Awards coordinated by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor have been announced for 2024. These honor faculty and staff who advance the missions of the university in teaching, research and service. Recipients will be recognized at The Laurels award reception in the fall.

College Distinguished Teaching Awards recognize faculty with excellence in teaching.

• Eve Brank, Aaron Douglas Professor, Psychology
• Kevin Gonzales, assistant professor of practice, Mathematics
• Rumiko Handa, professor, Architecture
• Kristen Hoerl, associate professor, Communication Studies
• Deepak Keshwani, associate professor, Biological Systems Engineering
• Seunghee Kim, associate professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Laura Muñoz, assistant professor, History and Ethnic Studies
• Jae Sung Park, associate professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering
• Gilbert Parra, professor, Child, Youth, and Family Studies
• Erkut Sonmez, associate professor, Supply Chain Management and Analytics
• Gerald Steinacher, James A. Rawley Professor, History
• Rafael Untalan, assistant professor of practice, Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film
• Kristy Weissling, professor of practice, Special Education and Communication Disorders
• Regina Werum, professor, Sociology
• Jiangang Xia, associate professor, Educational Administration

The Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award honors outstanding junior faculty members who demonstrate creative research, extraordinary teaching abilities and academic promise.

• Katherine Frels, assistant professor, Agronomy and Horticulture

The Annis Chaikin Sorensen Award recognizes outstanding teaching in the humanities.

• Kelly Stage, associate professor, English

The James O’Hanlon Academic Leader Award honors a full-time faculty or staff member who demonstrates exceptional abilities to lead, serve, inspire, and collaborate on the academic goals of the university. The award is named for Dr. James O’Hanlon, who served the university in academic leadership positions for over 30 years.

• John Carroll, professor and former director, Natural Resources

The Nancy Kenny Academic Business Leader Award recognizes a full-time faculty or staff member who has demonstrated exceptional collaborative leadership in academic business matters at the university. The award is named for Nancy Kenny, who served the university in business leadership positions across the campus.

• Jason Casey, director, Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics

The Dr. Charles Riedesel Outstanding Academic Advising Award honors an exceptional faculty or staff member for advising services beyond basic job duties and responsibilities to provide support, empowerment, coaching, counseling, and guidance to help undergraduate students succeed academically and in life. The award is named for Dr. Charles Riedesel, former adviser in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who devoted much of his time to recruiting and advising computer science and engineering majors.

• Alexis Partridge, academic adviser, Arts and Sciences

The Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in mentoring and supporting undergraduate researchers’ educational and career paths through their availability, attentiveness, encouragement, and understanding.

• Dennis Ferraro, professor of practice, Natural Resources

The Exceptional Excellence Award recognizes a staff member who has exceeded in their job expectations and significantly contributed to the success of a faculty member's teaching and/or research.

• Gregory Dorn, research technologist II, Agronomy and Horticulture

The University of Nebraska Staff Kudos Award — Academic Affairs is a university-wide honor presented by the NU Regents to celebrate staff who go above and beyond in their work for the university. This award will be recognized at the April 19 Board of Regents meeting.

• Mindy Liebelt, outreach specialist, Center on Children, Families, and the Law