25-Year Employee Honored with Top Franklin College Service Award
23 Employees Recognized for Milestone Years of Service
Franklin College employees have gathered to enjoy a holiday meal together and pay tribute to colleagues celebrating milestone anniversaries with the College for 32 consecutive years. A highlight of the event is the recognition of one staff member with an award of excellence.
The Margaret A. Hommell Staff Service Excellence Award was initiated in 1999 to recognize a staff member for quality internal customer service, exceptional job performance, service to the College community, and embodiment of the mission and value of Franklin College. It is named in memory of the late Margaret A. Hommell, an example of long-time service excellence among the Franklin College staff.
Kirk Bixler, of Franklin, director of career development at the College, is the recipient of the 2025 Margaret A. Hommell Staff Service Excellence Award.
Bixler earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Earlham College before obtaining a master’s degree in college student personnel administration from Ball State University.
Bixler had stints at colleges across the country, including Michigan, New York and Montana before arriving at Franklin in 2000 at which time he assumed the roles of both the director of career services and as an academic advisor. Beginning in 2007, he also began serving as assistant dean of students. He transitioned out of that role in 2018 when the office of career services moved from the Division of Student Affairs to the Division of Academic Affairs.
“For 25 years, Kirk Bixler has been an integral part of the work we do to help Franklin College students prepare to pursue impactful careers and meaningful lives,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Kristin C. Flora. “His leadership as the Director of Career Services is integral in educating our students on how to apply their campus experiences to field work and internships and is a reason why Franklin College outperforms peer institutions on student participation in career-focused programming such as mock interviews, career and internship fairs, and networking events.”
Bixler received numerous letters of recommendation from across the campus community for the award, all citing his professionalism and dedication to students. One nomination stated: “He is basically a one-person show, which makes his body of work even more impressive. The results of all his programming speak for themselves. Our students consistently secure competitive internships and quality jobs.”
Another nomination stated: “I am grateful for Kirk’s willingness to always say “yes,” even when requests come in at the last minute. His care for students is evident in every interaction. He has also built strong community partnerships, all of which consistently praise his professionalism. Kirk’s commitment has made and will continue to make a real difference and makes him an exceptional candidate for this award.”
Bixler dedicates time to several professional organizations to benefit Franklin College students, including serving as an officer with the College Career Center Consortium (CCCC) and serving in multiple leadership roles through the years with the Career Development Professionals of Indiana (CDPI).
Many of the nominations also cited Bixler’s outstanding community service. He has served on the Johnson County Public Library board since 2016; he has been a member of the Rotary International, Franklin Rotary Club since 2007; he serves as a board member of Otterbein Senior Life, Franklin Campus; and he has served as a volunteer with Franklin Heritage/Artcraft Theatre since 2004. As one nomination letter stated: “Kirk does an excellent job cultivating meaningful partnerships with various institutions that create opportunities for students to job shadow, intern and complete other professional experiences.”
And as a final nomination letter so thoughtfully observed, “Kirk is as much a part of Franklin College as Dame Mall, and few people embody the mission of the College and the legacy of Margaret Hommell as fully and consistently as he does.”
Part-time employee honored for his years of service with the College include:
10-year service award: Joshua Torres (Indianapolis - 46202)
Full-time employees honored for their years of service with the college include the following:
5-year service awards: Kathryn Dennehy (Franklin), Hillary Florian, Ph.D. (Indianapolis - 46205), Tiffany Franklin ’07, Ph.D. (New Palestine), Randi Frye (Indianapolis - 46219), Katharine Harris, Ph.D. (Indianapolis - 46201), Kristian Harris (Franklin), Kalyn Johnson (Indianapolis - 46203), Jeffrey Ross (Trafalgar), Colleen Steffen ’94 (Muncie), Katie Streit (Greenwood), Corey Turner (Trafalgar)
10-year awards: George Phillips, Ph.D. (Franklin), Gina Waldrip (Bargersville)
15-year awards: James Alexander ’06, Ph.D. (Franklin), Benjamin O’Neal, Ph.D. (Franklin)
20-year awards: Karen Bauman (Edinburgh), Bradley Jones ’88 (Franklin), Christine Morris (Indianapolis - 46227), Amy VerSteeg ’96 (Franklin),
25-year awards: Kirk Bixler (Franklin))
30-year awards: Deana Pierson (Needham)
35-year award: Katherine Remsburg (Trafalgar)