Awards coordinated by Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor have been announced for 2021. 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.

College Distinguished Teaching Awards recognize faculty with excellence in teaching. Distribution of the awards rotate among the colleges each year.

• Katherine Castle, associate professor of practice, Communication Studies
• Lynne Elkins, assistant professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Matthew Van Den Broeke, associate professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Anna Hiatt, associate professor of practice, Biological Sciences
• Nathan Wakefield, associate professor of practice, Mathematics
• Emily Kazyak, associate professor, Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
• Kathleen Brooks, associate professor, Agricultural Economics
• Khalid Sayood, professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Jena Asgarpoor, associate professor of Practice, Engineering
• James Downes, assistant professor, Accountancy
• Lydiah Kiramba, assistant professor, Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education
• Rochelle Dalla, professor, Child, Youth and Family Studies
• Ajai Ammachathram, assistant professor, Nutrition and Health Sciences
• Sharon Kuska, professor and associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, Architecture

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

• Marc Garcia, assistant professor, Sociology and Ethnic Studies

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

• Amelia Montes, associate professor, English and Ethnic Studies

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.

• Dan Hoyt, professor, Sociology

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.

• Amanda Ganshert, senior project manager, Bureau of Sociological Research
• Ben Lennander, business processes and transformation director, Business and Finance

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 advisor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department, who devoted much of his time to recruiting and advising computer science and engineering majors.

• Ann Koopmann, academic adviser, Computer Science and Engineering

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.

• Limei Zhang, assistant professor, Biochemistry

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.

• Kayla Person, director of engineering graduate programs, Engineering
• Ashley West, administrative associate for engineering graduate programs, Engineering

The Dennis Molfese, Sue Venteicher, and David Hansen Hero Award recognizes a faculty member, staff member, or student whose courageous and unselfish act saved the life of another person.

• Scott Holly, internship program coordinator, Center for Grassland Studies
• Morgan Pfeiffer, alumna, Biological Sciences