Wednesday, April 10, 2024

UTSA announces nominees for 2023 University Excellence Awards

UTSA announces nominees for 2023 University Excellence Awards

MARCH 22, 2023 — UTSA has announced this year’s University Excellence Awards (UEA) ceremony details and nominees. The annual program celebrates the achievements of Roadrunner faculty and staff, ranging from exceptional teaching and innovative research to exemplary team spirit and impactful advocacy.

This year’s UEA ceremony will be an in-person event that will take place from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25 in the H-E-B Student Union Ballrooms (HSU 1.104/1.106) on the UTSA Main Campus. The ceremony will feature senior leaders and representatives from Staff and Faculty Senate.

All Roadrunner faculty and staff are invited to attend and celebrate the achievements of their peers, mentors and friends. Viewers may access the ceremony at utsa.edu/excellence awards to join in the celebration from their home or office.

UTSA’s University Excellence Awards encompass three categories:

  • President’s Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards, which recognize the achievements of faculty who have excelled in teaching, research or service

  • President’s Distinguished Diversity Awards, which recognize the work of individuals or groups that help the UTSA community think about and practice diversity and inclusion in creative and collaborative ways

  • University Excellence Staff Awards, which honor outstanding UTSA employees who demonstrate excellent work performance

Here are the 2023 nominees.


PRESIDENT’S DISTINGUISHED FACULTY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Richard S. Howe Excellence in Teaching Award

Recognizes tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term-track professors who are developing signature learning experiences for undergraduates.

  • Mark Leung
  • Rebecca Schroeder
  • Robert J. Hard 

Richard S. Howe Faculty Service Award

Recognizes full time faculty (fixed-term track, tenure-track or tenured) who have shown exemplary commitment towards UTSA undergraduates.

  • Deborah Moon Wagner

Teaching Excellence Award

Recognizes faculty whose command of their respective disciplines, teaching methodologies, communication skills and commitment to learning translate into a superior learning experience for students.

  • Albert Huang
  • Erica Wallace
  • Eva Wikberg
  • Gina Amatangelo
  • Janelle Kohler
  • Jihye Jung
  • Karl E. Klose
  • Kathy B. Ewoldt
  • Kimberly Fonzo
  • Luca Pozzi
  • Manjit Kaur
  • Mark Phillips
  • Matthias Hofferberth
  • Nicole Wicha
  • Priscilla Rose Prasath
  • Rocky Slavin
  • Se-Woong Park
  • Stella G. Lopez
  • Tiffany Farias-Sokoloski
  • Travis J. Meyers
  • Xiaoyin Wang
  • Xochitl Lopez-Lozano

Core Curriculum Award

Recognizes distinguished performance in teaching one or a set of core curriculum courses during the academic year of the award; innovation and involvement in core development projects; and excellence in teaching as demonstrated by standard measures of performance.

  • Andrea Aleman
  • Gina Amatangelo
  • Naomi Rubal
  • Patrick Gallagher

University Service Award

Recognizes tenured and tenure-track faculty who are exemplary in their commitment to service within the university and whose service has had major impact on UTSA students and/or faculty.

  • Devin Flaherty
  • Felicia Castro-Villareal
  • Iliana Alanis
  • Janis K. Bush
  • Jodi Peterson
  • Lindsey Macpherson
  • Michael Newell
  • Nydia Lisette Cabra
  • Pamela Smith
  • Stella G. Lopez
  • Terri Matiella
  • Wenbo Wu
  • William Land

Advancing Globalization Award

Recognizes an individual or a team of faculty who have significantly expanded UTSA’s involvement in the global arena.

  • Maryam Singery
  • Michael L. Cepek
  • Rica Ramirez
  • Rosalind Horowitz

Innovation & Impact Award (I2)

Recognizes creative and innovative team projects of high impact which involve partnerships across boundaries (within UTSA and/or elsewhere) and have potential for future expansion.

  • Jianwei Niu
  • Meizi He
  • Michael R. Smith
  • Serife Tekin

Community Engagement Award

Recognizes faculty who are exemplary in their service and civic scholarship outside of the university, providing leadership and making significant contributions to the public good.

