Human Resource Association Recognizes Educator as Innovator in Continuing Education

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Judith Tavano, professional development program coordinator at the University of Arkansas Global Campus, recently received the 2011 Pillar Award for consistently making an impact on the human resource community through active service.

The Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association presented Tavano with the engraved crystal award at its December meeting in Springdale in honor of her long-standing membership, service as a mentor to other professionals and status as an expert in continuing education.

“She is the reason that so many among us are professionally certified,” Darrin E. Coon, past president of the association, said at the award ceremony. “She is a visionary who knows how to identify needs and develop solutions.”

Tavano, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Simmons College in Boston, spent the last 12 years providing continuing education to human resource professionals. In 2005, she worked with the Society for Human Resource Management to bring the group’s SHRM Learning System Course, a training and exam preparation course, to Arkansas.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized by my peers for work I love,” Tavano said. “Since coming to Arkansas in 1999, it has been my mission to give back to the HR profession, which has been so good to me for so many years. Global Campus has provided me the opportunity to do just that – and more.  As professional development coordinator at Global Campus I am able to link the academic and professional worlds, providing the working people of our state – and beyond – with programs to help them enter and advance in a variety of demand occupations.”

In 2010, Ed Wheeler, the director of the Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management State Council, approached Tavano and asked if Global Campus could serve human resource professionals throughout the state of Arkansas by offering Global Campus’ successful SHRM Learning System Course in other parts of the state. Tavano responded by launching an online webcast version of these classes in the fall of 2010, providing a flexible alternative to face-to-face classes.

From fall 2005 to 2011, 206 people enrolled in the SHRM exam preparation classes, and 28 of those students studied online.

The Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management State Council “partnered with the Global Campus on this project because they had a time-tested and proven web-based educational delivery system that was capable of reaching all our members across the state and across the country,” Wheeler said. “We have been highly satisfied with this system and, with the help of the U of A Global Campus, look forward to growing participation.”

The success of the partnership won the Arkansas Society for Human Resource Management State Council and Global Campus a nomination for the 2011 national SHRM Pinnacle Award. That award recognizes outstanding achievements in chapter/state council development and contributions to the advancement of effective human resource management. 

The Global Campus (School of Continuing Education and Academic Outreach) offers the SHRM Learning System Course in the fall and spring of each year, with the next set of classes scheduled for Feb. 16-May 3. Other professional development classes that offer continuing education units are posted on the Global Campus website at http://globalcampus.uark.edu, under the Special Programs & Professional Studies tab.

The Global Campus partners with other university units, businesses and organizations to offer innovative learning solutions for people seeking to maintain professional certification, boost their skills, or obtain undergraduate or graduate degrees online or off-campus. The school also offers media services, conference services and facilities, and technology and pedagogy support.