APRIL 23, 2021 — Roadrunner Nation celebrated the fantastic achievements of UTSA faculty and staff during the 2021 University Excellence Awards ceremony, which were livestreamed on Tuesday, April 20.
All categories of the University Excellence Awards were evaluated through their respective nomination review committees: President’s Teaching Awards selection committees coordinated through the provost’s office, Distinguished Diversity Awards committee coordinated through the inclusive excellence office and the University Excellence Staff Awards committees coordinated by Staff Senate. The University Excellence Awards Program is overseen and managed through a committee with representatives from areas throughout the university.
Awards statuettes will be available to awardees via a drive-thru to be arranged later this month. Those who weren’t able to pick-up their Years of Service certificates and pins should be on the lookout for an invitation to the Great Staff Appreciation event coming up in May.
The 2021 winners in each category:
PRESIDENT’S FACULTY AWARDS
Teaching Excellence — Fixed-term-track faculty
• Victoria Dougherty (Chemistry; College of Sciences)
Teaching Excellence — Tenure-track faculty
• Alexander Testa (Criminal Justice; College for Health, Community and Policy)
Teaching Excellence — Tenured faculty
• John Drew Stephen (Music; College of Liberal and Fine Arts)
Excellence in University Service — Fixed-term-track faculty
• Rita Mitra (Information Systems and Computer Applications; Alvarez College of Business)
Excellence in University Service — Tenured and tenure-track faculty
• Johnelle Sparks (Demography; College for Health, Community and Policy)
Excellence in Core Curriculum Teaching — Fixed-term-track faculty
• Mariah Hopkins (Biology; College of Sciences)
Excellence in Community Engagement — Fixed-term-track faculty
• Liset Vasquez (Health and Kinesiology; College for Health, Community and Policy)
Excellence in Core Curriculum Teaching — Tenured and tenure-track faculty and
Excellence in Community Engagement — Tenured and tenure-track faculty
• Michael Cepek (Anthropology; College for Health, Community and Policy)
Research Achievement — Tenured faculty
• Megan Augustyn (Criminal Justice; College for Health, Community and Policy)
• Nikolaos Gatsis (Electrical and Computer Engineering; College of Engineering)
Research Achievement — Tenure-track faculty
• Ahmad Taha (Electrical and Civil Engineering; College of Engineering)
• Elizabeth Sooby (Mechanical Engineering and Physics and Astronomy; College of Sciences)
Advancing Globalization
• Fengshan (Frank) Chen (Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanics; College of Engineering)
Innovation & Impact (I2)
• Advancing and Strengthening Science Identity through Systematic Training (ASSIST) Team: Gwen Young (Environmental Science and Ecology; College of Sciences); Kenneth Walker (English; College of Liberal and Fine Arts); Jeffrey Hutchinson (Environmental Science and Ecology; College of Sciences); Amaury Nora (Educational Leadership; College of Education and Human Development); Sue Hum (English; College of Liberal and Fine Arts); and external partners Benjamin Tuggle and Juliet Ray
Mentoring
• Kathryn Jill Fleuriet (Anthropology; College of Liberal and Fine Arts)
Performance, Creative and Production
• Sarah Lasley (Art; College of Liberal and Fine Arts)
Richard S. Howe Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award
• Jennifer Beavers (Music; College of Liberal and Fine Arts)
PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED DIVERSITY AWARDS
• Lilliana P. Saldaña (SCCEI & Dreamers Resource Center; Inclusion & Community Engagement Center)
• Rey Villanueva (Anthropology; College of Liberal & Fine Arts)
• G-Force Mentors (student group)
• Microaggressions Awareness Committee: Traci Guinn Buckley; Kalia Glover; Brandi Scott; Yolanda Williams; Vincent Perez; Sara DeTurk; Jessica Dawson; Carol Gonzalez; Alvin Curette; and Anne Margaret Trujillo
UNIVERSITY EXCELLENCE STAFF AWARDS
Richard S. Howe Service to Undergraduate Studies Award
• Ephrem Fernandez (Psychology; College for Health, Community and Policy)
Rising Star Award
• Sara Tate (Advising Administration)
Leadership Award
• April Valdez (Learning Technologies)
Team Spirit Award
• UTSA Inventory Department: James Sumner; Mayra Espinoza; and Olinda Ongay (Capital Asset Management)
Extra Mile Award
• Patrick Grant (Athletics)
Order of the Roadrunner Award
• Amy Manning-Thompson (Social Work; College for Health, Community and Policy)
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