  • Claudia Trevino Garcia
  • Jenny Hsieh
  • Lilliana P. Saldana
  • Rebecca Bria
  • Roger Enriquez
  • Victor Villareal

Research Achievement Award

Recognizes tenure and tenure-track faculty who have conducted high-quality, high-impact research that has or has potential to be translated into national and international recognition and has made a substantial contribution to the faculty member’s field.

  • Alan Meca
  • Amanda Fernandez
  • Anthony Rios
  • Brian Davies
  • Deepa Chandrasekaran
  • Fernando Campos
  • Fidel Santamaria
  • Hannah MacNaul
  • Ian Thacker
  • Jiannan Cai
  • Katelyn Sileo
  • Neda Norouzi
  • Olesya Kisselev
  • Rohit Valecha
  • Sarah Ullevig
  • Serife Tekin
  • Sumit Jha
  • Vikram Kapoor
  • Wei Wang

Mentoring Award

Recognizes faculty who are exemplary in their commitment to mentoring within the university and whose service has had an impact on the opportunities and development of UTSA faculty by providing mentoring in critical areas such as teaching and research.

  • David R. Pillow
  • Jeremy Sullivan
  • Marie Tillyer
  • Thad Bartlett

Performance, Creative, Production Award

Recognizes individuals whose performance, creative production or other related scholarly achievement in arts or design has manifested exceptional excellence and merit.

  • Marco Cervantes

PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED DIVERSITY AWARDS
These awards recognize individuals or groups for work that helps the UTSA community think about and practice diversity and inclusion in creative and collaborative ways.

Faculty/Staff (Groups)

  • HSI Career Collaborative
  • MATRIX AI Consortium for Human Well-Being
  • Pride Faculty and Staff Association
  • UTSA 1882 Dual Language Community Lab Schools Partnership

Faculty/Staff (Individuals)

  • Devin Flaherty
  • Kat Carrillo
  • Shelby Scott
  • Veronica Rodriguez

Student (Organizations)

  • Prism

Student (Individuals)

  • Andre Felton
  • Quyen Do
  • Maren Kitogo
  • Javon Gillespie

UNIVERSITY EXCELLENCE STAFF AWARDS

Richard S. Howe Service to Undergraduate Students Award

Recognizes staff who have shown exemplary commitment towards UTSA undergraduates.

  • Darrell Balderrama (Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research)
  • Joleen Gould, David Lopez, David Morales, Ryan McMahan, Michael Garza, Linda Kerns, Michael Henry, Evaristo Hinojosa, Suzanne Randolph (Testing Services)
  • Kristi Meyer
  • Maria Ochoa Woods

Leadership Award

Recognizes an individual who has promoted departmental and the university’s mission and goals through actions and job performance, demonstrated exceptional leadership ability, and fostered a positive and motivating work environment.

  • Anna Belinda Tucker
  • Blanca Pokorney
  • Cerise Edmonds
  • Chera Finkbiner
  • Daniel Gockley
  • Denise Moore
  • Melissa Mahan
  • Jennilee Garza
  • Katy Madden
  • Kelly Garza
  • Madison Cowles Serna
  • Marie Kuehler
  • Patricia Morales
  • Patrick Grant
  • Regina Gomez
  • Richard Wollney
  • Sara Goede
  • Tim Palese
  • Veronica J. Salazar
  • Veronica Rodriguez

Rising Star Award

Recognizes a new employee with less than three years of continuous service with UTSA who has made significant contributions throughout the year to his or her area, or to the University community.

  • Alejandra Vicencio
  • Ben Kelly Blum
  • Chantea Swinson-Rhoe
  • Chloe Knauer
  • Cristina Sanchez
  • Dinorah Ziegenhorn
  • Don Carrington
  • Germaine Williams
  • Gloria Rodriguez
  • Krishna Garza Baker
  • Leandro Rodriguez
  • Linda Ponce
  • Madison Webb
  • Mark Flores
  • Stacy Cantu
  • Pedro Macias
  • Sara Cliffe
  • Shelly Crofford
  • Valeria Quintero
  • Victoria Rodriguez

Extra Mile Award

Recognizes an individual with three years or more of continuous service with UTSA and who has taken the initiative to contribute to the success of UTSA through his or her outstanding contributions at work.

