The Reed M. Gardner Award for Faculty Excellence was established in 2005 to acknowledge the contributions of faculty members to the Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Nursing Informatics. The award was created by students to acknowledge the achievements of faculty members in the areas of teaching, mentoring, and service to the departments. The award is given annually after a competitive nomination and decision process supervised by a committee of students.
The award is named in honor of Dr. Reed M. Gardner. Dr. Gardner was one of the principal developers and evaluators of the medical expert system Health Evaluation through Logical Processing (HELP). He served as a co-director of medical computing at LDS, Cottonwood, and Alta View Hospitals in Salt Lake. Dr. Gardner received a BS degree in electrical engineering in 1960 and later received a PhD in Biophysics and Bioengineering from the University of Utah. Dr. Gardner’s primary academic and research interests were in hospital informatics systems, computerized medical decision-making, computerization of critical care, automation of nursing processes, medical informatics education, and public health informatics. He authored or co-authored more than 350 articles in the fields of Medical Informatics and Bioengineering. Dr. Gardner was a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics and the past president and board director of the American Medical Informatics Association before his passing in 2020.
This year, the Reed M. Gardner Award for Faculty Excellence is given to Dr. Carolyn Scheese. Carolyn received her BSN from Weber State University, and her MS and DNP from the University of Utah, where she also earned a Certificate in Informatics. Her interest is in human factors and human systems interaction. She began teaching at the University of Utah in 2007 in an undergraduate baccalaureate program, then in the Nursing graduate program, and has been teaching courses for DBMI since 2019.
Carolyn is one of DBMI’s superstars and has become an integral part of our team since joining DBMI last year. She has been instrumental in the success of our MS program. Her input on implementing processes and policies along with her help with many of the issues that go along with a growing degree program have been invaluable. She has been and will continue to be a great influence and role model for our incoming and current master’s students.
The students of the Departments of Biomedical Informatics and Nursing Informatics also recognize Carolyn's amazing contributions. More than half of all the nominations received for this award were for Carolyn. She received glowing praise for her way of teaching, especially for how she teaches leadership, makes learning interesting, and goes out of her way to meet student needs. Her research mentorship was described as "kind, informative, and very valuable." Her interactions with students are always helpful and personalized. She listens, asks how she can improve, and actively seeks ways to implement the feedback she receives. Carolyn is an empathetic, engaged, and effective leader who more than earns the trust of everyone she works with.
Thank you, Carolyn, for your hard work and dedication. This award truly reflects your impact on teaching and mentoring.