Congratulations to Metro State University's Fall 2022 Emeriti honorees. The following individuals have demonstrated continued dedication to Metro State and a willingness to go above and beyond. They leave powerful legacies of service and selflessness. We ask you to join us in thanking them for their contributions to the university and in wishing them each a joyful, fulfilling retirement.
John Bigelbach—Staff Emeritus
Joyce Bredesen—Professor Emerita
Judith Graziano—Professor Emerita
Dr. Judith Graziano, PhD, RN, served the university for more than 17 years. During her time, Dr. Graziano demonstrated distinguished service to the Department of Nursing, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and the university. She attained the rank of professor and taught across both undergraduate and graduate programs sharing her expertise and passion in evidence-based practice and research.
Highlights of Dr. Graziano’s tenure include leadership in developing the Consortium Post-master’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. She worked with a faculty group from four participating Minnesota State universities to develop, implement, and evaluate the curriculum, which resulted in approval by the Higher Learning Commission. As a demonstration of her commitment to student and program success, Dr. Graziano willingly served as a project mentor to students from two other universities during the program implementation, doubling her required mentee load. Her work during this time ensured a high-quality program that served as the foundation for Metro State’s current DNP program.
Dr. Graziano served in multiple leadership roles including Interim Director of Nursing Programs, Interim Executive Director School of Nursing, Department Chair, Acting Associate Dean, Interim Dean, and Dean. She willingly served in whatever leadership position was requested of her. Worthy of note is Dr. Graziano’s role as a leader in the success of the then School of Nursing’s accreditation visit in 2013. Working closely with other faculty, Dr. Graziano took on the primary coordination responsibility for oversight of the completion of the self-study and site visit. This resulted in continued accreditation of the baccalaureate, masters, and Entry Level Master of Science programs and first-time accreditation of the DNP program. Dr. Graziano continued her accreditation leadership, completing the required mid-accreditation term evaluation report in 2018 for the Department of Nursing.
Dr. Graziano successfully led a partnership with the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia (MSA) to bring the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia program to fruition. Working closely with faculty, this program resulted in a unique partnership where courses from Metro State’s DNP program combine with nurse anesthesia courses establishing an integrated DNP degree with a major in nurse anesthesia. Also of note is Dr. Graziano’s support of faculty establishing the Omega Sigma Chapter, on March 24, 2020, the 568th chapter established at Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Through one-time funding and ongoing support, Dr. Graziano helped ensure the charter of our chapter. This chapter supports faculty, students, and alumni in professional nursing development.
Dr. Graziano plans to spend her retirement traveling, reading for pleasure, gardening, and volunteering.
Carol Lacey—Professor Emerita
Empowering students has been at the heart of Professor Carol Lacey’s advising and student-centered, interdisciplinary, cross-college, and online curricular development, as well as her leadership in student-directed learning and prior learning assessment. An early online learning adopter, she began online course development and leadership in faculty training at Metro State beginning in the early 1990s and continuing as a certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewer, guiding colleagues in online course development.
During nearly half a century—first as Metro State community faculty, then resident faculty in the College of Individualized Studies—she has mentored thousands of students to design and complete degrees that fulfill their educational goals. Metro State has recognized her teaching and advising work with the Donna Blacker Lifetime Achievement Award, the Carol E. Ryan Excellence in Advising Award, and Metro State’s Outstanding Teaching Award.
Michal Moskow—Professor Emerita
Michal Moskow’s 15 years as resident faculty at Metro State, preceded by several years as community faculty teaching online from Sweden, have been marked by her tireless championing of international interconnectedness and the possibilities of online learning. Coming as it does from a sense of the role of connection in working toward justice, Moskow’s work both at Metro State and abroad has been an exemplar of the power of higher education to change lives.
Moskow’s areas of interest span a broad range of studies, including gender studies, linguistic and cultural studies, human rights, and educational access. She earned a PhD in American studies at Case Western University, with additional graduate studies at Freie Universität, Berlin. Moskow’s educational path led her not only to her time as resident faculty at Metro State, but also time as tenured faculty at Göteburgs universitet/Högskolan Väst, Sweden, and guest lecturing/program design consulting at institutions all over the U.S. and abroad.
In addition to instruction, Moskow served for four years as the Center of Online Learning’s resident faculty director. She also served on several Metro State, Minnesota State System Office, and Inter-Faculty Organization committees. Her dedication to student success was demonstrated beyond the classroom through her championing international exchanges, scholarships, and research collaboration with students. Future plans include spending more time with grandchildren and continuing work with research groups in Europe.
Phyllis Webster—Advisor Emerita
While the majority of Phyllis Webster’s time at Metro State was spent as an academic advisor in the College of Management, a role performed to enduring acclaim, the list of her positions also includes special programs assistant to the vice provost, online programs and developing online resources related to advising, adjunct faculty since 1999 teaching primarily management principles and practices, organizational behavior at the undergraduate and graduate level, and more recently introduction to business.
Webster’s early awards include the 2003 Excellence in Advising Award, 2004 Outstanding Employee Award for Extraordinary Service, and a $5,000 Special Initiative Award for Online Orientation Project Lead. Her decorated career continued with the 2006–07 Center for Transforming Student Services WOW Award, 2007 Outstanding Advising Technology Award at the national level (National Academic Advising Association), 2011 Minnesota Online: Recognition and Appreciation of Dedicated Service, and the 2012 Minnesota State Colleges and University Certificate of Appreciation.
Webster’s time at Metro continued to be recognized in recent years, with a 2016 MSUAASF Excellence in Service Award nomination, 2012 and 2017 Excellence in Advising Award nomination, 2019 MSUAASF Excellence in Service Award at Metropolitan State (nomination forwarded to the system level), and the 2020 Donna Blacker Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Advising.
In Webster’s retirement years, she plans to continue her studies, learning about the environment and pursuing her passions of implementing permaculture principles and exercising her interest in herbalism.