  • Akshit Lashkari
  • Analicia Gonzales
  • Andrea Whitlock
  • Annele Gonzalez
  • Antonio Alvarez
  • Ashley Wallace
  • Beth Manning
  • Bruce Williams
  • Cayla Jimenez
  • Chun Li
  • Cristina Winston
  • Damaris Ibarra
  • Debra Leal
  • Donna Edmondson
  • Estefania Casper
  • Greg Granados
  • Hunter Westbrook
  • James Jinks
  • Javier Aguilar
  • Jean Antao
  • Jo Ann Jones
  • Jolyn Demarest
  • Kandice Fambro
  • Kathleen Blanton
  • Kelli Morrison
  • Khanh Nguyen
  • Kimberly Perez
  • Laurie Gay
  • Lisa Ho
  • Luis Martinez
  • Maria Ochoa Woods
  • Marie Kuehler
  • Mario Maldonado
  • Mildred Herrera-Rosales
  • Khanh Nguyen
  • Naomy Ybarra
  • Patrick Page-Sutter
  • Roselena Balderas
  • Sandra Cardona
  • Sara Flores
  • Sergey Avdeyev
  • Sharon Martinez
  • Sharon Stevens
  • Siobhán Fleming
  • Steven Quezada
  • Tia Palsole
  • Tracy Lopez
  • William Lansdon

Team Spirit Award

Recognizes a group of employees who have demonstrated exceptional ability to foster collaboration, communication, and cooperation among colleagues internal and/or external to their department.

  • Integrative Biology
    • Antonio Alvarez, Julian Chavez, Hector Escobar, Steven Quezada, Michelle Phillips, Shantae Wright
  • Student Activities and Leadership
    • Chantea' Swinson-Rhoe, Jarvis Clark, Amanda Perez, Iselda Rodriguez, Teresa Kelley, Ethan Guerrero, Eliot Howard, Victoria Rodriguez
  • Strategies for Inclusive Teaching Institute
    • Claudia Arcolin, Cate Wengelnik, Jessica Gonzales
  • Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
    • Dawn Morales, Jo Ann Jones
  • Department of Counseling
    • Donna Harris, Kristina Talamantez
  • The Najim Center
    • Erica Clark, Rachael Miller
  • Facilities Event Movers Team
    • Samuel Barrera, Eddy Baggerman, Gregory Peyer, Jesus Romo, Juan Villareal, Sharon Pawlik
  • Well Being
    • Jamie Singh, Ashton Balarin, Levi Rex, Danielle Rominski, Michael Vela, Sandra Martinez, Jaclyn Bokowsky, Ashley Fitzgerald, Cherilyn Patteson, Melissa Hernandez
  • People Excellence Employee Services
    • Madison Webb, Genesis Preciado, Alice Neaves Martinez
  • Facilities Electrical Shop and Structural Team
    • Mario Canales, Omar Sierra, Ricardo Vela, James Kuykendall
  • Human Resources Business Partner
    • Nadia Lopez, Nick Whelchel, Tracy Gomez, Sara Cliffe, Brittainy Jones, Marie Kuehler
  • Convocation Center Lighting Repairs Project Team
    • Ricardo Vela, Arnold Villafranco, Conrad Cerda, George Martinez, Juan Villarreal, Samuel Barrera
  • PREP Team
    • Ydania Medina, Gabriela Gomez, Mia DeLeon

Order of the Roadrunner

Recognizes an individual who demonstrates exemplary service and commitment to UTSA and the achievement of its goals through his or her actions throughout the year.

  • Ann Margaret Trujillo
  • Barbara Smith
  • David Rodriguez
  • Martha Luna
  • Melissa Hernandez
  • Wanda Guntz
  • Wendy Frost

Drew VIncent



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