Jane Bierdeman-Fike Inspiration Award presented to Harriet Yelon

5/17/2012 Mary Ann Beahon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (573) 592-1127

 

William Woods University has always taken measures to honor those individuals who have made a difference.

This year, the social work department instituted a new award to honor a woman who helped establish the social work program at WWU"”the Jane Bierdeman-Fike Inspiration Award.

Her distinguished career spanned more than 60 years, 45 of them as a psychiatric social worker with the Missouri Department of Mental Health. From 1962 until 2000, she was the director of psychiatric social work at Fulton State Hospital.
 
Not only did Bierdeman-Fike help establish the social work program at William Woods, she also supported its students with scholarships and as a mentor. She died in March.
 
The inaugural Jane Bierdeman-Fike Inspiration Award was presented to Harriet Yelon, another woman who has made a difference at William Woods. Yelon has been a prominent member of the campus community for three decades. She retired in 2010, but continued to teach on a part-time basis through the fall of 2011.
 
Yelon says the thing she misses most about teaching is developing strong relationships with her students and helping those who needed help the most.
 
"I hope I have touched students' lives with knowledge and have changed their lives in small ways," she said.  "That's worth quite a bit when you teach every week for 25 years."
 
Yelon first came to WWU in 1981 to teach sociology and social work. She has taught upwards of 10 different courses throughout her career at William Woods, including Women in Society, Social Movements of the 1960s, Race and Ethnicity and Ethics in Social Science.
 
The Jane Bierdeman-Fike Inspiration Award was not the first recognition she has received for her efforts. In 1992, she was the recipient of the Louis D. Beaumont Dad's Association Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 1999 she won the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.
 
Yelon received the latest award based on the contributions she has made within the social work department, as well as the campus as a whole. In addition to her academic responsibilities, Yelon was the adviser of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity for four years.
 
"Harriet has always been an inspiration," Tony Weed, former president of Phi Gamma Delta, said. "Her dedication, caring attitude, wealth of knowledge, and unwavering support have been essential to my continued education and individual growth."
 
He added, "I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award, and we (the men of Phi Gamma Delta) wish her even more success in her future endeavors."
                                                           
CUTLINES:
Harriet Yelon with her latest award, the Jane Bierdeman-Fike Inspiration Award.

Elizabeth Wilson, director of the social work program, with Harriet Yelon.

Colleagues George Garner, Elizabeth Wilson, Harriet Yelon and Shawn Hull.