Watauga County Childrens Council and the Watauga County Recreation Committee.

        Ashley Goad became a valuable part of the university community while a student at Appalachian. The political science major was a senator and officer in the Student Government Association, a peer leader in the Freshman Seminar Program and a tutor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice. While in Boone she helped establish Rotaract, a student service organization affiliated with Rotary International. The Boone Rotary Club supported her travel to Trinidad.

        Goad said she was most proud of her work developing a new Academic Integrity Code being considered by the university.

        Goad, recently engaged to Appalachian graduate David R. Rickard, lives in Winston-Salem.