Denison University seniors Ju’Quay Collyear, a major in mathematics and in educational studies from Mableton, Ga., and Steven Simpkins, a major in economics and in religion from Tiffin, Ohio, have been honored as recipients of the 2016 Kussmaul Award, which recognizes the Denison University students who have contributed most to the friendly relations between Granville and the college. Steve Matheny, director of the Granville Chamber of Commerce, and David English, vice president for finance and management at Denison, presented the awards at a ceremony held on Wednesday, April 20.
Collyear was nominated by Diane Curtis for Mathnasium of Granville. In her nominating letter, Curtis wrote: “As a math major with a passion for education, Ju’Quay has spent her four years at Denison contributing to the Granville community in a variety of ways. She has taught physical education at the Welsh Hills School, mentored reading for students with disabilities with Project MORE, volunteered in the Granville elementary school and coached the Granville Middle School MathCounts competition team. Currently, she is the Mathnasium Math Tutoring Center lead instructor, working with Granville area children in grades 2-12. Ju’Quay also serves as a community volunteer for the Denison women’s basketball team, Denison Black Student Union and Agape Christian Fellowship. After graduation, Ju’Quay plans on working fulltime with Math for Kids, a local nonprofit, to create the first Mathnasium nonprofit to provide math tutoring for economically disadvantaged children in the Columbus City Schools.”
Simpson was nominated by Matt Hughes of the Denison Department of Religion. In his nominating letter, Hughes wrote: “Steven is engaged in several activities with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He sings in the choir and works doing projects assisting Reverend Applegate. Previously, Steven was an intern at the Granville Area Chamber of Commerce helping former Executive Director Maggie Barno with activities to promote business in the village. On campus, Steven leads the Canterbury Club, the Episcopal Christian student organization, and he has been active in the Sustained Dialogue organization which is dedicated to fostering discussions and relationships that focus on issues of diversity of class, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, political ideation and region among students.”
In addition, Andrew Steedman, from Columbus, Ohio, and Samantha Coyle, from Dublin, Ohio, were nominated by Jesse Yeager for their work with YoungLife of Licking County.
Louis Kussmaul, brother of former printer and owner of the Granville Times W. H. Kussmaul, was a well-loved character in Granville. One of the original downtown “benchwarmers,” he was known for calling out his familiar greeting, “What do you know?” and jotting down the answer in his ever-present notebooks. The notebooks provided fodder for the annual Masonic Yearbook, which has became an important source of Granville and Denison history.
Kussmaul was intensely interested in both Granville and Denison and the relationship between them. His good friend Harry Amos, editor of the Cambridge (Ohio) Daily Jeffersonian honored “Lou” by funding the annual award. The Louis Kussmaul Friendship Award stands as a testimony to the friendship of the two men and to the importance of friendly relations between a college and its hometown. The award is presented by the Greater Granville Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with Denison.