Three Niagara University adjunct faculty members were recognized during a special reception held in St. Vincent’s Hall on Tuesday, April 5.

Receiving the 2015-2016 Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award were Jack T. Ampuja, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Excellence, Dr. Thomas R. Scheira, senior lecturer in the College of Education, and Paul D. Waite, adjunct professor of hospitality and tourism management.

(The awardee for the College of Arts and Sciences will be announced April 22 as part of the college’s annual Day of Recognition.)

Adjunct Faculty Recognition Reception | 04.05.16

Ampuja is a widely recognized expert in global logistics and packaging optimization. During the past 10 years, he has twice held a VP-level position in logistics at Fortune 500 companies. A native of Finland with dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, Ampuja now leads the Supply Chain Optimizers consulting firm.

Dr. Scheira joined the College of Education in 1988. Since beginning as a student teaching supervisor, he has taught courses ranging from foundations of education to research and statistics. Dr. Scheira’s students report that he “has a unique way of building confidence,” and he “probes for a variety of answers in an effort to show varying perspectives.”

Waite began teaching for NU’s College of Business Administration in the summer of 1979. Since also joining the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Waite teaches the hospitality industry financial and hospitality industry managerial accounting classes.

The Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award is an institutional acknowledgement of the significant work that adjunct faculty members devote to course planning and preparation; curriculum development; and innovative teaching, advising, and mentoring, and is granted in recognition of the vital contributions adjuncts make to the teaching mission of the university.