Dr. Jeffrey Cropsey, former Director of the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support, assumed a position at Grantham University as the vice president for strategic initiatives. Grantham is an online university that has endeavored to provide educational opportunities to working adults for nearly 60 years. Cropsey was featured in a cover article that appeared last summer in MAE.

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Para M. Jones, vice president for advancement, planning and college/community relations at Stark State College of Technology, in Ohio, has been appointed as president of Spartanburg Community College, in South Carolina.

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Retired Navy Rear Admiral David R. Ellison, former president and superintendent of the New Mexico Military Institute, has been named president of the National Defense Intelligence College.

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Barbara R. Jones, dean of instruction and academic affairs at Louisiana Delta Community College, has been selected as president of South Arkansas Community College.

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Susan S. Wood, associate vice chancellor for institutional effectiveness at the Virginia Community College System, has been appointed vice chancellor for academic services and research there.

ON CAMPUS

The Krauska Award Selection Committee announced that Captain Ryan Hilton, USAF, was selected as the Krauska Award winner for 2009. This award is given annually to the most outstanding young active duty military lawyer in Texas. Captain Hilton is the assistant staff judge advocate, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin Air Force Base. In that position, Hilton is the acting chief of military justice, meeting or exceeding Air Force time standards; advises on high dollar construction contracts; advises the base commander on numerous civilian labor force disciplinary actions; and is counsel on various war game exercises.

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Major Sonya Batchelor, Texas Air National Guard, won the Colonel Ted E. Bailey, Jr. Award for the Outstanding Reserve Component Judge Advocate in Texas for 2009. She is currently assigned as the deputy staff judge advocate, 149th Fighter Wing, TXANG. She was assigned to the 149 FW in January 2007 after serving more than four years as an active duty air force judge advocate. Among her last active duty assignments, she served as a senior disability law attorney at the USAF Office of Disability Counsel working on a wide range of complex Wounded Warrior issues. She served as the chief counsel of the Physical Evaluation “Night Board” Program to reduce a severe case back load. Most recently with the Air Guard, she has become the Wounded Warrior expert and the “go to” resource for RC JAGs.

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Petty Officer Christopher Rubinan, Coast Guard; Senior Master Sergeant Robert Vanliew, Air Force; Gunnery Sergeant John O’Donnell, Marines; Chief Petty Officer Giovanni Balingit, Navy; and Petty Officer Jennifer Terry, National Guard/ Reserve, won GEICO Military Service Awards. 

Rubinan earned the award for his work in traffic safety and accident prevention by creating the air station’s motorcycle safety program and working with local community leaders on behalf of local residents. He is currently serving as an HH65C flight mechanic, SUCG Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico.

Vanliew was honored for his work in fire safety and fire prevention by reducing related injuries, updating safety regulations and providing expanded training. He is an aerospace propulsion craftsman assigned to the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group as the F100 repair network transformation flight chief, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. O’Donnell has made valuable contributions in the field of traffic safety and accident prevention, particularly through his motorcycle safety awareness and instruction programs. He is currently serving as the company first sergeant, Support Company, MWSS 372 MWSG 37, 3D MAW, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Balingit distinguished himself by organizing drug and alcohol abuse and prevention programs. Currently serving on USS Nimitz (CVN-68), he was selected for this award while serving at the Fleet Readiness Center, Southwest, San Diego, Calif.

Terry made her contributions in the field of traffic safety and accident prevention. Terry is a certified child passenger safety seat technician and often teams up with organizations like the Florida Department of Transportation and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department to offer car seat safety checkpoints throughout the area. As a Naval Reservist she was selected for this award while assigned to the Naval Security Forces, NAS Pensacola, Fla. Terry is currently undergoing training at Fort Lewis, Wash. in preparation for deployment to Iraq.

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Staff Sergeant Ronald White, a U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart military policeman, is Installation Management Command’s top noncommissioned officer for 2009. White represented IMCOM-Europe at the five-day National Capital Region Best Warrior Competition at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., beating out the top NCOs from IMCOM’s six other regions. He also took second place in the National Capital Region competition as IMCOM’s representative, and served as alternate at the Armylevel competition at Fort Lee, Va. White also won a 2009 GEICO Military Service Award for his work in traffic safety and accident prevention by creating an effective Crash Dummy Checkpoints program.

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Matthew A. Staton, direct advisor and staff assistant to the secretary of the Army on wounded soldier matters, was the keynote speaker at the DoD’s disability awards ceremony and forum in December. Staton medically retired from the Army in 2007, following two deployments to Iraq with the 8th Infantry Regiment. ♦

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