College of Arts & Sciences Awards

The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to celebrate its inaugural class of awardees — exceptional faculty, staff and students honored for their accomplishments in academics, teaching, research and service across 15 categories.

2023 Event Program

Student Awards

The College of Arts and Sciences seeks to recognize outstanding achievement by graduating seniors as well as graduate students in the field of research and teaching. Graduating seniors were nominated from each department. Graduate research is evaluated based on the potential impact of the student’s research on their field, the quantity and quality of the student’s current and pending publications, and awards and honors received. Graduate teaching is assessed based on evidence of the nominee’s creativity and effectiveness in undergraduate instruction, participation in high-impact teaching practices and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students.

Outstanding Graduating Senior Award

Kerry Abernethy-Cannella
B.S. in Environmental Studies

Rolando Calderon-Oliver
B.S. in Chemistry

Andrew Davis
B.S. in Meteorology

Norely Faz
B.S. in Oceanography

William Frendreiss
B.S. in Applied Mathematics

Carlee Garrett
B.S. in Physics

Kate Girvin
B.A. in Philosophy

Katherine Guidry
B.A. in Modern Languages (German)/B.A. in
International Studies (Politics and Diplomacy)

Lauren Head
B.A. in English

Catherine Meisenheimer
B.A. in History

Jacob Pagel
B.S. in Statistics

Nikhil Punithan
B.S. in Geophysics

Riley Thomason
B.A. in Sociology

Victoria Tseng
B.S. in Biology

Kayla Wilhoit
B.S. in Biomedical Sciences

Julissa Zamora
B.S. in Economics

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Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Research Award

Valerie Dietz
Department of Biology

Ethan Iverson
Department of Chemistry

Joseph Maffly-Kipp
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Wenxue Zou
Department of Communication and Journalism

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Outstanding Achievement in Graduate Teaching Award

Shelby Blair
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Gayle Bornovski
Department of Chemistry

Nathan Lanning
Department of Oceanography

Christianna Snyder
Department of English

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Staff Awards

Recognizing the critical role staff members play in contributing to the excellence of the College, these awards focus on the areas of service, leadership, efficiency, continuing education, professional development and administration.

Outstanding Staff Achievement Award

Rebekah Luza
Business Administrator I
College of Arts & Sciences — Department of Anthropology — Finance

Daniella Stratta
Academic Advisor IV
College of Arts & Sciences — Advising

Amanda Dusek
Assistant Director
Glasscock Center for Humanities Research

Lauren McIntosh
Assistant Research Scientist
Cyclotron Institute

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Leadership Award

Kurt Felpel
Assistant Department Head
Department of Economics

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Faculty Awards

The College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Awards Program recognizes and rewards excellence in the work of faculty. Each year, up to 32 recipients will be recognized in 10 different categories. Each award has its own eligibility requirements, which include appointment status, rank and years of employment, as well as specific information pertinent to the respective award. Detailed information on the Faculty Awards Program may be found online.

Early Career Teaching Award

Jessica Herzogenrath
Instructional Assistant Professor
Department of History

Sarah McNamara
Assistant Professor
Department of History

Quentin Michaudel
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry

Dawson Nodurft
Instructional Assistant Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy

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Undergraduate Mentoring Award

Jennifer Dulin
Assistant Professor and TIRR Foundation Fellow
Department of Biology

Christopher Nowotarski
Associate Professor
Department of Atmospheric Sciences

Nicholas Perez
Associate Professor
Department of Geology and Geophysics

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Graduate Mentoring Award

Kevin Crisman
Professor and Nautical Archaeology Faculty Fellow
Department of Anthropology

M. Suhail Zubairy
University Distinguished Professor and Munnerlyn-Heep Chair in Quantum Optics
Department of Physics and Astronomy

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Inclusive Excellence Award

Angela P. Hudson
Professor
Department of History

Derya G. Akleman
Instructional Professor
Department of Statistics

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Service Award

Catharina Laporte
Instructional Professor
Department of Anthropology

Edward Lee
Senior Lecturer
Department of Chemistry

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Public Engagement and Outreach Award Oksana Shatalov
Instructional Professor
Department of Mathematics #accordionGroup11 { display: none; }

Administration Award Simon North
John W. Bevan Professor of Chemistry and Department Head
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Research Impact Award

Christina L. Belanger
Assistant Professor
Department of Geology and Geophysics

Jonathan Brunstedt
Assistant Professor
Department of History

Heidi A. Campbell
Professor
Department of Communication and Journalism

Ping Chang
Professor and Louis & Elizabeth Scherck Chair in Oceanography
Department of Oceanography

Jessica Fitzsimmons
Associate Professor
Department of Oceanography

Shennette Garrett-Scott
Associate Professor
Department of History

David Powers
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry

Frank Raushel
University Distinguished Professor and Thomas W. Powell ’62 Chair in Science
Department of Chemistry

Heather Thakar
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology

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Faculty Excellence Award

François P. Gabbaï
University Distinguished Professor and Arthur E. Martell Chair in Chemistry
Department of Chemistry

Rachel Hull
Senior Lecturer
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Glen Miller
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy

Yang Ni
Assistant Professor
Department of Statistics

Kristi Sweet
Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy

Chrissy Wiederwohl
Instructional Associate Professor
Department of Oceanography

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Outstanding Career Award

Mike Waters
University Distinguished Professor and Center for the Study of the First Americans Endowed Chair
Department of Anthropology

Karen L. Wooley
University Distinguished Professor and W. T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair in Chemistry
Department of Chemistry

Renyi Zhang
University Distinguished Professor and Harold J. Haynes Chair in Geosciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences

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