UTSA announces winners of 2025 University Excellence Awards

MAY 2, 2025 — UTSA announced this year’s University Excellence Awards winners during a live event on Wednesday attended by staff semifinalists, faculty nominees and their peers. This annual program celebrates the achievements of Roadrunner faculty and staff, ranging from exceptional teaching and innovative research to exemplary team spirit and impactful community engagement.

Judges selected this year’s winners from a large group of outstanding individual and team nominees, all of whom are advancing the university and making UTSA a great place to learn, work and grow.

The 2025 winners are:

Faculty Achievement Awards

Teaching Excellence Award

• Vikram Kapoor (Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering & Integrated Design) – Tenured category
• Monica Lawson (College for Health, Community & Policy) – Tenure Track category
• Jose (Francisco Herbert) Acero (Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering & Integrated Design) – Fixed-Term Track category

Core Curriculum Award

• Drew Stephen (College of Liberal and Fine Arts) – Tenured/Tenure Track category
• Mimi Yu (College of Liberal and Fine Arts) – Fixed-Term Track category

University Service Award

• Curtis Brewer (College of Education & Human Development) – Tenured/Tenure Track category
• Susan Thomas (College of Sciences) – Fixed-Term Track category

Community Engagement Award

• Tracy Cowden (College of Liberal and Fine Arts) – Tenured/Tenure Track category
• Guillermina Zabala Suárez (College of Liberal and Fine Arts) – Fixed-Term Track category

Research Achievement Award

• Jenny Hsieh (College of Sciences) – Tenured category
• Juliet Wiersema (College of Liberal & Fine Arts) – Tenured category
• Thayne Currie (College of Sciences) – Tenure Track category
• Ian Thacker (College of Education & Human Development) – Tenure Track category
• Thomas Yee (College of Liberal and Fine Arts) – Fixed-Term Track category

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Thomas Yee from the School of Music poses onstage with President Eighmy during his recognition for Research Achievement.

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Performance, Creative, Production Award

• Rachel Cruz (College of Education & Human Development)

Advancing Globalization Award

• Elizabeth Sooby (College of Sciences)

Innovation & Impact Award (I²)

• Team: Integrated Mathematics-Enhanced (IME) STEM Inquiries
  • Jessica Gehrtz (College of Sciences)
  • Stacy Jones (College of Sciences)
  • Su Liang (College of Sciences)
  • Tina Vega (College of Sciences)

Faculty Mentoring Award

• Kasandra Keeling (College of Liberal & Fine Arts) – Tenured/Tenure Track category
• Hector Aguilar (Honors College & College of Sciences) – Fixed-Term Track category

Richard S. Howe Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award

• Andrea Caldwell Marquez (Carlos Alvarez College of Business)

Richard S. Howe Faculty Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students Award

• Andria Crosson (College of Liberal and Fine Arts)

Staff Awards

Collaboration Champion Award

• Siobhan Fleming (Research)
• Tyler Boehme (Business Affairs)

Excellence in Customer Care Award

• Elizabeth Estrada (Academic Affairs)

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Excellence in Customer Care Award winner Elizabeth Estrada celebrates two achievements: her win and birthday.

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Richard S. Howe Service to Undergraduate Students Award

• Daniel Ramirez-Escobedo (Academic Affairs)

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Daniel Ramirez-Escobedo, winner of the Richard S. Howe Staff Excellence in Service to Undergraduate Students Award, poses with Chris Lockard and Years of Service honorees Vero Salazar, Tracy Lopez and Lauren Hoffmann.

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Innovation Trailblazer Award

• Erica Clark (Academic Affairs)
• Brandy Garcia (Academic Affairs)

Leadership Award

• Lauren Apgar (Academic Affairs)

Rising Star Award

• Fernando Cordova (Academic Affairs)

Extra Mile Award

• Antonia Martinez (Academic Affairs)

Team Spirit Award

• University Technology Solutions - Strategic Services: Andrea Bell, Jose Chapa, Vanity Davis, Humberto Guevara, Moises Hernandez, Kevin Lozano, Jonathan Medrano, Juan Ospina, Araceli Pacheco, Alexandra Salazar, Aslam Tejani, Ashlee Vasquez, Jesus Villanueva 

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University Technology Solutions, winners of the Team Spirit Award, pose for a photo after the ceremony.

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Order of the Roadrunner

• Martha Gutierrez Saul (Academic Affairs)

Years of Service Honorees

In addition to celebrating the award winners, UTSA also recognized UT System years of service milestones for faculty and staff. The full list of employees celebrating milestones can be viewed in the event program.

Among this group, College of Sciences Professor Melvin (Neal) Guentzel received a standing ovation for an incredible 55 years of service to the UTSA community.

Additionally, James Calder, a professor in the College of Liberal Fine Arts, celebrated 45 years of service, while Nikos Salingaros, a professor in the College of Sciences, and Mehdi Shadaram, UTSA’s Janey and Dolph Briscoe Distinguished Professor in the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design, celebrated four decades with the university.

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The University Excellence Awards Steering Committee oversees and manages the annual University Excellence Awards program. The Academic Affairs Faculty Success Team coordinates the awards nomination and selection process for faculty members, while divisional review committees and final review committees comprised of Staff Senators and division representatives advance the nomination and selection process for staff awards.

— Drew Vincent

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