To celebrate the achievements of students active in the classroom, clubs and organizations, Dean of College of Arts, Letters and Sciences Jan Loft created Mustang Ovations.

“Occasionally, President Gores would express that she just wished that we did more to lift up and celebrate some of the honors that our students receive for any number of reasons,” said Dr. Loft. “She also thought that for all the students who are named to the dean’s list each semester, that they could be lifted up more.”

Loft made holding a ceremony for these students one of her goals and objectives for her last year before retiring. To accommodate with that request, Mustang Ovations was created. The reception was held Apr. 13.

“I wanted it organized, and yet casual, where people think they can have a conversation and talk with their friends and mingle,” Loft said.

While talking amongst themselves, those who attended the event also enjoyed some light snacks, beverages, videos and slideshows. During the time that one of Loft’s videos was not running, a list of all the dean’s list recipients was on the screen.

“Last spring there would have been about 468 names, and then there was approximately 491 in the fall. Some of those people are named twice,” Loft said.

Each of these people, whether they are named twice or not, received a certificate that said they were on the dean’s list for that specific semester.

The videos that ran in between the dean’s list recipients contained multiple organizations, and people.

“I’m featuring people following the three themes that President Gores established when she became President: academic excellence, distinctiveness, and/or meaningful engagement,” said. Loft.

From the SMSU Chorale and their trip to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall to Chemistry Club being named one of the 46 outstanding Chemistry Clubs across the nation, there was a long list of honorees.

“We’ve put a lot of work into it,” said Loft. “There’s probably going to be about 40 either clubs/organizations, or individuals, that are going to be named by name.”

Since people could come and go from Mustang Ovations as they pleased, the videos were running more than once. If anyone, or any club, received an award right before the event, Loft was prepared to announce those live that night.

“I hope people realize that this really is an effort to say it’s the end of the year, [and] we had some terrific things happen at SMSU,” said Loft. “We want to give them a shout out.”

The event had a great turnout. More tables and chairs had to be added to the venue because of how many people showed up. It is hoped that Mustang Ovations will become an annual event.

“It’s not to take away from any of the individual department award ceremonies that they have,” Loft said. “This is just kind of our way of saying, you did really well, and it was noticed, and we want to celebrate it.”