ALLIANCE, Ohio – The University of Mount Union honored three retiring faculty members and two retiring staff members at its annual Employee Recognition Ceremony on May 3. 

Those being honored included Jill Hissom, housekeeping stockroom coordinator; Charles McClaugherty, professor of biology, director of the Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center and the John D. Brumbaugh Chair in Environmental and Ecological Sciences; Cheryl Paine, documents librarian; Peter Schneller, professor of education; and Jan Webler, assistant professor of education. 

Hissom had been with the Mount Union Physical Plant since 2002 and was described as being a vital part in making sure the facilities at Mount Union had the proper resources to make day-to-day work run smoothly.

McClaugherty had been with the University since 1988 and earned the Great Teacher Award in 1993 and the Exemplary Teaching Award in 1996. An active member of the Alliance community, McClaugherty has served on numerous area environmental committees and was named Citizen of the Year in Alliance in 2007. 

Paine had been the documents librarian at Mount Union since 1980 and assisted through numerous facility renovations and changes to the Mount Union library. She has also been active in the community, serving on Alliance’s One Book, One Community committee. 

Schneller had been a member of the Mount Union faculty since 1998 and was also honored with the Great Teacher Award in 2009. He is credited with founding the Mount Union chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the education honorary, and has presented research at numerous conferences across the country. Schneller has also formed connections between Mount Union’s Department of Education and several area school districts to continue to have a mutually beneficial relationship upon his retirement. 

Webler has been a figurehead in Stark County education for more than 30 years and has been a member of the Mount Union faculty since 2012. She too was honored with the Great Teacher Award in 2017. As a grant writer, Webler has assisted in securing more than $1 million in grant money for Alliance City Schools and brought valuable experience to Mount Union students beyond the classroom.